Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire 2017 Toyota Tacoma

Well I’m 6ft 3 And I’ve had 2

My 95 went 550,000 miles on the original engine and trans and ran perfecting when I sold it.

I currently drive a 2019 and love it too.

They ride good but don’t do great on fuel. They are loud inside...Pretty unrefined overall but they run forever and are phenomenal off-road. My 19 TRD is better than my Jeep rubicon was...and it’s not a POS Chrysler

Mrs quak drives a 19 trd 4runner

wife's '11 GX 460

4Runner on steriods

tikkanut
What tires are you running on the GX?

This my 2019 Tacoma Off Road. Absolutely reliable, durable, and really fantastic when the trail gets rough. They do have their quirks though. They aren’t great on gas mileage unless you are driving Miss Daisy. The seat needs spacers which are readily available to make the seat position tolerable. And if you plan on doing any real off roading you’re gonna need better tires that what it comes with stock.

Make sure you drive it on the highway before you buy it. Some of the early 3rd gens had gearing issues that some people didn’t like at all. It would surge and always seemed to be in the wrong gear even when it wasn’t. Drove some people nuts. Enough that they did a service calls to remap the computer. Some say it took care of it some say it didn’t . It was about the ‘17’s when they apparently fixed it so yours may be one of them. Mine has no such issues.

Great trucks with some little quirks that are easily fixed if one cares to. Ask away if you have any questions. PM if you want.

I paid 28K for my '16 Frontier, new, in 2016, it's 2WD, though.

I'd do some more shopping, frankly.

I bought the Frontier because the seating position is more comfortable for my back, and I've had great service out of them. The design is OLD, but the bugs are worked out really well. I just can't get comfortable in the Toyotas. And a comparable Frontier is 5-6K less, new. I think the Toyotas are overpriced, around here you can buy a new Ram for that same price, and have a comfortable full-sized truck with the same mileage.

How do you like those Coopers on that truck?

The best thing I did to it was put those tires on. The only other absolute necessity IMO, are the seat spacers to change the seating angle. Without them I would’ve sold the truck because my knee couldn’t take it. No exaggeration.

If a guy doesn't tow much beyond an ATV or lightweight boat, they are good trucks. Like several here, I've had multiple Tacomas and 4Runners over the years with little in the way of problems (a pulley bearing or wheel bearing here and there). Gas mileage on the 4.0L models isn't great, but they are reliable and tough little trucks. I do wish my 2011 had some bigger brakes for when I'm pulling a trailer.

My last F150 4x4 5.4Laveraged around 14mpg on mixed driving and the 2011 Tacoma 4.0L is more like 17, both with one size larger tires. Most folks that buy them primarily for expected fuel MPG savings are disappointed. Not sure what kind of mileage the 2016+ Tacoma gets. I want to say my 11 DC 4x4 model was also around $25k when I bough it used (3yrs old and around 35k miles).

I've had six in the past 20 years. Current is a 2018. As you might expect, I really like them. They just keep working. Resale/trade value is outstanding. Get it, you won't be sorry!

I've got a 2017 TRDOR 4x4 Double Cab.

I've got no complaints with it after 3 years.

Beware of transmission shift points. As stated above, it drives some people a little bonkers. I get it, it is not ideal, but I seem to manage just fine. Put it over to "sport mode" and limit it to 5th gear on the freeway, and the occasional limit to 4th on hills, and it does just fine for me. I don't get it on the highway much, so it is not much of a bother to me.

I personally don't get the complaints about seating position. Maybe it is because I've only driven (as far as trucks go) Tacomas for the last 20 years. I'm 6'0" and find the seating position just fine.

There were some issues with a batch of bad crankshaft position sensors. They tend to go wonky and leave you on the side of the road. I haven't experienced it with mine, but have heard of a few who have. Just in case, I bought a spare sensor and keep it under the back seat. Set me back about $25 or somewhere around there.

Very capable off road, especially with the rear locker. I also have MTS (multi terrain select) and "crawl control". Tried out the crawl control a few times, did not impress me over what the locker and MTS will do in combination. I'm sure it has its place though.

There are some usual minor complaints about squeaks or rattles from a few specific spots. I have none of that though. Super quiet truck as far as that goes, which is one reason I love Toyotas. I get super annoyed with squeaks and rattles, but I've had none. Truck is tight.

Personally I like the look of the truck. That hood feels quite enormous though after driving a 2002 for 15 years. Hard to judge distances to objects directly in front and causes an issue in breakover situations off road. I installed a front facing camera to combat that.

Overall very pleased. Tough, reliable (so far) and capable. Only time will tell if it treats me as good as the 2002 has, but those are big shoes to fill. That 2002 is the best vehicle I've ever owned, and still going strong with over 15 years and 245k miles on the odometer. Abused the hell outta that truck off road...lots of miles...and never anything but minor issues.









Haven't had it out in the sticks as much as I'd of liked over the past few years due to a health issue and work, but that's going to change this summer and fall.

I think you have found a darn good deal. I recommend you get it. The 2017's are reportedly reliable and may or may not have the problem with the transmission seeking a gear. They got it solved apparently as my 2020 doesn't exhibit it. Consumer Reports shows 2018 as being below average in reliability. There is no noted problem with the 2017's.

If I could have found a similarly priced 2012-2019 to what I got I would have taken it. I wasn't able to, I was finding them at 30K plus. I got the new one for 35K, this is lower than I had found earlier.

If you consider buying new: The 2020 has a couple of features I really wanted. Crawl control is a winner for me. It has let me breeze through some loose sloppy and a little rocky terrain that I thought might be tough. They now come with a power seat on the drivers side and it works very well, I like being able to adjst my position on longer drives without stopping. Another new item is an electric rear mid window, it does a great job of funneling air through the cab. I am a little leery of some of the safety features as I don't know how reliable they will be. I like the closeness alarms.

I am a long term Toyota fan, so take my thoughts with that in mind. I had a 74 2wd, an 81 4x4 long bed, a 98 SR5 V-6 extended cab 4x4 (still have it-hunting, trips to shoot, tow trailer to dump) I also have a 2013 Tundra double cab and finally, just bought a 2020 TRD Off Road Double Cab, short box. My youngest boy has owned a 94, 2006, 2011, and at the moment, a 2015 Tacoma double cab 4x4. My oldest daughter has a 2016 4 Runner as well. I did have a warranty call back on transmission bearings on the 81 so they aren't completely reliable I suppose. Literally no reliability problems.

Seems 2020 base models are about $26K

https://www.edmunds.com/toyota/tacoma/

I'd imagine you'd be happy with it, given the input of others.

At about 4" short of 6' I fit in my '01 2 door, xtra cab quite easily. I'm a fan of manual transmissions, so that's what mine has. It doesn't search for gears..........I do.

after putting 140K miles on it, after the other onwer(s) put 110K on it, I'm certainly surprised that all I've really had to do other than maintenance items is a front axle seal.

good luck if you decide to get it.

crawl control would be useless to me on a $35K truck because I would never take a $35K truck off pavement

that's beyond my value proposition

i am on my fifth toyota pick-up they have all been good trucks.

Ed

First off, is it a 4x4?

My brother was looking at an '18 for over $30K. He decided against that and got a brand new TRD Off Road for $33.4K OTD.

My buddy’s ‘17 does have the gear hunting issue which doesn’t seem to bother him but would drive me nuts. My ‘19 does not and shifts smooth as silk.

I love the crawl control feature on my TRD OR. It does work but you’ll very rarely have to use it as these things are very capable in regular 4x4. They are designed where you can use a bunch of different features in all manner of different combinations to suit whatever type of terrain you’re on. I’ve gone places I would’ve never attempted with my 4x4 Tundra.

The safety features such as blind spot monitoring/alert system, auto high beam activate/deactivate, radar controlled deceleration in cruise control, etc, - which I thought were all superfluous BS at first - have actually turned out to be quite handy and all work great.

The only one I don’t like and always have turned off is the lane departure feature which is more a of a PITA, unless you’re about half asleep in which case you shouldn’t be driving at all.

Gotta admit, the front ends on just about all new truck, any brand are hideous looking.

Are they trying to make them look more "industrial" ? Seems I've seen more attractive grills on mine equipment.

I'll take the looks of my '01 over the new look any day.

I can buy a new one in Denver for $32,000 with 60 months of 0 financing. Toyotas are about the only vehicles I buy new as the resale is great after even 10 years which is about how often I buy new. Son and I are both 6'7" and we fit okay in his 2009. Prefer my Tundra of course.

After driving my Tundra around for twelve years, going to the Tacoma was a bit of a shock. To be honest I’m still not completely over it and miss the comfort and roominess above all else; but there are advantages, such as being able to reach almost anywhere inside the cab without having to pull over, and maneuvering in tight places on and off road.

Only complaints I hear are the ride sucks and not much towing capacity. If neither of those are a worrys on your end you should be good to go. Its common to see these running around with 200-400K and in all original form.