Multiple issues with my new Tacoma

[GRKTRD]

My 2019 had a drivers side front fender flare with a large gap when it came off the truck, a drivers side door speaker that rattled even at mediocre volume, and a 3rd brake light that leaked water into my cab and ruined my headliner. My 4th gen truck so far has been an absolute angel.

My driver window rattles and my grille shutter check engine light is on triggering a annoying fault on my dash that is stupidly annoying. Think the jbl kinda rattles to (Center one) the 50k speaker. But I dont hate the truck I am waiting for round 2 models to come out anyway. Whether I go pro or premium hybrid not sure.

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[trazerr]

I’ve heard that if the damage is under a certain dollar amount they do not have to disclose it to the buyer. Read that on multiple Toyota forums but never looked into it myself.

As far as window trim issues just look at the new tundra. Many issues there. All of their hiccups will probably be seen in the 4th gen Tacoma.

 

[Blue Crush Taco]

Ive seen several people posting videos similiar to this. Several lifelong Toyota people whove all said quality is not on par with last generation. Friend son works at a dealership and he bought last generation leftover after looking the newer ones coming in and said don't buy one yet.

First off wow!!!! How does that dent get by qc? That's horrible to see they even let that truck off the lot. I hope they do the right thing and give you a new truck. Keep us posted.

 

[TacoLover69]

I finally received my long awaited Tacoma. First thing I noticed the next day in full sunlight, (I picked it up right before dark.), was a strange paint pattern on the passenger doors. The celestial silver went dark-light dark-light all the way down the doors near the handles only. I checked the other doors and didn't see any patterns, just even paint. I thought about it for a few days. I kept thinking that these are painted by machines not humans, so I couldn't understand patterning. Decided to show a couple friends to see what they thought. They were equally surprised, then one of them noticed a spot on the rear wheel fender that was even more noticable. A very clearly outlined touch-up attempt that failed miserably. I can easily trace the outline.
So I dropped into the dealership. The sales associate, a really good guy, agreed to have the service director take a look. I agreed to stop by a few hours later to meet with him. Then I started noticing things. Take a look at the rubber trim around the windows of your Tacoma. The seal is almost non-existent. It's actually easy to stick a pocket knife blade into the huge gaps. Not to mention that where they used a little piece of plastic to join the rubber you can flex the whole door panel with slight pressure.

While taking the time to closely examine the deficient seals, I stumbled onto an actual dent in the trim above the rear door. I couldn't believe it. Somehow I'd not noticed it, but neither had anyone else.

According to the dealership this is all damage and attempts to hide it that probably occurred away from the factory. They are having a rep from Toyota take a look, hopefully soon, and I'm on pins and needles waiting to learn what they are willing to do about it.

[/QUOTE

My hope is that they do replace the truck. The problem is that I don't have any idea how extensive the damage they repaired was. At the very least it required painting the doors. The dent is very hard to understand. How do you even make a dent like that, in that location?
I looked at the seals around the windows of my old 2005 Tacoma and there's simply no comparison. The quality is far superior on the old one. When I asked the service director what he thought about the window seals he shook his head. I asked where he thought the water would go and he stated the obvious. Into the door.

By the way, when you open the rear doors after it's been raining a small amount of water always drops from the guides at the top of the door onto the plastic guards inside the truck. It's consistent. I noticed it happens every time.

I finally received my long awaited Tacoma. First thing I noticed the next day in full sunlight, (I picked it up right before dark.), was a strange paint pattern on the passenger doors. The celestial silver went dark-light dark-light all the way down the doors near the handles only. I checked the other doors and didn't see any patterns, just even paint. I thought about it for a few days. I kept thinking that these are painted by machines not humans, so I couldn't understand patterning. Decided to show a couple friends to see what they thought. They were equally surprised, then one of them noticed a spot on the rear wheel fender that was even more noticable. A very clearly outlined touch-up attempt that failed miserably. I can easily trace the outline.
So I dropped into the dealership. The sales associate, a really good guy, agreed to have the service director take a look. I agreed to stop by a few hours later to meet with him. Then I started noticing things. Take a look at the rubber trim around the windows of your Tacoma. The seal is almost non-existent. It's actually easy to stick a pocket knife blade into the huge gaps. Not to mention that where they used a little piece of plastic to join the rubber you can flex the whole door panel with slight pressure.

While taking the time to closely examine the deficient seals, I stumbled onto an actual dent in the trim above the rear door. I couldn't believe it. Somehow I'd not noticed it, but neither had anyone else.

According to the dealership this is all damage and attempts to hide it that probably occurred away from the factory. They are having a rep from Toyota take a look, hopefully soon, and I'm on pins and needles waiting to learn what they are willing to do about it.

I too have a silver Taco, and my paint is cloudy too. Not impressed. I ask the dealer to check with factory and see what they can do, but I haven’t heard anything back.

 

[Mykale220]

Poor workmanship coming out of the states , same as the Tundras that were built at the same facility

They come from Mexico, so not in any state.

 

[LastBastion]

So I received a call from the dealership today. A Toyota rep will have a look at the truck next week. Honestly I have resigned myself to an unsatisfactory outcome. I expect they will point to the paperwork I initialed stating that I accepted the truck in the condition it was in. I kick myself for being so naive as to assume they wouldn't put a truck on the lot in the condition this one is in. We'll see. I will definitely put on my poker face and play my hand as strongly as possible. There's a very obvious touched up paint area on the same side of the truck as the dent. It should add to the argument that the truck was damaged and repaired.

I do like driving the new Tacoma, but notice a lot of cheap flimsy plastic in locations I expect to receive heavy wear. As I mentioned, the window trim is pathetic. If you press the back window trim where the plastic keeper is you'll see the whole door and trim flex. It's pretty amazing. The front fender wells have some strange felt-like material instead of thick durable plastic like my 2005 Tacoma has. The rear fender wells have super thin plastic liners. For 50K? I'm just amazed they decided to skimp on these high-wear elements.

Also, has anyone noticed that you don't get a hand grip on the driver side? It was so great on the old truck. I notice that the lip on the left side of the driver's seat, which is just foam under fabric, takes a lot of abuse as I get in and out..I'm guessing that a few years down the road the seat will have a very worn appearance. My 2005 seats were super solid for all of the 302K miles I sat in them.

I'll post the outcome of the meeting next week.

 

[Tire fryer]

Most if not all manufacturers have issues with transport damage. There are body shops set up at the ports where the vehicles get delivered to from overseas to handle the damage. Quite often even the dealer is not made aware of any port damage, unless its significant (most likely structural). Thats why its important to closely ANY vehicle, whether new or used, at the dealer before leaving the lot. In California, the regulation states that unless you drive the vehicle off the lot (the tires touch public road), even if you signed the paperwork and made payment the vehicle sale is not complete and the deal can still be unwound.

Once the buyer has taken the possession of the vehicle (signed the paperwork, drove the car off the lot) the unwinding process becomes significantly difficult. The vehicle is now considered to be "used" as opposed to "new" on the paperwork. The warranty clock is ticking as well.

For the original poster, I would recommend showing your Taco to the best body and paint shop in town to understand their approach to eliminating the paint "muddling" and the dent. I'd be surprised if the Toyota unwound this deal. Have seen manufacturers/dealers balk at taking the car back for much more serious issues. As for Tesla, the horrendous gap issues are so synonymous with their build quality that if there are proper gaps between panels chances are those panels have been worked on.

 

[LastBastion]

Thanks for the info Tire fryer! Very helpful.

 

[PaulT]

Thanks for the info Tire fryer! Very helpful.

Any update?

I have also noticed when pulling the front passenger door closed, a seam on the inside closing handle and other door molding splits apart and I have to pop the seam back into place (I’ll post a picture tomorrow).

 

[PaulT]

Also, I learned a lot about window seals and door drains. Here’s a link to old Tacoma world thread on seals:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/getting-water-inside-driver-door.480981/

another

https://www.toyotanation.com/threads/water-inside-doors.1658912/

 

[LastBastion]

I finally met with the Toyota rep two days ago! It was interesting, and I ended up learning a lot. He carefully examined the paint on each side of the truck. He used an instrument that measures paint thickness, and took many readings in sequence recording differences. His opinion was that the truck was not repainted. He was sure he would have seen evidence of sanding, and the differences in paint thickness seemed within norms. As for the very noticeable glitch on the back right fender he felt that was caused by a random machine error. He explained that the paint is somehow pulled into the metal by some electrical charge, and that now and then stuff happens.

He didn't want to take responsibility for the dent, and said that so many eyes had been on the truck that he couldn't imagine it getting missed. I begged to differ and left it at that.

He then asked me if I had time to wait for the auto body estimator to come take a look. I said sure.

After awhile the estimator and the dealership service manager came and checked it out. The manager said that they would pay for repainting the doors, repairing the dent and repainting the fender. I was thinking about it, and really wishing I had never been put in the position at all, when he leveled with me. He's a very believable guy, and I had already been thinking along the lines he brought up. He said he wouldn't have the work done if it was his truck. He said it is unlikely that the repainted areas will hold up as well as if they are left alone. And he considers the dent not worth the trouble. I will admit that I expect the dent to be less noticable when I get the camper shell I already ordered. (By the way, has anyone considered how they will design a camper shell to accommodate the protruding trim that houses the light.)

Then the manager said they would probably be willing to work a deal. He asked if I would consider a maintenance package as compensation. I already bought the extended warranty. I really don't want a maintenance package, and will investigate whether they might refund the cost of the extended warranty and leave it in effect. Still thinking about it though.

Either way, I can honestly say that the dealership has been concerned and considerate.

 

[Tire fryer]

I finally met with the Toyota rep two days ago! It was interesting, and I ended up learning a lot. He carefully examined the paint on each side of the truck. He used an instrument that measures paint thickness, and took many readings in sequence recording differences. His opinion was that the truck was not repainted. He was sure he would have seen evidence of sanding, and the differences in paint thickness seemed within norms. As for the very noticeable glitch on the back right fender he felt that was caused by a random machine error. He explained that the paint is somehow pulled into the metal by some electrical charge, and that now and then stuff happens.

He didn't want to take responsibility for the dent, and said that so many eyes had been on the truck that he couldn't imagine it getting missed. I begged to differ and left it at that.

He then asked me if I had time to wait for the auto body estimator to come take a look. I said sure.

After awhile the estimator and the dealership service manager came and checked it out. The manager said that they would pay for repainting the doors, repairing the dent and repainting the fender. I was thinking about it, and really wishing I had never been put in the position at all, when he leveled with me. He's a very believable guy, and I had already been thinking along the lines he brought up. He said he wouldn't have the work done if it was his truck. He said it is unlikely that the repainted areas will hold up as well as if they are left alone. And he considers the dent not worth the trouble. I will admit that I expect the dent to be less noticable when I get the camper shell I already ordered. (By the way, has anyone considered how they will design a camper shell to accommodate the protruding trim that houses the light.)

Then the manager said they would probably be willing to work a deal. He asked if I would consider a maintenance package as compensation. I already bought the extended warranty. I really don't want a maintenance package, and will investigate whether they might refund the cost of the extended warranty and leave it in effect. Still thinking about it though.

Either way, I can honestly say that the dealership has been concerned and considerate.

Good call on passing on the repairs. The other negative result is it may show up on Carfax and raise unnecessary questions down the road. Look into getting a monetary compensation. Since the truck was delivered to you in "not as new condition" there is a question of the diminished value (value of your truck in its current condition vs. value of the same truck without defects). Dealer will most likely offer free service and even free accessories rather than hard cash since its cheaper for him to do that.

 

[Ron]

Doesn't everyone get 2 years free maintenance with a new toyota?
Maybe thats just canada.

If you're considering different tires or other mods, this might be an opportunity for a deal.

 

[Sner]

Doesn't everyone get 2 years free maintenance with a new toyota?
Maybe thats just canada.

If you're considering different tires or other mods, this might be an opportunity for a deal.

I'd like to know where everyone gets 2 years free maintenance on a Toyota in Canada unless your individual dealer offers it.

 

[Ron]

I'd like to know where everyone gets 2 years free maintenance on a Toyota in Canada unless your individual dealer offers it.

Maybe its just some dealers or i misunderstand it. Here is one in canda
https://www.crowntoyota.com/toyotacare.html

This US site says this:
https://www.toyota.com/maintenance-plans/
No cost maintenance plan for 2 years or 25,000 miles, whichever comes first. 24-hour roadside assistance is also included for 2 years and unlimited miles

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