1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

Prove a Design Flaw (help)

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by SubFrozen, Oct 23, 2009.

  1. Oct 23, 2009 at 1:52 AM
    #1
    SubFrozen

    SubFrozen [OP] r00t

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2009
    Member:
    #24632
    Messages:
    388
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    William
    Sandy, UT
    Vehicle:
    2007 Taco SR5 V6
    3" OME Heavy Duty Lift, 18" Chrome Rimes, ARB Front Bumper, K&N Cold Air Intake
    -- Deleted --

    Thanks guys. I'll work with the mechanics at the dealership to re-create if possible. It's a crappy situation, I agree. The fluid leaked slowly over 800 miles out of the top hose; I went non-stop across country shortly after buying the truck.
     
  2. Oct 23, 2009 at 2:02 AM
    #2
    Hoyal

    Hoyal Whiskey bent and hell bound.

    Joined:
    May 14, 2009
    Member:
    #17221
    Messages:
    18,112
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Devin
    N 39.2249 W -106.16974
    Vehicle:
    2013 Tundra
    Big tires, big lift, Lots of stuff's.
    I have an 07 TRD and mine seems to be working just fine, I have never had an over heating problem under any conditions. Weird this is happening to you.
     
  3. Oct 23, 2009 at 4:53 AM
    #3
    DMZX

    DMZX Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2009
    Member:
    #12476
    Messages:
    35
    Gender:
    Male
    E. Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2x4 Tacoma
    Part of my routine PMCS (Army term) is to remove the radiator cap and visually check the coolant level in the radiator. I have never relied upon the coolant level in the reservoir tank as an indicator of coolant level in the radiator or a leak in the system.
     
  4. Oct 23, 2009 at 5:04 AM
    #4
    tonto340

    tonto340 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2009
    Member:
    #15246
    Messages:
    141
    Gender:
    Male
    Gambrills, MD
    I don't believe the sensor has a design flow. It's made to sense the temperature of liquid, i.e., the coolant. All manufacturers coolant temperature sensors work the same. It would be better to have an oil temperature gauge so you could know the true temperature of the engine.
    Toyota should still cover your repair bill even though you bought you truck "As is" because it has under 36K. Good luck.
     
  5. Oct 23, 2009 at 5:13 AM
    #5
    CaliforniaKid

    CaliforniaKid Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2009
    Member:
    #24380
    Messages:
    79
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Jim
    Central California
    Vehicle:
    2010 Tacoma 4x4 Dbl Cab TRD OR
    Under Cover Bed Cover
    tonto X 2, I have a work truck, Ford F250, that does the same thing. It leaks fluid and does not show on the gauges because the sensor checks the temp of liquid...not air. However there are a number of early warning signs to an engine overheating. Smell, performance, sound, feel to name a few. We should all be checking fluid levels the correct way to ensure we do not have problems. Using a temperature gauge to check our radiator fluid is about as unreliable as using our oil pressure gauge to check oil level.
     
  6. Oct 23, 2009 at 6:06 AM
    #6
    wcm608

    wcm608 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2008
    Member:
    #6348
    Messages:
    99
    Gender:
    Male
    Pittsburgh, Pa
    Vehicle:
    08 DC LB 4x4 SR5 Impulse Red
    Hope toyota takes care of you, but you should have stopped driving the
    truck long before you did. I would not empty out my antifreeze and run my
    engine for even a minute or two and I would not advise anybody else to do it
    either. I think I would talk to a lawyer if the dealer and toyota refuse to
    help you out.
     
  7. Oct 23, 2009 at 6:33 AM
    #7
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2008
    Member:
    #6497
    Messages:
    112,751,503
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    FlimFlubberJAM
    Tenoe, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2019 Rubicon 4 Door,
    4.10 gears, sliders, and lots of buttons.
    Yeah....Im not sure I recomend running the engine with no coolant at all. Not even for a min.
     
  8. Oct 23, 2009 at 6:34 AM
    #8
    98tacoma27

    98tacoma27 is going full "SANDWICH" Moderator

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2008
    Member:
    #11714
    Messages:
    67,709
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Ben
    Not Beech Creek
    Vehicle:
    05 Tundra SR5 (+295k AND COUNTING), 2006 F350 King Ranch 6.0L
    Some stuff. Not a lot, just some.
  9. Oct 23, 2009 at 6:41 AM
    #9
    David Tarantino

    David Tarantino Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2008
    Member:
    #7428
    Messages:
    6,115
    Gender:
    Male
    N.J.
    Vehicle:
    08 tacoma
    x3 iam with ya on that :D
     
  10. Oct 23, 2009 at 6:44 AM
    #10
    NraFan

    NraFan Join the NRA! Protect your freedom!

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2009
    Member:
    #22703
    Messages:
    1,553
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    JT
    SoCal
    Vehicle:
    2011 Sienna LE, rockin the mini van!
    Power sliding doors baby! WooHoo!
    I agree with what everyone is saying here. Asking people to run their truck without coolant is NOT a good idea. I feel bad for your situation, but the last thing we need is for a forum of Tacoma owners to blow their engines. I think you are going to have a hard time proving a design flaw. They will put it on you for not doing preventitive maintenance checks like your owners manual recommends. I think the only luck you will have is with an attorney, but even that may not be enough. Good luck!!
     
  11. Oct 23, 2009 at 6:56 AM
    #11
    yosh2000

    yosh2000 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2007
    Member:
    #2733
    Messages:
    2,936
    Gender:
    Male
    CO
    Vehicle:
    '17 Tundra CM 5.7
    ummm yea, so you blew your engine and your asking people here to run theirs w/ no coolant...i feel for you bud, but that is simply not smart. shoot, there are people who drain the trans fluid when they are trying to drain the oil, what makes you think that they will recover from doing your steps?!

    also, if the rad is quickly loosing coolant for any reason, what makes you think that the little liquid in the reservoir will make any difference?

    i have 125000 miles on my truck, never had any problems w/ the cooling system. simple checks will ensure this is the case, as well as toyotas ingenious coolant that turns pink at leak points!
     
  12. Oct 23, 2009 at 7:00 AM
    #12
    fishshooter

    fishshooter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2009
    Member:
    #13586
    Messages:
    314
    Gender:
    Male
    Northwest Florida
    Vehicle:
    09 Super White TRD Off Road 4X4
    Stock
    How did you lose ALL the coolant and not notice it?
     
  13. Oct 23, 2009 at 7:05 AM
    #13
    surfsupl

    surfsupl Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2008
    Member:
    #4161
    Messages:
    8,592
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Gregg
    WestCoast
    Vehicle:
    I DONT CARE IF IT'S A RE-POST
    Rear Diff Breather~ 5100's ~Fog Light Anytime~Tint~TRD Seat Covers~Weather Tech's~Pioneer H.U.~Lift~Eibach Springs~LED's......blah...blah...blah
    Good luck w/this...................I will just stick by my visual checks & occasional fluid replacement..........they have worked for me for over 20 yrs and never had a problem w/my radiator system....................










     
  14. Oct 23, 2009 at 7:10 AM
    #14
    gcwaterski

    gcwaterski Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2007
    Member:
    #2101
    Messages:
    476
    Gender:
    Male
    EVERY car I can think of will read normal or low temp. on the guage if there is NO coolent in the vehicle. We have had a F150 work truck crap out due to a radiator leak mixed with a driver that did NOT pay attention. We have also had a Ford Taurus sales car go when the female sales person busted the radiator on a "big rock" she ran over. In both instances the temp guage read high for a moment until all the fluid ran out and it returned to normal. I know of this happening to various other makes including my 330i Bimmer (I caught it, I did not blow the engine in that- I stopped right away and shut the car off and called the dealer) You are going to have to take your "design flaw" to EVERY auto manufacturer. Does ANY manufacturer have an air temp sensor?

    Not trying to be harsh- I know it's a shitty situation you are in. I apologize if I come off rude. Sometimes we learn the hard way about things. I was always taught to not play with a vehicle overheating. Shut it off- and get the problem fixed, because there IS a problem if it is doing that :)
     
  15. Oct 23, 2009 at 7:10 AM
    #15
    swise

    swise TRIFECTA!!!

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2009
    Member:
    #24716
    Messages:
    371
    Gender:
    Male
    ohio
    Vehicle:
    08 4x4 dbl cab, TRD offroad
    Im curious to see if the engine will blow up if we run it without oil. Can everyone drain the oil from their engines, let her rip and then get back to me?
    Seriously, your prediciment does suck ass - I hope toyota helps you out
     
  16. Oct 23, 2009 at 7:23 AM
    #16
    TexasBlue

    TexasBlue Dreamer

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2009
    Member:
    #23164
    Messages:
    106
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Kellan
    Dallas, TX
    Vehicle:
    07 PreRunner Sport, Speedway Blue
    Billet Grill, Roll-Top Cover, LED Interior Lights, HIDs, Foglight On Mod, Coin Tray Holster Mod
    Has anyone installed an oil temp and / or oil pressure sensor on our trucks? I had both of these on my Dodge pickup years ago and they tell more about the health of the engine than any stock gauge.

    I don't have a scangauge, but maybe it has the ability to display this info?
     
  17. Oct 23, 2009 at 7:30 AM
    #17
    gcwaterski

    gcwaterski Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2007
    Member:
    #2101
    Messages:
    476
    Gender:
    Male
    Ha ha ha ha. Oh, pick me, pick me, can I help you with this experiment?!?!?!:p
     
  18. Oct 23, 2009 at 8:30 AM
    #18
    JKD

    JKD Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2009
    Member:
    #18207
    Messages:
    2,041
    Gender:
    Male
    It is not a design flaw. A contact/flow sensor that is not immersed in the liquid it is supposed to sense will not be able to report that liquid's temperature.
     
  19. Oct 23, 2009 at 8:34 AM
    #19
    JKD

    JKD Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2009
    Member:
    #18207
    Messages:
    2,041
    Gender:
    Male
    I do not think oil temperature and pressure are monitored by the Toyota engine control computer, so they would not be available to the Scangauge.

    There is probably a 'minimum pressure' switch to activate a low pressure warning lamp, and the computer might monitor that, but it's an 'either/or' switch.

    I'm in no huge hurry, but it would be nice to find a good spot to install an oil pressure sensor, and I wouldn't mind having oil temp too. And, for that matter, transmission temp--but that is one the control computers do monitor. Linear-Logic (Scangauge makers) just hasn't figured out how to retrieve trans temp data yet.
     
  20. Oct 23, 2009 at 8:36 AM
    #20
    SubFrozen

    SubFrozen [OP] r00t

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2009
    Member:
    #24632
    Messages:
    388
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    William
    Sandy, UT
    Vehicle:
    2007 Taco SR5 V6
    3" OME Heavy Duty Lift, 18" Chrome Rimes, ARB Front Bumper, K&N Cold Air Intake
    I agree that it will not detect fluid temperature. The flaw is that it continues to report normal running temperature, when it cannot get a read. In vehicles, typically when there is no/low fluid, the gauge will drop to zero - letting the driver know there's some sort of issue. When the vehicle shows normal running temperatures, and there's no warning for low coolant, knowing you have a problem is quite difficult unless you're anal and inspect at every gas station.
     

Products Discussed in

To Top