200 Vs. 250 FE - Owners Perspective (13 Viewers)

[Zill]

Interested to hear what your highway fuel economy is, and what type of fuel you're using.

We still haven’t gone through our first tank yet from the dealer. God knows what gas they used lol.

We’ll probably do a highway trip this weekend to get a feel for the long term driving aspect and fuel economy test. I’ll report back how it is.

 

[Zill]

Awesome, thanks for the response! I feel like, could be completely wrong, but the 5th gen was a little more ample/comfortable than the 3rd gen Tacoma so if the 250 is even a little better than that it might suite my needs.

I'm assuming the non-sliding bench is from the battery causing a raised platform in the rear cargo area.

Sliders looked solid in your post, and I'm likely never going to have them supporting the truck in anyway - the sliders on my Tacoma were much heavier and I really used them as a consistent step to reach the roof as well as it kept rocks from hitting my rear quarter panels on the highway in winter (cinder is used here in Oregon). The "rock rails" look better and will damage less easily than any step option that will come out for these (like predator steps on Tacoma/Tundra/Runner).

I'm also curious what long term results in performance and mpg are from running regular gas, I won't run premium. My motorcycle calls for premium and it's never had a tank of good stuff in 30k miles (Tiger 800).

Oh yes, the 5th gen 4Runner seats are way bigger than the Tacoma back seats. Those are practically useless in the Tacoma trucks and you have way more room in the 250 haha.

I do believe you’re right on the no rear slide due to the battery getting in the way.

The rock rails are a great option. Not big enough for you to get your whole foot on, but also not jutting out to get dirt all over your pants from steps. It’s just a little assist to help you get in.

You know what also is great… all 4 doors get beefy grab handles so it’s easy to get in the car.

I will probably stick with premium gas while the vehicle is under warranty. I’d hate to get a warranty claim denied due to some technicality by using more volatile gas.

 

[reluctanthireling]

Thanks for the review and the pictures, it looks really great. I feel like whenever I get the mid-trim, I'm going to have to swap those circular headlights. I definitely feel like the skid plates will need an upgrade though looking at the pictures. I'm not too concerned with the payload number or differential size. My 2nd gen Tacoma was basically the same in both regards and it was handled 33" tires, front to back steel skids / armor and the bed loaded up just fine...it was just slower.

 

[Zill]

@cruiseroutfit is correct, as was discussed in the diff thread. 8.2 diff here in a production 1958. VIN is x2446. From Ben Hardy youtuber.

The window sticker shows it was built in Hamura. Are all the 250s built in Hamura? And all the GX550s built in Tahara? I know it's been discussed that Hamura is just as good as Tahara but interesting they're so similar and built in different plants.
View attachment 3627710

Our 250 FE was built in Hamura which was a surprise to me. I thought the FE’s would be built all in Tahara, but there have been some reports that some of the FE’s are built in Tahara and Hamura.

 

[TEQLC]

What a great write up! Thank you. . No pressure Zill, but can you or anyone confirm that you "can't" turn off the start stop action? I don't want to sound like a baby, but man I really can't stand that feature on the vehicles I drive at work. (I have a FE incoming, and still torn between it, and the 550).

 

[Zill]

What a great write up! Thank you. . No pressure Zill, but can you or anyone confirm that you "can't" turn off the start stop action? I don't want to sound like a baby, but man I really can't stand that feature on the vehicles I drive at work. (I have a FE incoming, and still torn between it, and the 550).

I haven’t found a simple way to disable it yet. I need to read through the owners manual when I get the chance to see if it’s possible.

I also noticed that the electric motor assists slightly with movement while the engine is turning on. It’s almost like the electric motor is turning both the wheels and engine at the same time to get things moving from a stop. So not entirely without power at a stop, but you do need to wait for the engine to start up before you really start accelerating.

 

[M1911]

I love that blue.

 

[TEQLC]

I haven’t found a simple way to disable it yet. I need to read through the owners manual when I get the chance to see if it’s possible.

I also noticed that the electric motor assists slightly with movement while the engine is turning on. It’s almost like the electric motor is turning both the wheels and engine at the same time to get things moving from a stop.

Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to give us your first impressions!

 

[Ahitchc4]

The auto start/stop feature is not included on the GX 550, which was a surprising bonus. I guess it’s related to power train on the Gx getting the 3.4 liter v6 instead of the hybrid 4 cylinder.

Love the heritage blue.

 

[TEQLC]

The auto start/stop feature is not included on the GX 550, which was a surprising bonus. I guess it’s related to power train on the Gx getting the 3.4 liter v6 instead of the hybrid 4 cylinder.

Love the heritage blue.

Thank you! You read my mind. That was my next question.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Our 250 FE was built in Hamura which was a surprise to me. I thought the FE’s would be built all in Tahara, but there have been some reports that some of the FE’s are built in Tahara and Hamura.

That is news to me as well. I too though FE's were coming from Tahara.

 

[Zill]

What a great write up! Thank you. . No pressure Zill, but can you or anyone confirm that you "can't" turn off the start stop action? I don't want to sound like a baby, but man I really can't stand that feature on the vehicles I drive at work. (I have a FE incoming, and still torn between it, and the 550).

I have some great news.

The fix for the auto start stop system is to put the vehicle in tow/haul mode. When done, that gets rid of the vehicle turning off.

On my drive home today. I averaged 21 mpg in the city while in tow haul mode. The car shutter was gone from taking off at a stop light.

The unfortunate part is the tow haul mode goes away each time you turn off the car. Thankfully, it’s a simple button you press on the right hand side under the steering wheel. So not a huge deal.

 

[minium]

Is there not a button on the dash for the Auto-Off? I have one on my '23 Tundra, but same issue is it resets status every time you turn the vehicle off. There are wiring bypasses out there to remediate but I haven't taken it that far yet.

My daily process is get in, drive.... first or second stop light truck turns off, I then remember to hit the button to keep it off the remainder of the drive. Rinse, repeat. It also won't turn off if you don't have the brake pedal depressed far enough, or if the climate control is running on certain settings.

 

[Zill]

Is there not a button on the dash for the Auto-Off? I have one on my '23 Tundra, but same issue is it resets status every time you turn the vehicle off. There are wiring bypasses out there to remediate but I haven't taken it that far yet.

My daily process is get in, drive.... first or second stop light truck turns off, I then remember to hit the button to keep it off the remainder of the drive. Rinse, repeat. It also won't turn off if you don't have the brake pedal depressed far enough, or if the climate control is running on certain settings.

Is your 2023 Tundra hybrid or not?

It appears Toyota nuked the auto off button for the hybrids. (Even on the Tundra and Sequoia)

The vehicle drives like it’s in sport mode without shutting off the engine in tow haul. This will probably be my go to mode from here on out.

 

[minium]

Is your 2023 Tundra hybrid or not?

It appears Toyota nuked the auto off button for the hybrids. (Even on the Tundra and Sequoia)

The vehicle drives like it’s in sport mode without shutting off the engine in tow haul. This will probably be my go to mode from here on out.

ahh, good catch and 100% correct - My Tunrda is not hybrid, that makes a lot more sense!

 

[Zill]

This will probably be controversial.

The roof rack, skid plate, and rock rails weight a whopping 159 lbs which is reducing my total payload down to 941 lbs.

At least they’re somewhat beefy at that weight.

 

[M1911]

Is there not a button on the dash for the Auto-Off? I have one on my '23 Tundra, but same issue is it resets status every time you turn the vehicle off. There are wiring bypasses out there to remediate but I haven't taken it that far yet.

My daily process is get in, drive.... first or second stop light truck turns off, I then remember to hit the button to keep it off the remainder of the drive. Rinse, repeat. It also won't turn off if you don't have the brake pedal depressed far enough, or if the climate control is running on certain settings.

It wouldn't surprise me if the dealer can turn it off permanently with Techstream.

 

[jwbc84]

Does the manual state what a passenger weight is calculated at? One of the threads had posted it was 150lbs.

 

[minium]

It wouldn't surprise me if the dealer can turn it off permanently with Techstream.

Unfortunately that's a hard no go.... it's one of the main complaints on all the Tundra reddit subs, FB Groups, and Trundras.com , been researched to death and it's not available for clearing in TechStream or Carista.

I assume the Dealer can't eliminate it as the "feature" is part of emissions control.

Only widely accepted solution at this time is a couple of bypass plugs that are floating out there, like this one: https://a.co/d/fQxlYST

 

[M1911]

Unfortunately that's a hard no go.... it's one of the main complaints on all the Tundra reddit subs, FB Groups, and Trundras.com , been researched to death and it's not available for clearing in TechStream or Carista.

I assume the Dealer can't eliminate it as the "feature" is part of emissions control.

Only widely accepted solution at this time is a couple of bypass plugs that are floating out there, like this one: https://a.co/d/fQxlYST

That's a bummer.