Toyota Tacoma Reviews

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

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.

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 81,000 miles I brought my truck to Tracy Toyota for a check engine light. I was told that all of the exhaust valves and at least one intake valve were burnt resulting in a $3400.00 estimate. I was told that the problem would more than likely have been avoided if I had had the 60k tune up done, which is supposed to include a valve inspection. I asked Antioch Toyota about the valve inspection and was told that Tacomas do not need a valve inspection/adjustment because they are self adjusting. I found this to be untrue. I asked the service manager why the valve inspection was excluded from the 60k tune up. He told me that I had never actually had a 60k tune up but rather a series of random services performed on the truck.

I assumed a 60k tune up was done because I was at a Toyota dealership, requested the required 60k tune up, was told it was completed, and given a list of services which apparantley comprised the 60k tune up (one of those services being the vague "engine tune up"). The service manager told me that because the term "60,000 mile tune up" was not written on the invoice then I must have just requested a bunch of random services. I still can't explain what some of those services are as I am not mechanically inclined. The service manager told me that it was just too bad and it wasn't his problem.

Then one day, the truck started to roll out of my driveway. I knew that I had a problem. I immediately called the dealership and they had me bring the truck in. After about 2 hours, the service representative told me that they would have to order the part to repair this. When the part came in, I took the truck back and they made a repair. When I got home, I realized that I could still move the gear shift between park and reverse without having the engine on or the brake depressed. When the truck is parked on a hill, this allows the truck to roll.

I immediately called the dealership again. This time I was told that they had never seen this problem before and that the truck was dangerous to drive. They gave me a loaner car and I left the truck there. After having the loaner car for two weeks, I was told that they would take another new truck apart and replace the defective part in my truck with the pirated part from the truck on the lot. The service manager called to tell me that my truck was fixed and that he had tested it himself. I attempted to pick up the truck the next day. The service manager got in the truck with me and we test drove it together. IT DID THE SAME THING WHEN PARKED ON A HILL!

He informed me that he wouldn't allow his wife to drive this truck if he owned it and said he would contact the regional service rep. He was going to attempt to have the truck replaced with no additional cost to me. This was on January 16,2004. Yesterday, the service manager called me to inform me that they were unable to fix the truck due to the fact this is an inherent trait of all 4-door Tacoma's from 2001 on, and that this problem would only be a problem if "I lived in San Francisco". I assume that this means that Tacomas are not sold in San Francisco since it would be dangerous to own one there!

I called 1-800- GO TOYOTA and was told that I had no recourse but to deal with the dealership. Then another sales manager from the dealership called me and told me that I had no recourse but to go through Toyota corporate offices. At this point, I want my money back so I can purchase a four-door pickup that does not have this problem. Since I have been told that this is an inherent problem with ALL Tacomas, I am forced into going elsewhere for a truck.

Vicki should report this to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which should investigate and possibly order a recall. The online report form is at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/.

This caused the truck to start lurching backward. When this happened it knocked me into the truck (I was leaning into the passenger side door). I lost my footing and fell in, the engine was still trying to start. All I could think to do was to pull the key out of the ignition, but this did nothing -- the engine was still cranking. I reached for the brake with my hand because I had fallen near the floor, but that didnt help the truck was still lurching backward.

I was starting to panic. I coudn't quite reach the clutch pedal. Then I yelled for help -- my sister-in-law jumped into the drivers seat and slammed on the brake. That didnt help. Just then she got out and my wife jumped in -- she had just barely enough room to jump in as the truck was now just about to the tree on the drivers side. Sh was nearly crushed between the truck and the tree.

My wife shifted into first gear and it rolled off me. I told my wife to leave it in neutral and get out of the truck. The engine was still cranking. The only way we could get it to stop was to disconnect the battery.

I called my local Toyota dealer where I bought the truck. By the way this truck is a 1996 model with 89,000 on it, which I feel makes no difference -- the starter should not be able to engage with no key, no one in the drivers seat, no one pushing in the clutch, dont you agree?

I had to have the truck towed from the campground to the Toyota garage. This was on Saturday, so I wasnt going to hear anything from them until at least Monday. On Sunday I e-mailed Toyota headquarters customer complaint dept., told them the situation and I received an incident number from them and they told me they would be in touch with me within 24 hours. They never got back to me. On Monday my Toyota dealer called me and told me my starter needed to be replaced, would I like them to fix it?

I told them I;ve been trying to contact someone at Toyota headquarters to find out how this could possibly happen. I didnt want them to just put in a new starter and possibly have the same thing happen again. After numerous attempts to contact them via e-mail I found a number I could call and talk to someone -- they referred me to the product liability dept. I told them the story and they told me I could either file a formal complaint or they could send an investigator to check it out.

I needed to be assured that this would not happen again so I wanted the investigation. They told me it could take up to 30 days and then up to another 30 days for an official response. Finally after almost 2 months without a vehicle and 45 days after the investigator checked it out and still no response from product liability, I had to agree to have the truck fixed. The day I agreed to have it fixed, product liability got in touch with me and told me my response was in the mail.

Their response to me was that it is not unreasonable for a vehicle with 89,000 miles on it for the starter to go out, I agree but this starter didnt go out it went "in" and stayed in, causing a life-threatening situation. Someone will eventually be killed from a situation such as this.

After exiting the highway and getting ino street driving, there is a terrible grinding/meshing/bearing noise from the transmission when accelerating in 1st gear from a stop and in 2nd gear at speeds from 15mph - 18mph (note, 15mph is the shift speed suggested by Toyota in their owners manual). The noise is worse when the truck is under load (starting off on a hill, for example).

The dealer has heard the noise and Toyota is making them say it is a characteristic. The technician does NOT think the noise is normal and thinks there is a miscut/miscast gear in the transmission. But his supervisor and Toyota will not let him investigate. Why won't they trust their technician? He is a Master Tech, which means Toyota has vetted his skills and expertise.

I won't drive the truck anymore and so it sits, a $24,000 mistake in my driveway.

Lost my investment in the vehicle in a matter of 4 months instead of 5 or 6 years. A total waste of money and the truck could only be used for short (<20 mile) trips. Not to mention time wasted on 2 trips to the dealer to get the problem dealt with and numerous calls to Toyota corporate to get assistance (they just toss it back to the dealer, a big circle).

On Oct.31,2002 I took my truck back to NYE and explained to them that my check engine light was still on and my truck has a drastic power loss. They checked it agian on the computer and said that my valves are burnt and have to be replaced and that this is also not covered under waranty. The price for this repair is around $1,900.00-$2,100.00. I regulary maintain my truck myself with a log book to prove this.

I immediately called the salesman who sold me the vehicle at Moreno Valley toyota. He said bring it in, you're covered bumper to bumper. The next day, he went back and forth between myself and the service manager by the name of Frank. After an hour of waiting, it was Frank's determination that this could never happen and therefore to not honor the warranty. In other words, I was making this up.

Tell this to the lady whose car it hit.

Aside from the warranty issue, the really scary part of this whole ordeal is that this could have been fatal. And they are ignoring it!

Furthermore, why in the world would I mess with something that could possibly void my warranty on my new truck? I'm not a young kid. I'm 42 years of age and I'm livid over this whole thing..The next step is the arbitration. I have been looking at other Prerunners the same year and I can't see how they are actually connected but it does look like the frame surrounding the glass is of light aluminum and possibly have some kind of spotweld connector which I've seen break before. But I wouldn't know, I've never disected a moonroof before.

I do know this -- Since I have been driving around with duct tape over the roof, there is tremendous cabin pressure pushing the tape up when the windows are rolled up. I am outraged that this did happen and they are basically calling me a liar. It could have been a disaster and the other party knows it. And they are treating it like it was a hoax!