Complain about a product or service

Toyota Tacoma

Toyota Tacoma • Engine problems • Transmission failure • Safety interlock failure • Spontaneous starting • Misc. failings --- • Toyota Trucks

The Tacoma is putting a big dent in American automakers' truck sales but it's also putting a big ugly dent in Toyota's reputation for quality, reliability and service. The trucks are plagued by engine and transmission problems as well as an assortment of defects and quirks that we don't usually associate with Japanese cars and trucks.

Here are some of the more recent complaints:

Chad of Cape May Court House NJ (05/14/08)
I bought a '99 Toyota Tacoma with 44K mi. I have followed a regular maintenance schedule for the truck's engine, and my wife washes (+waxes!) the exterior regularly. However, the truck seems to have too much rust for its age. In addition, the truck has not been reliable for us mechanically. In summer '07 I had to replace the original steering pump, but it seemed like normal wear-down since the truck was a '99. Just months later, that fall '07, the 2nd steering pump broke, while my wife & I were enroute to a vacation. I had a 3rd steering pump put in. That one lasted only slightly longer... The 3rd steering pump just broke this spring 08... So back to the shop to put in a 4th steering pump. Just got the truck back last night, and today, that 4th steering pump no longer works.

David of Tyngsboro MA (05/14/08)
In February of this year (2008), my wife and I prchased two vehicles from this dealership. A 2003 Toyota Hylinder for my wife and a 2000 Tacoma Pick-up for myself. Last Sunday, (May 11, 2008), mo son told me about the problems with Toyota pick-up frames from the years 1996-2000, and the options of owners. I brought my pick-up to the dealership where I purchased it for the frame inspection. I asked the service tech how long they knew about these frams defects. He responded A coupla months. Upon completion of the inspection of my pick-up, I was informed that the frame not only failed, but was patched. I asked the 1st service tech how this was missed upon receipt of this vehicle, and how could it be sold. He told me they had no reason to perform such an intense inspection prior to resale. I asked him about the Toyota Quality Reputation. He didn't have an answer for me, and neither did the tech that performed the inspection. I will get my 1.5X kelly blue book money for this truck, hopefully on Suggested Retail Aalue and NOT Suggested TRADE IN Value (the difference of about $3500.00) My concern is How could this dealership sell this truck without knowing about the patch in the frame, and not considering the frame problem in the first place?

Matt of Ringgold GA (05/06/08)
I am in the same situation with my 1998 Toyota Tacoma, basically without going into alot of details, I bought my truck with 49500 miles in 2003 and it lasted me 85000 before it was unsafe to drive(the problems were reported in early 2005 and continue today). Toyota will not work with me and basically told me to eat as they have offered me less than 1000 for any reconcilation. I am trying to get as much info as possible from anyone else having these problems maybe in regards to pursuing alternative solutions. The reason why Toyota wants everyone to quickly resolve this issue is so that a class action can't be filed against the Toyota Motor Corp. I will be more than happy to provide additional details.

I.

James of Farmington PA (04/29/08)
If you have anytime to read this, it would be greatly appreciated. I wanted to ask if there was any possibility to file a lawsuit against Toyota (corporate office based in California). At the beginning of March 2008, Toyota began to sending letters to 1995-2000 Toyota Tacoma owners in relation to the frames rotting and being deemed unsafe. (Information is all over the web). Toyota has said that this is not a recall, but a courtesy due to the frames failing horribly for state inspections and being considered unsafe. They are currently taking these Toyota Tacoma's in at the dealerships and providing the owner with Retail Value at one and a half Kelley blue book value. This has been confirmed through our local Toyota Dealership and through Toyota Customer Service. On January 18th, 2008 of this year I took my 1998 Tacoma to Monroe to have new tires and muffler put on. I was contacting by Monroe to come up and take a look at my frame. There was a 10 inch hole in the frame and was so deteriorated that I was told that it was unsafe to drive. I came back to work and contacted the Toyota garage and numerous metal shops to get the problem repaired. Nobody would touch it due to liability issues. So on that day I went to the Nissan dealership and purchased a new vehicle. I informed the dealership that my frame would need some work. They said fine and still gave me $4333.00 for my truck. (I paid sticker, $28,000 on a new Nissan) I did not want to purchase a new truck, but I had no choice. I did not want to be in a vehicle that was unsafe. So in the last two weeks I contacted Toyota and was assigned to case manger. I provider the case manager with previous ownership information and my work invoice from Monroe Muffler, where it stated that there was a 10 inch hole in the frame of my Tacoma. They accepted all of this and informed me that they would give my trade-in value for the truck. Not the retail value at one and half Kelley Blue book value, which is what all current owners are receiving. If I would have waited 2 more months for this recall (obviously they had not let anybody know yet) I would have received $14,000 for my vehicle, instead of the $4333.00 that I received when I was forced to get rid of it, due to safety reasons. The case manager informed me that he looked up the trade-in value which came out to be $4100.00. He informed that I would receive nothing and he would not let me speak to a supervisor or director. I owned this vehicle for ten years. I leased it for three and financed for five. I had spent at least $30,000 in the course of those ten years all through their finance company, Southeastern Toyota Finance. I have been reading online that they are plenty of others in similar situations and Toyota is providing them with nothing. I suppose my question to you is, Do you believe that there is any precedence in this case. Do you think it is possible to file against them in relation to this matter? I really appreciate you taking the time to read this and any advice would be helpful. If you do believe that there is any substance to this, we can go from there.

Paul of Watertown MA (04/26/08)
I am curreently going .through the toyota buy back program of my 99 tacoma truck. While I'm pleased to have the deal I'm not pleased with the prospect of having truck payments and even less with the ttruck shoppping process..I respect toyota for standing behind their quallity defect. The costs of making customers happy in this program is far cheaper than any resulting legal liability issues. I reluctantly began my truck shopping at first on line. I went to Toyota's web site and built a toyota truck with the specifications I wanted and got an idea of the costs and various option packages that were available. I choose to go with model 7114, which tacoma accesscab 4x2,equiped with option 1 convinece package and the stability control option. I was driving a 4x4 but opted for a 4x2 for the gas savings. I drive sometimes 2000 miles a month to and from work and I need a truck for work to transport tools. I work a a carpenter. The traction control option is listed on both the web site and in the dealers tacoma brochure at the dealers as an option on their 4x2 models. What I'm now finding out is toyota doesn't make that option available for this region of the country. Where is the logic in that? It snows here! We just had a near record snowfall year. A two wheel rear drive truck without traction control doesn't make alot of sense in a snowy region of the country. Who decied not to provide this region without this option. It defies common sense. If toyota is worried about the liability issue of rusted frames they ought to worry about this too. BY listing the traction control option on both the web and in the brochures then not providing to cuystomers in this area are't they guilty of false and misleading advertising? Where are they providing this option? Texas and Florida? That would make sense. It makes no sense not to include traction control as a standard feature anyway, especially on a two wheel drive truck. Is toyota going to stand behind those customers who drive and crash these trucks when the stability control option would have prevented the crash from occuring in the first place.BY making the opption unavailable in this region their putting alot of peoples lives at risk when it doesn't need to be. I'd ike the executive responsible for this to come drive their two wheel drive truck without traction control in new englland winter roads ans see how much fun it is.

Martin of San Pedro CA (04/24/08)
I bought a used 2000 toyota tacoma from a dealer, amonth later the truck started running rough, after taking it back to the dealer they charged me 500.00 dollars to adjust the valves, and it still runs rough. I have read other complaints about the same problem! I would like to know why these trucks have not been recalled? Ive spent over 700 dollars, and have taken it to 4 mechanics, I refuse to put another dollar into it! Who do i talk to or what can i do? Idont have the money to fix whatever the problem is!!! CAN YOU PLEASE HELP ME?

Keith of Boone NC (04/23/08)
Was getting ready to drive my 1996 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 from North Carolina to Montana on vacation and decided before the trip to put new shocks on it and have the tires rotated and balanced. What a surprise (and shock!) to get a call from the local dealership to come back and look at the rotted out frame! I was completely unaware of this as I have always taken great care to keep the truck clean from winter months of salted snowy roads here in the NC mountains. There is not a speck of rust otherwise on the truck, and with 163,000 miles on it, I never questioned driving it cross country with so many miles on it as Ive always had excellent experiences with Toyotas (e.g., 1978 Celica with over 400,000 miles; 1984 Toyota 4x4 with over 300,000 miles; 1985 Celica with over 300,000 miles; all with no catastrophic engine trouble and keeping regular maintenance). Like many on the blog here, my Toyota Tacoma 4x4 (1996) has suffered a death knell frame rust/rot diagnosis. The rest of the truck is in excellent condition, and paid for!, which makes it a pure shame. I really love my truck and hate to see it go! I have been informed as well, as stated here by Karen in Oneota NY, that Toyota is buying back Tacomas from 95 through 2000 because these models have all suffered from extensive frame rot/rust problems. My understanding is that Toyota will pay Blue Book plus one half of the value as long as a Toyota dealership will document the rot/rust and file a report with Toyota. I was told a Toyota rep would contact me about it. Meanwhile, my poor truck sits in the driveway and will not be driven until I hear from the rep as there is too much risk of the frame breaking while driving which could mean a serious accident resulting in possible death to myself and/or others. My goodness! I will still stick Toyota however, and will use whatever money I receive from Toyota to purchase another post 2000 Tacoma as I still believe Toyota is the best and most reliable vehicle on the road. Just hate to lose my current truck as its in excellent condition minus the rotted out frame. My truck and I have been through a lot together! Goodbye truck, and see you one day in truck heaven where your rotted out frame will no longer bring you pain! Sigh...

Ben of Jacksonville FL (04/15/08)
I have a 1997 toyota tacoma 4x4 that blew a head gasket. After talking with my brother he adivised that the truck had a recall on the faulty head gasket. I looked on toyota's website and there was a recall for my vin# for a faulty head gasket. I called toyota this morning and they said the the recall had expired in 2005 and there was nothing they could do. They said they had sent recall notices to all onwners.I have never recieved a recall notice for this truck for a head gasket. The truck has always been maintained and has had proper service. I feel that the head gasket is a known problem with this vehicle and should be fixed under this recall. If I would have recieved the recall notice they would have had to fix the vehicle then.

Carletta of Pounding Mill VA (04/09/08)
It sad but true... I was sure glad to see we weren't the only ones that rust took over the frame of our Toyota. I mean I hate it happened to anyone but I thought it was something we did wrong.My husband and son are VERY upset! My husband purchased this truck brand new in 1999 knowing that our son would start driving last year, he was going to take good care of it and give it to him. The truck keep in mind was an off road series which I thought would have been a little more durable if someone had taken it 4 wheeling or anything which my husband never did. For A 1999 the truck looked like it was in EXCELLENT condition inside and out and actually my husband had a hard time giving it up. My son rode it for a few months and decided since it was an older truck he was going to replace some inportant parts, the timing chain, water pump and clutch kit. We ordered the parts took the truck and parts to the mechanic and pretty much figured the truck would be as good as new. WE WERE WRONG!! The mechanic called ask us to come back to the garage to have a look up under the truck. He had the truck upon the racks and what I seen about gave me heart failure!! The frame was an absolute mess! Totally rusted!! The thought that my baby had been riding this death trap around scared me to death. What if him being a young boy had decided to take it 4 wheeling the thing would have probably fell apart and flipped him down a mountain maybe even killing him. The mechanic advised us to return the parts and get rid of the truck which we did. Now thanks to us purchasing (what we now know was) a piece of junk that we thought would be great to get our child through school was a waste now he has a car payment. Makes us mad to pass these old junkers on the road and you wonder how their vehicle is still running and our truck that was in excellent LOOKING condition was about to get one of us killed.

John of Elgin IL (04/03/08)
I bought a new 2008 Toyota Tacoma in February 2008. I have had it back to the dealer for service 2x already; once for the mudflaps being too low. The 2nd issue is of greater concern. The engine light went on. I took it immediately to the dealer, they kept it for 3-4 days. Finally, they took out the gas tank and found ethanol in it. This was NOT covered under my brand new car warranty and I had to pay $315, which they did not tell me on the phone when they said it was ready. Then the service guy asks me what gas I used, Marathon and Shell, which I've used in Dodge trucks for over 18 years without a problem. He tells me I have to use 90% or better. With the cost of gas rising daily, I never would have bought this truck if I'd have known this upfront. My salesman did not tell me this gas issue or any issues about sludge in the engine, which I read about online.

Karen of Oneonta NY (03/16/08)
We experienced the frame rot with our 1998 Toyota Tacoma problem that people are complaining about. The mechanic said we had probably the best-maintained Tacoma in upstate NY, but it wouldn't pass NY state inspection because the frame is Swiss cheese. Too dangerous to be driving. Makes me cringe to think about driving our daughter around. Good on Toyota, however - they're not recalling, but they are buying back, starting in mid-March 2008. They are also extending the rust warranty to 15 years for the 1995 - 2000 Tacomas for those that haven't rotted out yet.

Susan of Eureka CA (03/16/08)
I purchased a Toyota Tacoma from a private party 3 years ago. I began to have engine trouble in Feb. 2008. My mechanic said it was the exhaust cylinders. They were burned out. After repaire to cylinders and reasymble of engine, my mechanic said it still didn't sound right. He took it apart ordered yet another head gasket (Toyota Brand) and put it back together again. It still didn't sound right so again disasymbled the engine. This time he looked for warpage. Low and behold there is a slight warpage to the surface. How does this happen? It seems to me it left the Toyota factory with the warpage. My understanding is the problems I had were from a domino effect. The seal failed which caused something else to fail and so down the line to the eshaust cylinders. My mechanic said the person who rebuilt the cylinders said he has seen an unusual number of this same year and model come in with the same problem. I will be doing my own investigation going from mechanic to mechanic in my town asking them to check their records just to see how many Toyota Tacoma's have come in with burned out exhaust cylinders. When I have data I will post it to this site.

William of Weaver AL (03/08/08)
My truck with key on, listening to radio while waxing my tacoma(2000) 4wd. and it was resting in first , while outside cleaning the truck, it started to try to start on its on. it was jumping forward my house at every engine turn i jumped in the truck turned the key off, nothing.. it was still on it's on tring to start, so i pushed in the cluch took out'' the key ( it was still turning over, that was frighting!, i then put it into reverse to see if it would go ahead and start, it did , but the starter was still engaging, and would not stop . i tried evey thing , finally was able to remove the negative terminal, that killed it. well thing is it does this 3 out of 5 times every time i attempt to drive it. And this is something i've wanted to vent since the day it was purchased..... the trd racing development black & gray was peelel ever so slightly when i bought it, the shop said after it got a good weeks worth of summer heat it would adhere and be ok. well it's only made my truck ( which i take great pride in my vehicle, maintaince the whole 9 yards)look awfull half peeled off on both sides. i contacted my dealer here in Anniston, Alabama ( sunny king toyota, and the are wanting 50.00 for each side decal. I'm proud of my truck, but this was neglect whatsoever on my part, it started out slightly flawed , and only has gotten worse.

Sherry of Chicago IL (02/18/08)
I bought my 2003 Toyota Tacoma brand new. I have loved this truck since day one and kept up on the regular maintenance. Now at 74,000 miles I am told I need a new engine. The toyota dealership told me I must not have taken care of the truck and accused me of revving my engine too much. I went for a second opinion and was told that my specific engine the 2.7L is known for having piston flap problems. I bought a Toyota because I was under the impression the engines were very reliable. I will not buy another one.

Darren of Cable OH (02/13/08)
The frame of my '98 Toyota Tacoma has corroded to the point that its unsafe to drive.The frame actualy broke going over a speed bump in the local Wal - Mart parking lot.Since then its been parked in my driveway.

Sandy of Stanton CA (02/12/08)
Bought truck new in May '07. Seat belts were broken and they wanted us to take it that way. I refused. They repaired them before we took possession of the truck. Within one month, less than 1,000 miles, the engine started pinging upon acceleration and when climbing hills. At one point, while in D, drive, the truck rolled backward on a hill (no trailer and truck bed was empty). Reported the problem to Miller Toyota to be told I'm no use to driving an automatic. Whenever the truck was in park on an incline or decline, before I could put on the parking brake, there would be a loud clunk noise from the undercarriage. It sounded like someone dropped a thick chain. Again reported it to Miller to get the same response You're not use to driving an automatic. Being that I am handicapped, I don't have two legs to drive anymore.

I cannot put on the gas and hold the brake at the same time which was required when on a hill. Finally, after the truck went into neutral while I was crusing at about 70mph on the 405 did Miller agree to inspect the vehicle. I had 4,000 miles on it by this time. They replace tranny parts. The truck has only popped out of gear once since they repaired the transmission problem.

A couple of weeks later, I began having problems with the vents. They smell like something died inside!! They told me to spray Lysol into the vents. ARE THEY NUTS!! Lysol is poisonous and I'm allergic. So in 110 degree weather I have to run the heater at full heat and at full velocity to attempt to dry out the piping. IT DOESN'T WORK. Moisture get trapped during the night from the coastal fog inside the vents (at least that's what Elmore Toyota says).

A week later the vents started leaking. Whenever I want just floorboard vents open, the side vents blow as well. I took it to Elmore Toyota in Westminister to be told That is normal for this model. and they added We cannot change the design of the truck. They suggested I put duct tape over the vents so they won't blow on me and that I do not set the speed above low. Oh, and the pinging. It still pings.

They say that's normal too.

I guess when I throw a rod, break a valve or destroy a piston, then once again they will say, You're right, there is something wrong. To make the pinging stop, I have to manually downshift the tranny. Please tell me how I am suppose to downshift with handcontrols in the car. We have not had the necessary handcontrols and pedal modifications done because there would be no way for me to manual shift, steer and apply gas using handcontrols. I'm on hand short -- I'd need three hands.

If I had it to do again, I would not buy Toyota again. What a waste of $17,500. By the way, the gas mileage is terrible. My old 1986 pickup still get 25 MPG. This new truck, 20MPG if I'm lucky. Here's another problem but I cannot blame Toyota. Apparently a law was enacted that affect truck from '06 to now. There is no longer a kill switch for the passengerside airbag.

The dipsticks in Washington decided we are all to dense to turn the airbag on and off so a poorly designed sensor turns it on for us. Here's the problem. I transport handicapped individuals including children. I have no backseat. The safety carseat itself weighs 28 lbs. If it is winter, the kids clothes can easily be another 10. Add a 30 lb kid and I'm in trouble. THE AIRBAGS ARE NOW ENGAGED!! If I have an accident, the kid is a gonner. Airbags are not intended for 30 lbs kids or fragile adults.

REMEMBER I don't have a backseat. When I transport fragile adults, I have the same problem with the airbag. If these adults were to be hit with an airbag, they could die. But, I cannot shut the airbag off. By law I cannot have the airbags removed. For safety, I need them removed. Maybe someone can let the dipsticks in Washington know that we the people of the United States know how to switch a button to off or on. So, this nice new truck my daughter bought for me to use, has been a nightmare. It had 8000 miles on it and as far as I am concerned, is the biggest piece of junk I've ever had. I stay home because it is dangerous for me to drive.

Robert of Irvine CA (02/11/08)
I purchased my Tacoma. Atoyfter numerous complains and trips to the dealer they could not duplicate the issue. At about 900 miles the engine started to make a tick sound on the right side of the vehicle. About 9000 miles I had the first signs of stalling, sputtering and surging. To make a long story short 20,000 miles after purchase my engine blows a rod from the number 6 cylinder which is on the right side. Seems I have a lemon. I was then denied assistance under warranty. I had all my services done at the dealer, Oil changes were done before the recommended 5000 mile mark, I kept all my records and I am still blamed for the improper care of the truck. I purchased Toyota because of the legendary reliability. I have yet to have this experience with my first and possibly last Toyota truck.

Jack of Springfield VA (02/07/08)
My 2004 Toyota Tacoma 4door 2WD pre-runner was a dream truck. About 3 weeks ago I was driving home after a light dusting of snow. I had slowed down to about 25MPH due to road conditions. As I drove up a slight hill, the truck suddenly veered to the right and I was unable to control it. I hit the breaks and the wheels locked up. I slide into a parked car (strangely another Toyota Tacoma). By the time I hit the other Toyota, I had slowed considerably (around 15-20 MPH) but the amount of damage to my Toyota was unbelievable! The front end was pushed all the way into the engine, breaking the fan and pushing the water pump into the engine block. The front bumper bent into the front wheels and it was unsteerable. The grill and all the AC/radiator were smashed, and even the battery was broken. The Anti-lock brakes did not function, and the air bags did not go off. Thank God i always wear seatbelts! Now that I have read about the ball joint problems, I surfed the net and found that Toyota had recalled the Tacoma for ball joint issues that could lead to loss of control. Mine is one under the recall and the Toyota dealer I purchased the truck at never notified me of the recall. Does this sound like it was caused by the ball joint/steering knuckle recall?

Nathan of Allen OK (02/04/08)
I purchased my 2006 4 door TRD Off Road V6 Toyota Tacoma Brand New in 2006. This truck started off as a great investment on fuel economy and looks. This truck was getting an incredible 20-22 miles per gallon just about anywhere I went. Well that was the end of that!! In the past 4 months the best gas mileage this exspensive piece of crap has gotten is 12 miles per gallon no matter where I have driven it. I know giant desiels and V8's that get better gas mileage than that. Can you imagine paying 60 bucks to fill up your vehicle and only be able to get maybe 250 miles out of that tank?!?!? Well I took it to Fowler Toyota in Norman Oklahoma and of course, they hook it up to a computer and can find absolutly nothing wrong, I think for it to go from 20 to 12 mpg there has got to be something wrong!! Any ideas on this costly P.O.S??

Darren of Cable OH (02/01/08)
I bought my '98 Toyota Tacoma new in the fall of '97. I've taken good care of it ( routine maint. ) . Last week I heard a loud thump as I went over a speed bump . I got home and discovered the frame had rusted through in several places . And an actual crack under the cab just below the cab and bed .

Todd of Wintersville OH (01/16/08)
I have had nothing but good experience with my truck until the frame literaly rusted right out from under the trcuk in less than a year and a half. It is a 98 tacoma and all the blogs and forums I have been to have had numerous people in the same situation. I thought I would get somewhere calling Toyota but they claimed to be unaware about any complaints or problems. I beleive if they produce a product that costs what it does and they claim that their product is superior to other automakers their frame has to be able to last more than 10 years! Toyota obviously hade a faulty frame design from 96 to 03 so be the honorable company you say you are and offer to fix your mistakes and treat your customers like they mean something.

Robert of Orange Park FL (12/27/07)
2007 Tacoma doule cab v6 the electronic trottle failed and engaged full trottle loosig control of vehicle brakes didnt work headed into on coming trafic at full speed.

Jeff of Phoenix AZ (12/03/07)
I have 2 issues, one spark plugs, the other transmission. Per transmission issue, I have a 1998 Toyota Tacoma extra cab 2WD. I was driving it from San Jose to Phoenix after about 20-30K miles. After 11 hours on the freeway, while trying to shift into second gear on city streets it would NOT go into gear! I tried double-clutching it several times. I had a very hard time getting to my cousins house. Next day took it to Toyota to ask about it and they said they've had no complaints. Also it was fine that day onwards.

Now, 10 yrs later...Ive noticed that the past 30-40K miles it wont go into 2nd almost at all when its cold (under 70 or so degrees approx). It seems like the synchonization of the trans isnt working. On another note, I noticed at 50K miles when I changed the trans fluid it was milky white at first...which seems to indicate water in the trans. I have no idea how water ever got in it as Ive had no coolant leaks and never park in water.

The worst I ever did was to drive through water on occasion. even so, how did it get inside? Second incident: spark plugs. At 52K miles (spark plugs never changed)...i started it up, it ran for 2-3 seconds and died. Never happened before or since. I tried to start it again, no luck. I know a bit about cars but couldnt figure it out. Had it towed to the dealer. For $325 they told me I had bad spark plugs (they were too worn). I told the guy that its impossible that the car would NOT even fire a little with just worn spark plugs, especially after starting and running smoothly for 2-3 seconds (with no problems up to that point) and I thought he was lying to me. On top of that, my degree is in electronics so Im not new to how the car works re spark plugs.

Carla of N Sutton NH (11/11/07)
My 2000 Toyota Tacoma has frame rot. Toyota knows that Tacomas in the NE are rotting due to faulty mfg and harsh winter road conditions. No other manufacturer has trucks failing like the Tacoma.

Phil of Santa Cruz CA (11/09/07)
I buy 2007 Takoma Pre Runner Double Cab. On January 27, 2007. Since day one, I have had rear end problems. Leaking oil, making noises, the truck has been in the shop more that five times; they had not fixed the problem I'm getting very frustered, since I use my truck to make a living. Problem number two, I buy the truck with a sticker that said the truck was modified with a 3 inch suspension lift. The Lift blocks are very straight forward and they masure 1 inch, and toyota tells me if I put a 3 inch lift on the truck all warratys are inmediatetly voided. But remember I bought it thinking it alreary had a 3 inch lift kit. How can I not pay for something that I Did not get? If you can help to get this resolve it would be greatly apreciated. Thanks

Junction City Mining Co  of Talbotton GA (10/08/07)
Our 2006 Toyota Tacoma was taken in to Jay Toyota for service on May 30, 2007. We had EGR,valves, and oil change.

Truck wasn't running right took back into Shop. No news on what was going on - called back on 6-18 and found out mechanic had been out on vacation but would call me back re: repairs.

Was told on Engine needed to be replaced. Truck was ready to pick up on 7-31-07 at 5:30 pm - On 8-1-07 took truck back in to Jay Toyota because of lack of power. On 8-15-07 said truck had been ready for two days without notification. Picked up truck on 8-16-07 after going 15 miles it was skipping so bad we had to return it.8-17-07 Customer service rep.

Gloria said they were ordering injectors - on 8-29-07 Service Mgr. Steve said they had to order a tool to put parts in. 9-4-07 Gloria said all lifers did not come in- 9-17-07 Steve said they were putting back together and going to test drive will call when ready. 9-24-07 Gloria said they were waiting for the head to come in. 10-08-07 Still no word on Truck!!!!

This truck was purchased for the company in hopes that we would have a reliable vehicle. As is has turned out it has been more of a problem than a convenience.

Gilbert of Deming WA (10/06/07)
I purchased an 07 Tacoma this year and it has about 9000 miles on it. A few times I have gone to start my truck and it seems to not want to turn over right away, like a new truck should. Also, once after work I went to start my truck, it took a along time before turning over and then it just died.

It started right back up afterwards and made it home fine. Another problem I seem to have is that when I'm down to about a quarter tank of gas the truck runs like crap. There's hesitation in between shifting when I'm in drive, it doesn't feel like it's getting gas all the time when I want it to. Most of this occurs when I'm trying to do the speed limit which is 50mph.

It feels like it's stuck in between shifting gears. Another problem I have with this truck is that I feel it was falsely advertised on tv to show the truck going through so much damage and driving away with no harm done. I loaded some junk concrete from around the house into the back of my truck, by myself so they coulndnt have been that heavy, I slid the concrete to the middle of the bed and it dented the crap out the bed. I did not slam or  try to damage my own truck I'm paying way to much for. I've done nothing but try to baby this nice looking truck but it seems as though my luck is being pushed by this investment.

I dont think Wilson Motors cares that much about customers getting thier cars fixed because they get paid no matter what by Toyota. I've complaind twice now about the same thing and they siad that nothing is wrong according to the computer and that I should wait until somthing major goes wrong. I don't want to wait for somthing major to go wrong with this truck I'm paying up the ass for. I am also not the only unsatisfiied customer from Wilson Motors.

Kate of South Lake Tahoe CA (09/27/07)
They diagnosed my truck as needing a new head gasket. They replaced the head gasket, and on my way home my engine blew up from a thrown rod. They said it was not their problem. I paid them about $2200 for this.

Michael of Branson MO (09/17/07)
I recently bought a used '99 Toyota Tacoma because of their legendary reliability. After a few months, the undercoating/paint wore off to reveal that most of the frame was rusting straight through. Most of the frame can be easily penetrated with a screwdriver, and hitting the frame causes showers of rust flakes. One mechanic told me he didn't think it would pass inspection, and another said there was absolutely nothing that I could do. This has definitely changed my mind about Toyota and their products.

Eric of Holland MA (09/12/07)
I have a 2007 toyota tacoma with 9,000 miles I reported the brakes squeeling in the morning when I back up the first time they told me that's normal all new toyota truck's do that...yeah right anyhow I also reported black smoke and water sprayed all over my truck from the tailpipe that's condensation that's normal...ok well it took me to find a service bulletin on my own about the brakes they end up replacing rotors and various other thing's in the front after back and forth and fighting with them about the issue in the first place they have still not resolved the smoke and black water all over the side of my white 2007 tacoma this is so not professional and I don't reccomend anyone bring their vehicle there!!!!

Larry of Wales Hollow NY (08/28/07)
3 Weeks after purchasing a certified pre-owned 2003 Toytota Tacoma from a Toyota Dealer I was traveling up an 8% snow covered road traveling at 15 mph. As the road curved to the left my truck suddenly left the roadway to the right as if it were pulled in by a rope. The truck rolled down the hill and landed on it's roof in the ditch. The policemen who responded to the accident was very confused as to how I ended up there traveling UP THE HILL.

Arriving on the scene he thought I was traveling down the hill and spun out into the ditch. But I had a man who witnessed it who was directly behind me and stopped to see if I was okay and was able to validate my statement. After 10K worth of repairs by the dealer I have been experiencing random poor gas milage. Recently I inspected the truck to find that both front calipers were heavily cooroded and were seizing and had caused the leading inner pad to wear to the metal without any wear to the trailing edge or the outer pads.

I took it back to the dealer and they replaced the seized calipers under warranty as they determined it was a defect. Now back to that accident. I'm 40 years old with a perfect driving record and have traveled the road where the accident occured almost every day for the past year without any incident. I now believe the cause of the accident was the traction control engaging on the front wheel as I was approaching the turn.

The system grabbed the front wheel to distribute the torque to the other wheels briefly and then when it was supposed to release the mechanical defect of the seizing calipers didn't allow the wheel to start rotating again, due to the low speed and the limited traction, causing me to loose steering control of the truck and sucking it into the ravine.

This type of traction control is flawed in my opinion as there is no failsafe mechanism in case of a mechanical failure like I experianced. Oddly enough, I had observed another Toyota truck a week before at an intersection who had a rear wheel seize and lost control of his truck at an intersection simply trying to go in a straight line leaving a traffic signal and was not able steer as each time he tried to apply the gas his truck just went in a circle with 3 wheels turning and 1 wheel locked solid.

Nick of Rincon GA (08/22/07)
I have a 2006 Toyota Tacoma that i purchased new. at just over 40,000 miles the pressure plate assembly broke.Toyota refused to warranty this part.I had a local transmission shop repair my truck using genuine Toyota parts. When they recieved these parts they called me to tell me the parts were different than the parts removed from my truck.I then found out Toyota changed this part # inline on 2006 Tacoma's. I have found sevaral complaints on this part and i believe Toyota redesiged these parts to fix a problem and never issued a TSB.

Barry of Colorado Springs CO (08/02/07)
I purchased a 2001 Tundra new. The truck is now at 49K miles and the brakes have been replaced three times. after about 3 to 5 thousand miles of light driving, they begin to chatter when applied lightly. The chattering gets progressively worse that about 10,000 miles on a new set of brakes, you experience significantly reduced braking ability when braking while going down a hill.

Robert of Laguna Beach CA (07/22/07)
I have a v-6 toyota t-100 truck. The headgasket went. Toyota said that the truck already had a recall on my truck and the gasket was replaced. Now they could not do anything for me. I had it repaired for half of what Toyota quoted.so far the repair has held up. Now I found out that there was a second recall. I contacted Toyota headquaters by way of email for a reimbursement of my $800.No response. I have been a longterm customer of Toyota and in the past would always be telling everyone of their great product.

Frank of Dover TN (06/15/07)
I purchased a 2007 Toyota Tacoma 4X4 Quad Cab..beautiful truck. The first of five incidents occured when I was in Chicago. Stopped at a traffic light behind another vehicle, with my foot on the brake, the truck lunged forward almost striking the vehicle in front of me. When I returned home to Tennessee, I took the vehicle in to have it checked.

They told me they could find nothing wrong with it. About a month later, I was stopped in the driveway of a BP gas station waiting for traffic to clear on the main road. With my foot on the brake, the rear wheels just out of nowhere, began to spin at a high rate of speed. I had to press so hard on the brake pedal to keep the truck from going out into the road. It still wouldn't stop so I turned the vehicle onto the shoulder to avoid going out into traffic. I let that incident pass as bad as it was.

About another three weeks after that, I was heading home on a winding, hilly road. There was a van in front of me about 200 yards. As I approached a sharp turn at the bottom of a hill, just before the hill started upward, I tapped the brakes to slow down. The truck again took off at a very high rate of speed. I could not stop it or control it. Almost striking the van in front of me, I crossed over a double yellow line on a hill (putting my life at risk) and finally, after about another 1000 yards, got the vehicle under control.

This time I took the truck back to the dealership service department and once again, they could find nothing wrong with it. They told me they would have to be able to recreate the problem before they could fix it. I told them it happens sporadically and it could happen the next day or next month or who knows when. Sorry, I was told, but we can't help you. I then contacted Toyota of America and spoke with a corporate regional manager. He told me the same thing... until they could recreate the incident, they could do nothing for me. (By the way, I was told by corporate that they would have a factory representative meet me at the dealership to look the vehicle overe).

To this day, I have never been contacted by anyone from the factory and I reported it to them over a month ago). About three weeks ago, I turned onto a ramp to enter a highway and tapped the brakes to slow down going around the ramp turn. Again the truck took off on me at a very high rate of speed. I brought the truck under control by the time I got on the highway. Luckily there was no traffic on the highway at that point.

I again called Toyota of America and was told there was nothing they could do. I tole them that they could not afford to keep this vehicle on the road because eventually someone, either myself or someone else might be seriously injured or killed. Again, nothing. Finally, returning from the VA hospital in Nashville, TN, I was driving northbound on the I-24. It had just stopped raining very hard and the road was wet with a drizzly rain. I was in the right shoulder lane when a small vehicle in the lane to my left attempted to move into the right lane.

Realizing I was right there, the vehicle moved back into the left lane. By then. however, I had tapped the brakes to prepare to prevent crashing into the car if it did come into my lane. You guessed it, the rear wheels began spinning at a very high rate of speed, only this time, the rear end of the truck spun very rapidly to the left and I was unable to control it in the rain and on the wet pavement. The truck crashed into the embankment just off the shoulder. I skidded along the embankment for about 60 feet seeing nothing but bushes and trees.

The truck then hit a rut and went airborne for about 35 to 40 feet and landed on the paved shoulder on the roof of the vehicle. The truck then rolled over about three or four times and came to rest on the left (drivers) side of the vehicle. The truck waa a total loss and smashed so badly that onlookers that stopped to help, could not believe that I had survived the accident. I was taken to a nearby hospital with neck and shoulder pains. Luckily the seat belt held me in place in the seat. Fortunately, I did not hit any other vehicles and I was not killed. I suffered and still do, neck and left shoulder pain. After being released from the hospital, I went to where the vehicle was towed to.

When I saw the damage, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was a police office for fifteen years and saw many accidents not even as bad as mine and there were fatalities. I was one of the lucky ones. I wish you could see the photos of the truck. After four similar experiences, the same problem each time, and NO HELP FROM Toyota of America, the truck finally did what I expected it would eventually do. I have not yet reported the final incident to Toyota of America because I am considering a lawsuit.

I loved that truck and I was planning on getting another one but after reading all of the incidents described in this site, I'll be looking elsewhere. I too thought I would get a Toyota because of their great reputation and the fact that they will last forever (I know people that have over 200,000 miles on their Toyota trucks). I doubt if I will let that sway me into purchasing another one.

The bottom line is, Toyota of America just plain DID NOT BELIEVE ME and the end result of their ineptness and dismissing my repors of problems, led to an accident that could have very simply been fatal. I was one of the lucky ones. I wonder how many more of this same problem exist out there and Toyota of America is dismissing it because they don't want to admit there is anything wrong with their vehicles.

Erika of Tucson AZ (06/07/07)
I drive a 2001 Tacoma. I was helping my sister move and about 10K worth of her belongings were in the back of the truck. We went into the apartment complex to pick up her new house keys and came out to see the fire department extinguishing my truck and her belongings. The fire fighters on the scene said the fire started in the tail light. I took my truck to the body shop at the Toyota dealership in the automall and they refused to help me. I went to the service department and I asked them if there have been any recalls for my truck and they told me no and that they could run a diagnostic which I was to pay for, but the manager of the service department told me he was going to tell the mechanics to report back that there was nothing wrong and I must have caused the fire. Here's the kicker, so to speak. Last week the same thing happened to a coworker. Toyota is refusing to acknowledge her damage either.

Randy of Oshawa, Canada (05/27/07)
I have a 98' Toyota Tacoma 4x4. To my amazement both rear leafsprings broke ! I have never had heavy loads in it and drive it on decent roads. Has anyone else had this happen ? I beleive this is a dangerous defect that should be addressed by Toyota .Your responces would be greatly appreciated.

Frank of Gibsonton FL (05/25/07)
My 2003 Toyota Tundra 6 cylinder had 62,000 miles on it when the engine blew (thrown rod). I had kept the oil changed regularly in it, and it was out the warranty period. However, I think that this should not happen on a Toyota that has been properly maintained. The dealer service department said it would cost over $4,000 to have a rebuilt engine put in it. I feel this is something that Toyota Motor Co. should take care of because to me it is obvious that this was a defective engine. Toyota has had complaints about some of their engines lately, and I would like some assistance from them in covering the financial cost of replacing the engine.

$4,300 to $4,900 engine replacement cost.

Jonathon of Louisville KY (05/12/07)
Bought a new 2007 Toyota Tacoma on 04/24/07. On 04/28/07 the vehicle would not start. I called dealership but no one would answer the phone. I left a message stating I had a new vehicle that would not run and I was stranded away from home. No one from dealership would return my phone call. With the help of my father, we were able to get the truck running.

For the following week, there were no service issues and the truck ran reliably. On 05/09/07 the truck failed to start again (~1500mi on the odometer). This time, I had to have the truck towed into the dealership. Note, a follow-up call was never received from the dealership after the initial incident. After waiting 4 hours in the service lounge I was told they did not know what was wrong with the truck.

The decision was made to replace the ECU. It was then found out that the ECU was on back order with no projected date of arrival. I was given a economy class rental car and told to call back the following day. Followed up on 05/10/07 and was told still waiting for part. Followed up again on 05/11/07 and was told You will not have your truck this weekend. Asked about the term os the rental car and was told You will have the rental car as long as I say so by the service rep. Situation is same as of today, 05/12/07.

Micheal of Nelsonville OH (04/26/07)
Purchased new Toyota Tacoma in 04 the month of August and bought the extended warrenty for 100,000 miles, at about 65,000 miles truck started knocking on cold starts when put under load would quit when warmed up, dealer and Toyota said they would fix it but I would have to pay to pull engine apart aprox. 1250.00 dollors if they could find problem would fix it, if not i would have to pay for taking it apart and to put it back together. The 995.00 dollar Extra Care is worth about the value of the paper its printed on. Dont buy a Toyota or the Extra Care unless you like getting ripped off

Tim  of Greenville SC (04/17/07)
The fly wheel came off while driving my 2003 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner.

When the fly wheel came off, this caused a chain reaction. This smashed into the front of the transmission, which in turn forced everything back causing the drive shaft to come out, which in turn punched a large hole in the gas tank. It is amazing that the truck did not catch fire.

The fly wheel should not have come off. The mechanic I used to repair the truck said he had never seen damage this bad unless the vehicle had been in a wreck. The people I talked to at Toyota said there was nothing they could do, as the truck was out of warranty. I also contacted the fly wheel manufacturer, but never received a response. With all the damage that took place, as well as gas and transmission fluid pouring out, it is amazing that I am still here to write this complaint.

George of Vancouver WA (04/05/07)
My paid for 2001 Tacoma with 60,000 miles has engine noise that has been classified as piston slap. Over time it has gotten much worse. The truck is out of warranty now and embarrassing to drive out of my neighborhood in the mornings due to the noise when cold. The noise subsides significantly when warm but is still present. I am very meticulous about the cleanliness and maintenance of my un-modified truck. Dealer never wanted to do anything about it as it runs fine. I think it is ridiculous.

Eric of Destin FL (03/20/07)
Why does the gas pedal stick when the engine heats up? I have cleaned the throttle body over and over,I have also tried to loosen the spring on the pedal, The brakes have been a problem since I purchased the truck,even after being replaced. I drive about 50 to 70 miles a week, And I have never been in the woods with it. I'm scared I'm going to break it...

After the engine warms up, rather quickly I might add, the gas pedal is so wierd, it works somtimes, and then it does't. I have to tap on it to get it going. Sitting @ a red light one day,and I pulled rather close to the vehicle in front of me, not thinking I pushed the pedal and came really close to hitting the guy, I have to admit it startled me a bit... WHATS UP TOYOTA?

William of Kingsburg CA (03/19/07)
Vehicle I purchased new on 10/06/06 has been recalled as of 1/19/07. Toyota Tundra pickup (2006). Unfortunately they don't have the parts and the vehicle is unsafe to drive. I feel at least I'm intitled to a loaner, while the parts are on backorder. Actually I understand the parts are available but Toyota won'r release them ???????//same problem ?????????? I've discussed this with both Toyota and the dealership from which I purchased the truck. I've received no satifaction from them.

Alan of Meridian ID (03/19/07)
My wife was driving our grandchildren to gymnastics in our '99 Toyota Tacoma. She pulled into the parking lot and went to turn off the engine; however, the truck just kept running. Startled and confused, she finally put the truck in gear and popped the clutch. The truck engine stalled and smoke was pouring out of the engine compartment. She called me and when I arrived approximately 10 minutes later, I crawled under the truck and could see noticeable heat damage around the starter and clutch housing.

I had the truck towed to our local Toyota dealership. They informed me that the starter and complete clutch had to be replaced. This truck has 35,000 miles on it and has been regularly serviced since we purchased it.

The dealership could not explain what had gone wrong. I looked at the replaced clutch, pressure plate and throughout bearing. None of which showed signs of excessive wear, however, all exhibited discoloration from excessive heat. T

he starter motor was in the same condition. Since the vehicle was older that three years, none of the $1427.75 was covered by warranty. I called Toyota and filed a case complaint and requested an explanation as to what went wrong. They indicated that they had no similar complaints and since the vehicle was out of warranty there was nothing they could do.

Michael of Ranger GA (03/16/07)
1999 toyota tacoma frame broken at rear spring mount toyota said it is no longer under warranty. would not give any assitance

1999 toyota 4x4 not driveable

Derek of Toms River NJ (03/14/07)
I have a 2002 Tacoma 4x4.Since I purchased my truck I have had a water leak. Whenever it rains or snows, water develops under the drivers side floor mat. I brought the truck to Gateway Toyota while under warranty where I bought the truck.

They said they fixed it. However after about a year it seemed to leak worse. This time my carpeting developed mold and needed to be replaced. They again said they fixed it and replaced the carpet, all covered under warranty. And both times I noticed how they fixed it.

They sprayed undercoating onto the fire box area behind the engine.

It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that after expansion and contraction from heat and cold the undercoating cracks and thus leaks.

So Now for the third time I have a leak that Toyota refuses to fix without me paying for it because now the warranty has expired.I feel they just put a band aid on the problem, received money from Toyota to fix it and now they say it's my Problem. I have owned 5 Toyotas but never again. 2 weeks ago I purchased my first Honda.

Linda of Columbus OH (03/13/07)
I have taken my 1997 Tacoma 4x4 back to Toyota 3 times. They have removed Carbon, freed up brakes and the last time I took it they said my Clutch is 60% gone and said they found nothing wrong with anything else. Of course they did not drive it like I asked them to because I reset my tripometer and they drove it 10 miles. They said I do not drive it enough is one of my problems.

The problem I am having is similar to some of the people that say their engine shuts down or misses. My truck with 65,000 miles, misses and the engine balks or shuts partially down all the time. I can be going 5 miles per hour and it kinda jerks like I don't know how to drive a stick shift but it is not the clutch it is the engine. Also at any other speed, the engine cuts down like it is going to stop but doesn't. Toyota says there is nothing wrong with it but I took it to another mechanic and he feels the problem but has no idea what the problem is. I have spent about $400 so far and nothing has fixed the problem.

I don't know whether to get a tuneup, computer changed, new clutch or what. By the way the clutch feels fine to me and the second mechanic. I really had planned on keeping this vehicle for a while until this happened. I don't think I will be able to sell it like it is unless I give it back to Toyota since they say there is nothing wrong. They should not take off from the trade since they say there is not a problem with it. I saw similar problems on your website, so I would like to know what fixed their problems and I can suggest to a mechanic so they can fix it?

It is 10 years old and looks like new on the outside but I also have the rust underneath. From the outside and interior it looks great. I have had many of the problems on your website like the squeky clutch pedal. The bushings had to be replaced or basically the pedal and mechanics had to be replaced. That cost about $300 as I recall. Please advise if you can help.

James of Albemarle NC (03/09/07)
'99 Toyota Tacoma - the starter motor did not disengage. I didn't know what was happening, and had to stall it in 5th gear to look. While looking smoke started rolling up from inder the manifold. I hurried to disconnect the battery. The starter had to be replaced. Examination showed the solenoid driven plunger had jammed. As there is no means of regular maintenance of this item there was no practical way to avoid the problem and its many potential catastrophies, including burning up the entire vehicle.

The initial flaw and overheating of the starter and wiring required towing and starter replacement at a total cost of $389.99 and five days lossof use of the truck.

Steve of Winchester MA (03/08/07)
I WAS ALMOST KILLED WHEN THE WHEEL AND AXLE FELL OFF MY TUNDRA!! The day before I called and describe the steering problem to the service dept. I described the symptoms of the balljoint defect exactly, even though I was not aware of the recall.

They never told me anything about it. The very next day the wheel fell off and threw me into oncoming traffic. By the grace of God I lived. Toyotas still isn't telling people.

After the accident I researched the truck and found the recall. I was livid. The very next day they said my truck was ready!! They picked the axle and cv joint up after it had been dragged 100 yards and stuck it back into the transfer case!! I know it sounds like I'm making this up but its true. I am shocked and disgusted by this company. People are going to die if this isn't fixed.

Ananda Beeson of Kilauea HI (03/06/07)
2006 toyota tocoma LB, 4x4 4 door . My brand new truck bottoms out . It has shell on the back installed buy dealership. The rear springs are not strong enough to drive down the road with as little as 100 lbs in the bed .

I complined about the problem and they put new leaf springs on . didn't do a thing still bottoms out on all bumps in the road. Can you belive it, a brand new toyota 4x4 truck bottoming out.Help my truck sucks !!!!!

Jeff of Stanardsville VA (02/16/07)
Ihave a 2001 tundra that the transmission went out going along the highway. I took to tranny shop before the tranny stop working all together. The shop diagonic as the defective overdrive / planetary gear.I contacted Toyota they said that they never had any problems with their transmissons.

To rebuild the tranny is too expensive for me to pay. So i had to find a used one to repair my truck. there no guarantee that the used tranny want go bad. Thanks TOYOTA FOR YOUR GREAT PRODUCT

Steve of Northboro MA (02/08/07)
I have a 1998 Toyota Tacoma Xtracab 4x4 v6 with 75,000 miles. I don't bring this truck to the dealer as I do all work myself or by my own mechanic. About 2 years I noticed things were getting rusty underneath the truck.

I tried taking care of this myself by using POR 15 and various products from NAPA, none of which I thought did a very good job, so I finally setteled on painting the entire undercarrige and frame with Rustolium.

After one year I could tell that nothing had been accomplished, the rust was continuing under my paint job. Later I did a brake job and when putting the truck on jack stands the jack that comes with the truck ended up going right thru the bottom of the frame.

There is no way to repair the frame as rust is everywhere, inside and outside. Other than rust and corrosion I have had no problems with this truck, only scheduled maintenance.

Fred of Cameron NC (02/05/07)
I had bought a 2002 toyota tacoma from a second hand dealership and had been driving it to about 45 or 50 thousand miles when i noticed that in rainy wheather the truck was hard to handle to the point that it would break traction in the front end even at very low speeds.

So my wife and i were going to KY for Christmas and it lost traction almost sending us into oncoming traffic at that point i decided right then as we hit the next exit to put new tires on the truck thinking the tires were the whole jest of the problem.

About 3 weeks go by and my wife needs to go back to KY for family related issues and returning back home she enters into a little bit of rain and turning into an off ramp she spins the truck around hitting the guard rail.

Robert of Monticello WI (02/04/07)
My 2000 Tacoma 4WD would intermittently shut down during hard acceleration. I was almost killed attempting to pass another vehicle many times. Toyota dealerships charged me a lot of money before actually fixing the problem. This was wrong with the vehicle from the day I drove it off the dealership lot in July of 2000. Everyone including Toyota Corporate knew about it and milked me like a cash cow instead of repairing it under warranty like they should have.

I drove this vehicle for 96,000 miles in this condition before they finally fixed it at my expense. When I would call Toyota Corporate they would laugh. I purchased a new Toyota Tundra 2005 in September of 2004 because I like the product. The Corporate people aren't woth two dead flies. Now I got a notice about the ball joints in my 2005 Tundra. How much will Corporate Toyota charge me again for their mistake? Time will tell.

I will never call Corporate Toyota again for any reason. Never will they humiliate me like they did with my 2000 Tacoma again. Great company, stinky CEO's!

Chris of Cypress TX (02/03/07)
I drive a 1995 Tacoma 4X4. The driver seat belt does not retract. The Passenger side does this on occasion. I have been to multiple salvage yards to replace the item, but all trucks have the same malfunction of seatbelt. It is my op9inion that the seatbelt sholder outlast the vehicle. This is a saftey issue. Have contacted toyota and they say that since the vehicle is out of warrenty that are not responcible. It is a toyota and I see most if not all have the same problems. Internet car forums have similar complaints. Toyota must make their vehicles safe and I feel I am due at least a great reduction in proce of a new seatrbelt due to the defect.

Don of Chino Hills CA (01/29/07)
Friday January 26, my 1997 Toyota Tacoma Pick up began to miss. It felt like the tires were flat and began getting worse. I pulled off the freeway and my check engine light came on. It was really missing badly and I thought it was going to cut off. I pampered it by going less than 15 MPH all the way to Longo Toyota which was about 8 miles. The Service department said they would take care of the problem when Technicians came in the next morning because they had to run a diagonostics check to determine what the problem was.

They called the next day about noon and told me the spark plug wires were bad and the cost to replace them was $200. I told them to go ahead and they called back later and told me it was ready for pick up. I picked it up and got about 5 miles away and the same thing began to happen. The truck began to miss badly and the check engine light came on. I managed to get to back to dealership again but again, I had to baby it back in. When I returned no one would wait on me until my wife threatened to speak with the Manager.

Finally after about a half hour, Paul LeBlanc said rudely, I'll help you as soon as I'm finished. He passed us on to Frank Lorusso and I told him the truck was still doing the same thing as I paid $200 to get fixed. I told him I was getting frustrated as this ordeal has taken my whole day. He gave me a slip for a rental car that I didn't ask for but the rental car counter was closed. I went back to Frank and he completed the paperwork himself. He asked if I wanted the insurance and I said no because it was their fault my truck wasn't ready and I'd already spent $200 for repairs and still have the same problem. I took the car to the gym as I do every Sunday morning.

About 9:30am I was paged by the front counter at the gym. I went up and the police were there and asked if I was Don and had a white Corolla rental. I said yes and they told me it had been broken into in the parking lot. Someone smashed the rear window out and stole my briefcase containing about $800 worth of materials in it. They still have my truck and when I asked what was wrong with it they said they didn't know but would charge me $700 to take it apart and then give me a price to fix it.

Steven of Taos NM (01/25/07)
2002 toyota tundra 4x4, four wheel drive actuator motor failed causing gear damage in the transfer case, requireing replacement of the entire transfer case at the cost of about $3500. the four wheel drive on this vehicle was rarely used and only in town on icy or snow packed roads, never abused .the failure happened in my drive way. the truck had 55,000 mi and the 60 month warranty period had expired by one month. needless to say I'm feeling ripped off as this was obviously faulty equipment and not a result of over use .

Gary of San Diego CA (01/22/07)
The check engine light on my 2002 Toyota Tacoma pickup illuminated at 39,000 miles. Poway Toyota diagnosed the problem as an Oxygen sensor and the cost to repair would be over $300. They further stated that they would not stand behind the repairs. Anecdotal evidence indicates that this is a very common problem with this vehicle and John Capponi at the Poway Toyota service department admits that the Oxygen sensor is only good for a couple of years.

My complaint is that if Toyota knows that this component is good for just a couple of years, shouldn't they disclose up-front when the vehicle is purchased that there will be an additional maintenace cost of over $300 within the first couple of years of ownership just as they disclose that the timing belt will have to replaced at a recommended mileage. I've purchased several new Toyotas from this dealership over the years and am sorely disappointed in their response to this problem as well as to Toyota's response.

Additionally, I've read several newspaper articles recently about how Toyota's quality may be slipping. I discarded the articles realizing the presses propensity picking on the top dog. After this unscheduled maintenace cost of over $300 however, I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't perhaps some credibility to the number of complaints that are being logged. Add mine to the list.

Brenth of Garden Grove CA (01/19/07)
My 2003 Toyota Tacoma engine (3.4L V6) blew 2 weeks with only 80,000 miles. I have an excellent service record. I'm not sure if it has to due with this sludge build up incident or not. I was on the freeway and the tires were slipping, the RPM's went up momentarily, I lost control of the vehicle...and I swerved off the road...the engine blew. Will my insurance cover this?

Toyota of Cerritos service center quoted me $5,200 to put in a used engine, or $9,800 to rebuild my engine. They said I blew a rod and it went through the block of the engine. Please help or respond if there is anything I can do.

Judi of Salinas CA (01/17/07)
I purchased my used 2002 toyota tacoma prerunner limited edition ext. dbl. cab 4dr. The red color paint on the roof and some of body, was badly peeled off. I didn't notice how badly the roof paint was peeled off, until my sister showed me. It looks like the paint bubbled up and peeled. DMV. told me it was not a salvage vehicle. The toyota dealership I took it to here in Salinas Ca. told me it has the original paintjob. It's only been 5/6 months since I purchased this truck now almost the whole roof looks a rusty or white color.

I need to know if You have heard of any similar cases. Is there anything I can do if it's a factory defect? Someone in your list of complaints said he hates his truck, because of the rattling of the dash board. The dash board in my truck has a noticeable, annoying rattle, I can't figure out what is rattling everytime I hit any little bump on the road. I sometimes think something is about to fall apart soon.

I still owe about 18,000 on this vehicle I shouldn't have to buy it a new paint job yet It's a farely new truck, I can't afford it. I hate for it to look the way it does considering the amount I am paying for it

John of Bumpass VA (01/11/07)
My (used) 2002 Tacoma 4 cyl. 4 w/d has recent engine noise(mechanical)when vehicle is first started. This noise was not noticable unless it's driven immediately upon starting. After the truck warms up, the noise isn't obvious other than a insignificant (??) miss in the engine. Questioning Mech. friends & their observations, this tends to sound like a clogged pushrod problem possibly a result of engine sludge.

This is 2002 only has 54,000 mi. on it. I change oil & filter in all of my vehicles on a 3mo. 3,000 mi. cycle and I only use Synthetic Motor Oil. I changed oil immediately upon purchase of this truck and saw nothing unususal, heard nothing unusual. About 1 month later I was detecting this problem. I live about 30 mi. from any Dealer, I'm single and do all of my oil changes at home. I'm the owner of 3 Toyotas, my first being a 1996 Tacoma 4 w/d. I bought this with 19,000 mi. in 1997. I've always changed oil religously and currently have 198,000 mi. with no engine problems. My 1997 4-Runner has some oil burning however @ 185,000 I'll accept this. However the 2002, having this mechanical engine noise is not normal for this milage.

William of Bay Minette AL (01/10/07)
My wife and I were driving down the Highway about 45-50mph and Right Front Ball Joint came apart we did a 180 crossed the other lane slammed into one power pole,I could not gain control Right or Left the 1998 Toyota had just been checked front to rear at 97000 miles I personally told the same Mechanic that had worked on my Truck from Day One at Springhill Toyota to make sure all of the front end part's and everything was in good working order because my warranty was going to run out at 100,000 miles.

He told me we never have any problem with front end part's at 104,000 mile's we crashed,the cause of the crash was a separated Ball Joint thats what the wrecker service said and also Billy owen's Paint and Body Shop,I had the Ball Joint's Removed and still have them in my possession Toyota would not take any blame this Truck was very well kept up and never used offroad.Toyota Tacoma 4X4 SR5 Extended Cab.

Glen of League City TX (01/09/07)
I have a 2002 Tacoma which for the most part has been great for the 64K miles I have on it. I have however had my share of difficulties with Toyota as I found that the idle goes wild in the morning.

They told me the Air-Dam was probably dirty and the sprayed some stuff into the throttle body (whatever all that means). Still does it and truck is now out of warrenty. The clutch sounds like an old screen door. They charged me $70 to diagnose the problem and the fix? Spray some stuff into the trans housing around the clutch shaft. I have since read this is not an unknown problem.

Still does it so I have them spray stuff in there every oil change. I found my power steering pump empty one day after an oil change. I guess now I need to look for the pin point leak as someone else on this site notified us of. Again for the most part it has been a great truck but back your product folks. These problems are not mysterious they are well known. So fix it and keep that great reputation going.

James of La Grange ME (01/03/07)
I have a 1999 Toyota Tacoma,95k miles] and the frame has rusted through so it would not pass inspection till I repaired it. I checked and this is a common problem with this truck for several years.I contacted Down East Toyota, Wilson St. Brewer, Maine and was told by Herb Davis, Service Manager, yes this was a problem they were aware of but there was nothing they could do.

Toyota has sence changed thier frame set up in an attempt to prevent this.This vehicle has been in for the dealer upkeep, and been garaged kept sence new, not abused off road or in any other way,can you check this out and get back with me?

Everything else works on the truck it just doesnt have a reliable frame as it is.

Scott of Granada Hills CA (01/02/07)
Bought a 2000 Toyota Tundra that my stay at home wife used to go to the store and take kids to school. Got a letter from Toyota asking us to see them IF we were having brake problems, and back then we had about 7,000 local miles on the truck and had no problems. At that time we hardly ever took it on the freeway and had no problems.

Later on as the kids started growing up and we started going on vacations we did notice bad brake vibrations, and took the truck back to the dealer. They informed us we had the same problem everyone has, but refused to do anything about it because by then we were out of warranty. They expect us to pay the thousands it will take to correct this factory design defect, (even though they admitt they would have fixed for free if we had brought the truck in under warranty).

I feel cheated and abused. If people crash becasue they can't afford to fix Toyota's design problem, I hope they sue the heck out of Toyota for not standing behind their truck's safety equipment.

Leigh of Warrensville NC (12/27/06)
I bought a 2007 Toyota Tacoma double cab, V-6, Off Road Package truck November 30, 2006. After driving the truck only two weeks, I noticed that the power steering pump was making a horrible sound whenever I turned the steering wheel when it was parked or driving at a low rate of speed. I took it to the dealership and they notice that the power steering fluid was extremely low so they filled it up and could not find a leak. Within a few days the problem occured again. This time, the dealer so that there was a pin point leak in the power steering rack. The part will take some time to come in so I will ultimately have to visit the dealership three times over the power steering problem when the truck only has 2700 miles on it.

Jefff of Chehalis WA (12/16/06)
I have 2006 tacoma crewcab 4wd that has had a sound of an exhaust manifold leak since I own it. There was a TSB on certain tacomas but mine didn't fall within the vin range but the dealer I_5 toyota got authorization to replace the driver side.

When they did it it quieted it down about 60%. I then requested the passenger side be done since this should alleviate the problem. They refused saying it wouldn't fix it. The district service rep called and said that's the way it is and yours sounds just like the others on the lot. She didn't even drive it. She refused to replace the other side even with the existing service bulletin saying mine had the updated manifolds.

Well if they did why did changing the one side make such a big difference? I called toyota customer service and they said if that was her position then they couldn't do anything. Two dealerships have acknowledge this problem and have had numerous complaints. Supposedly Toyota is working on a fix. I think it is wrong that half a repair which seems to have had a good result was done and toyota's refusal to complete the repair is terrible customer service. My next step is to write Jim Lentz at toyota in California.

I

Jeffof Long Beach CA (12/11/06)
I have a 2000 Tacoma with 120,000 miles, and my 2.4 was just diagnosed with a burnt exhaust valve,just as many other Tacoma owners have reported here and on numerous internet blogs.This is ridiculous, and will cost me 1/3 of what I paid for the truck brank new to repair.

Ron of Fallon NV (12/07/06)
I bought my 2006 Toyota new in November 2005 and paid cash. Toyota Tacoma 4-wheel drive 4 cylinder engine 5-speed manual transmission access cab. Fromthe very begining when starting the engine on a cold morning the engine revs as high as 2,000 rpms. And when shifting from 4th to 5th gear the engine free winds uo to as high as 3,500 rpms. I am told this is normal by Toyota representatives via my loca dealer.

Starting and engine when it's cold the viscosity of the oil is extremly thick when cold and until it warms up just a little the lubrication to the engine is very damaging with unusually high rpms. Shifting from 4th gear to 5th gear when the engine is free winding and the clutch is disengaged this will damage the clutch plates and they will have to be replaced prematurely. Especially when towing anything. And this could be considered a safety matter. If the clutch is held engages for a bout 6 to 8 seconds the rpms will slowly drop to near normal.

Rick of Oshawa OTHER (12/06/06)
I brought my 2006 tacoma in for oil spray rust proofing and paint touch up silver pck detailing and supply install window viser drip black plastic.first cracked winshield they say it was there all ready not true.they did not ask any staff about the 6 crack.second the interier clean up was a joke. seats have stians the inside windows were not touch at all the out side was only about 90% clean.third the4wind rain visers 1is flaping in the wind not installed proper this all cost me $1001.99 plus i have to get new windshield $ 300 to  500.

John of N. Ridgeville OH (11/27/06)
I purchased a new 2000 Tacoma in mid-summer of 2000, 2.7 liter, SR5, 4WD. I noticed what I believed to be, valve-rattle when accelerating from a complete stop, (for a split second) and then it would subside after further acceleration. When the winter months approached I noticed, valve-rattle for at least two minutes after initial start. If I did not let the engine reach normal operating temp. before taking off the engine would make a loud knocking noise. I returned it to the dealer, (Brunswick Toyota in Brunswick, Ohio) on 9-6-2001 to check it out.

I was told it was normal and what I was hearing was, piston slap which I have never heard of. Mind you, I spent 6 years in the USMC as a Ground Support Equipment Mechanic and had worked on every type of engine manufactured. Never in my life have I heard of such a thing and I immediately attributed it to a problem of inadequate lubrication into the upper cylinder head of the engine.

Time passed into another summer and I tried to ignore it even though it bothered me. When the weather changed once again into the winter months, (2002) the vehicle began to act up again and of course, I returned it to the dealer. I was then told that I should use a higher octane fuel, (I had been using 96 octane which was what the vehicle was rated for by consumer reports and the manufacturer.) So, that's a no-brainer, I was brushed off again.

I originally purchased this vehicle because of the high ratings it was given for dependability and durability as long as one kept up with the preventive maintenance. It was not used for towing or plowing or abused in any way. In fact I babied this vehicle from day one because I intended do drive it into the ground as, I was tired of having a monthly payment.

After getting no satisfaction from Brunswick Toyota, I particiapted in the arbitration process involving the NCSD. Of course they found in Toyota's favor because, (in their opinion) I failed to offer adequate proof for my arguement. Needless to say they did not send out a rep. to varify and/or evaluate the legitimacy of my claim, (as they should have done) but, are not obligated to.

After all this was said and done I was notified by Brunswick Toyota that because I had the complaint on paper, should the engine ever take a dump, there would be no problem in getting it repaired at no charge to my good self. Several weeks ago I pulled into the parking lot at work and the vehicle took a dive. I lost the power steering and was sure it was simply a metter of replacing a belt and/or the pump as I had racked up about 89,000 miles on the vehicle.

I had it towed to the nearest Toyota dealer, (Metro Toyota in Ohio) and was expecting a pretty small bill however, the maintenance rep there notified me that the engine took a dump. Needless to say, I was not surprised as, I had suspected the engine was not receiving the proper lubrication in the upper cylinder head from the start. Metro Toyota came back at me with the crankshaft bolt broke and in order to repair the vehicle it would cost well over $4000. Excuse me but why does a crankshaft bolt fail? Especially when the vehicle has not been used and/or abused.

 gave Metro Toyota the go-ahead to repair the vehicle because I needed it to get back and forth from work. After writing Toyota they came back with the excuse that because I authorized the repair of the vehicle I basically admitted that the engine failure was due to my negligence and/or excessive miles. Excuse me but the last Toyota I had I got 300,000 miles out of. Anyhow, I contacted my lawyer who suggested I contact the Attorney General, (which I did.) He of course sided with Toyota after receiving their b.s. response stating that the failure of the engine was not due to my previous claim.

What amazes me is that there are numerous complaint's posted on the net here dealing with the same sort of complaints. Yet, it seems that Toyota continues to get away with this sort of nonsense of not standing by their, suppossed loyalty to their customers. Their recent response to their engines retaining sludge being a no-brainer. They fessed up to it however, closed the window on how long they will accept claims due to the same. Personally, I will never purchase another Toyota as long as I live and will do everything in my power to steer both immediate and extended family members away from considering doing the same.

Donald of Mansfield MA (11/16/06)
This is the second complaint I have contacted you about. The first involved the crank shaft in my 1996 Toytota Tacoma. After that the harmonized balancer. Four days ago the fly wheel broke. Everyone I've spoken to, including all machanics and Toyota Corporation has said these problems are highly unusual for this model, year and vehicle. I have been extremely diligent with the maintenance and upkeep of this vehicle. It looks and runs like new(most of the time). I think the engine of my truck was flawed from the start and the dealer(Atlantic Toyota of Lynn, Mass)who sold it to me knew from the begining. I have to get at least another year or two out of it, but once I start to seek a replacement I don't know which brand to switch to, if at all. They're all potential financial black holes, new or used.

Terry of Peyton CO (11/01/06)
Had my 2002 Tacoma in five times for a rattle in the dash. It is rattling worse than ever but, now it's out of warranty and they won't fix it. I've also gone through four sets of brake rotors and two sets of brake drums. I hate my truck!

I have spent over $900 on my brakes and they still don't work properly.

Joe of Bremerton WA (09/30/06)
2001 Tacoma clutch spring and bushing replaced in 2004. Has been bad and getting worse. Went to have it repaired and told service advisor exactly what the problem was and had historical data on their computer about previous problem with clutch bushing, and he charged me $97 to diagnose and wanted $350 to fix it again.

Michael Berg of Roseville CA (07/27/06)
On July 20, 2006 while driving to work in the morning, without any warning, my Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD 4wheel drive truck engine rod broke. I immediately got to the side of the highway and called for a tow truck, which I directed to the nearest Toyota Dealership Service Department. The CHP Freeway Service Patrol truck arrived first, and visually inspected the fluid draining from the bottom of my engine and said I blew my transmission because the fluid was transmission fluid. The AAA truck arrived minutes later and the driver said the same thing, Looks like you blew your trannie.

When I got to the service center, the service attendant also stated that he thought my front transmission blew, but when he started the engine it was obvious that the rod had blown and he immediately changed his opinion about the kind of fluid that was draining from my vehicle, directed me to the service representative, Doug Sullivan, who wrote up an estimate of $6500 to repair the motor. Later that day Doug called and confirmed that the motor needed repair because the rod broke and needed to replace the short block, the rod and piston.

The next day, he indicated that the repair would need to include valve replacements and as long as they were in there, they should replace the timing belt and a few other things that would be due at my next scheduled service. The estimate now was up to $8,200. I had just completed a 75,000 mile Service; my mileage at breakdown was 79,405 miles. I purchased a 7/75,000 extended warranty when I purchased the vehicle, which they confirmed they could not apply to this problem.

I inquired about what could have caused this to happen, given that I have faithfully changed oil and completed all suggested service maintenances. I also requested Toyota to cover the costs of this repair since it is not a result of neglect on my part and unreasonable for a rod to break at 79,405 miles unless there is a defective part.

Doug did request relief for my bill and Toyota paid 50% of the parts, and required the dealership to pick up 25% of the labor. In the end, my bill was $5,238.58!! I am registering this complaint because I believe Toyota should cover the cost of the repair, because the repair mechanics indicated the engine was very clean, well maintained and could find no reason for the rod to break. We requested Doug, with whom I have no complaint, to contact Toyota Corporation and speak on our behalf.

 He agreed to save the parts for a Toyota Engineer to examine... that he comes about twice each month. I'm still waiting. The cashier was inappropriate. Her comment to me was congratulations, you have the highest bill today! Not funny. It will take me a very long time to replace the $5,238.58.

Matthew of Ellijay GA (07/01/06)
Broken crankshaft pulley bolt on a Toyota 2004 Tocoma with just over 62,000 miles.

Mark of Grande Cache Canada (10/25/05)
I bought a 2005 Tacoma. The fender brackets all broke due to what Toyota has said was To much mud While I was waiting for them to decide how to fix it, the fenders started cracking. Toyota Canada has said that they will not warranty the problem. So I now have a 2005 Tacoma that I have to spend thousands to fix. I bought the Off Road edition because half of my traveling is on gravel roads. It's crazy that an Off Road truck can have too much mud. How come they don't show that on their commercials?

Elizabeth of Fresno CO (05/08/05)
I bought my 2000 Toyota Tacoma from my brother in Sept. of 2003. One year later I had to have the rack and pinion replaced.

The damage was also felt in my pocket, a hefty $1,200 was paid for the fix. The mechanic said that at any time, the defective part could have snapped. I guess $1200 isn't a big price to pay for my safety. I have been researching other complaints from tacoma owners and have found quite a few with the same defect.

Lani of Hilo HI (01/03/05)
I was in a Toyota Tacoma 2004 that spontaneously caught on fire on August 30, 2004. In the truvk bed were $25K-$35K in personal items. I was on my way to the airport. The boxes in the truck bed contained items being transported to Hawaii for a move there.

Friend lost entire truck plus truck usage $17K+ I lost at least $25k-$35K in personal items: computer, printer, scanner, ($4K) clothes (approx $5K), shoes and purses (approx $2K), jewelry ($3K), resources for new business in Hawaii, book I had written, two songs, and so forth. I came to Hawaii with the clothes on my back. The items that were burned up were to help me make up financially for taking a $25K drop in salary to be close to an ailing, hospitalized mother. Am now seeing a psychologist and psychiatrist. Very traumatized financially, socially, and economically.

Brad of Medford OR (12/28/04)
I have a 2000 Tacoma which I bought new in 2000, I now have only 38,000 miles on it and have engine problems, I'm now on my 3rd transmission, not to mention a recall on an electrical part that can cause fires...what the hell is going on with Toyota? Ive owned Toyota trucks for the last 20 years and never had a problem till now, I really like the looks of the 2005 Tacoma, but I am re-thinking buying into another exspensive nightmare.

The economic impact is I spent 22k which is a lot for me for a piece of crap thats always in the shop, the physical damage is my image (cause I have always talked highly of Toyota) Not now

John of Dallas TX (10/01/04)
I have a 2001 Toyota Tacoma that just topped 77k miles. I bought a Toyota because I thought that they were long lasting auto's. However, similar to other complaints I have read on here, I have a burnt exhaust valve and have been hit with a $3,300 bill to fix it. My problem is that Toyota's warranty they sell does not cover this problem. I am now beginning to see why.

Burnt exhaust valves are a problem for Toyota Tacoma's. Toyota has done everything in their power to sneak around this problem, and I became suspicious of the exhaust valve problem when they showed me where it says it doesn't cover that on my warranty. That is not listed along with everything else, it is listed in a seperate section under Acts of God not being covered. Folks, if you are thinking about buying a Tacoma, be aware that myself, and 3 other people already on this site have had the same problem, at less than 150,000 miles, and 3 of us, less than 100,000.

This is just poor craftsmanship, and the warranty they sell is not worth the paper it is written on. You think that will cover the things that are problems that you didn't cause. However, they have figured out all of Toyota's problems and just made sure not to cover those either. Very shoddy, and sleezy.

As a consequence of this, I have a paid off car that I thought would at least make it to 150,000 miles. Now, I will be buying a new truck, at a cost of about $20,000. My confidence in Toyota fixing it right is not worth the $3,300. They sold me a bum truck, a bum warranty, and now are trying to sell me a bum repair, I would have to be crazy to pay them.

Erik of Venice CA (07/06/04)
I bought a brand new 2002 Tacoma, and since then i have had three brake jobs, excessive brake noise, and slippage. Toyota refuses to acknowledge any of my complaints, and tell me it is my bad city driving, and I have never once had the warranty fix anything. I have asked Toyota multiple times to look at it, they really could care less, and Toyota customer care spends it time telling me to be patient. I even had a factory guy come out and look at it, he found the brakes faulty and replaced them, but it keeps happening! I am writing as record of fact since my brake slippage may result in an accident, and I will need to prove this, and hopefully warn others to stay away from toyota, as they do not stand by their brakes.

Kevin of Des Moines IA (06/16/04)
I own a 2000 Tacoma, which was bought used with 12,000 miles on it. Currently it has just over 29,000 miles on it and I had the clutch spring bushing replace for the 3rd time. The previous 2 were covered under the 3 yr/36,000 mile warranty, but not this one. The bill was over $100 with labor.

John of Sonoma CA (04/01/04)
I have a 2000 Toyota Tacoma, 4 cyl. At 28k miles the engine became noisey. I thought it was valves. I took it to dealer where I had purchased it. The Toyota service dept. replaced pistons, wrist pins, rods, bearings and reinstalled the existing piston rings. They measured the clearences of rod bearings, exhaust and intake valves, all checked OK.

At 35k miles the engine noise returned. Took back to the dealer and was told by service dept. rep. that Toyota had made a batch of bad engines and would not do any more repaires, as the engine would perform properly but would be noisey due to clearences of engine parts. I had a major tune up at this time. At 37k miles had engine, manual transmissiom and exhuast noise. Dealer took test drive and said it sounded normal. Had no repairs. At 59.9k miles I had major tune up. Service Dept. forgot to top off brake fluid. At 82.4k miles check engine light came on. Due to the statement at the made to me at 35k miles I took truck to an independent service mechanic. Had engine diagnostic which indicated random misfire, changed plugs and engine light turned off.

At 82.7k miles check engine light on. Returned to same service as above. Had diagnostic and was advised engine needed valve repair as exhaust vales were to tight, cost would be $3965. At 82.9k miles I went to another independent service. Had diagnostic and was told #3 fuel injector not working. Had it replaced. I asked two Toyota dealers and was told that they had replaced only 6 injectors on any model and all were well over 100k miles.

At 83.2k miles returned to original dealer. Had diagnostic and was told it needed valve repair and a new cylinder head which will cost $3928. The total expense on this truck since I purchesed it including my personal servicing will be more than the purchase price of it. My main complaint is the lack support by Toyota in that they said there were no recalls on this engine and because it was rebuilt 55k miles ago their 60k mile warranty has no bearing and they deny any resonsibility for this engine.

Erin of Pleasanton CA (12/19/03)
In Oct. 2002 I purchased a 2003 Toyota Tacoma ext cab 4x4 TRD. I am currently in the arbitration process for having my power steering replaced 3 times. I also had the exact same water leak problem as the the gentleman stated in his story. I have been to two dealerships for that problem & no one could find the leak. Through my hours of research before arbitration I came across a Toyota Service Bulletin for that specific water leak. I fould that when you take it in to report a specific problem (water leaking) Toyota is required to inform you of the service bulletin for that specific problem, if there is one. Well there is one for water leaking. The service bulletin # is BO026-00. I found the info at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/results.cfm. Good luck. I use to love toyota but this new 2003 is a bucket-of-bolts.

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