Faults:

Ever since I drove it off the lot, the engine had a horrible shake and vibration. The back brakes always made noises. Also a bunch of electrical issues including air bag light, traction control, and a dead battery on 5 different occasions.

After 2 years of raising hell and the dealer not being able to pinpoint anything, they finally bought it back. Like it or not, Toyota is not what they used to be. Bought a Tacoma brand new in 1998 and had 6 years of trouble free ownership. Ever since Chevy brought back the Colorado I have had my eyes on it and purchased one last week.

Faults:

- Air conditioner sometimes stops working on hot days.

- Steering wheel shake.

- Clutch master cylinder (TSB warranty repair).

- 4x4 system sometimes does not want to engage.

General Comments:

I purchased a Toyota for the first time; some of my friends have older model Toyotas and have demonstrated amazing reliability and low maintenance attributes. I figured I would be buying a quality product, I even purchased the basic model single cab, with the only extras being air conditioning and 4x4. Well it seems Toyota cannot even get that right anymore.

Things rattle inside, the steering wheel vibrates and shakes between 60-80mph on smooth roads. On hot days, when having an A/C at a train crossing is desirable, after 5 minutes at a stop it quits working. And NOT the clutch, but the clutch master cylinder (pump) is making a squeaking noise and starting to fail. That however is being replaced under warranty.

With that aside, I've only put less than 25,000 miles on the thing. Nothing should be wrong with it at all. Things happen, I can understand one problem, but 3 relatively large problems this early into ownership; I'm not impressed so far.

I am the owner of a truck that does not offer what every other compact pick-up offers from horsepower to creature comforts, BUT I sacrificed the goodies and pleasurables for basic reliability, and I have not received that so far. In addition I have not had the best of luck with dealer cooperation of resolution of issues, which sort of makes the warranty useless; I've received responses of "it's your driving habits" or "that is normally how that operates" or "we are unable to duplicate that problem".

My advice, if I could do it over again, is to not sponsor Toyota and buy from a different manufacturer. Overall I'm unhappy with my purchase, and would not buy another Toyota product.

Faults:

The truck has a terrible idle, shakes the fillings out of your teeth. The dealer admits he can feel the shake, but won't attempt to repair/service it without a check engine light.

General Comments:

The Tacoma is no longer the king of small pick up trucks.