Are Tacomas ACTUALLY reliable?

yes, and I have had to disable it on my wifes Jag Fpace and my moms Jeep Cherokee. Easy to disable, however.

 

I've owned a 1996 Tacoma for 25 years and put 414,000 trouble-free miles on it and have a 2018 TRD Sport with 25,000 trouble-free miles, so yes in my opinion they are incredibly reliable.

 

Since you asked... here's my thoughts on the matter.

Yes Toyota's are reliable as a whole. Toyota sells A LOT of vehicles, so they only need to be better on average than the competitors When you consider that in 2020 Toyota sold over 1,400,000 vehicles combined of Yaris, Corolla, Avalon, Venza, Camry, Rav4, Sienna, and Highlander, to the (still impressive) Tacoma sales of 240k.
IMO the Tacoma suffers from a similar reliability issues as do Corvettes. That is to say that the owners tend to be enthusiasts, and use the vehicles hard. Vs the average Avalon and Camry owners, who never miss soccer practice, church on Sunday, and dealer provided maintenance. Which is also to say, they tend to be older, more responsible, and in terms of how they treat their cars...... Boring.

You'll see the same trend elsewhere. Take Buicks for example. Still a GM car underneath, so inherently no more reliable than any other GM, but year over year you'll see Buick near the top of the reliability lists. Buick owners tend to be older, more responsible, and in terms of how they treat their cars...... Boring.

So, yes, Toyota is reliable as a whole. But keep in mind that a lot of that comes from all the boring vehicles they sell, and may not translate well to the enthusiast focused Tacomas.

 

Funny. I've owned all three gens and the only one i had a problem with was the 2nd gen. 4.0 blew up @ 112k. All others no major anything.

 

Not entirely true. Toyota is still consistently named one of the top manufacturers for reliability year after year. As a matter of fact, the Tacoma and Frontier were named among the most reliable mid size pickups for 2020. The Tundra and F150 were for full size trucks.

 

nailed it. Ive had different vehicles known for issues that i never experienced. some people just treat their vehicles better.

 

My third Toyota Truck. So far it's been reliable. Everything's reliable, till it ain't.

 

We have a winner!!!

Well said!

 

Funny thing is - Wranglers/WRX show how there is no correlation between resale value and reliability. WRX/Wranglers, like Tacomas consistently bring top dollar in used market.

 

Toyotas will need some repairs over the years, but the number of them that completely shit the bed (engine or tranny blows, ECUs fries, other very costly repairs) is way less than most vehicles out there IME. 2 of my close friends bought pickup trucks about a month apart from each other 5 years ago... one was a Ford FX4 and the other a Chevy 1500 Silverado. The Ford’s 4Lo stopped working and almost all of the dash controls (lights, climate control, factory stereo) all went dark right within a month or 2 of the warranty expiring. He also had to bring it in for a new rear diff while it was under warranty. My friend with the Silverado had the tranny blow at 70K, not covered by the warranty and got screwed with $5 or $6K worth of repairs.

In contrast, between my personal vehicles and work trucks, I’ve had 5 4Runners, a T100, a Tundra, an ‘86 pickup, and 2 Tacomas since 1993. The only one that completely bit the dust was a ‘95 4runner that threw a rod in the 3.slow V6 (which almost everyone agrees was Toyota’s worst motor ever). My ‘97 4runner (which I still own) had a cracked head at 205K, which really isn’t that bad that it happened after 200K. I found a donor motor for it with 123K and it still runs like an absolute champ 9 years since the swap. All other major parts are original. And all of the rest of those Toyotas ran great for the several years I had each one.

 

You are correct. Toyota’s are absolute garbage.
Any informed person knows that only vehicles from GM, Ford, and Fiat are reliable and worth buying.
Foreign brands just feed off the gullibility of Americans.

 

Bought my first Toyota, a 13 Tacoma, 2 weeks ago. Has 98k, 6cyl and double cab. Very Street, but may be raised a bit. Mileage was never a factor. Today I sold my 03 Accord I had since new with 312,000+ miles. Hoping for the same reliability with the Tacoma.

 

Toyotas I've owned.

2002 celica bought brand new drove for 175k
Blew tranny at 125k, motor was in need of repair.... sold for $600. This car never gave me problems, and at 175k I'd say this car was not reliable being as I had a blown motor and transmission.
Lessons learned..... dont beat your car... redlining is for race cars and people who know how to rebuild motors.

2004 Tacoma bought brand new drove for 375k. Frame replacement at 275k. Repairs included CV axles, exhaust (cat back), starter, batteries, windshield wiper blades. Lifted 3", so the CV axles would have been in better shape had I left it alone.
Gave the truck to my son.... rolled it 3.5 times a month after getting his license.... if not I have no doubt it would still be on the road. This vehicle never gave me an issue and never left me stranded. It was the most reliable vehicle I ever owned.
Lessons learned.... keep up on fluid changes and diy maintenance.

2010 Corolla wife drove it for 75k. Not one single issue.

2005 Scion XA wife drove it for 145k. Not one issue. I drove it as a gas saving beater for another 35k. Not one issue. General maintenance. Sold it to my neighbor for $600. It's still on the road.
Lessons learned... toyota 4 cyl motors are bullet proof and easy to work on for general maintenance.

2002 Tacoma bought used with 162k. Frame was replaced, but the rest of the truck was was harboring cancer. Drove until 260k, then gave it to my son. He drove it for another 6k until trading it in for a 2020 SR SX 4x4. Repairs included replacement of gas tank (rotted), rust reform just about everywhere except the frame, cat back exhaust, and cosmetic fixes... I drove this used truck for 100k without any issues except for rust.
Lessons learned.... trucks rust.... doesn't matter if it's a Ford, Chevy, dodge, jeep... they all rust --- just in different areas... best defense is a yearly examination and maintenance coating like mavcoat or FF.

1996 Tacoma bought used with 220k for my son after he rolled my 04. This truck frame was iffy and I knew it when I bought it, I had a feeling this truck was beaten a little bit. He drove it til 250k .... this truck had a couple issues with cylinder number 5 injector and spark plug, also had a vacuum leak I could never track down. This truck snapped at the shock mount while I was driving it when my son was at basic training. Pulled the bed, got a safety cap and a new shock mount welded. Sold the truck for $900. Its still on the road.
Lessons learned from my son.... buy a brand new Tacoma, maintain it, take care of it, and you'll have a reliable and capable machine for a few hundred thousand miles.

So.. are Toyotas reliable.. maybe... depends on what you get. I feel like my Celica tranny going at 125k was annoying and therefore made the vehicle unreliable.
Are Tacomas reliable... in my experience yes... and I'm pretty much sold on never buying anything else. I'm hoping to get 3-4 hundred thousand miles out of my 2020 with very few issues -- just like my 04.

Both my neighbors have F150 and F250. They are constantly going in for warranty work. This warranty work is big too, motor related on both... these are both newer than 2015.... I was really leaning towards a new ford ranger until I talked to both of my neighbors about their trucks... after hearing they both had major issues I decided to get a 2020 SR 4cyl. Stick with a tried motor --- keep the vehicle as simple as possible.

Follow the maintenance schedule, keep it clean, maintain and coat the undercarriage every year, dont beat it, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better vehicle.

 

Seriously now you must not know anyone on Tacomaworld lol

 

Na, they are known for high speed performance. They are really popular at the drag strip.

 

Zero problems with my 2013 with 42,000 miles. Just normal services performed. Still looks, rides, drives and smells like new.

 

My 2005 had the head gasket issue around 137,000 and I had it if fixed. Now it has 237,325. I wouldn't trade it for a new a truck. Its been the best vehicle I have ever owner. I will stop driving it when the doors fall off and I don't see that ever happening. So I guess they better dig a Big Hole a bury me in it.

 

Most new cars will be reliable at this point. I think Toyota’s are great, but I wouldn’t put them above another brand. I have friends with some miles on fords and chevy’s and no issues. One even has a worked over eco boost f150 with a tune and bigger turbos. All brands will have their issues. Visit any of there forums and you will find plenty to “worry” about.

ha!! My most reliable vehicle was probably my 2004 M3. Sold it with 220k and not a single issue....BUT I probably replaced the entire car 3-4 times with all the maintenance . I would probably still have it if I hadn’t had my kiddo. Great car.

Two 03 mustang cobras, both ported, pullied and tuned and I BEAT on them. Not issues and I sold both with 150k+ Miles on them.

I would say my tacoma has been pretty normal. Couple little issues have bugged me, but nothing worth selling it for. I guess it’s all in what you consider “not reliable”. Stuff is gonna fail. Always. Any make or model, it’s bound to happen.

 

My 2008 m3 manual was at 147k miles before it was totaled

i know the last owner had replaced throttle actuators and rod bearings but only problems I had were leaky valve cover gaskets and an ignition coil was starting to fail
My Tacoma though.. bad head gasket - replace engine.
Frame has no rust, but the motor mount caved into the frame
U joints all toast
Rear differential leak that led to failure
Leaking power steering rack and pump
List goes on

 

It's probably been addressed but I see anything that has an early warning as additional maintenance, and not a reliability issue.

A rusty frame gives you years of warning before a failure that leaves you stranded. Other issues range from weeks to months before failure.

If you can get it fixed without being stranded or out of work due to transportation issues, then it's reliable enough.