TFL's 2024 Tacoma TRD Off-Road 4x4's 4WD Broke Down Deep in the Mountains

[Ratbert]

He even had the wheels straight when it snapped. Nothing close to being extreme with it.

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[JimS]

I'd be more worried if it didn't seem like they almost intentionally tried to break it. No break in whatsoever, towed on the first day, max load towing a few days later , drag raced a 3G days after, then yea let's go wheeling up an icy mountain with shit tires.

No actual owner is going to treat it like this in the first 2 weeks. This was done for entertainment. The fact that they released a teaser of it shows that.

Here's the break-in recommendations I found in manual covering the first 1000 miles:

From their initial road trip, which was over 1000 miles, the only violations I see are starting to tow a 2500 pound trailer 277 miles too soon, and towing above 50 mph for ~777 miles. All the exercises after that are post-break-in period, and tires are stock for the Off Road trim- unless I missed them swapping.

TFL is certainly one part entertainment. But I and many others really appreciate their stress tests that seek to verify manufacturer claims. And in my opinion nothing they've done was outside the bounds of what Toyota espouses (other than early towing of a light trailer).

 

[kelsen]

this looks and feels like a failure of the traction control and abs systems being too aggressive, couple that with tires that are a bit shit for the environment they were in. all around just a recipe for a bad time, but it doesn’t seem like they did it intentionally. it does seem like they were woefully unprepared with the stock tires. i also wonder if they aired them down at all because they looked pretty stiff

 

[Ratbert]

More complete video:

 

[Tacanta14]

I see a whole lot more '24 Tacos being put on QC hold coming up soon! And the stock tires on the OR failed miserably against the Falken Wildpeak and Nitto Grabbers in Tire Racks test, and they consider it a highway oriented, LIGHT OR tire!

 

[DrastikTRD]

Not good...getting recovered by a Colorado is not a good look for Tacomas. LOL

 

[MyEvilTwin]

I'd be more worried if it didn't seem like they almost intentionally tried to break it. No break in whatsoever, towed on the first day, max load towing a few days later , drag raced a 3G days after, then yea let's go wheeling up an icy mountain with shit tires.

No actual owner is going to treat it like this in the first 2 weeks. This was done for entertainment. The fact that they released a teaser of it shows that.

Having worked for an engine manufacture, spend a decade training mechanics on engines, and rebuilt probably close to 250 engines I can say they broke it in just fine. Every engine the manufacturers put in their vehicles is tested prior to being put in. Methods vary by manufacturer but they are essentially "broken in" by the time they are installed on the assembly line.
Want to have low power or a weak engine? Baby it for break in. If the transmission or differentials are poorly designed or assembled incorrectly they will fail within the first couple hundred kilometers at the most. They broke it in how a truck should be broken in.

 

[Planoman]

I see a whole lot more '24 Tacos being put on QC hold coming up soon! And the stock tires on the OR failed miserably against the Falken Wildpeak and Nitto Grabbers in Tire Racks test, and they consider it a highway oriented, LIGHT OR tire!

No question that these stock tires feel even less off road capable that the goodyear wranglers on my 2023 Tacoma off road. This is anecdotal since I have net seen a comparison but not surprised they were called a highway oriented light OR tire.

 

[apryakhin]

Got me thinking about my Tacoma now. Is there way to test when you engage 4Hi (assuming you are alone in the car) that you actually have 4x4 working? Despite what dashboard tells you.


I got to fix my powered tailgate which literally stopped working on day two. Maybe I should wait until the four-wheel drive stops working, so I could do the repairs in one go.

 

[beninbeta]

Got me thinking about my Tacoma now. Is there way to test when you engage 4Hi (assuming you are alone in the car) that you actually have 4x4 working? Despite what dashboard tells you

You could use a gopro and mount it to your vehicle, then connect to it with your phone to see if the front tires are spinning.

 

[coldconfession13]

I feel like the Honda Pilot Trailsport has better offroad tires than the 24 taco off road.

 

[Ratbert]

Got me thinking about my Tacoma now. Is there way to test when you engage 4Hi (assuming you are alone in the car) that you actually have 4x4 working? Despite what dashboard tells you.

Gun it on dirt / snow for a sec, then get out and look at the impact on the dirt / snow?

 

[cuechairo]

I have given this some more thought after watching the full video, and I think there my engineer brain says there a chance it could be a software issue and fixed via an update. Hear me out...
Lets start with a list of facts:
1. This truck has a decent amount of torque.
2. If you rev the engine, that torque has to go somewhere.
3. Traction control works by braking wheels that it detects are spinning.

So, if the ABS is overactive (the braking responsiveness likely changes based on the drive mode that is selected in 4 LO). It could have braked both the front left and front right wheels too much in a similar time frame, which it could mean that all the torque going to the front axle could have been delivered to wheels that both have the brakes applied to a certain degree. If the brakes are applied and are keeping those wheels from spinning, that torque still has to go somewhere. In this case, a drivetrain component gave way. It's possible the trucks need updated to better ensure wheels are braked too aggressively under high torque situations.

Now, of course it would be better to have beefy drivetrain components that can take the abuse...

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