Ok, I get it. But why do you think that the TFL/TKs incidents are a problem? I pay no attention to the forums so I gotta ask, have there been more issues of Tacos ADDs breaking like TFLs or clutches blowing up on downshifts? Or do you just feel that Toyota quality overall is a problem counting the Tundra/Lexus engine recall as well?
(Edit, sorry for the long winded answer)
There are transmission issues popping up on the forums specifically with the manual transmission, I think that's why videos have been made and it's being discussed. We don't know if the manual transmission issues are specifically due to the clutch or other components yet just because people on forums aren't journalists that get full length review and answers from Toyota or engineers.
I have not seen diff issues on TacomaWorld which is the other major forum I spend more time on. I've said it before I'll say it again a very small percentage of owners actively participate in an enthusiast forum.
So for me this is a bigger story going a little further back than just the new Tacoma. The third gen Tacoma from inception was plagued with issues that in the end were never solved. They kept pumping out the exact same engine with the same transmission. They tried a reflash of the transmission a couple of times but that didn't solve any problems and in some cases made it worse. It was a pretty terrible driving experience.
Then after the third gen Tacoma disappointment the new Tundra comes out and as we are all aware of has had major problem after major problem not just with the engine. The engine portion of those issues also bleeds into some Lexus vehicles.
Now we have the new Tacoma which is having manual transmission issues and a broken diff, both happened to be caught on camera by automotive journalists. The likelihood of that happening leads me to believe it is not a one-off occurrence. It is having other issues reported by owners on forums but those are typically the type of issues I would expect to see in a new release vehicle.
Generally speaking Toyota gets a pass, that's obviously an opinion. But if I focus in on TFL and we look at Andre's trail Boss it has had two issues. An update glitched the software and drained his battery which was experienced by a small amount of other users. Also his rear camera has failed and they have struggled to get it fixed, I have not seen that reported by anyone else but like Toyota's diff I'm sure someone else has had the problem. They talk about The trail boss issue in every single mid-size comparison they've done but it amounted to a small software issue that was addressed and shouldn't happen again. Hasn't happened again and that was over a year ago. Nothing mechanically has gone wrong with an all-new designed and released truck with all new parts. That's pretty damn good from GM in my opinion where Toyota has had substantial issues with their last three new trucks.
I was a pretty diehard Toyota fan, I put 200,000 plus miles on my 2009 Tacoma and close to 150k mi on a 2008 Prius. I was interested in getting a third gen Tacoma and as I travel a lot for work I rented a third gen twice both in Southern California at LAX. In each trip I put about 7 to 800 mi on the truck and each time I rented it a couple of years apart I hated it. You can't keep it at speed on the freeway without constantly finding a new position for the gas pedal. You would be cruising easily at 65 and all of a sudden it would start losing speed and you would have to damn near floor it to get it back up to speed and that isn't once in the highway trip it's constant, cruise control didn't solve the problem.
As my kids were also growing I decided to start looking at full size trucks in 2021 and spent quite a bit of seat time in each manufacturer's option. I knew the new Tundra was coming and had seen it but wasn't a fan. I did go test drive one when they released and again wasn't a fan of it.
As a long time Toyota fan I had a belief in my head that they were king of reliability and quality and that GM, Ford and RAM were junk. Well to my shock they all three in their own way were better than the current Tundra. My AT4 has been rock solid as of 43,000 mi and knock on wood I haven't had a single issue.
I'm old enough to remember that when comparing trucks Toyota consistently offered a more basic option than the others but historically had better reliability and resale. If we take into account the now significantly higher entry price resale value starts going out the window quickly that leaves us with reliability... It's my opinion that when they tried to step up their game with the third gen Tacoma and offer a more modern vehicle with options the other manufacturers had been doing for years they started running into the same problems that Ford GM and Ram run into. The third gen Tacoma the new Tundra and the new Tacoma are the first trucks Toyota has made that are on par with the big three in options, tech and power.
It seems like they're having a lot of issues with that. It's a little easier to always be building a generation older truck...
