Toyota fixes Tacoma’s most annoying issue for 2016

When Mike Swears, Tacoma chief engineer was asked about the new V6 Tacoma, and how different it was from the prior generation he said that it was an all-new truck except for “maybe a seatbelt bracket.” That means the new Tacoma has a new tailgate handle, and the old, non-locking one is no more.

Yes, as crazy as it sounds, we checked with Toyota and no prior Tacoma came with a factory locking tailgate. Since pickup tailgates are removable without tools, this put the Tacoma’s tailgate at risk of theft. As we detailed in our prior story, this led to a cottage industry of aftermarket solutions to this dilemma. Owners have used everything form zip-ties to elaborate power locks mounted in the cabin to get that tailgate to be secure. No more. Toyota confirmed to Torque News today by e-mail that “The new 2016 Tacoma will have locking tailgates as standard equipment on all models.”

A locking tailgate may seem like a very small detail, but it is indeed the small details that move a vehicle from just good to great. Take a look at the image above. If you enlarge it or stare closely you will see that to the left is the rear-view camera eye, and to the right is a silver key-hole.

Now, if Toyota would only fix the lack of a diesel engine Tacoma fans would finally be satisfied.