Million-Mile 2008 Toyota Tacoma Is a Reminder to Change Your Dang Oil
You know you’re doing it right when the odometer runs out before almost everything else.
The Toyota Tacoma has a reputation for being nearly indestructible. It's one of the reasons why it's such a popular truck. However, it's an astonishing achievement when any car reaches 1.1 million miles, no matter what badge is on the trunk—or in this case, the tailgate. That's what's amazing about this 2008 Tacoma in Arizona, which made it so far thanks to relentless routine maintenance and quality parts.
The Tacoma has been cared for by one shop—LEKSFIXIT in Tempe—for the past 700,000 miles. As shop owner Sasa Bolesnikov tells me, they've done little more than regular oil changes every 5,000 miles. The Tacoma has been fed a steady diet of Mobil synthetic 5W30, even though the owner's manual doesn't call for synthetic oil, and it's monitored incessantly.
An alternator replacement, new timing chain, and timing chain guides are the closest this Toyota has come to a major job. The shop says that only OEM parts are used, which surely helps. The clutch was replaced hundreds of thousands of miles ago by another garage, but again, it's holding on pretty dang well.
Aside from those repairs, the Tacoma is bone stock. It's a 2.7-liter four-cylinder model with a five-speed manual, so it's just about the simplest example you could buy in 2008. And simple is best when you're talking durability and reliability. With only 159 horsepower, it was never the quickest or most exciting pickup on the road, but I'd argue being able to drive 1.1 million miles without any real problems is even more exhilarating than speed.
One of the more common issues with Tacomas is rust, but with this being an Arizona truck, it likely doesn't have much, if any.
The well-used rig's odometer is maxed out at 999,999 miles. To keep track, the owner has to use the trip computer to calculate the running mileage. The shop reached out to Toyota for a new gauge cluster but wasn't able to get one—you'd think that's something Toyota could help out with by now, considering this is just the latest odo to hit seven figures.
If this were my truck, I don't think I'd ever get rid of it. How could anyone part ways with something that's been so reliable for so long? Who knows—with enough TLC, maybe it'll even hit two million miles.
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