Does anyone up-north own/drive a diesel toyota tacoma? (Or could it perhaps have the moniker Hilux)

What kind of MPG's are you getting out of it?

I know that they were manufactured up there at one time, and I dearly want a toyota truck. Especially if it is a diesel. But I believe I am out of luck importing one into the united states.
Any chance on this?

Fingers-Crossed

I dont believe Toyota has sold a diesel Tacoma in Mexico in decades, but I could be wrong.
I do know they have em in Mexico though and I would trade my 2012 in on a diesel immediately if given the option.

I love my Toyota with the 22R, can only imagine how nice a diesel would be. Is it just the emmissions or some marketing agreement that keeps them from being sold here?

Emmissions.

Certainly is a conspiracy. They get darn near 30mpg with the smaller diesel. I researched importing a european, south american, mexican, or japanese toyota hilux (foreign equivalent of Tacoma, just diesel engine + styling stuff)
Long story short you can make it happen with enough money; between 25% chicken tax on import + other costs + registration hassles it doesn't seem like a realistic option.

Looks like you can import a 'clip' or hilux chopped in half. Swap out motors etc. but that seems like a dangerous road to travel on.

Why can't I have a diesel?

There is a company in Idaho that installs Cummins 4bt's and adds a solid front axle to Tacomas. It just takes cheddar...

I want a 5.9 Cummins in my '00 tundra...

Hmm. Its all about the Benjamins. Will research that option thoroughly, perhaps a diesel toyota is possible in my lifespan.

I looked into an engine swap on a tacoma from several reputable places online. 15k starting, alllllllll the way up to 25k. You could buy a brand new truck for what they want; just doesn't seem worth it.




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There could be hope!
I spoke with a coworker, his brother works at a dealership. He mentioned that dealers, given the proper licenses can import foreign vehicles.

Id be interested in this. However, I dont think this is accurate.

We never manufactured diesel Hi-Lux (Tacomas) up here. Some guys do import the right hand drives though. Never new on the lot.
Emmission eco-crap keeps them from having a proper left hand drive version manufactured here.

Do they make any Toyotas in Canada?

Rav4s, Matrix, Corollas. I'm not sure if they make anything else.

Turbo Diesel Toyota pickups were imported in the 80's.

George in SD;
As noted by others here already the majority of the off shore diesel rigs seen here in BC are right hand drive models.

There are a few outfits here that specialize in them and while there are some pickups we mostly see 4x4 vans and Land Cruiser type rigs.

They tend to be at least 15 years old - I think anyway??? - and are almost all very low mileage and very, very well maintained.

I've heard it has something to do with not being allowed to drive a vehicle over 15 years old back in Japan - and I guess they typically don't drive that much if the low odometer readings are any indication.

So the good news is here in BC there are quite a few to be found.

The bad news is that because they are optioned out turbo diesel units the asking price is typically a little high - but then they seem to sell all they can bring in - so I guess it isn't that high then.

My neighbor's Dad has a smaller Land Cruiser from Micronesia or someplace like that with a left hand drive that they can't get some parts for here and then too his sister had a bigger Land Cruiser that they either couldn't find some injector/pressure pump parts for or someone who knew how to work on it.

I can't recall the details exactly and apologize for that, but parts aren't seamless up here...

There are other odd things about right hand drives as well, such as the headlights point slightly in the wrong direction for our roads - or so my VW mechanic told me anyway.

If you'd like some links to some of the importers up here, please let me know and I'll fire off a couple to you that I know are busy, but I don't know what they are like to deal with - sorry.

Hopefully that was some use to you. Good luck with your search for a diesel Toyota.

Regards,
Dwayne

PS:
We've got an Iseki (Japanese) tractor, a VW TDI and a Cummins Dodge in the yard at present, so we're kinda fond of oil burners at our house too.

That's really not the reason. You don't really think an 18 wheeled Freightliner/Kenworth/Volvo on the highway is more emissions friendly than a Hi-Lux made for the European market, do you?

North American's still have an aversion to diesel powered passenger vehicles, especially in the US. They're used to seeing stinky trucks burning diesel, not the family car. Remember GM tried making some diesel powered cars in the 80's and that went over like a lead balloon. The only diesels that sell well are full size pick-ups, but they've got engines the size of which you'd find in semi's over in Europe.

It would be fair to say that in Australia 80% of 4x4's are diesel powered. In fact,once you've owned a diesel 4x4 you wouldn't go back to petrol,especially since fuel economy with a diesel is so much better - its probably around 50% better. As well as that,today most intercooled turbos diesels drive as well and have as much power as a 6 cylinder family car.

I had this conversation with a fellow at Toyota once, and he said that they have people ask him all the time. I asked what the interference is and he said its the eco-standards of the last decade interfering as each engine is in a class, and has certain standards to meet to be manufactured in North America in that class. I said why the Volkswagen TDI then, and he said `exactly`. Apparently it cost them quite a bit to bring the public to the point that they where in demand, and then they paid even more to meet current standards. But they sell like bloody crazy, and though it took awhile it now makes them money. So take what I said as third hand info.
This is where I am getting my info from. A Tacoma with a 4 cyl Turbo desiel and Volkswagen TDI van would suit me nicely.

There is something going on here that I don't understand, we diesel VW, MB, and big diesel pickups but we cant get a small diesel pickup/ They would sell like hotcakes.

I very much agree. There is more to the story than meets the eye. A small diesel would indeed sell like hotcakes; mabye they don;t want us having a truck that lasts so long and gets great mpgs?


As far as them not being made in canada, that is news to me. Good to know. I haven't heard back from my local dealership yet about importing one, but fingers crossed.

Actually the Kenworths do have more emmissions controls. And the market is small for the reasons you mentioned so it doesnt warrant a new engine design just for north the US market.
They have left side drive, diesel tacomas in some south/central american countries. If importing into CA would fly this might be an option.

I want one of these. Solid front axle and a 4.5liter diesel.
http://www.toyota.com.au/landcruiser-70-series/range?WT.ac=VHLC70TopNavRangeSpecs

http://www.peakmechanical.com/mine%20truck.html

Horry Kwap. I want one of those mine trucks with a straight deck.

Id like the double cab version with the solid front axle. The best thing about them is the use the factory VIN number, so unless your state/province has emmissions testing your golden.

BWalker;
Thanks for the links sir, they make for some wishful and intriguing reading to be sure.

I'd be torn between the Cab and Chassis available to our Australian friends and the 4 door Cummins equipped Toyota you mentioned.

Do you know if it's the 6 cylinder Cummins in that kit or is it the 4 cylinder?

When we left the farm, the Versatile 160 - one of the tractors that I'd spent many, many hours on - finally consumed it's Waukeska diesel engine.

My brother replaced it with a 4 cylinder Cummins that he described to me as identical to the 5.9 in our Dodge but with 2 cylinders sliced off. He loves that little engine and we both figure it would be a great choice for a � ton size truck power plant.

Thanks again for the interesting read sir and all the best to you in the remainder of the summer.

Regards,
Dwayne

Quick edit here;
It appears Cummins make a 4BT engine which is a 3.9 liter that makes 265ft/lbs of torque at 1600rpm......

The mind reals at what an added intercooler and some time would result there. Ah the possibilities!

The engine is a QSB, which as you are aware is a 5.9 with minus two cylinders.

The wife just traded her '07 Corolla for a '12 Camry. I asked the salesman why no diesel Toyota's. He shook his head and said,
"The EPA doesn't want them here".

BWalker;
Thanks for the reply.

I see that the 4 cylinder is 782lbs while the 6 is 1150lbs, which would indeed make a difference in a lighter truck.

Frankly there are a lot of times in the bush where the weight and torque of the 6 in our '03 is tough to control.

It will spin out at the slightest provocation and when the logging roads get icy the thing does a wonderful imitation of something a Slavic bobsled team would be proud to pilot!

Depending upon how stiffly it's sprung, that Toyota might make the ultimate bush rig as far as a balance of power and economy goes.

Thanks again for the dream fodder and all the best to you.

Regards,
Dwayne

Very cool. I would need a smidge more trailering capacity though. My camper is 7400 gross so a bit more capacity would help.

bearguide
The reason the GM diesels didn't go over well was, that they were converted gas engines and not real diesel engines. Ask me how I know.After redoing the engine three times I swap it out and just drop in a gas engine bolted it up and got some mileage on the frame. It was a rip off of the public doing their testing for them. I have not bought a Govt. Motor's vehicle since. Cheers NC

One of the factors is how much bio-diesel is available. I hunted in Ireland five years ago and the vehicles were all diesel--but at that time they were running diesel almost entirely made out of Irish crops, thus no "bad" emissions.
A 4-door Mercedes passenger car did 50 mpg at 75-80 mph, and a full-size Toyota SUV did 35 mpg.

Yeah, the emissions deal is a problem, but bio-diesel is one of the reasons some offshore vehicles are so efficient. Of course, their fuel costs a lot more than gas and diesel here.

I ran bio in a VW Golf TDI and it wasn't but 10 cents a gallon more. I managed about 55 miles to a gallon with an automatic tranny. Maybe our BIO in the states is a different blend.

Apparently their bio-diesel is so prevalent that their vehicles have far less anti-emmission stuff, especially in the exhaust system, so run more efficiently.

Our Canadian winter climate won't permit running a Biodiesel blend of more than 10% that time of year.

Where abouts in Canada are you? Must have a serious latitude
Still researching the import process, can't seem to find anything. (Anything worth doing, as the costs are prohibitive)

Seems importing a clip and dropping it in a tacoma would be easiest.

I have heard that bio diesel does "wax up" or "gel" quicker than regular. However I ran it all winter long and as far north as Keweenaw county in Michigan which is within 100 miles of Canada proper and much farther north than Toronto. I've had it fire up with no problems at -15F. But thats in a VW Diesel.

I do dig the pickups on that page. I have a liking for the "safari" looking trucks.

I feel your pain George, as I've wanted one for a long time also. Please keep us posted if you manage to find a hole in the fence.

My buddy has an old diesel benz that runs on straight veg oil. We drove from Pa to Louisville and spent about 15 bucks on regular diesel.

Hilux -- now there's an old brand name that still zings my ears!

Doesn't it piss ya off that things like this are made.. and then are available almost ANYWHERE in the world except in the USA...

Our government, environMENTALists etc, are not our friends and really don't care for this nation...

It's emissions standards and market demand. Emissions standards for diesels are actually more stringent here in the US than they are in Europe. In 2015 (I think) Europe is scheduled to increase their emissions standards so that they are on par with US standards. When that happens we may see some limited imports/special order availability from Toyota/Land Rover/Jeep. The jeep diesel thing really sucks... they make them here and then ship them overseas

MD has a real valid point about the fuel... easiest way to get a diesel to burn cleaner is to feed it B100. Don't have to worry about problem portions of the exhaust treatment systems then. Not to mention it has higher lubricity and energy density than the crap they currently give us at the pumps.....

Salesmen are a bad source of info... most of those idiots know little or nothing about what they sell and will gladly bend the truth whichever way gets them the sale.

They are easy to come by in the 'Stan...



Or, the Ford version...

exactly! thanks for posting Brian..

the US Govt is even buying them by the tons over there... yet won't let them be sold over here...

same point with the Jeep Diesels..

the EPA is another Govt dept that cost jobs and costs Americans more and more of their hard earned money...

these rigs should be available here!!! and diesel fuel doesn't need to be the price it is... same as with reg gas...

the Gov't and these environMENTALists are friends of the American public...