The cleanest year of the third-gen run — no safety recall touches a 2021 Tacoma — so the whole job is the V6 coolant pipe and the six-speed's gear-hunting feel.

Although the fuel-pump safety recall does not reach 2021, some owners report a noisy fuel pump, extended cranking on cold starts, or an isolated stall. There is no recall on the 2021, so these are diagnose-on-symptom items rather than a known campaign — and Toyota's separate high-pressure-fuel-pump coverage program (for a fuel odor originating at that pump) spans 2016–2022 model years. Listen for pump noise at startup and note any hard-start behavior on the test drive.

The V6's plastic coolant-bypass pipe behind the engine can crack — check the passenger side and top of the transmission for a coolant trail; it's a labor-heavy job, covered under powertrain warranty while in term. On Double Cab trucks, Toyota has a service bulletin for a rear-differential whine around 50 mph caused by vibration transferring through the chassis — it's characteristic, not a failure. A couple of 2021 owners did report needing rear-differential replacements, but that's an outlier in a small file, not a pattern.

The lighter items. Toyota's Special Service Campaign 22TC01 (a non-recall service campaign, not a safety recall) reprograms the Data Communication Module — the telematics module behind Safety Connect — on 2021–2022 Tacomas, delivered over the air. 040 Super White trucks peel at the door frames, inner fenders, and A-pillars, covered by Customer Support Program 23TE08 for 2016–2022. And the frame, factory-sprayed inside on a 2021, still deserves an underneath inspection and exterior coating on a salt-belt truck.