Arbitration didn't go well..........

mine either. I do get a vibe in the passenger seat when empty at 75+. Maybe you need to ask for a Baja suspension and s set of BFGs on TRD wheels.

 

The vibration is significant enough to shake the seats, door panels floorboards and center console. Example: On a smooth section of road it will shake enough to cause a beverage w/o a lid to spill over the side. cup of coffee, glass of water etc. not filled to the brim. The rear view mirrors even appear blurry at 75 plus

We did not notice it during the test drive. The sales person had a route planned out. The dealership is right buy a freeway entrance, drive one mile, in traffic, 1 exit down and drive back on a frontage road posted at 40 and then 30 mph. We never got above 70 and never sustained a speed around 45 mph.

We did try new tires, on top of the vibration, it actually caused a droning noise in the cab at 45 mph. The stock tires were re installed.

I pulled the driveshaft, had it trued (run out was .030) and balanced, they also installed spicer serviceable u joints. vibe still remains

About 2 months into this deal, I drove 2 different Tacoma's configured the same. They both had similar vibrations at the same speeds.

I'm not anxious to waste our money on a lawyer, and I do realize this is a massed produced vehicle, they are not perfect. If the truck didn't vibrate, we would keep it forever, that was the plan.. We will lose thousands if it's traded in, if we sue and we "win", Toyota has to pay for all legal fees. By winning, I mean Toyota has to buy the Tacoma back (reimburse for full cost of truck).

I talked with another dealer about vibration and how we were treated at Toyota of Murfreesboro. They told me the GM/Owner (Andy Obeissy) was not truthful about the vibration issue and could have taken the truck back if that was the only way to work things out.

 

Random thought. If the vibe seems to come from the rear end, maybe it would be worth having the brake drums checked for balance?

 

I can appreciate that line of thinking, believe me.. we are on the same page and want to move along with more important things.

We are lucky to have an acquaintance (attorney) that is willing to do take care of this for a reduced rate. That is the only reason we are going this route, otherwise the truck would be sitting on some dealers lot right now.

 

My X runner has the same issue, vibration is so bad that the backrest of the passenger seat is visibly shaking at 70-75 mph.

It is worse under brisk acceleration then at part throttle or coasting but there all the time.
And the 5 lug trucks are quite a bit different then prerunner/4x4 tacomas.

One of my other trucks has a similar issue, but it is 27 years old, lifted and has almost 280,000 miles on it. I kind of expect it there, not on a 4 year old street truck with under 50k miles on it.

ETA: I wonder if the undertorqued U bolt issue has something to do with this.

 

No. The intermediate steering shaft TSB dealt with a loose feeling when going over bumps or uneven surfaces. Here is a link to the FJ thread.

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/wheels-tires/291329-fj-55-65-mph-shake-shimmy-tsb-out.html

 

I used to have this same vibration, you can fix it for as little as $6...common problem with their crappy driveshaft setup...

PM me for the fix...

I am only about 6 hours away from you...

Cheers...

 

Yep, I am having the same issue @ 65-70 MPH with only 1500 miles on the truck.now I had the tires and wheels balanced at the dealership 3 times.

Now I have 4 rims that have missing chunks of paint and small gouges in the rim from the tech removing the old wheel weights with what looks like pliers instead of a wheel weight tool.

 

I'd say now that you have posted here, you're gonna have to live with it.
in the original post you complained that everybody sided with Toyota and deemed it a "characteristic" rather than a defect.

If you go to court and the defense researchers find this thread (likely), they will see how many others have posted the same experience with the truck.
They will then point to this thread and argue that because it is so common, it is indeed characteristic of these vehicles...

 

It is just odd that you did not detect it on the test drive. Obviously as you probably know now that when you test drive your next vehicle to drive it for a fair amount of time no matter what the salesperson suggests. Especially a route they have planned out unless you are totally unfamiliar with the area.

I say next vehicle because however this plays out you won't be happy with this truck. Whether you are compensated or not it is in your best interests to move on.

 

Let me ask a question, along with the vibes at certain speeds, are you getting a shudder when you hard accelerate from a stop?

 

2012 DCLB 4x4 Sport Upgrade. No vibes/shakes at any speed before lifting or after.

 

my dealer tossed me the keys and said to take it for a spin. They were real surprised when I came back in 10 minutes.

 

Toyota will have to pay for the lawyer. I just went through 8 months of bullshit because the BMW dealer quietly overcharged me by $1,800 on the contact. Then called me back to sign a new contact because of the "errors" with the old one. When I went in to sign the new contact numbers seemed a bit off, but they assured me that everything was fine. When I got home, I looked at my old contact and the new contact, I realized that they added another $700 on top of the contract out of thin air, so off to an Auto Fraud lawyer I went. After the lawyer examined both contracts, we realize that I was first overcharged by $1,800.

Apparently, overcharging a customer is not illegal. Not itemizing extra the charges is. The dealer tried very hard to weasel their way out of it, then they tried to give me a refund. Then they wanted to take the car and sell me another one. I told them to fuck off and they ended up having to buy out the contact, giving back my downpayment and pay for my lawyer. I still had to make monthly payments, though.

In the end, the joke is on them. They paid $9,000 to my lawyer, refunded my $3000 downpayment and lost a ton of money on the car because I put 15K miles on it in under 8 month, while they were twiddling their thumbs and stalling with the buy back. And all of this is because the dealer got greedy and called me back so they could fuck me over additional $700 on a $40,000 car.

And this, gentlemen, is how I ended up with a brand new Tacoma

 

I drove at 3 different places.
All 3 guys hung on me like a cheap suit.
I thought one was gonna grope me, another was leaning so far over the seat to sales spiel me I was waiting for his tongue in my ear. The 3rd acted like I was going to throw him out and drive off.

I know I'm freaky looking, but you have my particulars.

 

XJ1100JKen,

I went down this road with Nissan in 2012 over a lemon Xterra. Since the dealer and mfg have no relationship you are fighting two individual parties. Both of then are interested in protecting their financial interests. You are just a PITA and they want you to go away. Customer satisfaction be damned. (OK enough of being brutally honest from my experience)

Here is the good news. You have records of all phone calls, expenses, and other documentation identifying a fault. Today go for a drive recording the vibration on your phone. Talk calmly and clearly narrating the issue for added documentation. Next call Toyota corporate asking to speak with the appropriate director for your region. (Link) Let them know who you are and state the facts calmly seeing where this gets you. If they offer no immediate support, then dial in a third party your states attorney general (AG). 99% of the time then will hang up right when they hear who you dialed. Stay online with the AG starting your claim. When finished call Toyota back asking why they withdrew from the conversation. If they do stay on the phone review the facts with your AG seeking resolution.

Next post your experience on Toyotas and your dealers Facebook page keeping only to the facts, emotions here can backfire. Recall that video/audio file I recommended you take, now is the time to share with Toyota's Facebook page. This documents publicly exactly what you are experiencing. Toyota knows the exactly what the defect statistics are per vehicle and that a few will reach the consumer. Public exposure of a defect goes straight after the brand where Toyota and the dealer can see loss of market share and public view of their brand. Replacing / repairing the vehicle is significantly lower risk for them. Publicly it reenforces the brand which is exactly what the dealer and Toyota wants.

The Lemon Law is not there to protect the consumer, based upon my experience, it is there to minimize the dealers and manufactures loss.

With Nissan it was a long drawn out process. It was not till I started using social media that Nissan took me seriously. I only wish I used Facebook sooner. Best luck to you.

 

Why does anyone need to pm you for the $6 fix? Why not just post it here for all to see?

 

X2

 

sell the truck and use the lawyer money towards a cadillac or a vehicle that rides smooth

 

x4