Thoughts on 2015 TRD Sport Manual transmission

Hey, y'all,

In the market to finally get my very first Taco and I've been down the rabbit hole of researching and comparing the various options for this legendary class of trucks.

I'd found a couple leads, one a 2013 OR with manual and that baby sold right away. Another one that's looking promising is a 2015 Sport, also MT, and I'm just about to pull the trigger on it, but wanted to hear your thoughts and experiences with buying these, specifically long-distance.

I should note I've never bought from a dealership, much less across the country without physically seeing the car and I've done all my maintenance and repairs. This dealer seems experienced with long-distance sales and I feel I've received as much assurance as possible.

I'd love to hear your experiences with such purchases; any extended warranty if I run into issues (wanna take it to a shop I trust for full inspection), any points of negotiation to that effect, what should I be making sure/asking about?

Also, I've read some consumer reports about the 2nd gens and the 2015 has been reported to have some "engine and braking issues, though few and unlikely to happen" https://www.copilotsearch.com/posts/most-reliable-year-model-of-toyota-tacoma/
Any issues y'all have encountered with this year I should look out for?

Thanks a bunch, and apologies for the long post.

Peace!

 

I bought my 2015 MT with 33,000 miles on it, and now have 160,000. Not counting maintenance (oil changes, spark plugs, filters, etc) I have had to do nothing aside from an upstream O2 sensor, and clay barring the paint for the rail dust issue.

 

Got my 15 sport MT with 62k, about to round off 190k. Almost zero issues aside from routine maintenance. I did recently change my fan clutch and water pump, I think the bad clutch took out the WP bearing. I’m probably partially to blame because I still drove it daily when it was making angry noises.

aside from that, not a single CEL has come on. The V6 seems fairly bulletproof if you don’t thrash the hell out of it daily.

If I have to list a few complaints, first would be that the truck is a bit loud on the highway. Sound deadening mats and some work on the door seals would help that.

I wish first and second gears were a little closer together. First is very low, and you gotta really wind it up to stay in the power band shifting to 2nd while towing. Otherwise I have no major complaints on the trans. Nice being able to tow and not worrying about torque converter temps. I’ve done some heavy long-distance hauls and my original clutch is still going pretty strong.

And I wish I could fully disable the traction control/VSC. I can turn it off all
I want, but it auto-engages over a certain wheel speed. Making it kinda lame to have “extracurricular activities” in the snow. BUT I will admit that it’s a very good traction system when you want it to engage. Though I would like an LSD or locker in the rear.

All that being said, I love this truck and will drive it till the wheels fall off. And I’m not even a truck guy. It does all the truck things I need it to without being a massive land whale. And the 4wd + good tires lets it go pretty much wherever I point it.

 

Make sure you do a good inspection of the frame, and get it properly treated for rust prevention. I’ve had mine sprayed internally by the dealer, extends the warranty significantly.

 

Beautiful. I've had way more come up on my 2 previous Ford's (an Escape and an Explorer). Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks for sharing! I've heard similar grievances about the gearing on the MT, specifically about 3rd and 4th gears. I've chalked it up to "it takes getting used to". Won't be doing too much towing but I'm encouraged to hear how well it does. What's the heaviest you've towed?

 

Very good point! The frame from the pictures looks really good, and the Carfax shows it was mainly driven in the Midwest (Chicago) so I'm happy to see that. (Shame that not many post pictures of frames anymore). I'll see if they can throw in a nice rust treatment. Thank you!

 

The taco tows “well enough” for what I/most need it to do. It’s not a full size pickup with a 19liter V8 lol.

Heaviest I’ve hauled with it was about 5500lb of trailer (U-Haul auto transport) plus another 500(guesstimated) in the bed. It’s was a very long 500ish mile trip lol. Never doing that again; talk about standing on the gas in 2nd to maintain 45 on any grade. And stop/go traffic was murder. My clutch stank for weeks after that. Do not recommend. The truck was not happy about it, but it did it.

But the occasional small camper/boat/cargo trailer pulls just fine.

 

the TOB is a lot of fun

early model years have no traction control and mechanical LSD when Sport

 

I assume you know, if you are sitting still and press and hold the traction control button for about 5 seconds, it shuts everything (traction control related) off?

 

How could it being driven in Chicago be a good thing?
salt/roads/etc . . . what am I missing?

When I was searching, I saw a few that had lived up north - took em for a pre/purchase inspections and as soon as they were up on the lift, I told the guys they could drop it back down. Took em back to their respective dealers and gave em the keys back.
One was 'sprayed' with black spray paint? underneath to cover the rust but when you looked closely it was clear what was going on.
I'm not dealing with rusted stuff when I go to do the brakes or anything else for that matter.

I finally found one that lived its prior live in Arizona - not a drop of rust on it, everything I have done comes straight apart/back together.

 

Yes, pressing and holding will turn all traction control “off”. But wheelspeed over 30mph or anything that causes the yaw sensor and ECU to think you’re doing something too stupid, will kick it back on regardless. So if you’re ripping sick skids/donuts in a snowy parking lot or whatever, it’ll engage VSC and straighten you back out.

again, great system for keeping you safe on the road, I just enjoy doing stupid shit now and then. Lol.

 

The "good" thing being that it's rust free despite having loved in Chicago. Spoke to the dealership and they said they did basic rust treatment which includes a light coating (oil-based? Not sure) on the frame. From the pictures again, the frame looked to be in pretty decent condition so I'm as satisfied as I could be I think. I plan to do my own inspection as a preventative method once I get it.

 

I had my 2nd gen 6 speed for about 30k miles and my 2nd gen 5 speed for about 50k. Both were great and only required basic maintenance. My biggest area to suggest is looking for is rust. If buying far away, see if the dealer can throw it on a lift to send videos of the frame. Another quick area to judge rust is how rusty the trailer hitch and 7 pin connector are.