[sriley1358]

Hi guys,

I was on the Toyota Tech forum writing up this post, and since I am a member here as well I thought I would share the same story.

I got a 1998 Tacoma with the 2.7, and it has been nothing but problems. Let me explain:

When I got it, starter went out. I didn't think much of that, for I know starters don't last forever.

Few months later the harmonic balancer came loose and that caused a 400 dollar dent in my wallet.

Several months after that, o2 sensor bugged out. Once again, I didn't think to much of it. 02 sensors have a operating life as well.

Lets mosey on about a year when this jewel had the clutch to wear out. I got a new clutch put in. I know clutches go out, but at 90,000 I found that kind of ridiculous.

Not 3 days after the clutch repair, the slave cylinder went out. (Son of a...)

Get that repaired, and not 6 months after that I started having shifting problems. After about another 6 months I completely lost 2nd and 4th.

Got a new transmission (which was cheaper than a rebuild). I thought a lot of this one, this one really chapped my behind.

And now to present day, where she is sitting in a shop with a bunch of guys trying to figure out why I can't get over several hundred RPMS without shaking, shutter, and losing power. Its been with Toyota 2 days and they are still having problem finding what the deal is.

I understand we all have lemons....but I got a ton of friends with newer toyotas that stay in the shop more than on the road.

I will salute the older Toyotas, mostly the 22r trucks. Other than that, they have lost my respect.

Oh yeah, before a bunch of folks start yelling at me for blasphemy because I spoke bad on a toyota website, it is just my opinion. Actually I would love to hear folks change my mind by giving me success stories.

Now I will end my venting session.

Thanks folks!

 

[NightOwl74]

Maybe you are just a negative kinda guy..........or maybe you're just pissed because you know now that you should have sold it long ago. Who knows Suck it up, sell it, buy a Ford Or Chev, and I'll see ya when yer stuck and need a tug.:smokin: You open the carton of eggs in the grocery store to check for cracked ones before buying right? Maybe check the next truck for cracks eh!(Canadian)

 

[sriley1358]

Maybe you are just a negative kinda guy..........or maybe you're just pissed because you know now that you should have sold it long ago. Who knows Suck it up, sell it, buy a Ford Or Chev, and I'll see ya when yer stuck and need a tug.:smokin: You open the carton of eggs in the grocery store to check for cracked ones before buying right? Maybe check the next truck for cracks eh!(Canadian)

I think you got the pissed off part right. That truck should have been on the next carlot after I put the new tranny in it.

And I might be needing that tug to get that piece of stinking crap truck I got back home from the dealer. It doesn't look like they are going to get it fixed in this decade.



I'd rather have a truck that stays running and lasts than basing the vehicle on whether or not it goes good offroad.

And tell me how you check for problems when no problems exist, eh? maybe you should check your head for cracks, and not the one in your truck.

I also didn't know they let Canadians on here....

 

[NightOwl74]

That's the first negative thing I have heard on here about Canadians and because I am a smart guy I won't let it alter how it makes me feel about Americans. There is no difference between you and me except our taste in trucks..............1997 Tacoma Reg cab 4x(of course) 2.7l 97,000 miles runs like new and is completely friggin mint. You bought a piece of shit. Get over it. These trucks are awesome in just about every respect. I still have the original clutch in this truck so maybe your driving habits are a little lackin?

 

[sriley1358]

Maybe it was in the lack of taste to take a shot at you with negative Canadian comment.

But if you are a smart guy, you would read in my original post, I had no REAL problems with the truck until around 90,000 aside from the starter.

Don't get me wrong, the motor is strong and solid as anything I have ever seen.

I didn't make the post to get into an argument over whether or not Toyota's are great or bad. I just simply put an opinion so others could review it, and possibly give me success stories on how good their trucks are, to maybe influence my thought.

And I am proud that your truck runs great. I am envious that I have had so many problems and other folks haven't.

Don't tell me to get over it though. Once again, I wrote that post only in regards of sharing an opinion and hoping to get some feedback on quality of the trucks, not the quality of my driving style, and my ability to adapt to a problem.

 

[TuRDle]

I don't think there is anything wrong with your post at all. That's what we do here. It is unusual to see one like that though. Did you get the truck new or was it used? How many miles were on it? Certainly seems to be the exception wrather than the rule on this forum. May be unrealistic to label your Toyota as typical or even a possible trend, although I personally feel that the mfr. did some skimping on quality of some of the newer ones. I'm sure that you will find the same kind of trouble history from owners of every other make out there. We all hope that there would be fewer here. I know I do. So far mines been pretty trouble free. I'm gonna look for one of these smilies though that has its fingers crossed.

 

[monkeee2002]

I agree. This is a forum for toyota's, not "happy" toyota's. Good or bad, you should be able to post here about your troubles without getting flamed for it.
I own a 97 regular cab, 3.4L. In 3-1/2 years I've replaced the starter, tires, and brakes. All 3 have expected life spans. I also need new suspension, mine sags terribly. A known tacoma issue. That's all the problems I've had. If memory serves, I've put on about 60,000 miles myself.

And for the record, the only thing I don't like about Canada is the climate.

 

[sriley1358]

Thanks guys for the comments!

Hopefully I just got a lemon and all future vehicles won't give me as many problems!

Thanks for the success stories on how your trucks/cars run good. That makes me a little more relieved that not all toyota owners are unhappy.

Thanks again!

 

[hdn1028]

everything that was said "went through one ear and out the other" except this comment: "I understand we all have lemons....but I got a ton of friends with newer toyotas that stay in the shop more than on the road." ----you must be a very popular guy

 

[Jakedog]

Maybe you are just a negative kinda guy..........or maybe you're just pissed because you know now that you should have sold it long ago. Who knows Suck it up, sell it, buy a Ford Or Chev, and I'll see ya when yer stuck and need a tug.:smokin: You open the carton of eggs in the grocery store to check for cracked ones before buying right? Maybe check the next truck for cracks eh!(Canadian)

Just had to pick on the Fords and Chevys. When "yer" truck breaks down and needs a tow see what make of truck they send out..............never have seen a Toyota tow truck.:lol:

My bad, I found one: http://www.spencer1984.com/image/m198a.jpg

 

[MojaveRacer208]

Just had to pick on the Fords and Chevys. When "yer" truck breaks down and needs a tow see what make of truck they send out..............never have seen a Toyota tow truck.:lol:

My bad, I found one: http://www.spencer1984.com/image/m198a.jpg

Derrrr...Jake...
You STILL haven't seen a Toyota Tow Truck...That's a Nissan 720! Late 70s-early 80s 4WD. I HAVE seen a Hino tow truck and a lot of Isuzus though!
I have watched a whole lot of Detroit anchors being passed and/or being winched by Toyotas off road. And when I drove tow trucks for a living, the Chevys we had were ALL POS's. The one Ford was the energizer bunny workhorse. But OTOH a GM truck of about 91 vintage has just passed the 1 million mile mark with the press present. This combined with way too much other data to place on this forum all goes to show that any brand can produce good vehicles as well as bad. Toyotas have earned their rep for building rugged reliable vehicles based on the statistics of their product proving highly reliable more often than the competition's.
And BTW, this forum was founded by a Canadien, Eh! Go to the forum home page and read the history thread.
Now signing off from the California desert...

 

[6shooter]

well i wouldn't let it sway my judgement against toyota as a whole if i were you. toyota makes an amazing product. you either are hard on your vehicles, don't maintain them, a combination of both, or you just flat out got a lemon.

 

[riceye]

I understand we all have lemons....but I got a ton of friends with newer toyotas that stay in the shop more than on the road.

Time to find a new shop. Sounds like these guys are milking you and your friends. Personally, I do all my own work, as I am skeptical of any shop, dealership or indie.

When compared to the domestic trucks I have owned, the Tacoma I currently have is far superior. And it was ten years old and had 160,000 miles when I bought it. The domestics would all have been recycled by then!

My only issue with Canada is keeping the miles/clicks thing straight. My own deficiency, though.

 

[Jakedog]

Mojave- I think the desert has cooked your brain!! I own a '04 taco 4x4, and a '05 Super Duty 4x4. The SD weighs more than the taco is rated to pull. The taco is a solid pick up, but when it comes time to do some real work I'll take the SD hands down.:nutkick:

 

[MojaveRacer208]

Mojave- I think the desert has cooked your brain!! I own a '04 taco 4x4, and a '05 Super Duty 4x4. The SD weighs more than the taco is rated to pull. The taco is a solid pick up, but when it comes time to do some real work I'll take the SD hands down.:nutkick:

No cooking going on inside my head...and I wear a cup when dealing with green people...LOL

Decades worth of off roading experience in the desert and mountains, from the Sierras down to the beach, in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Baja with 2wd and 4wd has shown me a lot of stuck vehicles, including Toyotas. Quite a few times I have observed Toyotas pulling out Jeeps, C10s and 1500s, K-10s, Broncos, F-100s and 150s, Ramchargers, etc. Of course, I have seen Toyotas being pulled out by others. I wasn't referring to Super Dutys anyway...when was the last time you saw a Super Duty on a 4WD trail? And I wasn't referring to flat-towing down the freeway either.

I HAVE seen a friend's 2wd short bed standard cab 2.3l 4 cyl Ranger tow a broken down 32' Class A motorhome from El Mirage Dry Lake over 20 miles to their home, including across 3 miles of desert. Local tow services refused to go off road to fetch the motorhome (it wasn't THAT bad...afterall, the motorhome got in there, but the 454 died when they started it up to go home) so they did what they could on their own...regardless of factory tow rating of the Ranger.

Last Spring my Toyota would not pull out my co-worker's big Dodge from the Mojave sand with a strap, but the boss' 4WD SuperDuty Crew Cab with a 12K Winch did it. When the SuperDuty was trying to pull the Dodge out with a strap as I had tried with my Toyota, it too dug down until it was very nearly stuck also. A winch on my Toyota probably would have done the job if I didn't have my tires spinning and digging in the sand, but 2wd desert pre-run trucks are rarely equipped with a winch. That Super Duty has a winch on it for other work like setting up movie sets, not for 4-wheeling.

I too have a full-size Ford...a '61 F100 with a 428CJ and a C6, which I love dearly. But I also have a 1lb urethane dead-blow mallet and a 12lb sledge hammer...each has it's purpose and will do certain jobs that the other cannot do.
:bash:

 

[Jakedog]

[
"when was the last time you saw a Super Duty on a 4WD trail?" [/quote]

I take my 05 F250 4x4 diesel crew into Monache Meadows 2-3 times a year to fish and camp. It's a tight fit for a 250 but it makes it with out a problem.

Heres one for you too:


http://images.4wheeloffroad.com/brandpages/ford/131_0211_build00c_s.jpg

 

[6shooter]

wnedsmaswned:^

 

[NightOwl74]

Mojave- I think the desert has cooked your brain!! I own a '04 taco 4x4, and a '05 Super Duty 4x4. The SD weighs more than the taco is rated to pull. The taco is a solid pick up, but when it comes time to do some real work I'll take the SD hands down.:nutkick:

How's the fuel mileage in the SD ........................

 

[NightOwl74]

I agree. This is a forum for toyota's, not "happy" toyota's. Good or bad, you should be able to post here about your troubles without getting flamed for it.
I own a 97 regular cab, 3.4L. In 3-1/2 years I've replaced the starter, tires, and brakes. All 3 have expected life spans. I also need new suspension, mine sags terribly. A known tacoma issue. That's all the problems I've had. If memory serves, I've put on about 60,000 miles myself.

And for the record, the only thing I don't like about Canada is the climate.

I'm a few hundred miles to the north of you in southern B.C. How different is our climate again? The background behind the truck in your avatar looks like my back yard. Terrain is the same. Ever heard of the Okanagan valley?

 

[NightOwl74]

[
"when was the last time you saw a Super Duty on a 4WD trail?"

I take my 05 F250 4x4 diesel crew into Monache Meadows 2-3 times a year to fish and camp. It's a tight fit for a 250 but it makes it with out a problem.

Heres one for you too:


http://images.4wheeloffroad.com/brandpages/ford/131_0211_build00c_s.jpg[/quote]
How come I can't see the strap connected to the front in the pic? How's bout a front shot of that truck?:naughty: