Toyota Tacoma/SR5

[thinkingman]

So trd sports come in 2wd or 4wd, whatever you want. sr5 is the initial build package after a base model Tacoma. The leaf spring recall, Toyota hasn't came out with a repair or what they will do yet. A lot of shadowless's recommendations are right on the dot, the frame inspections, I have seen two vehicles need it, one was an older model that Toyota did the buy back on, the customers were going to sell it to a friend for $1500, he got under to grease the driveline and saw rust perforations, and called me. when the Toyota rep came out they bought it back after about a month of waiting for $9400. Craziest deal for them I'd ever seen. The other one just came to my dealership two days ago, and the customer chose to replace the frame, which is a long drawn out process at a body shop and not at our shop. usually takes a couple months. I've seen a lot of rusty frames on every make of truck, and a lot of them worse than Toyota frames. Toyota still builds a superior product to most, and steps up to the plate a lot more for minor issues that can be more of nuisances than serious issues. Tacoma in general are lower cost maintenance trucks, aside of normal services, make sure and change your diff fluids every 30k, I don't care if its freeway miles or towing, just do it. the 4.0 is a awesome engine. Water pumps are common, rodents love all Toyota wires. I've seen a lot of front differential issues, there is a tsb for 08-13 that also fixes 06, 07 and 14.

All and all tacomas are a sweet truck, and you won't be disappointed.

They do not step up to the plate for minor or major issues.
Leaf springs that go flat in under 50k miles and ride on the frame rails while Toyota denies that there could possibly be a flaw in one of their vehicles for 5 more years then finally issues a recall that, 6 months later, is still not able to be implemented due to lack of sourcing of springs that actually spring.....That's not stepping up to the plate.
The list goes on.

[SkookumHntr]

Just wish the tundras werent so dang pricey.  I've been looking trying to find an 05 or 06 double cab, they are hard to find, even harder to find one with a bench seat in front.  Feel like I should just get an F150, but the Toyotas are so reliable.

I just bought an 05 and it took me 6 months to find mine....they hold their value for a reason...there the best trucks out there

i had a brand new 2010 f150 and traded it in on a 05 tundra! Like the tundra way better ! They are hard to find tho!

[xxlx7]

They do not step up to the plate for minor or major issues.
Leaf springs that go flat in under 50k miles and ride on the frame rails while Toyota denies that there could possibly be a flaw in one of their vehicles for 5 more years then finally issues a recall that, 6 months later, is still not able to be implemented due to lack of sourcing of springs that actually spring.....That's not stepping up to the plate.
The list goes on.
[/quote]
I've worked for Toyota since 2010, and in 06-08, In that time I have seen them take care of more customers than I ever saw at Nissan, Dodge, VW, Mitsubishi, GM, Pontiac and other dealers I have worked for. I have watched them fix customers vehicles that are so far out of warranty that I have told those customers there is no way I would pay for the repairs, and I've contacted Toyota and explained how good of customers they are and Toyota steps up and takes care of them. I have seen customers who have tried to fix their own problems, only to have to bring it to our store, and when we contact our reps, they say take care of them. Now not every case is like that, if you have neglected your vehicle, and haven't serviced it at the dealership, and at 150k miles your front diff goes out and its because you have never serviced the fluid, or other reasons, as a business model it would be silly for Toyota to take care of every customer. However, if you have serviced your vehicle at a Toyota store, if you have shown Toyota your a loyal customer to a store, more often then not they will do something for you, many times I've seen them pay for parts, while you pay the labor, or vise versa.

Toyota leaf springs go flat, they can, just like chevy, just like ford, just like dodge. I see sagging rears all the time. I also see people loading way more weight than what the payload is supposed to be, I also see people putting halfass lifts on without doing what should be done. I also see bigger, harder tires on trucks.

Sounds like your a scorn customer, maybe you have been going to the wrong dealer, or have had a bad experience and has let that tarnish you, and I will apologize as a Toyota Service guy for that.

The lack of sourcing for the springs, as with any recall, once they have figured out what the fix is going to be, making sure the supply of parts will be available is pretty important, cause if I send you a letter that says, call your dealer and set your appointment, when you call and I say I won't have parts for along time, it just stirs your frustration more as well as mine.

Also if you read the recall notice, it does state that if you feel like your vehicle is unsafe to bring it to your local dealer so they can inspect it. At that point your local dealer will contact their regional field specialist and discuss what to do if they do find an issue, and as a Toyota guy, if this is the case, please bring it to your local dealer, we have Toyota rental vehicles for a reason, and I'm sure if there is a safety issue with your vehicle, your regional rep will put you in a rental vehicle at no charge to you. This is not only for your safety, but if your vehicle is unsafe, I don't want you driving by my wife and children as well, that goes for any make or model.

[thinkingman]

I replaced my suspension in about 2012 after Toyota told me I was crazy for suggesting their vehicles have a flaw.
OME 883 front springs, OME Dakar rear springs with third leaf removed and bilstein 5100s all around WITH NO PRELOAD result in the suspension that Toyota should have spec'd in the first place.
I told Toyota that I'd already fixed their screw ups and to just pay me for parts and labor and they said I have to wait for the recall to be implemented before they can reimburse me.

[thinkingman]

I suppose since I service my own diffs and transfer case, I will take it in the bunger when that time comes.
 I should post pics of my 'alloy' wheels before I replaced them. Nothing from VW Audi dodge jeep  ever looked that bad.
Now I'm replacing the roof weather strip that simply blew off at freeway speeds.
Check out that TSB for verification.
Want to discuss airbag sensors and clock spring failures under 100k or the TPMS that never worked properly?

[follow maggie]

Good trucks. If you're going to use it for fishing/hunting and hauling light stuff, a real good choice.

[xxlx7]

I would love to discuss that stuff with you and I would also like it if you could email your vin # to me so I can look into some of your concerns and depending on what you have I can talk to our regional reps for you about your concerns and issues.. my email is kylelindsay@foothillstoyota.com, no point in continuing arguing

funny about the drip molding on the roof, we deal with that a lot, and I just had a chevy and ford come in with the same issue today. I will say the way those attach is horrible on all models.

[T-Dozzer]

I would love to discuss that stuff with you and I would also like it if you could email your vin # to me so I can look into some of your concerns and depending on what you have I can talk to our regional reps for you about your concerns and issues.. my email is kylelindsay@foothillstoyota.com, no point in continuing arguing

funny about the drip molding on the roof, we deal with that a lot, and I just had a chevy and ford come in with the same issue today. I will say the way those attach is horrible on all models.

Sent you a pm and to the email you  listed

[T-Dozzer]

I would love to discuss that stuff with you and I would also like it if you could email your vin # to me so I can look into some of your concerns and depending on what you have I can talk to our regional reps for you about your concerns and issues.. my email is kylelindsay@foothillstoyota.com, no point in continuing arguing

funny about the drip molding on the roof, we deal with that a lot, and I just had a chevy and ford come in with the same issue today. I will say the way those attach is horrible on all models.

Sent you a pm and to the email you  listed

Now the bracket holding my left leaf back is bent out due to weak load capacity and the stealership won't fix the bent bracket or honor the up coming recall for the rear leafs. I've tried calling corporate, they are clueless.
If you know some regional reps or can help, I sure would appreciate it.
My email is
Tysondc334@gmail.com

Thanks

[xxlx7]

As T-Dozzer and I have been figuring out for the last few days, Toyota is still up in the air about what repairs are to be done with the leaf spring issue, and they are being pretty tight about repairing vehicles before the fix. What I have been told is that if a customer wants to pay for the repair, when the recall comes out with a fix, if that fix is part of the repair they did, they will be reimbursed the cost of that part of the repair. While I love working for Toyota, this sure makes it tough to keep my customer service up to my high standards. Sadly being the middle man in a lot of this crud makes me look worse than Toyota because it seems that I'm the one telling the customer to pack sand until the repairs come out. Lets hope these repairs come fast, that way we can make everyone happier(hopefully)

[thinkingman]

 I appreciate your professionalism and you are in an impossible position. Toyota refuses to admit their role and is making this as difficult as possible. I got my recall notice seven months ago and without a receipt I doubt that they will even Reimburse me.
Toyota is an incredibly arrogant company and it shows

[T-Dozzer]

Kyle has been doing all he can and listens to my rants.......hopefully we get somewhere. If more Toyota employees were like him, this would be a simple fix.
I spoke to corporate again today and felt like I was on the receiving end of a prank phone call.
If I put an elk down in a few weeks, I'm going to have to eat it out there cuz my truck can't handle more than few hundred pounds right now.

[Knocker of rocks]

Best small/mid sized trucks out there by a landslide.

Actually two landslides.  Everything else I have ever owned grenaded it self at 120K at the most.