The Reliability of Old Toyota Tacomas: A Study of their Durability and Practicality

I remember back in the day, Toyotas were known for their incredible durability and reliability. And it's true that some of them have lasted for decades with minimal maintenance. One of the reasons for their longevity is that they're built to withstand harsh conditions. In fact, many Toyota Tacomas are still on the road today, having survived rough terrain and extreme weather conditions.

One of the key reasons why Toyotas like the Tacoma are so reliable is because of their rugged construction. The frame is particularly noteworthy, as it's designed to be bulletproof. Yes, you read that right - bulletproof! While most people won't need to worry about that in everyday life, it's a testament to the vehicle's overall toughness. Of course, if you're looking at a used Tacoma, it's essential to inspect the frame carefully. While some damage may be repairable with welding, extensive damage can lead to catastrophic failure.

I've had my share of experience with Tacomas, and I can attest to their reliability. One time, I bought a Toyota for $2,200, and it was still running strong after 80,000 miles. It's not bad for a car that's over 25 years old! The owner had driven it extensively on the East Coast, where emissions regulations are particularly strict. While modern cars may be more environmentally friendly, they often come with hefty price tags and restrictive maintenance schedules.

One of my favorite features of older Toyotas is their use of glass headlights. These were incredibly reliable and only faded over time - unlike modern plastic headlights that crack and shatter easily. I've seen many examples of these headlights still shining brightly after years of driving, even in harsh conditions like heavy rain or snow.

Bumpers are another area where old Tacomas tend to shine. While they may rust away eventually, it's often possible to replace them with a new one at a relatively low cost - sometimes as little as $110 online. I once bought a brand-new chrome bumper for my son's Toyota, and it lasted years before needing replacement.

Despite their many advantages, smaller pickup trucks like the Toyota Tacoma are still not widely available in modern times. Modern cars often prioritize style over substance, which can lead to lighter construction and reduced reliability. However, there's hope on the horizon - Toyota has hinted at reviving the small pickup truck market, and it would be a welcome change for many drivers.

Overall, old Toyotas like the Tacoma are still going strong today, thanks to their rugged construction and durable design. Whether you're looking for a reliable work vehicle or simply a practical car for everyday driving, the Tacoma is definitely worth considering - especially if you can snag one at a low price point and put in some TLC to keep it running for years to come.

If you're thinking of buying a used Toyota Tacoma with a rotten frame, be aware that this may not be fixed without significant cost. While Toyota does offer repair services for vehicles with damaged frames, there's no guarantee they'll be willing to help - especially if the vehicle is old or has already accumulated high mileage. When it comes to repairs, it's often better to err on the side of caution and walk away from a potentially costly fix.

So, what can you expect from owning an old Toyota Tacoma? For one thing, they're incredibly easy to repair and maintain. Parts are widely available and affordable, and many owners have reported being able to fix their vehicles with minimal technical expertise. Additionally, Tacomas like this one offer excellent gas mileage - often comparable to modern cars that cost thousands more.

If you ever get the chance to own a Toyota Tacoma like this one, don't hesitate - they're a gem of an old car that will serve you well for years to come. And who knows? Maybe one day, we'll see smaller pickup trucks like the Tacoma become popular again. A driver can dream, right?

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines here we go the indestructible small Toyota Tacoma before they got big this is a 96. the guy paid 2 200 bucks for it like 80 000 miles ago is he getting this money worth well I certainly think he is now the only downside to this truck is it's an East Coast here in Connecticut so it's per usual it had problems with these frames starting to ride away no it's not horrible this back part is starting to rot here but see how it's still solid not crunchy this is 10 times better knowing my son had we'll go to the other side and again we can see see there's rotten parts but the rest is still pretty solid solid as a rock that's in the saw to the tire spraying it up so actually it's not in that bad shape just those parts I would re-weld Steel on those parts myself yeah like my sons would put whole plates in he's still driving around that way but uh this is an Immaculate shape compared to his all right I've had customers buy late model Tacoma some of those things were over 40 Grand and he paid 2200 for this when that like 60 000 miles on it go back in time it have to be yes believe it or not a Granny's car he bought it from a granny with his friend I guess the new one they're going to call Stout and it's going to be a small pickup truck because all these people they think they know their own business let me tell you something a lot of them they don't know Squad about the American public Americans loved the small pickup trucks but they wanted to make bigger ones for bigger profit right Ford making our little Mavericks they're selling the heck out of those things and they're a smaller pick up truck it'll be interesting to see if Toyota Stout will be the classic rear-wheel drive or the front wheel drive like the Maverick did this Mavericks really ride quite well for a little pickup truck when these things were made yeah they ride rough their little pickup truck but the modern ones can be made so they ride well and they all made a mistake if you ask me not making small ones there are a lot of people you can fit a lot of stuff in this gets a lot better gas mileage than a big giant truck since these were Toyotas they generally lasted forever because when you look under the hood the venerable 2.4 liter Toyota four-cylinder engine these things I've seen them with a million miles on them they are so well made this particular one doesn't burn oily yeah the AC still works just made to go and go now when you check it out the original Toyota bed hey pretty good shape the onions out there these are called split Bank seats you probably have no idea what they are but they are bench seats people put them to use back in the days because look how wide they are and as we close the door these are called hand crank windows for those of you who don't know that's how we used to open Windows they never broke you crank them up and down by hand now I notice it's still got the Toyotas logic control tape deck this was before even CDs it's got a tape deck in it basic vehicle no sunroof glass in the back the fancy ones like one my son had had a sliding back but this is just a plain old back but you start it up it's a Toyota they always start what's up this key is so worn didn't pull out leave the car running now they weren't made that way it just wore out that way now listen to this rattling pile of junk well I'll blame the vehicle he's just throwing a bunch of junk back here that's how I'm rattling away there's nothing wrong with the vehicle now I do have to say they said they had storage behind the seat but it's not that roomy and yeah the plain old tires don't have hubcaps anymore and the rims are Rusty but they still work they're just radical it had 16 valves a radical from dinosaur ages originally cars only had two valves per cylinders so it would have eight this is 16 because there's four valves per song mass airflow Century changes still on so we're gonna do a scan just to see what's going on but since this is a 1996 in Connecticut when they're 25 years old you don't have to go through the emissions testing so he can merrily drive his Toyota around it runs perfectly fine and not care about it gee You Gotta Wait 25 years in Connecticut and Tennessee it's instant they don't do any kind of inspection that's an old vehicle so we're using old scan tool I spilled some paint on it the other day but you can still read it so and the code is po171 system is too lean on bank one generally if you get a small intake manifold leak maybe a little leaky EGR valve or even a clogged fuel filter or dirty fuel injectors you can often get that coat it's the only code of this so let's look at live data you can see the short-term fuel is zero percent so short term it's not running lean but long term it's Eddie quite a bit no it's got no problems at highway speed so it can't be the fuel pump not pumping enough pressure because it runs perfectly fine it's getting around 29 miles a gallon on the highway hey it's a truck that's really good gas mods considering how old it is it's got the old-fashioned emergency brake that you pull instead of having it over here it's the old American style from old cars we'll look at some more of the Dead if anything looks weird I mean's good air temperatures right now there's a warning I'll give you about old cars like this it does say it's running 30 percent lean on the long term even though the short term is normal she's getting 29 miles a gallon and it's running fine my advice is leave it alone because I've actually fixed Vehicles like this I could get the long-term fuel trim to be maybe one or two percent instead of 30. you know what happened the gas mileage went down because if it runs lean you're losing less Fuel and more air getting a lot of rally noises up bearings and stuff going around but I don't hear any vacuum leaks and I know it can't be a vacuum leak now and here's my reasoning if you got a vacuum leak on a car it does the most damage when it's idling because if it's stuck in air you get too much air not enough fuel it'll idle like crap this thing idles perfectly fine if you do have a vacuum leak when you're going to lower speeds it affects the vehicle more because the engine's only going eight nine hundred RPM when a vehicle is going fast on a highway worse fuel trims if you've got a different problem like injectors are dirty or they're old or something like that because a vacuum weight is generally going to make it worse in the long term and not the short-term idling around something in the fuel injection system is just acting up a tiny bit and as old as this thing is with 29 miles a gallon who really cares you don't really care you don't worry about that kind of isolation on an old truck like this it uses it every day doesn't burn oil runs perfectly fine runs pretty good the way it is getting 29 miles a gallon you want to lose a few of those so it's running a little bit richer not me I'd leave the thing alone we're going to take it for a road test now so the handbrake off we'll ignore the check engine light we know what it is and of course there's no backup camera you use your head for a backup camera these other things rattled but what the heck we can fly over those bumps and the brake light comes on because the switch here is kind of stuck but we don't care about that either it still goes down the road rattles and all the silver back into the mirror starting to go away on the edges all the old Toyotas did this but the Flat's still working a lot of times they're broken but this is still working let's turn that radio up if you don't like the rattling noise it's almost lunch time so there'll be eight million people here it does not allow that bad the rattling more or less goes away until you hit bumps and here we go well for it smooth shift still got plenty of zip in it it's a very reliable 2.4 liter engine realize it's not that small of an engine it's a reasonable size and can we turn fast yes we can look at that hey let go of the wheel inside it right these are fun little trucks I think Toyota's going to make a smart move if they start making small trucks again there are so many people that want small trucks I mean these things you can basically run forever in Afghanistan my son saw tons of them when he was there so really nothing unexpected the engine Still's got pulling power still shifts like a dream and you know he's basically done that much of anything other than change the oil put tires on when they wear out and put gasoline in the tank and while we're driving back I don't hear any humming from Warren wheel bearings or anything they're all still in excellent shape they over built these little bitty pickup trucks back in the day I mean that's why they sold so many of them it just lasted so long so these all Tacomas they may have been small but man they're pretty much bulletproof Vehicles now of course if you're looking at a used one you want to check out the frame and in this case most of it's pretty solid there's a few holes that could be welded over but if you get a hammer and you hit it and it goes crunch don't buy the vehicle because the frame is just going to crack in half I have had people buy them and strangely enough Toyota does have a deal where they're supposed to fix all the rotten frames right and then they say oh now they're too old too many miles or whatever but last year I had a guy buy one with a rotten frame he got a hold of Toyota they took the truck they pulled the entire truck off the frame put it on a new frame and didn't charge them anything for it it's just odd I've seen where they have hundreds of them sitting in warehouses the frames and they decide who they're going to fix them for they're not going to fix it don't Bank on buying one with a rotten frame and thinking well they'll fix it for free because putting the frame is more money than any vehicle's worth that's sold itself you got to take everything off and then put it all in another frame so engine transmission Wheels doors everything so if you do see one with a rotten frame my advice is walk away don't mess around with it he's driven it 80 000 miles for 2200 bucks and it's still running pretty good and of course the big Advantage now is especially on the East Coast it's over 25 years old he doesn't have to deal with any of that emissions BS and he can drive it until the wheels fall off and no one's going to say you can't drive that because your check engine light is on we really wanted to snazz it up hey he could get another hubcap not let people see the driver's side he's got him on the passenger side and like I warned people about quality and what it used to be well okay this is an old vehicle right well look at the mirrors they're still solid plastic right and you remember I had guys bringing me two three-year-old Toyotas and the plastic had melted and Toyota called it a thermal event meaning that the sun got hot melted it well this one's not melted this one isn't melted either it's the original one yeah it's a little faded here but it's not melted don't even make the plastic parts like they used to my favorite you know what these are you never see those anymore glass headlights do they fade no they do not fade they cost hardly nothing and they last a long time and then you wonder why did they go to make plastic headlights they fade they crack then you got to buy a assembly that cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars well they did it for one reason and that's style if these are up you get a wind action you clean them and then they're shiny again no it's got to tell here even the midst he's over towed he's done pallets of pavers and stuff now you can see here this is typical too the bumpers rust away and it's still solid but when I got my sons his was completely rotted away so I put a brand new one on cost me 110 online it was all chromed and when it got rid of it years later it was still nice and chrome so these things are easy and cheap to fix too it just bolts off bolts on parts are so readily available for them worldwide because like I say they're running these things in the desert all over the place they there's still tons of them going and there's all kinds of inexpensive Parts you can get to fix them up with it's still going strong the old Tacomas hey maybe their new version of a small pickup will at least come close to this thing in terms of size they could certainly get a little bit better gas mileage because they could go front wheel drive but Toyota said they're going to make them I hope they do make small pickup trucks because they could clean up with that there's so many people that would be happy with the small pickup truck people don't all want this big giant truck that costs 60 to 80 thousand dollars and gets horrible gas mileage let's hope they come out with a smaller one bigger is not necessarily better it's often worse you get a nice sized truck that fits what you want if it can last like these things for 20 30 40 years hey let's hope they bring back the smaller one I guarantee you they'll sell the heck out of them they do so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that Bell thank you\n"