Ditching my 2023 TRD Pro

Well, it's been a rather unpleasant few weeks with the Pro but it has to go. I'm a long time Toyota fan and have owned numerous Toyota and Lexus models, currently a 2022 Tacoma Off Road and a Lexus LC500. This Tundra has to be the biggest disappointment I've ever experienced with a new vehicle. How it was approved for production like this I don't know.

1) I literally can't ride in it for more than 5 minutes. The way the Pro seats are built there is a bar in the posterior 1/3 of the seat with little cushioning over it. Combined with the really steep lower bolsters, the seat puts all of my weight on my IT band insertions and over my sciatic nerve. My thighs go numb and I have leg pain for hours after driving it any distance. I'm not a big guy and have a decent amount of muscle on me, but my hip shape is just wrong for it. I thought I was nuts until I found a thread on a Tundra forum where numerous other people have the same problem and have had to get rid of their truck. I tried buying and installing a cushion someone recommended and it helped minimally, but then I can't use the ventilated seats.
2) The door panels are so cheaply assembled they sound like they're falling apart if you play any song with bass. I found another thread showing door disassembly and where to stuff about five pounds of foam padding to fix it but it's not worth the effort at this point.
3) The seat backs squeak. LOUDLY. Toyota service is aware of the issue but corporate has not formulated a fix yet. Some have done seat tear downs and found the bracket for the lumbar system is made with ill-fitting plastic pieces.

If it were just the squeak, I'd like the challenge. If it's stereo related, I could fix it. But the profoundly uncomfortable and unfixable seats have done it for me. It's basically a $75,000 paperweight right now until I figure out what to trade it for.

 

Wow. Making me rethink my dream truck. My uncle traded his 2015 Platinum Tundra for a 2023 1794 Edition Tundra, and he says other than the get-up-and-go of the new one, he liked everything else of the older Tundra. I love the way they look, but damn, they have so many problems.

 

If you order one, just make sure you do a solid 30 minute test drive. The seat shape isn’t fixable. The other issues are.

 

what a bummer. I know what you mean about seat comfort - I've had several Ford for work over the years and it wreaks havoc when the seats cause pain and you're putting on the miles.

Have you sat in the Platinum or Capstones? The seats in those are apparently noticeably comfier

 

If I order one lol. I'm about $70K too short for it, I'm in college still. I work right next to a Toyota Dealership and see them all the time. A boy can dream!

 

I take it you didn't do that?

 

We drove a base model once because it was available and liked it. Drove the Pro for about 10 minutes just to feel the difference in ride quality. The seat issue shows it’s face with longer drives.

 

My gf bought a 2021 rav4 hybrid new two years ago, she uses one of those lumbar lower back cushion things, I took it off when I drove her car and holy hell the seat was stiff and uncomfortable af so I feel you on the shitty seats.

ironically I was going to sell my single cab Tacoma because the bench seat was literally unbearable (you don’t notice it on a 5 minute test drive) and it was so bad I was using those cushion things as well but thank god I found out about the bench seat mod on tacomaworld because the most uncomfortable seat to an extremely comfortable seat (was about to drive 17 straight hours to Montana from SoCal

 

I’ve been thinking about going back to a full size truck. If Toyota still made the previous generation I wouldn’t even look at anything else. But every time I drive the new Tundra (something I do nearly every day at my job) I start thinking about looking at Ford, Ram, and even Nissan. The new Tundra really isn’t very impressive in so many ways.

 

Being a Tacoma forum, this place is very biased towards Toyota.

Bottom line is the American brands sell a lot of trucks. If I was going full size, I would look long and hard at an F150.

 

I agree. It’s my husband’s daily. He loves it, and I think a big part of it is he’s mostly colorblind and the bright orange is something he really likes. However, there isn’t a thing it does better (and few things it does as well) as an F-150. We could have had a loaded F-150 Tremor for $10k less with better fuel economy and a lower interest rate.

 

Ha. I already have one. Lives next to the Taco. It’s a great car, but if I had to choose between it and the Taco, and Taco wins.

 

I wish my garage looked like yours.

 

This.

 

And which seat mod..asking for a fellow single cab bench seat owner.

I can relate to your girlfriend, those seat cushions can make a big difference. My wife uses one as well because she has horrible back problems.

 

Is that a G6 on the rack?

 

What unique about the Pro that wouldn’t be inside a regular seat?

Is there some type of lumbar adjustment thing?

 

Thanks! It look several years of my side gig to pay for it, but damn is it worth it.