Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives New to us 13 Tacoma

Got a 2013 tacoma 4-door, 4wd. 213k miles. Drives tight. Feels good that way. Son loves it.

Needs some superficial stuff like interior trim, grill piece, taillight, and probably entire headlight assemblies.

Any suggestions what else we should do as far as preventative maintenance?

Where is the go-to place for things like tailights and headlight assemblies?

I don't know if it's the go-to place but I bought headlight assemblies for a Tundra a few years ago from A1 Auto. They're still clear and seem to work fine. These were just stock replacements, not LED upgrades.

Look at Amazon for parts, I've got many items for my vehicles there, less than other places mostly

Check RockAuto.com

Any idea when the fluids were changed? At that mileage all the fluids need changed if it has never been done, or if it was done 100,000+ miles ago. Spark plugs changed any time recently? MAF sensor been serviced/cleaned?

Go completely over it as mentioned

Plugs.....filters.......serp belt.....all fluids...including gear boxes...

Transmission is sealed/no dip stick

Grease drive lines

V6 is a snap to change oil/filter....don't forget cabin air filter

Amazon is my 2nd choice for OEM parts

Click link for OEM parts & free shipping

Great trucks......no power house...but will run forever

Have had an '05 & '14 both DC SB

Was dumm to sell the '14......was a manual..............):

https://toyotaonlineparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/go/Free-Shipping.html

I got headlamp assembly from my Tundra from ebay, the dealer was from Phillipsburg pa as I recall. Easy to install. I marked factory beam on the wall with painters tape, then adjusted the new assembly to the same point. Much better r=than the oxidized assembly.

Trans fluid should be changed regardless at 60k. Since this one is way over that it is a crapshoot on how long it lasts. Most owners do not know how to do it and should be done by a dealer or a competent mechanic first one at 60K

Trans fluid isn’t that hard. With that mileage most would just change what’s in the pan. I’d pull the transmission cooler return line and pump one quart in for each quart that drains out. The trick is getting the truck into temperature check mode for the final fill level. It’s not rocket science.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-drain-refill-automatic-transmission.63851/

NO one said it was rocket science, just over the head of the average guy . A lot of Toyota owners think they somehow have lifetime fluid in their transmission.

Local dealer has a 2013 with 110K miles for 22K. One owner, no accidents according to carfax. It was inspected my Toyota last year for frame rust, but I am afraid of the frame integrity over time. I had a frame replaced on a 2001 Tundra, just worried the tacoma wont be covered. I think the window is 12 years.

I don't think they had a Frame recall for the 2013 model years it was 2004-2008 models for the most part. Is the frame on the 13 rusted deeply ?

The frame was inspected my Toyota and then sprayed. I think spray may hide rust cancer.

I wouldn't touch the transmission fluid. The owners manual says never change it on my 07 and so does the transmission shop I use. Fluid related failures are extremely rare. Almost never unless you let the fluid get too hit. Most issues anymore are electrical in nature. I'm 65 and have been driving for 50 years. Never changed the ATF in any vehicle I've ever owned. Only transmission problems I've ever had were electrical. There is a bit over 1/2 million combined miles sitting in my driveway with the factory fluid still in them. Even if one dies tomorrow, I'm way ahead financially.

The shop I use regularly sees 400,000 miles out of transmissions. The shop owner and his foreman both have over 300,000 miles on their personal trucks and won't change the fluid. They tell me the guys who bring them in and insist they change the fluid regularly don't last any longer than the guys who drive them till they die. That's not just Toyota. My 07 is at 234,000 and it still drives and shifts like new. I'll replace the fluid in mine when I replace the transmission in 5-10 more years. The money I save on not paying to change it will just about pay for a new transmission.

Changing the fluid on one with that many miles just isn't worth the risk. The clutches in your transmission are coated with an abrasive to grip. Over time that abrasive wears off and is suspended in the fluid. The fluid looks dirty, which it is. But transmission fluid doesn't serve the same purpose as engine oil. The dirty fluid helps the old, worn clutches work. New, clean fluid is TOO slippery and old worn clutches slip and the transmission fails shortly after the change. If your transmission isn't already compromised changing it won't hurt. But it probably won't help either and isn't worth the risk. The new fluid doesn't cause the damage, but keeping the old fluid in there will buy you some time before you need to replace/rebuild the transmission.

Unreal. Once you are over 60k don't bother changing your fluid. How much is a fluid change where you live?

I wouldn't change the fluid if the transmission is running fine. I had an 2008 with 240K on that I just traded in in Dec. Never touched the tran fluid and it ran like new. The truck was great and never needed any work other than normal maintenance and a couple wheel bearings. Sadly, in spite of Toyota inspecting and spraying the frame in 2016 it still ended up rusting badly. In retrospect, I should have insisted on a new frame when they did the recall. I have new Frontier now but I miss the old Toyota. They really got it right with that generation of truck other than the frame issues.

How are the newer ones for frame rust?

My 2022 has been flawless over the last 4600 miles lol.

I had a 97 and when I totaled it out here with 187k - no rust to speak of. But I was pretty good about ensuring I always got the underblast when washing it etc. Get that road chems off the frame.

Yep, find a car wash with a high pressure wand and get the undercarriage cleaned off. The liquid salt solution they put on roads is almost as bad as the old rock salt . I lived in NJ for 27 years(unfortunately) and never had a rust spot on any of my cars .