Performance/issues in extreme cold?

[306trd]

Hello,

Waiting for my '26 to arrive. Curious if anybody has had experience with running the 4G in extreme cold temperatures (i.e. -40)? I'm sure Toyota has cold-weather tested these, but it's happened more than once that design flaws with vehicles have flaws that don't get exposed until some extended use in the kind of winter conditions that we're used to where I live. Would love to hear all experiences, good or bad.

I plan to run 0W20 full-syn year-round, my understanding is that's what the spec is - am I out to lunch on this? It used to be common practice to run a lighter oil in the winter around here, pretty sure that's not possible if spec is already 0W20 unless I'm missing something.

Might be a little early yet but also wondering if rust has been a problem for anyone, especially if road salt is in play. It seems like Toyota did a better job of treating the underbody, but definitely felt there was room for improvement. Any suggestions/recommendations for rust/paint protection on these would be appreciated.

TIA and have a great day!

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[MT-Taco]

Yep, the only issue I had at -40 was 13-14mpg!

 

[WKTJR1]

The spec oil is perfectly fine for year round use.

 

[24tacoman]

I regularly work in the northernmost regions of Canada (Nunavut, well into the Arctic circle) and I’ve seen a handful of 4th gens driving around just fine up there. Temperatures regularly drop below -40C during the winter season there. Seems like they just plug in the factory installed block heater and the trucks work fine. The Tacoma is by far the most popular truck up there.

 

[Duck Amuck]

Absolutely no issues in rural Northern Alberta last winter, and it was a long cold winter at that. Plug it in when the temperature gets really cold, use the remote starter in the app, and enjoy.

My mechanic up there would suggest changing the oil mid-winter regardless of mileage, because he says the cold thins the oil.

 

[GPTaco]

2024 Sport Premium, going into second winter in Northern Alberta, no issues at all. Plug it in below -20c recommended or like most vehicles it might get cranky.

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