Review of new 2015 Tacoma

Hi all, I have 600 miles on my new DCSB 4x4 Tacoma Limited and I thought it might be helpful to other new people out there to read a review from somebody who is new to the Tacoma world. I know I was nervous making the purchase after reading so many threads on vibrations and other issues from this forum. I would like to encourage new people to have faith because my new truck is great and is very fun and comfortable to drive.

and YES, I know it is long, but it is not meant for you guys who know everything already, it is meant for people considering buying a Tacoma who are new to the truck.




I am coming from a 4x4 2008 Ford Sport Trac Limited, which is the Explorer with a 4' long bed. I'll be comparing this to the Tacoma in the review as well.

I started looking at Tacomas a year ago when I started getting tired of all of the squeaks that my Sport Trac was making, and I really didn't want to go through another winter with that 4wd system. The Sport Trac uses an auto 4wd system that senses slip by the rear wheels and then engages the front wheel drive as well. when it does this, it is very loud and hars as the front wheels take up the slack and lock in with the rears. You can also lock it in 4wd and avoid that but any time the rear tires would slip, you would normally get the loud clunk and feel like you were going to break something.

I am an engineer turned Realtor. I am annoyingly anal about squeaks and things not functioning properly and have people in my vehicle just about every day. The truck had to be a 4 door, and had to be relatively easy to get in and out of for my clients. I used to have a FX4 F150 before the Sport Trac and it was great but I had several older clients who had problems getting in and out of it because of the height, so I wanted to stick with a mid-size. I looked at the Nissans too but they felt really cheap to me compared to the Tacoma.

Problems I was afraid of:
I have stalked this site for a long time and read everything I could find before pulling the trigger and honestly, I was not 100% sure I was making the right decision after reading about all of the vibration and frame issues that Tacomas have had. I am very happy to say that I did make the right decision. There is so much negative stuff on this site that it can make people really hesitant to actually buy one of these trucks. I am here to say that my truck rides VERY smoothly with NO vibrations, noises, clunks or other weird things. The only problem I had was that the heated seats didn't work at first--turns out the relay wasn't plugged in fully. Now everything works great.

Suspension:
I was very nervous and figured that I would have to immediately upgrade to Bilstein 4600 or 5100 shocks all around. Turns out that was an incorrect assumption. I may upgrade to them when the current ones peter out but right now the stock ones on the limited ride very nicely. The springs seem very good as far as balancing soft ride without bottoming out or feeling too stiff. The rear springs are the 4 leaf springs, I assume the TSB springs. They feel stiffer than the front springs but I haven't had anything in the back yet. The Tacoma feels more solid and a little stiffer than the Sport Trac which overall felt good as far as ride goes.

Engine and Transmission:
The 6 cylinder seems to have plenty of pep, and I think may actually be as fast acceleration wise as the 4.6 V8 in the Sport Trac but the Sport Trac had a 6 speed and I believe had more torque overall. The Sport Trac weighs in at 4700 lbs and the Taco weighs about 4300 lbs. That explains the slower acceleration and also the lack of needing to downshift on grades like the Tacoma seems to do a little bit more. It actually has gotten a lot better as I have gotten more miles on the truck so I think it will not be worth mentioning at all in another 1000 miles. It really is pretty good now. The first 100 miles was a little scary though--thinking it would need to downshift as often as it did. It may have just needed to learn my driving habits or something too. The 4.0 is also louder in the cab than the 4.6 in the Ford. It is probably just sound deadening or lack of though--not a big deal at all and it isn't much louder, just enough to be slightly noticeable.

Mileage:
So far, on a trip on the interstate, driving 78mph, I got 18mpg. That is disappointing but I knew the Tacoma wasn't going to set any records and I am sure that if I slowed down even a little I could get that number up. My Sport trac could get 20-21 without too much trouble but with a lower top gear and more torque, that engine didn't have to work quite as hard and was only slightly larger. I am hoping (probably dreaming) that this number might go up as I get more miles on the clock.

Utility:
The Sport Trac trades off bed size for extra room inside the cabin which would have been nice to have in the Taco. I lost about 6 inches from the back seat which is nice for people back there but the bed is more usable in the Taco and the bed sides are not quite as high which is much nicer to reach in to where I couldn't comfortably do that on the Ford. The longer bed will be nicer though because I can not fit my fishing poles where the Sport Trac's bed was too small to be useful frequently.

Controls and Stereo:
The Ford had a nice sound system and a 6 disc changer. It was great except for when it went out and I had to replace the head unit for $400. The Tacoma has the JBL system with a single disc instead of the 6. Overall, even though the Ford sounded very good, the Tacoma sounds better. During college I worked at a high end audio store for several years and I do listen critically. People bash the JBL system, but honestly it is very good for factory in a truck. It sounds better than the Sport Trac, and has some features that are REALLY nice. As I was playing with the different sources, it sounded like the Sat. radio was very bland and mid-heavy. But I had already adjusted the Stereo how I liked it while listening to FM. As it turns out, the stereo records different EQ settings for each different source which is awesome. Whether you are listening to CD, Sat, FM, AM, Bluetooth, whatever, you can taylor the EQ settings so that that source sounds great. It is also nice to be able to have 36 presets instead of the 12 I was used to. Now I can have presets for my town (Columbia), or St. Louis or Kansas City when I go to those places and I have plenty of room for presets.

Tweaks and additions:
I don't plan on upgrading much like most people, and I am not going to mod the hell out of it, but I did do and plan on doing some of the small things that I have learned from this site.
--The first thing I did was get a rear view mirror with temp and compass in it. My current one only had a compass. That was a great and easy mod, very glad I did it.
--The second thing I did was order some Weathertech floor mats. They fit better than any other floor mats I've had in any vehicle and highly recommend them.
--The third thing I did was order 4 cans of Amsoil MPHD to spray on the frame and prevent rust as much as I could. When anybody applies this stuff, prepare for some to blow around and also dribble off of the spray tip and make a mess. Good stuff though. It also took about 2-3 days for the chemical smell to subside but it does go away.
--I trimmed 4" off of the ridiculously long front mud flaps. If I did it again, I'd probably leave it 3/4 or 1" longer but they are pretty good as-is
--I was going to lube the gas cap door hinges as apparently they rust out but it was already sprayed with a wax/lube which was good to see. I sprayed it again anyway though.
--I have yet to extend the AC drain line away from the frame.
--I installed some sill protector plates from G-tek
--I have a tailgate reinforcement panel from Relentless Fab but I haven't installed that yet.

I think the only thing I have to do yet is check the tranny fluid level.

Over all, I would like to encourage other people thinking of buying a Tacoma to feel good about that decision. I am really enjoying my new one and am sure others will be happy as well.

 

tl;dr

Buy Japanese, not 'murican.

 

Where you looking into the GMC Canyon when making this decision? If so, why Toyota vs the refined and nice looking interior GMC?

I only ask as I'm in this boat.

 

I have owned a new Chevy before, it seemed to degrade quickly. I also have a friend who is a mechanic for GM and is not a fan of the engine in the Canyon. I think the exterior is not as nice looking as the Tacoma either, which is strange because the Tacoma's design is so old already. I think if you are interested in the GM truck, you need to wait at least another year so you can get the new transmission. A little more extra room inside would be nice but I wasn't willing to sacrifice the looks and dependability of the Tacoma. I did not look at a new Canyon in person though, only online.

 

Value, resale and dependability

 

If you like working on your truck for pain, buy GMC. If you like working on your truck for pleasure, buy Toyota.

 

I think I would pass on the Canyon after the GMC 1500 were just ranked as the least reliable vehicles. Mileage on Tacoma will get better as it gets broke in. Mine went from around 18 up to 21.

 

day pics

 

Hello,
I got a 2014 tacoma trd sport. I was reading your post and you mentioned that you got a rear view mirror with temp and compass can you please let me know where you got it from also I been reading about a tailgate reinforcement thanks
Joe

 

Hard to believe my 2012 is approaching 3 years old. Anyways, congrats and nice rig!

 

Where did you purchase the rear view mirror?

 

Since he hasn't answered the question on the rear view mirror, I thought I'd mention I had the same problem and upgraded mine to one with auto-dimming/temp/compass/map light. I wanted quality, so I got the one at this

CIPA 36500 Wedge Base Auto Dimming Rearview Mirror with Compass, Temperature and Map Light

link at Amazon. Maybe it costs more than others, but it got 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon, and so far I have been very pleased (had it about 6 months). The map light, though I don't use it much, is very directional, which is great for me--I don't like light in my eyes when I drive. Also, the auto-dimming feature is adjustable by a quick mod, if desired (either to dim quickly or to wait for more light).

 

Nice write up, good luck with the truck. I guess they changed the rear view mirror for the 15's as mine has temp and compass. Weird

 

They changed the mirrors in 2014 and dropped the temp and compass.

 

Are you sure you just didn't have the temperature turned on, if you hold down the middle button on the rear view. you can access a few different display options. I can't imagine they would do away with this nifty feature on a truck with more options than my 2013.

 

oh thats dumb.

 

You should get the mirror through Bob Prim from this site, his TW handle is RJP869. He will also send you an adapter plug so your new mirror plugs right in to the Tacoma wiring harness in the headliner.

 

does the new truck have a transmission oil dipstick?

 

they did. Wrote Toyota and complain. I did. They sent me a survey last week. I put all the short comings on there. Tempted to mention mirror on 2014s but survey was for 2013s.

 

I don't believe so, you have to go through some drawn out procedure letting the fluid temp get to the right level then checking up an overflow port.