1996 Toyota Tacoma 2WD from North America - Comments

Engine light stays on despite dealer turning it off. Fan clutch is starting to squeak at start up.

This truck has so far been nearly flawless. So far I have not had to replace anything except brake pads and wiper blades. The fan clutch is starting to squeak a bit, but that's to be expected for something with this many miles.

The positive aspects of the truck is the good fuel economy and a rather peppy quick engine. The reliability is key here as well. The sound system is surprisingly good for an economy vehicle.

The negative is the interior which is as bare bones as you can get with cloth covered bench seats. I am a small person, but even I get uncomfortable riding in it for long periods thus a larger person might find it uncomfortable.

Update on this truck. I STILL have it. I got a job that requires me to drive 60 miles a day. Since my last writing, the truck has acquired 55,000 more miles, bringing the total to around 216,000 miles. Since then, I had to replace a number of items. The water pump, fan clutch (which finally gave out) and a new set of belts have been replaced. But this truck is simple to work on so I've been able to do these things myself. Most recently, the plug wires fried on a hot summer day. This was due to me installing the cheapest wires from the last tune-up. The truck almost died on the way home, but I've since replaced the wires with high quality versions, along with the cap, rotor, and plugs. That took care of that.

The only thing that is starting to become a concern is what appears to be the formation of rust in some of the recesses. The windshield was replaced 10 years ago. It appears that the paint underneath it was scratched when the old pane was replaced. Hence it is rusting in the cracks. There's a small amount in one of the doors inside. No biggies. By the time they become major problems, I will probably have something else as the mileage would be pretty high by then. Who knows.

I still trust this truck as a daily driver and me and my wife are taking a 3,000 mile road trip in it in a few months. So it is time to change all the major fluids- radiator and tranny- and take off.

I've looked into the new Tacomas. I'm not horribly impressed with their gas mileage and I was hoping to get a V6. Guess I might have to hold onto this old one long enough to have Toyota go through one more design run.