Lower Ball Joint recall

I call Toyota today and was told the recall wasn't applicable to my VIN. So I guess I'm good to go.

 

I was lucky I guess.. Previous owner spent a few bucks, and did the whole front end before he traded it.. Mine drives great.. Good to keep checking back with toyota.. You can register on Toyota.com, and they should mail them out.. I haven't heard anything from them yet...

 

Well, looked it up and the service campaign code came up (50J). I called the local dealer and they said it has not been done and to bring it in...so away I go.

I was bummed that the previous owner's service records from another dealer in the South Bay Area were not listed on this site. I do have hardcopies of some major serivces (30, 60, 90, T-belt), but I was hoping that these and more complete records would be available in the database. oh well, I am lucky to have what I do already...and that the freaking ball joints didn't try to kill me yet.

 

there is a thread that spells out where your vehicle was built, just wondering as my 04 doesn't qualify for the recall, built in California.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/16205-vin-number.html

 

My understanding is that it was just a limited batch of bad ball joints. Mine is 2001 and needs it, so yours was probably built long after the bad batch. But ours were both built in Fremont (NUMMI).

 

toyota did mine before I bought the vehcile... I need to go to toyota to pick up my lower ball joints and install them.

 

i get a free trailer wire harness ha just have to find time to go up there but it doesn say my truck had the ball joint done but idk ill call tomorow

that website needs to be stickied somewhere so more ppl on here can register its really useful not just for the ball joint

 

My lower ball joint broke today while driving over train tracks, my question is will Toyota pay for and fix all the damages?

 

Old thread but, no.

You need to bring it to them, they won't send a mechanic to your home. Check www.Toyota.com/recall had mine replaced for free couple months back. Previous owner took the truck to the dealer.

Good luck....

 

Thanks for the heads up guys, mine needs the recall work done too. Do they do an alignment after ball joint work? If they do then I want to adjust my coilovers.

 

Yes free alignment.

 

Original owner took mine in for it

 

Smart

x2. HOWEVER, the may say they cannot get it into spec because of aftermarket suspension, and they may not get the alignement how you want it because of this.

Maybe talk to them beforehand and ask for more caster, or at least to try to max out caster, depending on your lift an anything else I don't know about your mods.

 

I know this is an old thread but it's better than starting a new one. Does anyone know if the lower ball joint recall is still being done? I have no records of mine being done at all on the Toyota owners site so this is something I want to get looked into as my truck is creeping up on 100k miles.

 

You should be fine, I don't think there's a statute of limitations on recalls since they're safety related. Best bet is to call your local dealer and talk to a service adviser.

 

Okay thanks, I will get in touch with a dealer in the next few days. Always makes me nervous going down the highway and hit a big bump in the road, just have nightmares of one failing then and sending me careening into the ditch or oncoming traffic and get seriously hurt or killed.

 

I looked up mine and it was just that spare tire lift carrier plate in Cold Northern states with salt on the roads. My truck was from the Fremont, CA plant. Nothing to do with any faulty LBJ's

 

IMO, the LBJs should be a regular maintenance item. Similar the the waterpump/timing belt on the v6 motor. Every 90K. Dont wait for them to fail. If you are worrying about it, swap them out regardless of whether or not yours was among the ones covered by Toyota.

 

This shit was crazy. I'm just glad I was going slow while it happened and that I narrowly avoided any body damage due to the tire slipping under and cushioning the frame. I've checked and my vin isn't covered under the recall due to it having been made a month late...
I'm going to raise hell at toyota though and see if any luck.
Happened at 125k on a 2001

 

That sucks, you need to replace these ball joint every 100,,000 just like the timing belt to be safe with OEM parts, better to be safe then sorry,