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Well my brother in law just bought a new Tacoma. Its a base model from what I'm told, not sure if its the 4 cylinder or V6. I'm going to check it out tomorrow and report back.
He traded in a 2007(or maybe 2006) Nissan Frontier crew cab for this truck. It had right at 100k miles on it, and in the 20-24 months he owned it, the following have gone out:
1. Automatic transmission and radiator. This is a problem every Xterra, Pathfinder, and Frontier with the V6 engine and automatic transmission will experience. The radiator and transmission cooler are all one unit on this truck, Nissan speced a cheap ****ty part that after a while fails and allows the coolant and transmission fluid to mix. This then destroys the transmission. As part of a class action settlement, Nissan will replace at no cost the radiator and transmission if your truck has under 80k miles. His had 90k on it when this happened, so as part of that lawsuit he had to pay $3000 for this repair(it would have been like $6000 at the dealer if not for the lawsuit).
2. 02 sensor and Catalytic converter failed. $1000 bill right there. If we lived where you didn't test for emissions you could just cut the cat-converter off.
3. A/C compressor locked up. Never fixed it.
4. Heat quit working, that was the straw that broke the camel's back and he traded in that pos.
The worst thing about that truck is I was the person who advised him to get rid of his paid for 1998 BMW 540i with 100k miles on it. It had a bad sensor or something and was going to be $1000 to fix it. I didn't tell him to buy that Frontier, but he traded in the BMW and took out a loan on that truck thinking it should be pretty reliable. I seriously doubt that BMW would have needed over $5000 in repairs in the past 2 years like that POS Frontier he bought with 85,000 miles on it.
Well my brother in law just bought a new Tacoma. Its a base model from what I'm told, not sure if its the 4 cylinder or V6. I'm going to check it out tomorrow and report back.
He traded in a 2007(or maybe 2006) Nissan Frontier crew cab for this truck. It had right at 100k miles on it, and in the 20-24 months he owned it, the following have gone out:
1. Automatic transmission and radiator. This is a problem every Xterra, Pathfinder, and Frontier with the V6 engine and automatic transmission will experience. The radiator and transmission cooler are all one unit on this truck, Nissan speced a cheap ****ty part that after a while fails and allows the coolant and transmission fluid to mix. This then destroys the transmission. As part of a class action settlement, Nissan will replace at no cost the radiator and transmission if your truck has under 80k miles. His had 90k on it when this happened, so as part of that lawsuit he had to pay $3000 for this repair(it would have been like $6000 at the dealer if not for the lawsuit).
2. 02 sensor and Catalytic converter failed. $1000 bill right there. If we lived where you didn't test for emissions you could just cut the cat-converter off.
3. A/C compressor locked up. Never fixed it.
4. Heat quit working, that was the straw that broke the camel's back and he traded in that pos.
The worst thing about that truck is I was the person who advised him to get rid of his paid for 1998 BMW 540i with 100k miles on it. It had a bad sensor or something and was going to be $1000 to fix it. I didn't tell him to buy that Frontier, but he traded in the BMW and took out a loan on that truck thinking it should be pretty reliable. I seriously doubt that BMW would have needed over $5000 in repairs in the past 2 years like that POS Frontier he bought with 85,000 miles on it.
Your brother should have better luck with the Tacoma.
Well my brother in law just bought a new Tacoma. Its a base model from what I'm told, not sure if its the 4 cylinder or V6. I'm going to check it out tomorrow and report back.
He traded in a 2007(or maybe 2006) Nissan Frontier crew cab for this truck. It had right at 100k miles on it, and in the 20-24 months he owned it, the following have gone out:
1. Automatic transmission and radiator. This is a problem every Xterra, Pathfinder, and Frontier with the V6 engine and automatic transmission will experience. The radiator and transmission cooler are all one unit on this truck, Nissan speced a cheap ****ty part that after a while fails and allows the coolant and transmission fluid to mix. This then destroys the transmission. As part of a class action settlement, Nissan will replace at no cost the radiator and transmission if your truck has under 80k miles. His had 90k on it when this happened, so as part of that lawsuit he had to pay $3000 for this repair(it would have been like $6000 at the dealer if not for the lawsuit).
2. 02 sensor and Catalytic converter failed. $1000 bill right there. If we lived where you didn't test for emissions you could just cut the cat-converter off.
3. A/C compressor locked up. Never fixed it.
4. Heat quit working, that was the straw that broke the camel's back and he traded in that pos.
The worst thing about that truck is I was the person who advised him to get rid of his paid for 1998 BMW 540i with 100k miles on it. It had a bad sensor or something and was going to be $1000 to fix it. I didn't tell him to buy that Frontier, but he traded in the BMW and took out a loan on that truck thinking it should be pretty reliable. I seriously doubt that BMW would have needed over $5000 in repairs in the past 2 years like that POS Frontier he bought with 85,000 miles on it.
Congratulations to your brother on the new Tacoma. My strong guess is that he will have considerably better luck with it than with the Frontier. Consumer Reports, BTW, has not given good reliability ratings to a number of Nissan products. Remember, they are owned by Renault.
Also, don't be too hard on yourself for advising him to dump an old BMW. They have a reputation for becoming money pits after the warranty expires. You were probably giving him sound advice at the time, though I have to admit that older-generation 540i's could be an absolute joy to drive.
Congratulations to your brother on the new Tacoma. My strong guess is that he will have considerably better luck with it than with the Frontier. Consumer Reports, BTW, has not given good reliability ratings to a number of new Nissan products. Remember, they are owned by Renault.
I think Chrysler makes a better product than Nissan in terms of reliability, if you want to know how low my opinion of Nissan is right now. I know several people who work for Nissan or their suppliers who also swear they'd never buy one(I live 20 miles from Nissan HQ and the Smyrna factory).
And honestly, until about 10 years ago, I thought Nissan built a pretty decent, if boring cars and trucks. My neighbor has a 1990 Pathfinder with 500,000 miles on it, no joke. 1st engine made it to 400k btw.
I think Chrysler makes a better product than Nissan in terms of reliability, if you want to know how low my opinion of Nissan is right now. I know several people who work for Nissan or their suppliers who also swear they'd never buy one(I live 20 miles from Nissan HQ and the Smyrna factory).
And honestly, until about 10 years ago, I thought Nissan built a pretty decent, if boring cars and trucks. My neighbor has a 1990 Pathfinder with 500,000 miles on it, no joke. 1st engine made it to 400k btw.
Back then (1990s) Nissan did build some reliable vehicles. (I especially liked the 1Gen Altima). After 2000, though, the cost-cutting effects that Renault imposed on Nissan and Infiniti vehicles began to manifest.
Okay, review of my brother in law's new Tacoma . .
Like I said earlier he traded in a 2007 2wd/v6 crew cab Frontier that has needed $5000 worth of repairs in the past year, truck had right at 100k miles. Compared to that Nissan, its a night/day difference in build quality(especially the interior) with his new Tacoma.
He bought the most "basic" model, an SR trim, 2wd, access cab with the 4 cylinder/automatic combo. Sticker was at $24,000, only option was rubber floor mats. First off, I'm blown away with what is "standard" now days, no more old cheapie stripper truck. Smallest cab had a back seat and 4 doors, no more regular cab. 2wd models sit up high like 4wd trucks and have some beefy looking 16" wheels/tires standard. All the bumpers are color matched. The 6' bed is pretty deep, has a damped tailgate(doesn't slam down if you drop it), bedliner is standard(whole bed is plastic actually), and has moveable/slideable tiedowns. Limited slip diff is standard now as well after checking the website.
Overall I love the "look" of the new Tacoma. That big, in your face grill, the stance, the good sized wheels/tires(I always hated how the old base trucks had really dinky looking wheels), the proportions are great. I also like how there isn't a single badge on the truck, TACOMA is molded in the tailgate, it looks clean and uncluttered.
Inside, once again its amazing what is standard. A/C(that has been for a while now though), power windows, locks, cloth bucket seats, console with a floor shift, back seat in the smallest cab(currently owning a regular cab truck myself that is such a luxury IMO), tilt wheel, touch screen radio that syncs with your ipod/phone, bluetooth, usb ports, and a backup camera. Only things that his didn't have was cruise control and remote keyless entry. I'm also going to say that its total BS that there isn't a lock on the passenger door. Either make keyless entry standard or spend $5 more and put a lock on that side if you're going to equip trucks this way.
Everything on the interior looks very well put together IMO. Granted its not luxury with pretty basic looking seat fabric, dash materials etc. Everything looks like it is built to last, and I like the dash layout as well(oh and you now get a tach standard as well).
Really my biggest criticism is what's under the hood and the way Toyota forces you into option packages(I played around on Toyota's website) The 4 cylinder engine only makes 159hp and its a big truck that even the base model weights 3900lbs. I didn't drive it, but I'd imagine it would be SLOW. Going up a grade I'd imagine it wouldn't do too well, especially loaded down. Now the old trick to get around the no horsepower problem was to order one with a manual transmission. Only problem is you can't order a 4 cylinder, 2wd with a manual anymore. No you have to spend $2500 more for an SR 4wd truck if you want the privelage of rowing your own gears. Seriously that irritates the crap out of me.
Now if you want a V6, well that's a $6000 option. Once again you're forced into buying the next spec higher trim SR5(all that gets you is a leather wrapped wheel, fog lights, keyless entry and cruise) or going with the base spec SR Crew Cab 4wd. Either way it puts you at about $30,000. A Tacoma at $24,000 is a great value IMO. $30,000 for the same truck with the bigger engine is IMO a ripoff.
Overall I like his new Tacoma, I don't like the way Toyota has them optioned.
Good write-up. I think the main idea behind only offering the SR series 4-cylinder manuals on the 4WD models (though I don't necessarily agree with it, either) is that Toyota must figure that off-roaders are more likely to want to stir their own gears.
The Tacoma, BTW, is not the only recent or brand-new truck to restrict or not offer traditional 2-door cabs with no rear seats or jump-seats. In general, fewer and fewer trucks offer that, simply because most of today's truck buyers have things that they want to keep inside, out of the bed and/or the weather.
First off, I'm blown away with what is "standard" now days, no more old cheapie stripper truck. Smallest cab had a back seat and 4 doors, no more regular cab. 2wd models sit up high like 4wd trucks and have some beefy looking 16" wheels/tires standard. All the bumpers are color matched. The 6' bed is pretty deep, has a damped tailgate(doesn't slam down if you drop it), bedliner is standard(whole bed is plastic actually), and has moveable/slideable tiedowns. Limited slip diff is standard now as well after checking the website.
Wow, this is amazing. Especially 2wd sitting up high as 4wd. I checked the pdf brochure and they do have the exactly same height.
When I check cars.com, I see SR 4wd with MT for $24k.
That's a great deal for what you get for the money.
Wow, this is amazing. Especially 2wd sitting up high as 4wd. I checked the pdf brochure and they do have the exactly same height.
When I check cars.com, I see SR 4wd with MT for $24k.
That's a great deal for what you get for the money.
Wow! Good observation, totally missed that. The last gen was much lower. The gen before that had a "PreRunner" that raised the height to that of the 4X4. Not sure if last gen had it.
Wow, this is amazing. Especially 2wd sitting up high as 4wd. I checked the pdf brochure and they do have the exactly same height.
One of the reasons people buy trucks in the first place (besides the obvious work factor) is that, 2WD or 4WD, they WANT to sit up high. They like looking out over the roofs of traffic around them....even if it raises the truck's center of gravity and makes it more unstable in handling.
One of the reasons people buy trucks in the first place (besides the obvious work factor) is that, 2WD or 4WD, they WANT to sit up high. They like looking out over the roofs of traffic around them....even if it raises the truck's center of gravity and makes it more unstable in handling.
Agreed, but the last gen Tacoma was a basic work truck in 2WD access cab form.
My parents traded in their 2008 Tacoma and picked up a 2016 Tacoma 4x4 TRD Sport Access Cab a couple weeks ago. This photo is the one my dad took upon delivery.
They brought it over for a visit on Saturday and I got to spend some time driving it around. I enjoyed it very much. It's a substantial improvement over the 2011 that I had (4x4 TRD Sport 4 Door). It definitely has a quieter ride than the previous ones and drove really well, though the sport suspension seemed firmer than I remember from my 2011.. The interior was dark with the charcoal gray seats and black headliner and carpet. The seats were comfortable and the dash layout was clear. The TFT display between the tach and speedometer was very nice, and the navigation system was a lot like the Lexus gen 8 system, with similar menus and apps. It had nice features like BSM, RCTA, heated mirrors, Qi charger, pushbutton start, etc.
They only have about 800 miles on it but were averaging 20.6 mpg which I thought was pretty good, as I only averaged around 16-18 mpg on my Tacoma when I had it.
My parents traded in their 2008 Tacoma and picked up a 2016 Tacoma 4x4 TRD Sport Access Cab a couple weeks ago. This photo is the one my dad took upon delivery.
Congratulations to them...hope they enjoy it.
It definitely has a quieter ride than the previous ones and drove really well, though the sport suspension seemed firmer than I remember from my 2011..
Remember, though.....almost any vehicle rides quieter when brand new than after it has some wear on it. The fact that your brand new truck rides quieter than an eight-year-old one is not surprising, nor does it necessarily indicate a quieter-riding design on the new one overall. It does show, of course, that brand-new tires, glass-sealing, sound-insulation, and weather-stripping (and, of course, not to mention a brand-new engine) helps keep the noise level down.
12-05-15, 06:37 PM
My strong guess is that he will have considerably better luck with it than with the Frontier. Consumer Reports, BTW, has not given good reliability ratings to a number of Nissan products. Remember, they are owned by Renault. 
