The Tacoma and its sister ship, the MV Wenatchee, suffered from excessive vibration during their early period of operation, until it was repaired during routine maintenance in 1999.

The issue was addressed in the final Jumbo Mark II ferry, the MV Puyallup, before it launched.

The Tacoma lost power in Bainbridge Island's Eagle Harbor and dropped anchor to prevent her from beaching making it the "second time in 40 years that a state ferry was forced to drop anchor.

"[2] The MV Sealth, which was serving the Seattle-Bremerton route at the time, made a detour up to Eagle Harbor to tow the Tacoma away from shore until tugboats could guide her back to the slip.

After four weeks of sea trials and approval from the United States Coast Guard, the Tacoma returned to service on the Seattle-Bainbridge route on March 28, 2015.