Tailgate Gap Issue

[Quickreply1]

My truck has the wider gap on the left, but the tailgate also sticks out and is far from flush with rear fender.

First 2 pics right side, second 2 left.

I’ll mess with the latch. See if I can get it to be more snug on that one side.

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[Kielly]

Can't speak on the tailgate, but my hood has bigger panel gaps on the right than on the left, very obvious. Annoying and I was pretty heated but decided not to fight it. With the already on going issues and shop time my truck had I really didn't feel like being without again over a stupid panel gap, I just accepted that every modern vehicle these days are slapped together and sold in bulk.

At least it's not like my coworker, bought a brand new F150, got a scratch and took it to a body shop, body shop told him to go return the whole truck as there's nothing straight on the vehicle at all lol, vehicle's actually a little angled when driving straight

 

[TacoFreak]

This kind of sloppy build quality is not normal for Toyota product at any price point from my experience. My list of things to look at when my truck arrives is getting longer and longer!

It would be interesting to see if uneven panel gaps are more common in trucks from the new Baja plant than trucks from the more established Guanajuato plant. New assembly plants are notorious for sloppy assembly, even Toyota plants.

 

[av8r]

This kind of sloppy build quality is not normal for Toyota product at any price point from my experience. My list of things to look at when my truck arrives is getting longer and longer!

It would be interesting to see if uneven panel gaps are more common in trucks from the new Baja plant than trucks from the more established Guanajuato plant. New assembly plants are notorious for sloppy assembly, even Toyota plants.

Yep. It has caused me to hold off buying a 24 for now. I had hopes the "new" model wasn't going to have so many growing pains, but it seems Toyota isn't what it used to be. Honda had this same issue some years ago and had a sharp decline in sales for a year or two because of it. They got things back on track and hopefully, Toyota will, too.

 

[Leec]

I have a 2024 Tacoma Limited. Had the issue with the power tailgate not closing all the way. Got that fixed. My other issue is the gap on the left side of our tailgate is bigger than the gap on the right side. Service department tells me this is how the 24 models are made. Anyone else notice if their tailgate is off like this? Pictures attached.

Jdavis, your pics look just like my Limited I picked up the other day…. Here is your fix, I did this last night and now it’s perfect!
Open your gate about 15 degrees, from the right side give the gate a good push to the left, instant fix!!

 

[Leec]

Yep. It has caused me to hold off buying a 24 for now. I had hopes the "new" model wasn't going to have so many growing pains, but it seems Toyota isn't what it used to be. Honda had this same issue some years ago and had a sharp decline in sales for a year or two because of it. They got things back on track and hopefully, Toyota will, too.

There is a quick fix for this, performed this on my 24 limited, open the gate about 15 degrees, from the right side give the gate a hard push to the left, there ya go!

 

[Gfenza89]

Mine was the same way, you guys do realize you can push the tailgate over to the side you want to make the gap even? That’s all I did with mine now it’s lined up perfect

 

[NoNo]

Mine was the same way, you guys do realize you can push the tailgate over to the side you want to make the gap even? That’s all I did with mine now it’s lined up perfect

It does seem like a lot of people are trying hard to find issues with this truck. I would have probably never noticed any tailgate issue but I looked hard because of the complaints. Mine has no issues and I've yet to find any build quality issues.

 

[Gfenza89]

It does seem like a lot of people are trying hard to find issues with this truck. I would have probably never noticed any tailgate issue but I looked hard because of the complaints. Mine has no issues and I've yet to find any build quality issues.

Only thing I’ve noticed on mine is a “harder” shift sometimes after starting the truck on 1-2. Not that hard but you can feel it. Other than that nothing to complain about it drives and runs great. Plenty of power no real rattles in the interior or anything. It’s a truck not a Lexus. People often get this confused

 

[Miqie]

There is a quick fix for this, performed this on my 24 limited, open the gate about 15 degrees, from the right side give the gate a hard push to the left, there ya go!

I just did this. It took 4 or 5 hard pushes but now the gap is even on both sides. Thanks!

 

[av8r]

Mine was the same way, you guys do realize you can push the tailgate over to the side you want to make the gap even? That’s all I did with mine now it’s lined up perfect

Yes, but it doesn't stay there.

 

[Gfenza89]

Yes, but it doesn't stay there.

Eh it does for a while. I’m not even worried about stuff like that, lot of manufacturers have uneven gaps on their panels. The rest of the truck is flawless gaps

 

[AltarBoy]

First thing I noticed when I got mine. Had the dealership look at it and they. Couldn’t get it over to be even. Just the way it’s made

 

[TacoFreak]

I have seen pictures of some Tacos with the tailgate gap where you can see that one side of the bed gets wider toward the back. There is only so much tailgate and only so much adjustment, so a gap is inevitable.

I agree with @Gfenza89 that is not worth worrying about, because it is a truck.

 

[Deleted User 1813921]

It does seem like a lot of people are trying hard to find issues with this truck. I would have probably never noticed any tailgate issue but I looked hard because of the complaints. Mine has no issues and I've yet to find any build quality issues.

Most of these people complaining do not even have the truck or have stated they are waiting for next model year. There are a lot of non owners on here that have opinions that are not helpful to actual owners. Most of these people seem to have nothing better to do. If they were a women I had to listen to going on and on about every little thing possibly wrong with the new Tacoma. I would say this. You need more activities to fill out your day.

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