2 week review

I traded the 19 4R OffRoad for a 17 Tundra crewmax 4x4 and so far so good. I’m ear to ear grinning with the 5.7’s power. The fuel mileage is as terrible as advertised, but I really don’t care. My sr5 doesnt have navigation and at first it annoyed me, but then I remembered how unreliable it was in my previous taco and 4R and I’ve gotten over it. The interior build quality reminds me of the Tacoma: just ok. The 4R has the best interior build quality imo. I miss a diff locker. The transmission seems to shift really good; much better than the hunting for gears I had in the 17 Tacoma. The only thing that I’ve really been keeping an eye on is that there seems to be a lag when going from Reverse to Drive first thing. It seems to get better when it’s warm, but then it sneaks back from time to time. The Toyota service dept couldn’t duplicate this. It is certified so I’m going to continue to drive it like I stole it and if something breaks they can fix it. I put an RCI bed rack on it for my rooftop tent and plan on camping soon. I like the truck. It has less whizzbangs than other brands I test drove, but I think it is the best option on reliability for overlanding. So far so good...

 

We must have pictures...lol

 

of both

 

Hmm, too many words in that paragraph to read on a phone. Ill assume you like your two weeks and will also like the next two

 

As far

as the trans goes mine does the same thing. I’m not sure if there is a way to duplicate it, but occasionally from a dead stop it engages with a clunk and feels like it can’t decide which gear to take off in. It doesn’t do it when tow/haul is engaged though. Dealer of course couldn’t duplicate the issue

 

Howdy from DFW and ditto^^^

 

I understand that words=bad and pics=good. I’ll post some tomorrow. Lol

 

I have no idea if my transmission does that because so far I've backed in everywhere.

 

I back into my driveway and i always back into spots as well. But the few times that I haven't, I have also noticed a slight delay. You'll feel it if you try to give it gas and it kicks a little bit.

 

My transmission does the same when I back of out my garage. It feels like it’s stuck in neutral for a second or two going from R to D. I try to avoid hitting the gas until I feel D really engage.

 

Mine does the same thing, but so did my F150; but this thing shifts FAR better than the F150 ever did, so I'm not concerned.

 

I like the tan interior.Wish mine was tan

 

Yeah. I like the tan also.

 

Welcome from Ontario Canada, nice truck

 

I took it to another dealer this morning and the service writer acknowledged the issue. I’m bringing it back early this week because he didn’t want me to leave it over the weekend. I’ll update as I move forward. It is annoying for sure. It’s got me eyeballing the new F-150 and the super deals now. I’ll hold off, though, before I throw the baby out with the bath water.

 

Update: this morning there was a good obvious almost two stage engagement when going from reverse to drive. The dealership saw nothing wrong mechanically, but flashed the transmission for its learning doohickey. Apparently these transmissions learn it’s owners driving style. I’m not sure what this says about the previous owner’s driving style. I will say the fix has worked so far(just a few hours). I Cant decide if I’m cautiously optimistic or skeptical, but I will be paying attention to it for sure. Anybody else here ever get their transmission reset? Or was I sold snake oil? Lol.

 

I drive heavy duty pickups for work and the transmission in my Tundra reminds me of the older five and six speed ones I used to drive.

I find that it feels the smoothest for me when I give it a sec before going into drive...for example, put it in reverse and back up, into neutral and let the transmission settle, then slide it into drive and it's butter smooth.

In general I've always felt that the Aisin transmission we have is rather clunky buy it's an older design and reliable so for me that's okay. The new Ford heavy duty six speeds are super smooth but they had the benefit of newer designs. We don't use any others heavy duty transmissions than those so I couldn't comment on anything else.

 

No. You weren't sold snake oil. I have a 2017 and the Owners manual refers to it as AI (artificial intelligence). It clearly says in there that the truck (O.K. the computer) learns your driving habits and adapts mechanically to it. Do you have the Owners manual? So a full reset on the tranny brain would most likely produce a type of noticeable difference when you drove it next.

 

Lol... I just did almost the same thing as you. 2 weeks ago I traded my '19 Tacoma for an '18 CrewMax Tundra 4x4. And yes, gas mileage sucks.BUt it sucked in my Tacoma, too. Plus that dainty tank that would routinely show no more than 285 miles to empty on a tank. At least the Tundra says about 450 miles to empty when full. And yes...POWER! Transmission doesn't hunt for gears at all like the Tacomas do. Only thing you didn't mention that was the MAIN reason I traded was the interior room. That back seat is limo-like! Had mine 2 weeks and lovin it...just like you! Take care!

 

Yup. Lots of 4runners and tacos getting 13-17 mpg. Might as well be driving a tundra, you’ve got way more power and an extra 17 gallons of fuel.

 

I agree. However, the 4Runner was a close second for me because of it's stellar off road features. I wish we had some of them in the Off Road Tundras.

 

Nice Tundy....Good luck next two weeks or more....Interior looks killer.

 

I saw the word 'power' and had to chime in. LOL I totally agree. I traded in my '13 F150 for the '20 CrewMax. Honestly, I had no real issues with my F150; in 124K miles it never let me down. With that said, anyone who's driven the 5.0L knows that it is NOT known for its low-end torque.

Anyways, when test-driving the Tundra, I was pretty impressed with the torque/power/etc. Then when going for the 2nd test drive with my wife, I discovered I'd forgotten about the tow/haul button, so after pulling over, I pressed it and pulled out, applying the same amount of force to the gas.

Holy crap. I left 2 skid marks about 25' long. Even my wife said "What the....what the hell did you do?" I told her and she said ".....NOW I understand why you want this truck. You have my blessing."

 

Nice build so far. I am thinking about getting the RCI rack. Can you please do me a favor and measure the width of the flat area on top? Just the flat area. I have a hard shell rtt and it mounts different than most tents.

 

54” wide on the flat. 57” long on the flat. I got the optional extra bar to get two running the length. My tent is the CVT Mt Rainier 3-4 person. It’s pretty big. It does look good on their rack. I got the Long bed rack with the special adapters for the crewmax short bed. If you get the RCI it’s the way to go! I found it was easiest to just call them. Btw, they were jam up on customer service.

 

I’m not sure how I got the unicorn 2017 SR5, but it has the 26 gallon fuel tank. I’m going to have to work some OT to get the 46 gallon.

 

Yeah, it's weird with the Fords. Check out the hp/torque curves on the 2.7L and 3.5L Ecoboost engines vs the 5.0V8. That little 2.7 makes the same peak torque as the V8 but makes it over 2000 RPMs lower. I freakin love that 2.7L motor. The Tundra feels powerful for sure, but I would give the edge to the 2.7L on 'feeling' the power. The '18 F150 I had with the 2.7 was a rocket, especially in Sport mode. If I'm not mistaken it is the fastest 1/2 ton in 0-60 times...under 6 seconds. And lol, I haven't really put my Tundra's pedal to the floor yet. I can for sure tell it is snappy and has plenty of go!