Fit and Finish ?

[MarineVet6113]

Ok finally got the new truck to replace the one that had to have the dash ripped off. So far so good but just a couple things I noticed I didn’t notice on the other one. I may be being really pretty lol. Don’t get me wrong I love the truck but for whatever reason this driver door handle bugs me a bit. Maybe because it looks more obvious when you pull on the door. The seam is just not tight at all. I guess I’m wondering what it will be like in a few years. Anyone else have a large gap here. It’s no where near as bad on passenger side and don’t remember the last truck having that. Wondering if I should bother mentioning it or not…maybe reseating the trim piece or a new trim piece would seat better?? Just curious if everyone’s door is like this or not. The other gap in the picture on left of console bugs me less but still seems like it should have been better.

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[26wx]

I hear you. I just try to remember that even new vehicles are imperfect things. That certainly doesn't mean it wouldn't bug me either. And it's stuff that you can easily gloss over when taking possession of the new truck...your brain is probably going a million miles per hour because you're excited about the new purchase, stressed about cost/adding a payment, etc., not looking for gaps in trim pieces.

Maybe see what they say. But just remember, that trim piece gap may still exist at 300k miles, but all you've had to do is regular maintenance on the best production auto manufacturer out there during that entire time.

 

[MarineVet6113]

I hear you. I just try to remember that even new vehicles are imperfect things. That certainly doesn't mean it wouldn't bug me either. And it's stuff that you can easily gloss over when taking possession of the new truck...your brain is probably going a million miles per hour because you're excited about the new purchase, stressed about cost/adding a payment, etc., not looking for gaps in trim pieces.

Maybe see what they say. But just remember, that trim piece gap may still exist at 300k miles, but all you've had to do is regular maintenance on the best production auto manufacturer out there during that entire time.

It really is a petty thing but I will probably ask them about it just in case a new trim piece or something might tighten it up. Maybe it’s the price point these days that makes one expect more a bit and for sure there is some paranoia going on since the first 4th gen Tacoma is the only one so far out of all produced that came with a cracked AC box and is going to have the entire dash ripped out so I am probably scrutinizing everything.

 

[hoodouken]

You're not alone. Seems to be a common complaint that though it's not terrible it's not the usual Toyota standard. I can't help but wonder if the plant in Mexico will get reprimanded due to all the complaints? Probably not but, we'll see if the 2025's are tighter.

 

[komek]

This one of 2 main reasons I am deciding (sadly) not to get the new Tacoma :( I had my heart set on one.

After looking at a few and test driving them, I'm really unimpressed with the fit, finish, and build quality. It really bummed me out. I found a dozen things like this on all the ones I looked at. I'm okay with economy level quality fit and finish of an economy brand, but only if it comes matching with an economy price. Again, this hurts to admit, as I was really ready to pick up a OR premium or Pro and didn't mind the price

 

[Supertech1]

I’ve had 2 very minor issues with mine, which i corrected myself. Outside of that, I feel like the fit and finish is excellent. Everything lines up inside and out. Feels like a quality build. This is a sample of one, but I’m very impressed.

Maybe quality is different from the two factories in Mexico?

 

[maxx075]

Only thing I've noticed is the tailgate issue which seems like is 99% of them.

 

[Tacoflvrd]

I’ve had 2 very minor issues with mine, which i corrected myself. Outside of that, I feel like the fit and finish is excellent. Everything lines up inside and out. Feels like a quality build. This is a sample of one, but I’m very impressed.

Maybe quality is different from the two factories in Mexico?

Same with mine. Fit and finish is good one mine. I’m glad too because I was too excited at pickup to notice anything. Hah

 

[MarineVet6113]

I’ve had 2 very minor issues with mine, which i corrected myself. Outside of that, I feel like the fit and finish is excellent. Everything lines up inside and out. Feels like a quality build. This is a sample of one, but I’m very impressed.

Maybe quality is different from the two factories in Mexico?

Yes you helped me with the rear door tick issue on my last one and when I got this one it had similar on both sides so I was able to sort that out on this one right away. Overall it rides solid and has not creaks or anything. I was just more curious about if other peoples door handles were fastened tight in the pics I sent or if they have similar separation when you pull on the handle. It’s probably really petty but the passenger side seems fine and I don’t recall it on the previous truck. Maybe it was the same …I don’t remember.

Mine was built in the central Mexico factory.

 

[MarineVet6113]

Only thing I've noticed is the tailgate issue which seems like is 99% of them.

I have heard about people having tailgate issues but I am not too familiar with what they are talking about. I looked at mine today pretty close and didn’t see anything that stands out. Only thing with mine the hydraulics do slow it down but not much. Seems kind of fast to drop still compared to other trucks I have had in past.

 

[maxx075]

I have heard about people having tailgate issues but I am not too familiar with what they are talking about. I looked at mine today pretty close and didn’t see anything that stands out. Only thing with mine the hydraulics do slow it down but not much. Seems kind of fast to drop still compared to other trucks I have had in past.

The gaps on the side of the tailgate aren't even. You'll notice one side is a lot bigger than than the other.

 

[MarineVet6113]

This one of 2 main reasons I am deciding (sadly) not to get the new Tacoma :( I had my heart set on one.

After looking at a few and test driving them, I'm really unimpressed with the fit, finish, and build quality. It really bummed me out. I found a dozen things like this on all the ones I looked at. I'm okay with economy level quality fit and finish of an economy brand, but only if it comes matching with an economy price. Again, this hurts to admit, as I was really ready to pick up a OR premium or Pro and didn't mind the price

I think that’s the thing when you see a few little things like that and look at the price. Don’t get me wrong. I love my truck despite the first one 2 weeks ago having a major set back. I love driving it…a lot. And I don’t buy the it’s because it’s built in Mexico. But in comparison in 2020 my wife bought an Audi Q5 also built in Mexico and the fit and finish is perfect with not a single gap or squeak of any kind. I realize that’s a luxury car but crazy to think it was the same prices as a today’s Tacoma just a few years ago.

 

[Supertech1]

Yes you helped me with the rear door tick issue on my last one and when I got this one it had similar on both sides so I was able to sort that out on this one right away. Overall it rides solid and has not creaks or anything. I was just more curious about if other peoples door handles were fastened tight in the pics I sent or if they have similar separation when you pull on the handle. It’s probably really petty but the passenger side seems fine and I don’t recall it on the previous truck. Maybe it was the same …I don’t remember.

Mine was built in the central Mexico factory.

I totally understand your attention to detail. These little things annoy the heck out of me. Maybe it’s not an issue, but I know when it’s not correct, and want it to be right.

My door handle looks well fitted to me, but filthy now that I see a picture of it.

 

[MarineVet6113]

The gaps on the side of the tailgate aren't even. You'll notice one side is a lot bigger than than the other.

Yeah I just looked at mine and at least on mine it’s maybe a whee bit bigger on one side but it’s a really tiny difference…like small enough I would have never noticed it otherwise. Not sure if others were worse on earlier builds? Mine just came off the truck yesterday and was built in April.

 

[MarineVet6113]

I totally understand your attention to detail. These little things annoy the heck out of me. Maybe it’s not an issue, but I know when it’s not correct, and want it to be right.

My door handle looks well fitted to me, but filthy now that I see a picture of it.

lol I’m probably being petty ..idk. My passenger side looks like yours but yours definitely looks a bit tighter than my drivers side. I will probably ask them about it just to see what they say. It looks like a trim piece on top so I wanted if could be reseated or maybe a new trim piece would seat better because mine almost looks slightly raised on that corner.
In the Marine Corp I started out as a helicopter mechanic and progressed into a quality assurance inspector of other people’s work and kind of ran a tight ship when signing off on other people’s work because naturally we were dealing with an object that fly’s so I think that kind of built my attention to detail like mindset.

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