Defects of Tacooma that everyone should look at

[Locutus]

I commend those of you that are willing to, or have repaired this defect on your own, however I am not. We have all paid enough for these trucks to expect them to be built correctly. Mine will be fixed next week, by a dealer (I hope they don't cause any other issues)).

Since 1981 I have owned 13 Toyota cars and trucks. I have never had to return to a dealer, soon after purchase, for any defect or repair reason with those vehicles. That's why we buy Toyotas. It seems, sadly, that exceptional quality has changed recently with the use of low cost labor and parts suppliers.

What types of defects, and how many, are we willing to accept, and repair ourselves? if I wanted to spend hours at a dealer having my truck "fixed" over and over I would have bought a different brand (Ford, Chevy, Jeep).

I'm old enough that this may be my last truck. So far I think this is mostly a great truck. Those of you that need transmissions replaced , or other major defects corrected, probably don't think so.

If I buy another, I will be doing a lot of research and not just going Toyota automatically after a quick look!

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[TacoFreak]

My truck only has one of the known defects - a bed side top cap which is warped. My dealer ordered it before I picked it up, but it is back ordered by hundreds of units. After 10 months of production you would think that kind of stuff would be sorted out. My cowling and window trim are all perfect though, so they seem to have those figured out.

But other than that mine is very well made, with great paint and panel fit everywhere. We all took on a certain level of risk in buying the first totally new Tacoma since the 2005 2nd gen. But for me it is all positive and my truck is beautiful and works great in every respect.

So I wouldn't write off Toyota just yet, unless they fail to fix their mistakes. In the long run I have never been let down by them and my next truck will almost surely be a Tacoma. Other truck makers, particularly Ford are having much higher levels of problems. Divided evenly over 90 days, last quarter Ford spent $35 million per day on warranty work. I don't think Toyota is anywhere near that.

 

[TrashPanda]

My sales guy just checked the lot. 7/12 trucks have the cowl defect. Likely going happen to most of us.

 

[TacoFreak]

I think the poorly fitting cowl trim is something that starts out that way. I hope that is the case because mine fits perfectly right now.

I would ask your sales guy why they are selling defective trucks when they should be ordering replacement parts. Or are they claiming that trim that doesn't fit is a feature? If that is the case Toyota has definitely lost its way.

 

[robocalifornia]

These forums are getting bad for my overall health lol I just ran out in my underwear and sandals to re-inspected my truck. Seems guys are finding something new every day. Mine came with a dent and a pretty bad scratch on rear passenger door off the lot. Dolan Toyota in Reno removed the dent and polished out most of the scratch which is now only visible if you REALLY look for it. Also, the TRD Off Road stickers were put on crooked lol and I noticed the cut out for the center console cup holder is off and there’s a tiny crack where it was cut too wide. I was able to get them to lower the price from $51.5 sticker to “invoice” of $48.5. I also tried to leverage all these issues and got them to give me the 125k mile warranty for $2k along with all weather mats and a complete de-badging of the truck. They offered to completely repaint the rear passenger door but I think that’s excessive, especially considering what this truck will go through being driven 30k miles/year around the basin. It’s still early on but overall, though I am concerned with these issues being reported, I am also extremely pleased with the truck, its ride quality, how quiet it is, the fuel economy (22.5 combined so far), and the just the overall performance. I have the underground Off Road 6’ bed that came with the JBL, 14” screen, moonroof, chrome exhaust tip, tint, some nice blue interior trim, and a few other bells and whistles. Truck was built in Baja California, Mexico on 8/29. Just crossing my fingers my guy holds up and keeps on truckin.

 

[TrashPanda]

I think the poorly fitting cowl trim is something that starts out that way. I hope that is the case because mine fits perfectly right now.

I would ask your sales guy why they are selling defective trucks when they should be ordering replacement parts. Or are they claiming that trim that doesn't fit is a feature? If that is the case Toyota has definitely lost its way.

No claim that it is normal. I just pointed it out and asked if the other trucks had the issue. I told him I was going to request a new one under warranty. No issues from the dealer.
The biggest issue will be finding a local dealer to fix it because I bough the truck 2 hours away.

 

[TacoFreak]

Yeah - and this may almost be "normal" because so many 4th gens seem to have it. lol

Any dealer should do your warranty repair and the biggest problem might be getting the part because so many trucks seem to have that problem. I'm just glad that I dodged this particular bullet.

 

[tacorancher]

Yup I have that issue as well, not to mention the tail gate trim is also loose and made my own washer to hold it down tight The bed rail cover not sure if its an issue for me cause I am probably going to put a camper on when it becomes available and that should take care of it.

My tailgate trim also loose - can you post something on how you fixed it?

My 3G windshield cowl had a similar defect (less extreme) and I just ignored it

 

[batman900]

I think the poorly fitting cowl trim is something that starts out that way. I hope that is the case because mine fits perfectly right now.

I would ask your sales guy why they are selling defective trucks when they should be ordering replacement parts. Or are they claiming that trim that doesn't fit is a feature? If that is the case Toyota has definitely lost its way.

Mine was perfect when I bought it but lifted up over the course of 2 months. Sitting in the Texoma sun/heat at work is what caused it I think.

 

[TacoFreak]

Mine was perfect when I bought it but lifted up over the course of 2 months. Sitting in the Texoma sun/heat at work is what caused it I think.

Wow - that sucks. So this could end up happening to any of us and I can see how the heat could speed that up. Toyota had better order a crap load of these to be ready to start replacing them.

 

[Hingie]

This is a photo of rear door window seal. I was just at dealership Wednesday but I am going to make another appointment to get this looked at in case it’s like the windshield cowl and no time frame on back order of parts.

Some of these people obviously never owned a truck let alone a Toyota truck.

You got that right. It will NEVER be un blemished and perfect. sheesh.

 

[Kjc]

Mine started lifting up in the same area. I have to agree that I think it's mostly cosmetic although I guess maybe a tad bit of engine heat could be escaping? I used some trim tools and got that area lifted up, then put a thick application of clear silicone under it. Wiped the excess and then sat a couple 10lb dumbbells against it for 24hrs. Nice and flush again for now. Haven't had any odd condensation either before or after.

While I had the strip lifted up, I found that the plastic underneath sits very tightly against the windshield, that's why I'm also kind of voting cosmetic but I really have no idea.

Edit to add that dumbbells also fixed my rear bed caps coming up at the front. A 25lb on top of each for 24hrs got them flush against the bed. Over 2 weeks now and they haven't budged, fingers crossed it stays that way.

My bed rail caps have gotten way worse... I going to take it in soon but I think they may blame my bed cover even though they were already lifting before the cover was installed... Hopefully it will be no hassle... Might take my cover off before going in(but shouldn't have too) if anyone Is wondering what's on my tonneau cover it's frost... Already cold here in Alaska so hope I can get it done soon

 

[TacoFreak]

Yeah - the cap on the driver's side of my truck is warped too, but lifted on the inside. It was that way when it was delivered and the dealer ordered a new one before I picked it up. Unfortunately they were backordered by over 500 units a month ago and there has been no sign of a replacement yet.

I just noticed yesterday that one end of the cap on the passenger side has started to warp also. I hope the replacement caps fit better than the factory ones, or we could be doing this dance for a very long time. The bed cover has nothing to do with it, since I haven't bought one yet. I would just have to remove it for the installation anyway, so why hurry?

 

[Tom Sellick]

Mine were lifting a bit too but the retrax cover has taken care of it. Wonder what will happen if I ever take the cover off….

 

[TacoFreak]

Mine were lifting a bit too but the retrax cover has taken care of it. Wonder what will happen if I ever take the cover off….

Mine is not lifted a bit - it is warped to the point where it will not lock into the bed rail and isn't even connected to the bed in the front. It actually flaps in the wind on the highway. The other is lifted slightly, but was not that way when it was delivered, so I wonder if it is heading to where it won't stay fastened down also.

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