Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives New to me Tacoma 4.0

My primary rig is a 2016 Ram 3500 CC SB 4X4 6.7L cummins which is and has been an awesome truck that I will have for many years. It is a SLT with 23k current miles. However, its not the best truck for short run around trips in town and I hate having to let it warm 30 minutes in the winter just to drive to work. I am also not a huge fan of the $300 oil/fuel filter service trips ever 10-15k miles.... So...I broke down and added a tacoma to the mix. I had a 96 tacoma when I was in college and it was a tank - went anywhere I wanted and never had any issues, so I have always had a soft spot for them.

This one is a 2013 SR5 4.0 automatic, 4X4 Double Cab Short Bed. Has 46,400 miles on it and looks like it never left the garage. Comes with a 2" front level, Has new 265/75/16 BF Goodrich Tires, Toyota Bedliner, nerf bars, Negotiated with the dealer until I was out the door with tax at 25k - blue books for 27-28k. So far I love it. Really surprised by the power and get up it has - its a fast little truck and I guess in a pinch can tow up to 6400#.

Anyone else out there with a 4.0 tacoma? Anything maintenance wise I should look out for? It didn't come with the original manual so I need to go online and do some research as most vehicles will have a 50k maintenance schedule.

I have a 2014 with a 6 speed manual, TRD offroad package, crew cab, short bed .. 4.0L of course.

Watch the SOB cornering hard, the body roll sensor is a bit touchy and I've had mine decide to lock the brakes ... hard ... when I was carving corners somewhat aggressively. It's put me in the ditch 2-3 times and once tried to slam me into a concrete barrier in the freeway median when I cornered faster than it liked. According to the dealership, the head of sales has the same problem with his and they have not been able to fix it. It's a design flaw, not a problem with some of a particular part that they can replace.

Other than that ... I think the A/C is weak for the volume of the cab. I don't like shorts but I wind up wearing them driving in summer 'cause the A/C doesn't quite cut the mustard. Also watch it trailering. Mine gets squirrelly around 2500-2700 pounds despite the 6000+ pound rating. Trailer pushes it around a bit in corners. I don't really understand why, my 2008 Nissan which was pretty nearly the same truck handled the same trailer pretty well.

Other than that, it does pretty ok.

no specific items to worry about

keep the drivetrain lubed
replace the filters regularly
rotate the tires every 5k and if your dealer offers it have the tires road force balanced
I believe it require a tuneup at 30k like my 2014 did
I changed the oil and filter every 5k full synthetic and it is easy peasy on that truck.

I doubt i will rarely ever tow with this...espcially when I have a vehicle with 17k towing capability in my driveway. This is basically my grocery getter. May take her hunting when going to areas were my Ram is just too big. But then for that I have a 4 wheeler....

So, you don't like spending $300 (you must go to the dealer) every 10k-15k miles, so you spend another $25k (cause you're still keeping the other truck) for a truck to save on maintenance? That sounds like some full blown rationalizing to the wife for justification to buy it! Ha!

Just giving you a hard time.

I've got a '16 Ram Cummins as well. But, I drive a '05 4Runner a lot as the around town commuter. It has the V8 though.

Have fun with your new toy!

That there is Campfire reasoning....lol, having to wait 30 minutes while your truck warms up so you don't freeze on the way to work every morning isn't fun either...

I've had a very similar 07 that I bought new in 07. It is at 183,000 now and the only major repair was a new alternator last summer. The HVAC blower went out at about 160,000 and the shocks had to be replaced at about 130,000. Other than that I change fluids, brakes, and tires. I honestly expect at least 300,000 miles out of this rig and maybe 400,000. I plan on giving it to one of the grandkids.

I can get 21 mpg hwy if I drive conservatively. But 19-20 is typical. About 17ish for every day driving. I regularly tow 3000-3500 lbs and don't know it is back there. I had to pull a bit over 6000 one time for just a few miles. I knew it was there and don't recommend that much weight. It was one of those times when I either overloaded it for a 6 mile drive or make 2 trips.

Off road they are very agile. The smaller size and lighter weight make a huge difference compared to a full size truck and most SUV's. I don't think anything other than a Wrangler is more capable.

While I love the truck we have gone the other way. In 2007 my youngest had moved out and I no longer needed or wanted a full size so I traded my F-150 Supercrew for the Tacoma. But we now have 3 grandkids and need the room again. I bought a used 2014 4X4 Supercrew about 1 1/2 years ago. I decided I'd rather buy a used full size and keep the Taco rather than trade it for a new Truck. it worked out almost exactly the same money out of pocket either way. My wife ends up driving the Tacoma mostly now. She is into gardening and does a lot of craft work and loves having her own truck. We also kept the Honda she used to drive. We both end using the Honda for errands around town when a truck isn't needed. I try to not use the bigger truck unless it is needed so we both end up driving the Honda a lot.

Had a 2500 cummins as a daily driver for 10 years, when it was really cold even with the block plugged in overnight, a 20 minute warmup and the radiator blocked off the engine would never reach operating temperature, so I can relate

That said, do just one oil change yourself and you'll pay for a set of these with change leftover.



I will never have a daily driver w/o heated seats again.

We had an 07 that we finally sold with just under 250K on the odometer a couple of years ago. We regularly towed a 12-ft double axle flatbed trailer with a Polaris Ranger as far as northwest Colorado and back, and a couple of BIG loads of furniture to Wisconsin. I did most of the regular maintenance myself, according to the factory recommendations. The only thing we paid for was replacement of the middle u-joint in the rear driveshaft at about 150K and a couple of cooling system flushes, one at 100K and the second at 200K. I expect that it's still humming along, probably shuttling loads of who knows what between Juarez and Albuquerque.

Have two 2nd generation Tacos in the garage.....'05 DCSB auto...152K miles.....wife's daily ride.....

New to me..'14 DCSB 6 sp manual...71K miles...bought 7 weeks ago...what I've done so far....

replaced plugs...std Denso's...changed front & rear diffs...tranny & X/fer case to synthetic gear oil....

Got rid of factory muffler...replaced with Flowmaster Delta 50....not loud...but sounds good going through the gears

Replaced OEM shocks with Bilstein 5100's...the fronts are adjustable....giving it a 2" leveling lift......still rides great...

Of course changed motor oil/filter to 5w-30 synthetic..OEM Toyota filter...just learned too...Fram's Ultra synthetic filter

XG3600 is an option over the standard size filter for extended oil changes....will try one next oil change.......

Great compact trucks.....got 21.4 mpg hwy mpg a few tanks ago....holds value much better than the other trucks...

I have a 2015 limited double cab my 4th tacoma I would change air, cabin filter oil and oil filter, grease the u joints change spark plugs (they call for 30,000 miles).

1k miles in, and man its a sweet little truck - crazy ride difference from my Ram 3500 6.7.

The leveling kit on it actually puts the nose way higher than I like so I am going to add a 1" add a leaf to the back. Also thinking about treating myself to some MB352 wheels with the current 265/75 16 tires. Just not sure about the red truck black wheels look.

so don't look at them.....