2006 Toyota Tundra 4X4 User Reviews

Pros

Reliabilty

Cons

NONE!

Purchased As New

This is hands down THE most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. I was a die-hard Dodge Ram guy until I bought this truck. I bought my Tundra new in 2006 and in the six years since I drove it off the dealer lot all I've done is oil changes and a new set of tires. It drives as smooth and quiet as the day I bought her. In comparison, I bought a new Dodge Ram 1500 Sport in 1997 and the first six years I had to replace the u-joints, ball joints, O2 sensors, alternator (twice), intake manifold gasket and had to rebuild the transmission. So far the Tundra has experienced no problems. I could go on and on, but you get the point....read morehide

Pros

Quiet, comfortable ride, good mileage

Cons

Day driving lights not standard for LT, used to be

Purchased As New

My 5th Toyota pickup... NEVER any problems. Maintenence is change oil & filter EACH 7,500 miles, air filter @30,000 miles... vehicles just keep on performing.
My varied driving for the 2006 Double-Cab LT 4x4 includes highway, city, off-road in the Sierras. Great comfort and performance. Kept track since new of all mileage... has averaged 18.3 mpg overall for ~8,000 miles... seems to be actually getting BETTER as it wears in. Zero problems.
No one does it better!!!...read morehide

Pros

Overall Great dependable truck

Cons

Push button low drive gear not a fan

Purchased As Used

Owned, Mazda, Ford & Chevy trucks these to left don't compare at all for mileage you expect up front, comfort or reliability. Purchased 2006 in 2009, needed very little except Bilstein shocks all around, replaced them in 2010, aside from minor balancing of one tire Toyo AT tires, drive is smooth, comfortable. I pull a trailer with two four wheelers and gear in back, get 13 mpg with trailer. Without trailer same distance @70-75 mpg, 19-20 mpg, to and from work with errands 15-16 mpg. Exactly what I expected from the 4.7 V-8 w/Iforce. I wanted a tacoma, settled for a tundra, had I got the Tacoma, I know the mileage with trailer would be alot less. I hunt 6 months of each year....read morehide

Pros

lots of room

Cons

where do i start..

Purchased As Used

If you are looking for fuel mileage in this kind of 4WD Toyota, forget it. They are also moneypit trucks, since most add/ons are way overpriced for Toyota products, and you will get nothing for it in trade. Also test drive it more than once, you will find the gear lever is directly in front of the main AC/Heat vent for the driver. Try to park it anywhere..the turning radias takes alot of getting used to for tight spots and parking lots are an adventure. The side mirrors rattle, and after tightening,, will start again. And everything needs metric tools for do it yourselfers..the sliding back window is a great idea.. and is niice in good weather, but everything, including the small dirt/dust you dont see, will blow in thru it and everywhere in the truck..keep truckbed clean of debris unless you want to get hit going 50 mph.. In summary, buyer beware in spending 20K on a used Toyota truck....read morehide

Pros

looks great pulls great comfy

Cons

gas mileage

This is our first toyota and I absolutly will buy again. Price wise it is the same as ford. We bought our tundra the same time as our neighbors bought a f-150. their truck is already rusting on the rims 1 winter later. I loved fords we went from a ford to a toyota. We have a 19ft boat it pulls like a dream like nothing is behind us. AND YES OUT OF THE DOCK. with the dual exhaust it is a little loud on the road noise. Fuel economy is what you would get with a truck or large suv our average is 17 on the highway. We had an 04 expedition, tundra gets better gas milage than it did. I wish it came with the distance to empty and such but the 07 does. I have 2 kids that have plenty of room in the back with all of their stuff they need for a long trip. all in all i love this truck! There has been no problems so far at 6000 miles....read morehide

Pros

For the money you can't beat it

Cons

Could use the 10 or 12 extra horses

It is perfect for anyone that only uses a truck to do the medial tasks that come with moving or yard work or any other non industrial use. The ride is incomparable and the look stands alone. And dependability is that of a toyota. It is light so it drives like a truck not a boat coasting down the highway....read morehide

Pros

Tight an Solid. No rattles. Love that "quality feel". Quiet, powerful, exc. 5 speed AT adds.

Cons

Small back seat in access cab. Styling is not as macho as Dodge or Nissan.

7/8 size truck with modest (7000#) tow capacity meets my needs perfectly. One guy complained that his Tundra wouldn't handle his 35' 5th wheel. Is he nuts. It probably weighs 12000#!! Nearly twice the rated capacity. I love the smooth, quiet V-8 and it performs much better than my 2002 with a 4 speed AT. Disappointed in lack of bells/whistles in SR-5. (Trip computer, lighted vanities, power seat, Serious radio, etc. But overall, I love the quality and love to drive it. It's "bank vault" solid!!...read morehide

Pros

Roomy Double Cab, deep bed, Toyota Quality, silky smooth V8

Cons

4.7L V8 is small for a full size but adequate

I have a 2004 SR5 DoubleCab and it has been a great truck. I traded my 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L ClubCab 4x4 on the Tundra. I choose the Rundra because of the value and Toyota quality. The comparable Dodge Ram 4x4 with ClubCab was $3500 more and the F150 was $3000 more than the Tundra and neither had the crew cab option for near the same price.

Everything in the Tundra is pure Toyota, from the action of controls, solid doors, seats, everything. The 4.7L V8 is not a giant V8 but it is basically the same V8 from the Lexus LS470 and it feel like a Lexus. Its quiet, smooth and responsive. I haul water 2-3 times a week (1,600lbs in the bed) for my house in a 200gal tank as well as firewood for my business and the Tundra pulls just as well as my Ram. Its an incredibly quiet highway cruiser, gets decent mileage (better than my Ram) and has easily engaged 4 wheel drive that you cant even tell when it switches.

Id suggest anyone needing a 1/2 ton pickup seriously look at the Tundra and compare its value against the Ford and Dodge. The new 2007 with the 5.7L V8 should put to rest any doubt that the Tundra is a serious contender in the full size market....read morehide

Pros

See my part 1 submittal on the Limited Double-Cab

More observations:

The dominant vehicle for contractors and sportsmen in the Lake Tahoe region of the rugged Sierras is Toyota. Five years ago they were only about 10 % of the working trucks, but now they are close to 60%. As an active member of the Tahoe-Truckee Fly Fishers club, I have noticed that the many guides that are in the club have also gone to Toyotas since the four-door versions have become available. They need to provide comfort, utility, and reliable conveyance into the rugged backcountry for their clients. The rugged off-road and mud and snow conditions up here, coupled with superior off-road capability, reliability (virtually unbreakable), and creature comforts of Toyotas has caused this massive shift in ownership. In the last 10 years, have you ever seen a Toyota truck dead on the road?

Engine sophistication: Chevy uses two valves per cylinder, Ford has heavily advertised their new three-valve engines for "greater efficiency." Toyota has used four valves per cylinder since before 1990. The new 5.3 (or is it 5.7?) liter V8 coming in February in the 2007 Tundra puts out more horsepower than the biggest 6.4 liter Chevy engine. The Toyota engines all yield more horsepower per liter than Ford or Chevy.

And now the real-world comparison.....
I just completed a four-month (June-September 2006), 6500 mile trip from the Lake Tahoe region in California through Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and back (via Arizona on the return trip) in my 2000 Tundra SR-5 four-wheel drive Access Cab. Gas mileage ranged from a low of 15.2 MPG to a high of 18.8 MPG with the total trip mileage averaging 17.7 MPG. I have a heavy-duty, frame-mounted brush guard on the front (~90 lbs) and a camper shell on the truck bed (~250 lbs). Engine is a 245 HP V8. I packed about 800 lbs of stuff in addition to my wife and I on the trip. In the course of the trip, normal highway speeds were 65-80 MPH and about 2 hours was driven at speeds in the 90-95 MPH range. At no time was the cab noise level sufficient to prevent a normal conversation with my wife, nor to use my cell phone with an ear bud. The one guy on the blog that reported 13 MPG must have a really heavy accellerator foot for jump starts and getting up to speed.

A full two months was spent on my Father-in Law's cattle ranch in the hill country of West Texas (near Caddo, about 18 miles from Possum Kingdom Lake). This is dry, ROUGH country with plenty of rocks, scrub cedar and thorny mesquite trees. Active ranch workers/participants included my Father-in-Law who has a 2004 Ford F-350, my Wife's Brother-in-Law who has a 2006 Chevy Crew Cab (1500, two-wheel drive, pretty nice on paved roads) and his son who has a 2006 Chevy 2500 four-wheel drive Crew Cab. We herded cattle, corralled, branded, took to market, repaired fences, repaired cattle watering tanks (five of them), and hauled hay, feed cake, and other mineral supplements in/to remote locations of the ranch.

When all was said and done, both Chevys damaged rear shocks and mounts (that would require welding to fix). My Tundra, fully loaded, easily went through the rough areas the Chevys could not even go because of hangups. Everyone (especially the wives) wanted to go places in the Tundra because of the soft ride and low-noise conditions of this vehicle built in November 1999, instead of the 2006 Chevys. Of course, the 7.5 liter Ford F-350 diesel stood alone as the towing king, but it had an intolerable ride on the back country roads. No one wanted to "ride shotgun" in the Ford. Also, the cheap plastic air-conditioning vents in the Ford either did not freely function or were broken....read morehide

Pros

Great ride,quiet,4 power outlets,great interior layout, good visibility, power back window

Cons

None so far

I'm a Texan, born in Fort Worth, now live in the Lake Tahoe region. After reading the negative comments from three or four bloggers on the Tundra's inadequacies, its clear they are misleading potential Tundra owners. Let me elaborate.

There was one comment about towing inadequacy with a 2-wheel drive that obviously did not have a limited-slip differential and was likely mis-loaded for towing to allow wheel spin. Proper load distribution that yields reasonable tounge weight would correct the problem as adequate power is certainly there. My 2000 Tundra (4.7 liter, 245 HP V8)will burn rubber at 30 miles per hour if I stomp the accellerator to make it shift down. The 2006 engine of the same displacement is even more refined and delivers 271 HP, and the towing package will conservatively handle 6700 lbs. In addition, there is a dash-mounted button to engage the lowest startup gear for heavy towing conditions to substantially increase torque until you are up to normal road speed. Does that guy really own a Tundra? Or perhaps he did not think out a proper towing condition. Draw your own conclusions.

The comments about noise are also bogus. About two years ago, Consumer Reports measured the road and wind noise levels in Fords, Chevys, and Tundras....Tundra was 12 dB lower than the closest competitor (more on this later). Consumer Reports also provides data that shows the per vehicle repair rates over the last five years is three to six times higher for Ford and Chevy trucks as compared to Toyota trucks. The Consumer Reports conclusion after a direct comparison of Dodge, Ford, Chevy and Tundra was that the Tundra clearly had raised the bar and set a new standard to meet. In my view, no one has caught themn yet.

The ground clearance and undercarriage protection is superior in the Tundra, allowing for easier and safer transportation with less or no damage when in remote areas of a ranch or when hunting or fishing the backcountry. The ads on TV about the Tundra passing over a dropped toolbox (but not the Chevy following it) are real (again, more on this later).

A year or so ago Ford made a big deal in TV ads about widening the rear shocks for a superior ride and demonstrated it on lab setups using hydraulic-controlled actuators to simulate the bed gyrations on rough roads. Toyota has used wide-set shocks since the 1980s for superior ride and control. Chevys and the Ford F-250s (and up) are still located mid-axle, and I'm not sure, but think the F-150 has now moved back to mid-axle (cheaper and easier to install them there). It's also very important to look at the shock mountings. Toyota provides a heavy duty guard for the lower mounting points that are both higher and more protective than either Ford or Chevy. Just take a GOOD look at the Ford, Chevy, and Tundra from the rear. The Chevy's rear shock mounts hang almost four inches below the axle and have no off-road protection. The Tundra has more ground clearance and is free of any hanging hardware (again, more on this later).

Chevy currently is making a big point in their 2007 TV ads about placing the front shocks inside the coil springs to "achieve a superior ride"....Toyota has been doing this for DECADES...it's about time for Chevy to catch up.

Toyota has provided rain/mud flaps since the early 1980s...still not standard on Fords or Chevys...a real nuisance when you are following one on a wet, rainy day.

Since inception, the Tundra has provided dual, two-way, extendable sun visors to allow simultaneous winshield and side window blocking of almost any sun angle condition. This standard feature (among many other things) really impressed my Father-in-Law who has owned Fords for over 50 years. I think Chevy is now copying this useful feature. Similarly, the fender flares on the new 2007 Chevy look virtually identical to the 2006 Tundra (look and compare for yourself). Simarly, the new 2007 Chevy dash trim (simulated rosewood) emulates the Tundra Limited Edition....read morehide