Classing up a Tacoma interior?

After recently test driving a Lexus GX470 I was reminded how much I hate the Tacoma interior. It is bland and full of hard plastics.

My last vehicles (2004 4Runner Limited) and 2012 VW GLI were a pleasure to be inside. I do not feel the same way about the Tacoma. So I have started to think of ways to make my Tacoma's interior more inviting.

1) White guages and dash lights: One of my most hated features of the 4Runner and Tacoma during the recent years was the orange/red dash lights. I find them hard to look at, and extremely low class. My GLI and the GX470 had nice white guages, very simple layout which was inviting to the eye.

I have found a local member that does LED dash swaps so I am hoping to get mine done in the next few weeks.

2) OEM style Navi stereo. I love the look and function of an LCD screen for the stereo. The Screen makes all the new toys so much easier to navigate (phone/ipod/Navi ect).

Unfortunately Ottonavi/Rosen/Caska all have less than stellar reviews, but I will continue to read reviews until I feel I can make an educated purchase.

3) Hard Plastic OEM Steering wheel. I thought the TRD package came with a leather wrapped wheel. The wheel in my '11 feels more like the base Tacoma wheel than the leather one in my Limited Runner. I am looking to replace the wheel base with a real leather or wood grain one as seen below. I have to say the '12+ Wheels are WAY better, but are to damn expensive to swap over.





4) Leather arm rests and handles: I am tired of the hard plastics and hard carpet on the arm rests of the Taco. A simple DIY shows how easy it is to replace the arm rests with a softer leather material.



5) Sound deadening: The Tacoma is LOUD. While the door skins are off, a layer of sound deadening might help keep the noise down.

6) Leather interior: Ive never been a fan of leather until I drove a GX470, which has the best seat I have ever sat in. Soft and supportive. I also live in Canada so an added seat heater keeps me happy in the winter.

7) Class up the dash: I have never liked good grain until I saw this setup on a VW project DieselPunk. It comes in sheets for cheap, and might be worth a test to see if it looks tacky in the Taco or not.



8) Ditching the stupid Keys: No one likes a key and a seperate door opener. 4Runner guys have started swapping their old fobs to new Fobs with the key and door opener in one. I would like to try this with the Tacoma.



I am hoping to start adding these things over the winter, hopefully curing my need to a little luxury in a non-luxury vehicle. If not, I will be GX shopping next summer.

 

Lol I'll be the first to say it, if you are that die hard on luxury features, enough so to go back and buy the Lexus, then why did you ever buy the Tacoma?

On the other hand nothing wrong with adding features to accommodate your tastes.

Katzkins should solve your leather seat issue.

Oh and sorry 99.9% of Tacoma owners are "low class"
Your qoute:

"1) White guages and dash lights: One of my most hated features of the 4Runner and Tacoma during the recent years was the orange/red dash lights. I find them hard to look at, and extremely low class. My GLI and the GX470 had nice white guages, very simple layout which was inviting to the eye."

 

Just my opinion, I hate the key you have shown, my wife's Camry has those, not sure why exactly, but I can't stand it.

 

Haha, I knew when I called the Tacoma out on some of it's faults the fan boys would come out. The Tacoma is a great truck, but is not perfect for everyone, which is why I started the thread.

I Bought the Tacoma because I needed a truck box. I did not want to step up to a fullsize which seem to be more luxurious becuase of the size. I love the size of the Taco, just miss a lot of features from more upscale vehicles. Maybe "low class" doesn't exactly describe the gauges well, but they are not inviting in the least IMO.

I hate clutter. Having 2 different things on a keychain that can be replaced by 1 just fits my style.

 

You took out of context what he said. He didn't say, "Tacoma owners are low class". You shouldn't put words into people's mouths. He didn't say anything about the people owners of Tacoma. He was talking about the class of the interior.

You're going to have to understand that you are on a Tacoma board. If you thought that you weren't going to get any flack from this then you were mistaken. You're going to get that kind of thing from any kind of forum.

I am one of the owners who thought the interior was bland and boring. I knew what I was getting into before I bought the Tacoma. The 11' DCLB and now the 13' Access Cab. That was the only thing I found wrong with the Tacoma but it wasn't a big enough problem to stop me from buying two of them. I use to own a 2010 VW Golf 2.5(Comfortline) and I found the interior was better than the Tacoma obviously. But VW still has issues with their electrical to this day. That's why I only had the VW for a year and a half before I got the DC(my years of owning a hatchback were behind me). I wish that Toyota had the same key chain set up as VW but it's not a make or break factor. I've loved both of my Tacoma's. Since I wasn't in love with the interior, I've made subtle changes. I'd rather have a vehicle that is going to last and never leave me stranded and have a bland interior. Rather than having an amazing interior with every single gadget on earth in it, then to have the vehicle leave me stranded somewhere. Have bad re-sale value etc. But some people find different things more important in a Tacoma then others.

 

Red gauges were standard on luxury-sport cars in the late 80s and 90s. Not sure if BMW is still using red, but my buddy's '01 is red.
Red doesn't kill your night vision. Orange is a little more visible and only has a small impact on night vision.

Blue and white are the worst.

 

Old friends of mine have a 05 VW TDI and their gauges are blue. Even being a passenger at night time I found it hard to concentrate on the gauges, radio etc. It's good that companies are coming away from those sort of colors now.

 

I'm no fanboy by any means. Have I only owned Toyotas? Yes. But I have driven other vehicles and enjoyed some of them. I wouldn't call the simplified features of a truck "faults" by any means. The Toyota pickup has been one of the most reliable trucks out there on the market since its conception, and keeps up with that standard very well, even in today's times of cheaping out on some features.

I probably came off as a total dick, but did feel you could have picked a better choice of words. Orange was picked for a reason just like Rich described. Again, pointing back at functionality, not pure aesthetics. I will say the orange in the 5th gen SR5 4Runners completely sucks as far as readability goes...not a fan of those particular gauges.

 

I didn't pull it completely out of context, highlighting poor choice of words really. Come on here disappointed your Taco (which you test drove and knew you were getting into) isn't at Lexus level is a bit silly.

 

Wouldn't be a bad idea at all if Lexus would push put a truck like escalade and Lincoln, I'd get one

 

not that I have tried with the Tacoma, but I found adding aftermarket interior pieces to suck in past years. the shit eventually falls off.

I do like white gauges, but I never have trouble reading the ones in my taco.

bottom line: why polish a turd? (if you have a "trd" model, your one vowel short of making this joke very obvious)

 

I think there is always a fine line to walk when designing a truck interior. If it's too plush and nice, it's bound to get messed up by the guys who are out in the dirt playing hard. If it's to outdoors friendly, it seems to basic for those who only midly use their truck off road etc. So, since it wouldn't be too smart to fit one groups needs over the other, most companies seem to give you just enough creature comforts to be classy, but not so much that it gets ruined easily. There are always going to be folks who want it to be just a little more on their side of the fence... either a bit nicer inside, or a bit more dirt friendly. Nothing wrong with that, as long as there are aftermarket companies who see a need and can help them out. That is about the only way to keep both camps happy.

 

It's all a matter of preference. Many of the features you've listed as dislikes are things that sold me on the tacoma. It's a truck and is nice and simple the way a truck should be. Plus I LIKE the orange gauges because as mentioned above it preserves your night vision.

Leather, new stereo, and dash lights are all fine decisions but I think you're wasting your time with the fake wood. It's gonna be alot of work and not look good.

 

OP, i like where ur ideas are coming from.
I too would like to do all that mod u listed.

I would love some leather seats, but i dont know how to install the katskinz and i am too lazy to mess with it lol.

The annoying 2 piece key and remote is super annoying. It is 2013..... Toyota could have done something to it.

I believe only Full size trucks have the luxury components.... but i have no need for a full size.... let alone the tacoma.
I just wanted a TRUCK as a daily, i dont haul or anything. I simply WANTED a truck. Thats the reason i went with the Tacoma.

 

SUBD

 

Yes, the early BMW's even early 2000's had red dash, which I don't like. Even the civic si( one of my favorite cars) has a red dash. I just don't find looking at them appealing.

 

I hear you, replaced the stock TRD seat covers with full black leather interior. Made a huge difference in comfort and class in my books. Haven't done the door panels yet but have the material to do it. Like the one key idea, would like to know if anyone has success with that.

 

Yeah! Trying to compare tomatoes to potatoes is a hard thing to do. Some people will do anything to make an argument out of it.

 

I painted and color matched some interior pieces, and will be doing matching wet okoles with black armrests in the near future along with a new gauge face. The little things add some more appeal to the interior imo. I do like the orange lighting tho but would also love the new steering wheel and other little features of the 12+ models

 

I have the most basic Tacoma and bought it for that reason. I hate features.