2009 TOYOTA TACOMA

Good truck with some issues.

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 4

I purchased this truck in 2013 brand new. I still own it in October of 2016. There are two design flaws and one other issue with this truck. The two design flaws are: 1. There are two rubber strips across the top of the truck that come loose in strong wind or at the car was. I'm not exactly sure why these two rubber strips are on top of the truck in the first place. They don't seem to do anything except come off the truck. 2. The painted on descriptions of the controls. For example ... POWER on the radio knob. These painted on descriptions come off over time since they weren't recessed into the dash then painted so you couldn't touch the paint. In my opinion if they were just recessed without painting they would look better. So the descriptions of the knobs will come off over time due to touching them. The other issue is towing and the shifting of gears. I towed a UTV on a utility trailer. I could not use the cruise control when towing this UTV because the RPM's would go too high. Even without towing something the shifting takes a while at higher speeds (60+ MPH) when getting on the highway. Once it does finally shifts gears lowering the RPM's it's fine. I love the way my Tacoma TRD looks and handles, but there are issues that keep it from getting a 5 star rating that could have been caught in the design of this vehicle. I would recommend this truck but not if you want to tow something at it's maximum towing capacity and as long as you are OK with it's design faults.

Great truck!

Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 5

Hitting the sweet spot...

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 4

Looking for a respectable truck that can get around town and hit trail. Some of the amenities are a little outdated and the mileage is less than you want. That said, you want a capable off road vehicle that is comfortable around town with ok mileage then this is it.

Hard to beat Toyota longevity and resale value!

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 5

I purchased my 2013 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4wd new and only have two complaints. First the brakes are grabby sometimes at start up during cold weather. I plan on upgrading the brakes with quality drilled and slotted rotors with premium brake pads soon. Second when in 4wd low there is an alarm that goes off the entire time you have 4wd low selected. Very annoying! The truck is very off road capable and in my opinion the off road version rates up there with the Jeep Rubicon! I really love this truck and get a lot of compliments on it. My wife has a 2016 Limited 4runner and the brakes are perfect on it so Toyota has improved them. We have owned several makes and models and have had the best service with Toyota brands! The last four Toyota vehicles we have owned and sold over the years we made money on or got what we paid for them minus basic maintenance costs. We take very good care of our vehicles and have not had any trouble selling our previous used Toyota's! We live in a mountainous area and all the bear hunters use Toyota Tacoma 4wd trucks due to their bullet proof reliability and go any where abilities even with 300k miles on them! Take care of them and they will last! If I could have only one truck it would be a Toyota with out a doubt! We work hard for our money and want a trouble free vehicle that is still worth something in ten years. Toyota has proven to us to be reliable trouble free vehicles especially the Tacoma's and 4Runners!

Value

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 5

Great value for the cost, I looked for a truck for months. Most cost to much for a truck; if I wanted all the luxury bells and whistles I would buy a car. This truck fits me for the type of small projects I like doing.

love this truck

Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 5

Won't ever drive anything else but a Toyota Tacoma or 4 runner again!

Ok truck but noisy

Comfort Rating: 2 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 2 Reliability Rating: 3 Safety Rating: 3 Technology Rating: 2 Value Rating: 3

I owned a Nissan Frontier and the tires were bigger and the seats were better and you did not hear a lot of noise from the engine and like the Tacoma the engine has some power on the v-6 model but the Frontier v-6 is more powerful can handle bad weather better but the Tacoma has a better blind spot area than the Frontier both trucks are way over priced the Tacoma is mostly hype from its rich past the truck is made to fast and is poorly engineered Toyota is becoming like GM to big and it hurts when you fall from the top what can make the truck better is bigger tires and correct the engine noise problem and a better braking system this may be my last Tacoma

Awesome

Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 4

Just OK

Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 3 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 3

This is the best vehicle I have owned. I drive a lot of miles each year plus tow a 3000lb camper very frequently. This truck has not let me down at all. I love the comfort and style. The navigation works flawlessly and the JBL stereo is very nice. I have driven this truck through all types of climate and coast to coast and not experienced a single problem. This truck brings me joy just to get in and drive it. I simply love my Tacoma. Update...after driving it for 3 years now it has not gone smoothly. I have had consistent issues with the air conditioner not working properly and at 60000 the rear differential went out on the truck, this was a known issue with Toyota and there was a TSB for the problem. That being said makes my opinion of Toyotas reliability not as good.

Good/Safe/Reliable

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 4

Had a '14 4cyl. Tacoma access cab that I hit/bounced off a bridge 2 X at 70 MPH all bags (except passenger - no passenger) went off. It was totaled but crumpled as designed and trans/engine went into pavement as designed. It saved my life and no injuries. Replaced it with this '13 pre runner with a 4.0 six cyl. Get real avg. 20 MPG. Installed a Firestone rear airbag kit and the ride improved dramatically carrying 10 psi. with no load. I am an old guy and do not race around but plenty of power for me. We have had a 4runner, Landcruiser and several older off road junk tacomas. They all did their job and lasted if maintained.