Toyota has a reputation for building dependable models, but Mike Neal, a proud Tacoma owner, has exceeded the wildest expectations of the brand’s marketing team: he has driven his 2008 Tacoma for more than 1.5 million miles (2.4 million km) since he bought it new and keeps going!
The crazy mileage truck and its owner were featured in a half-hour-long YouTube video by AutoJeff Reviews giving us an insight into a beautiful story. This is not the first time presenter Jeff Teague interviewed Mike Neal as he featured him in a shorter video two years ago when the car had 1.2 million miles (1.9 million miles).
Mike Neal bought his record-breaking Tacoma new in November 2007 for around $22,000. The truck is fitted with the 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine producing 159 hp (119 kW / 161 PS) and 180 lb-ft of torque (244 Nm) and is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. It is an excess cab so it has a 6-food bed.
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Back in 2007, Mike wouldn’t believe it that more than 13 years later he would have traveled 1,521,992 miles (2,449,409 km) behind the wheel of the same car, averaging 500 miles (805 km) per day for work. Besides the regular maintenance, he replaced the engine at 880,000 miles (1,416,223 km) because it needed a head gasket, and the transmission at 1.3 million miles (2,092,147) not because it broke but because the torque converter was going out and it would be easier to do it then. Mike says that he averages 22.5-23.5 mpg (10.4-10.0 lt/100 km), which is pretty decent.
The Tacoma looks quite good for a vehicle that has traveled the equivalent of 6.4 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon. It does have some battle scars on the front bumper and the right taillight but the paint is in good shape and the interior doesn’t look as bad as one would imagine.
Besides his work truck’s mileage, Mike has another interesting story to share with us. His job is to deliver nuclear medicines used in PET scans for people with cancer and he does that for a very special reason. He was adopted when he was 10 years old from a family that had lost their 9-year-old daughter to cancer. Mike never met her, but he found a way to honor her by helping out all the sick people and their families.
Mike doesn’t have plans on retiring the pickup truck anytime soon. Besides using it for his work, he also drives a 2018 Highlander and a 2006 RAV4, proving that he is an avid Toyota fan. Watch the video below to hear more of his story.