I went from a 5.9 CTD to a Tacoma.
I have a 16 TRDOR DCSB with an auto. Mine is fairly early for Gen 3, so I should theoretically have all sorts of problems, but I haven’t.
I have not done the tranny flash - mine has been fine. ECT isn’t power, but it does seem to smooth out the shift points, so I use it sometimes.
The crawl modes are gimmicky, but I did use them in Moab and they work. You don’t need them. In fact, I only used them to check it out.

I tow a 2300lb (dry) t-series hard-side pop-up and use a scanguage to monitor trans temp. Towing, even over Ike and Vail pass didn’t really produce much drama in temp, and I keep it at S4 and under towing. It isn’t like towing with a CTD.

The 3.5L is a different animal than the 4.0 in my ‘13 Tacoma, my 12 FJ, and my wife’s 16 4Runner. Much like when jeep made the switch, this one lives at higher RPMs, and so there is a very different feel than the normal low end and lower RPM torque.

The interior is much better than the Gen 2, but at 6’5”, I fit slightly better in my 13 SR5 with the MT.


I like it. I liked my CTD, but I like that this thing will park anywhere. Plenty of complaints all over Tacomaworld, but plenty of really happy folks who just have nothing to complain about. For a while, they couldn’t keep them in stock. I had to try to order and I waited 2 months for mine, but I wanted the orange.