The Canary Index · Midsize pickups · 2016–2023
16 year-models. One safe bet. One dead canary.
Two trucks with opposite files, and neither has an engine that grenades. The Colorado's trouble moves every couple of years: the 2016's electric power steering, with no campaign behind it on that year; the eight-speed shudder from 2017 to 2020, free to fix on three of those four years and owner-quoted at $8,000 if you leave it until the torque converter goes; and the 2021's brake vacuum pump, which can take the exhaust camshaft with it. The Tacoma's are the same three things for the whole run — a six-speed that surges and hesitates on 2016–2019, a plastic coolant bypass pipe behind the engine that turns into a five-thousand-dollar afternoon when it cracks, and frame rust on any truck that lived in the salt belt. Toyota started spraying the frames from the inside in 2018, so on either badge you look underneath before you look at the odometer.
2 models · 16 full year-reports · 2,781 federal complaints analyzed · ranked by Canary Status, ordered by complaints per 100k sold
Canary Status sets the tier. A human-read verdict weighing severity, cost, and coverage — a $4,500 engine outranks a hundred rattle complaints.
The complaint rate orders each tier. Complaints per 100,000 sold — a rate, not a raw count, so big sellers aren’t punished for selling.
Engine-specific trouble gets flagged, not hidden. When one engine drives a year’s noise, the row says so — the VIN tells you which engine yours has.
The cleanest third-gen year — no safety recall touches a 2021 Tacoma — so the job is the coolant pipe and the six-speed's feel.
The quietest Colorado we cover — and its biggest single complaint is a key that won't come out of the ignition.
The final third-gen Tacoma, the smallest file of the run — but a re-issued driver-airbag recall means you verify the fix was actually done right.
A late, low-volume Tacoma whose one safety item is the rear-axle-separation recall — verify it and the child-seat-anchor fix, and the rest is quiet.
A much quieter third-gen Tacoma with a single recall — the fuel-pump stall — to verify, and no expensive mechanical pattern behind it.
A quieter third-gen Tacoma than the launch years, but with two national safety recalls — fuel pump and brake master cylinder — to verify done.
A durable Tacoma whose fuel-pump recall is the story — some replacement pumps failed again, so confirm the fix and take any stall symptom seriously.
Same early-year homework as the 2016 plus a brake-booster recall — durable underneath, but verify the crank-sensor and brake recalls before you buy.
The launch year and the loudest — a durable truck whose homework is the six-speed feel, the coolant pipe, and the crank-sensor stall recall.
The year the shudder outlived its free fix — same transmission as the 2019, none of the coverage.
The transmission finally quiets down and something worse takes over — a brake vacuum pump that can break the camshaft on its way out.
Engine flag: this is 2.5L four-cylinder trouble — the 3.6L V6, 2.8L Duramax diesel, and 2.7L Turbo don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
No recalls at all, and the last year GM will flush the transmission for free — the smart end of the eight-speed years.
Same shudder, same free fluid fix — and one owner who paid $500 for it anyway, then got quoted $8,000.
An all-new truck with all-new problems: brakes that slam on by themselves, a failing radiator hose, and software that can brick it.
The eight-speed arrives, and so does the shudder — but this is one of only three years GM will flush the fluid for free.
The steering year — 695 complaints, three-quarters of them a power steering failure that got the 2015 recalled and left the 2016 out.
Rates use published U.S. sales as the denominator — a rate, not a raw count, so best-sellers aren’t punished for selling. It’s imperfect on purpose and we say exactly where (the methodology page): sales aren’t surviving fleet, some makers publish entangled figures, and complaint filing is self-reported. * A “0 recalls*” mark is a verified zero — checked against the federal database and date-stamped, a point in that year’s favor.
“The average midsize pickup is fine. You’re not buying the average — you’re buying one specific year of one specific badge.”
Shortlisting from this board? We’ll watch your years.
New recalls, federal investigations, and quiet warranty programs land months after you buy. Tell the canary which years you’re considering — it sings when something changes.
Watch my years — freeThe other boards
Same method, different segment:
Heavy-duty pickups, Luxury SUVs, and Subcompact SUVs aren’t ranked yet — each has only one model in our data so far, nothing fair to compare against. They join the Index when their segment-mates ship.