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Comments
lmurf
Our experience with oil analysis showed that there was no magical "time or mileage" to change oil. There were simply too many factors that affected that time. With a large fleet of similar equipment and usage it is worth the expense to check a few typical units and build a oil change program on those results. It is simply not worth it however for the average car or truck owner. Now that I have said all that, let's cut to meat of the subject...Oil is the cheapest and I repeat, CHEAPEST, thing you can do to extend the life of your car or truck engine. Rather than spend the 12 to 15 dollars required to do oil analysis, simply change the oil every 3000 miles or so and drain away all that bad stuff. Actually, we found by cutting open filters and checking their contents, that we could easily get by with a filter change every other oil change. Modern engines simply do not generate much in the way of large solid particles as a normal course of events. The filter is there to catch stuff that can do real damage to the bearings but not the micro fine stuff in suspension in the oil. The choice of filter change is a personal one but I can only tell you...change oil frequently and live long and prosper!! One other item, we found that the advantage of the synthetics was primarily in resisting thermal breakdown found only in turbocharged or very high performance engines. Those very expensive oils do a great job along that line but will not hold any more contamination in suspension that a good grade of conventional oil. Unless you have a specific requirement for such an oil, save your money and change oil frequently.
p.s. Could you also post this on the oil topic in Maintenance - good discussion.
ups, and big trucks). My wife and I both enjoy driving it more than we do our Lincoln. - but!!From the first time we drove it, shortly after you got up any speed, there was this noise in the left rear door that sounded as if you had run over something in the road and it flew up and hit the door. We would automaticly watch in the rear view mirrow to see what we had run over. - nothing. This has gone on about every time we use the truck, and after it happens each time the 'door open' light comes on on the dash. Then a while later you will hear a very loud click, and it is both front doors unlocking, and a light comes on under the left dash, and the door light on the right side. some times the dome lights even come on, until I turned the switch off over-head. We have had it at the local Toyoto dealer four times. One time they kept it four days and over the thanksgiving week end. Said they put in some sort of motor and switch in left door. No better off. Another time they kept it three days, and adjusted the doors, which they did for several times. Now you can hardly close the doors to make the inside lights go out. Sometime you have to go around the truck slamming the doors several times before the inside lights go out. We don't dare use the remote to lock the doors. One time after they had 'fixed it', we parked infront of a restaurant and the horn started blowing and the lights blinking. Seems as tho it takes for ever to get it stopped. Once at Church it did this.
Has anyone else had this problem? I plan to take it back to the selling dealer after the holidays. About ten percent of the miles I have on this truck has been taking it back and forth to the dealer. This is my first Toyoto, and when I bought it I thought I was getting away from this sort of workmanship.
On a side note, I actually have a smile on my face when I get to work on Monday's!!!! Love this truck!!!
ABS are a little bit sensitive - they come on almost too fast.
Engine - smooth as silk, great power and almost 16 mpg in mostly city driving, not bad for a "FULL SIZE" 4x4.
Transmission was reflashed to cure a ruff 1-2 shift when in TOW/HAUL mode (only trip to the dealer not counting oil change). Since then it has been the best shifting auto I have ever owned.
Rear differential - Mine is a locker - love the traction it gives -
Arm rest - even though it is full size the only time I use it is on trips over 50 miles.
But I will give the Tundra some credit - not a bad effort for a first timer from Toyota. (I do not count the T-100 - I think even Toyota is trying to put that in the past).
Consider yourself lucky. A good friend of mine took delivery of his Y2K 1500 last week, and after 150 miles back to the shop it goes. The tranny is slipping big time. Nearly got him killed this weekend in an intersection.
How did you get a locking differential in a 2000 Tundra? I've been told this is not possible and most of us are waiting to see if Toyota offers this in next year's model.
How did you get a locking differential in a 2000 Tundra?
www.tundratoys.com
I did consider the Tundra but the cab size was to small for my needs. I also liked the extra features that Toyota does not offer yet on the Tundra. I could have lived with the smaller size bed - (you can always make two trips) - but the back seat was just not what I wanted. I sold a Nissan before getting my new truck and part of the reason was my kids had out grown the back seat.
Is your post just a nice way to tell me to get off the Tundra site? You don't have to be nice to chevy owners when they are on a Toyota site. I think that is in the participants agreement. I can answer the question about the locker.
The only way to get a locker on the Tundra would be to wait until the 2001 model comes out. As srewed up as the auto companies are with the calendar that will most likely be June of 2000.
--While in reverse, I tried to switch on the cargo light. The button depressed, but the indicator light did not come on and the light in the cargo bed did not come on. I tried pushing several times, but no luck. I stopped, put the vehicle in drive and pressed the cargo light button, and voila, the indicator light came on and the cargo light came on as well. Very weird. This is the only time I've had this particular problem.
--My "door ajar" light usually stays on even after all the doors are shut, until the engine is started.
--The Securikey+ truck key is big and bulky and doesn't fit well on a keychain. Instead of a hole going all the way through the key, the hole starts on one side of the key and goes out at the top of the key. The result is that your truck key is always poking out straight up from your keychain. Uncomfortable and awkward if you keep your keys in your front pocket.
--The clock placement is terrible. It is very low on the front console and off center to the passengers side. Glancing at the clock requires me to move my eyes from the road longer than feels comfortable in heavy traffic. It would have been better to place the clock in radio which is mounted high on the control console.
--LCD Odometer does not display tenths of miles unless you have selected a trip setting. Mildly annoying for me (but maybe no one else).
--The seat belt housing coming down from the top of the ceiling creaks during normal driving conditions. At first I thought it might be the door rattling, but fortunately it wasn't. Probably the only reason I notice this is because the ride is otherwise extremely quiet.
Like I said, very, very minor nits. The truck runs great, has fantastic acceleration, and has exhibited no vibration problems at all so far. Overall the ergonomics are super as long as you aren't riding in the back seat. The 60/40 bench seat is very comfortable and is a great place to spend the day. I haven't had a chance to tow any horses with it yet since it is still in its "break-in" period, but I am looking forward to seeing how it performs under load.
According to the manual the cargo light will not light if the vehicle is moving over 3 MPH.
The door ajar light staying on is part of the security system. If you don't open and close the door and insert the key with 30 seconds it automatically rearms.
hope this helps
kente
As far as the key thing, do you have special keys? My key hole goes all the way through, the same as my Camry.
I agree with the clock placement, but it really doesn't bother me.
My only minor complaint is the twist on the seat belt. I rubs against my neck. I've tried adjusting the height, but haven't found a comfortable position yet.
I'm not getting the mileage that I expected in this truck. 11 to 12 max.
I added a topper so I can get my canoe and kayaks out for any whitewater alerts. The truck totally lost it's lateral stability. In any kind of 60mph + turns it feels like it wants to flip over, even without the boats. I can control a skid, but not a flip. My T-100 never felt this way. It would feel like it may slide, but not flip. I'm starting to think this truck has a air of Detroit about it. Maybe the only real Toyota truck is the Tacoma. Might have to give it up and go look at F-150 or Silverado. Can't live like this. Any ideas.
my last car was a corvette (quality sucks, performance is good) and now i have a tundra, while it is very susceptible to side winds its nothing more than i expect from a truck (full size). i do the same speed home from work as i did in the vette, - only thing that scraes me is the curves,butlike i said - it's A TRUCK!!!!
PS. my mpg is also 12.9-13.4 but i have mud tires, and i think thats my prob.
PSS. the 0-60 beats the mpg, so i dont REALLY care but expected different, while the SOCH engines of the competitors (larger) create same power (and more weight) and better mpg.
Just my $.02 worth
manager for Toyota. We
both met while working
for GM, Cadillac to be
exact. She comes home
so stressed out from
dealing with alligators
all day. If you saw all
the problems she sees
all day every day, you
would see what a bunch
of JUNK the Toyotas
are. The paint peeled
off her '99 Camry demo when it was washed the
first time & her '00
Avalon demo lost the
transmission when she
hit 427 miles. When she worked for Cadillac her biggest problem was
deciding where to shop
during her lunch break.
So we did the smart
thing and went out and
bought a '00 Escalde.
After 11,000 miles the
only problem to report
was a thread hanging
from the seat bottom.
With our first hand
expereince we can
honestly say we will
NEVER own an import. If you only new how they are built.
What difference does union or non-union make really? The only difference I see is that the non-union cars (imports) put more money into the pockets of the seat warmers up top. They don't save the consumer any money. Actually they cost more money to purchase. The non-union auto worker isn't seeing any of that money.
BTW: CWirth, GM and Toyota have partnered and shared info on many vehicles like the Geo's and the Saturn.
You Toy owners need to get a new line. The old ones are nauseating.
And...
Are you saying that Union made products save the consumer money?
Please elaborate.
Since the title of this topic is "Tell us your Tundra experiences", I thought this would be the best place to post my Tundra experience.
Well, I finally got my Tundra and couldn't be happier. It's a V8 4X4 SR5 Access Cab with the factory AL Aluminum wheel package (like the Limited and TRD) and 265 tires. I've had it about 4 days and have 750+ miles on it (I had to drive 250 miles to get it). This past weekend I put about 100 miles on while off-highway on Forest Service roads and logging trails. No problems of any kind. No vibration or flutter whatsoever - its as smooth as silk. No rattles or squeeks. I wonder if some of the other people that have complained about vibration have the distributer installed aluminum wheels vs. the factory wheels like on the Limited and TRD. I do notice that when driving off road and through my pasture that I can feel more through the steering wheel than on my '90 Chevy, but this is probably due to the tight rack and pinion steering (the Chevy steering has got some play in it).
I've filled the tank up 3 times from about 1/2 full and milage has been 16.6, 16.5, and 15.9 using 87 Octane. I've been taking in kinda easy during the break-in and have been driving mostly with the O/D Off to keep the RPMs up around 2-3K.
I have the 60/40 bench seat and really like it. Its really comfortable when I'm alone or with 3 across in the front.
Looks like I'll be changing my oil and filter this weekend at close to 1000 miles (initial oil change, will use 3000 mile interval after that). I'll be using 5W30 Castrol with a Toyota YZZB5 filter. So far the engine has used no oil, which indicates that the rings are seating fine. I plan on switching to Mobil 1 at around 10,000 miles and increasing the change interval from 3000 miles to 6000 miles.
If you have a Tundra with the factory security system and don't like it locking you in when you turn the key, that can be changed. I read the manual and found that out thinking it was maybe part of the regular truck system. Just throwing that out for someone who might not know this.
Keep on trucking
tp4unc:
My point is that anyone should be able to come here and just gather info without seeing a bunch of bashing of truck makes and such nonsense.
I really think Toyota made a good truck with the Tundra. Still not my first or even second choice yet. I want to see Toyota offer more choices and options as well as a bigger cargo bed and more interior room. I don't think it is as small as the Dakota like a lot have said, but not much bigger. Why did they not go for an equally sized and equipped truck as the big three? That is my only question of the truck itself, not a question of quality.
I respect your right to buy a Toyota. I just would like the same courtesy when the other trucks are referrenced. Feel free to give your honest opinions just as I have, but I have done so without slamming the Tundra. Just because it doesn't fully suit my need yet, doesn't mean I think it is a bad truck and that only fools buy them, which is the impression I keep getting from Toyota owners about the GM trucks. That would be equivelant to saying that someone who owns a small truck doesn't have a real truck just because they preferred not to buy a full size truck. It is just plain silly and a waste of time.
Yes, I do usually change the channels on TV stations I don't like, but there is a difference between a show for comedy or pleasure and one for information. One doesn't expect to see and hear a bunch of clutter and disarray when they turn on 60 minutes or 20/20 or the Channel 4 news. Those shows are suppose to be professional and run by adults, and viewed by the same.
Take care.
Bud light dud, I enjoy reading your comments and observations. Sorry some dog you because you prefer Chev. Keep on trucking and do it your way.