If you were a Toyota designer... what would you change?

[svaughn76]

The quality of the cloth seats. My 2nd Gen SR5 Prerunner had better quality materials and an aestehtically pleasing design that was more stain resistant. Also all trim levels above the base should come standard with the 14" screen.

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[JCNFLA]

BIGGER GAS TANK, MAY BE TWO TONE PAINT JOB ON ALL MODELS....

 

[KeithB]

Drivers side grab handle
Seat back pocket on both sides
Isodynamic seats optional on Pro
High air intake optional on TH
Moon/sun roof not part of all upgrade packages
Nightshade option for Limited

 

[OrienteeringMapGuy]

A backup camera that still works with the tailgate down.

 

[TacoFreak]

A bigger gas tank and a hybrid that can keep its 12 volt charged top my list. I would also love one switch that turned off all of electronic "aids" and just let me use it as a freaking truck and not an electronic version of my Granny.

 

[lauren01]

A bigger gas tank and a hybrid that can keep its 12 volt charged top my list. I would also love one switch that turned off all of electronic "aids" and just let me use it as a freaking truck and not an electronic version of my Granny.

Seconding those a thousand times.

 

[Lando]

The quality of the cloth seats. My 2nd Gen SR5 Prerunner had better quality materials and an aestehtically pleasing design that was more stain resistant. Also all trim levels above the base should come standard with the 14" screen.

This. I find the SR5 all black seats better than the grey 2 tones seats that stain easily in the Sport and Off Road models.

 

[Twodan]

Hey everyone — just for fun, let’s say you’re a Toyota designer. What’s one thing you would add, remove, or change on the Tacoma — and which part of the truck would it be?

Redesign the drivers' seat so my right thigh was comfortable. I can last at best a two hour drive before it's very uncomfortable. With 9K on the clock still not sure I'll keep it, but not sure of what would replace it.

 

[Gear_yyc]

Redesign the drivers' seat so my right thigh was comfortable. I can last at best a two hour drive before it's very uncomfortable. With 9K on the clock still not sure I'll keep it, but not sure of what would replace it.

I have found the seats very comfortable, even driving 12 hours in a day. From what I've seen, the seats are generally praised for being comfortable. I do think that this may be a case of them just not being the right seat for you, in particular. My wife traded in a car she had because of the same thing - the seats didn't fit her right and her back would start to hurt after a short time driving. Nothing is a one-size fits all!

 

[Will721]

Standardized wiring harness. I have no idea why Toyota has gone backwards on an industry standard like common harnesses. Manufacturers for decades have done this because it is cheaper to have a single common part for the entire line than an A la carte style. Plus it streamlines the assembly process.

If they had used a common harness, the addition of aux switches would be plug and play. Same with adding higher trim options post manufacturing such as heated/cooled seats, heated steering wheels, trailer brake controller, grille lights, switchable fog lights, and bed accessories. In practice you could build a Limited, Pro, or Trailhunter spec'd Xtra cab (minus the hybrid), and do so buying all the parts directly from Toyota and installed at your dealership.

 

[ajkitebrder40]

riving 12 hours in a day. From what I've seen, the seats are generally praised for being comfortable. I do think that this may be a case of them just not being the right seat for you, in particular. My wife traded in a car she had because of the same thing - the seats didn't fit her right and her back would start to hurt after a short time driving. Nothing is a one-size fits all!

I'd agree, this is one of the main reasons I went with the 4th gen. I also came from a vehicle which for me having driven a '89 XJ, '93 Toyota Pickup, '07 JK had very comfortable seats - '23 Bronco with MGV the Tacoma has been excellent comfort wise.

I do wish, and this is probably my one design change would be vinyl seats or something other than cloth without the premium package, but the EKR seat covers have been great, so for $200 this issue is resolved.

 

[tmac5809]

1. More integrated infotainment system (see GM designs)
2. Extend the cab by a couple inches to allow for more rear occupant room.
3. Separated hitch receiver. I hate that it's integrated into the frame. With regular use I can see it rusting away. It's separated on the Tundra.
4. Frame mounted bump stops like on the LC.
5. Rear seats when folded up are held with a strap. This is clearly cost cutting. The GM twins, Ranger, and I think the Frontier all have mechanisms that automatically hold the benches up when folded up.

 

[KeithB]

Actually I have another one. On the 2nd gen, don't know about 3rd Gen, the rear seat bottoms folded forward into the foot well and then the seat back would fold down flat where the seat bottom used to be. This created much more usable space on a hard plastic flat surface. This did not require any mechanism either to hold anything in place. Why was this setup abandoned? It was far superior in my opinion.

 

[BTAO]

Since we're talking engineering:

Braking safety - when the brake boost control is not on, there's a lot of pedal travel, more than any car I've had. When it's on, which is pretty random, seemingly tied to how fast you push the pedal or the camera surveillance system detecting something to stop faster for, the brakes are fast, responsive, and feel great. The unpredictiveness is dangerous. Pick one so that you can learn it. On or off.

Bigger fuel tank, obv.

PPF behind the door handles for my girl's finger nails.

Option for matte hood panel for glare.

More matte dash finish for sun glare.

The key fob auto start range needs to be much farther so I can start the truck in the driveway. It only works within a truck length.

Despite reading it three times, please provide a better menu map in the manual, and more intuitive menu navigation for the cluster.

Have more background options for the cluster. The Subie mountains on the Crosstrek for example.

Rain sensing wipers with the ability to close your windows automatically if it detects rain when locked.

Moonroof option for Trailhunter.

Through hole grab handles for the doors, they are useless otherwise.

Clips for the passenger seat belt like the back for when not in use so it doesn't go all flappy with the windows down. How about a little magnet that does it automatically?

Free connected app services.

Make adjusting the volume for navigation/notifications/alerts/assistant much easier and clearer and separate from the music volume.

The wireless charger sucks at staying connected and charging, causing the phone to ping and turn on constantly to the point where it's useless. As such, I haven't figured out how to turn the charger off so I can just put my phone there, anyone?

 

[FlyAngler]

I’ve not seen this yet! Pic?

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