Truck broke down today...

agreed

 

I guess that makes sense. I'd rather get a new truck out of this than something that's been hacked on...So, waiting the 31 days would be the best solution.

 

here is something I found on the California office of the attorney generals website.

https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/cars

The “Lemon Law”: A special provision, often called the "Lemon Law," helps determine what is a reasonable number of repair attempts for problems that substantially impair the use, value, or safety of the vehicle. The "Lemon Law" applies to these problems if they arise during the first 18 months after the consumer received delivery of the vehicle or within the first 18,000 miles on the odometer, whichever occurs first. During the first 18 months or 18,000 miles, the "Lemon Law" presumes that a manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts to repair the vehicle if either (1) the same problem results in a condition that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the vehicle is driven and the problem has been subject to repair two or more times by the manufacturer or its agents, and the buyer or lessee has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the problem as provided in the warranty or owner's manual or (2) the same problem has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents and the buyer has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the problem as provided in the warranty or owner's manual or (3) the vehicle is out of service because of the repair of any number of problems by the manufacturer or its agents for a cumulative total of more than 30 days since delivery of the vehicle.

If I'm reading the part right that I bolded then if the number of days is cumulative (a running total) not concurrent (in a row)
I'm thinking a lemon law attorney would force their hand to replace the engine. That would make the most sense for all parties involved.

 

Amazingly your message looks like your avatar typed it, and as such makes it the most relevant and truthful post you've probably ever made here.

fire bad.

 

You are correct, lemon laws refer to cumulative. Good example would be if it spent 30 days over 3 months on the same type of repair. It doesnt have to be same type of repair but I just used that as an example. You are likely at the mercy of the contract you signed at the dealer. depending on dealer they might choose any number of options. New or remanufactured isnt really up to you at this point and raising a stink about them doing what your sales contract stated might not get you far or far fast.

the best experiences ive had with dealers were where i was calm and cool and appreciative, and buddy buddy with the service writers during the process.

 

Did you say work around or reach around?

 

i love reach arounds. Don't have to see where those calloused hands belong.

 

Things just got weird. Maybe you guys need to pm one another broke back style.

 

look, i can't help how you feel. thats on you.

 

Excellent advice.
I can relate to this because I am a certified boat tech. I know when my supervisor is out in the shop then something is going on because he rarely comes in the shop. Therefore, when he comes out then all of sudden I feel the pressure and the moment he asks, ¨how much longer you got on this one¨, I then start to rush and there may be a few bolts that didn´t get torqued properly.
The old saying the squeaky wheel gets the grease, that is true, but sometimes it is only enough grease to get the wheel to be quiet for a short period of time. If you go in there with the attitude that they have to give you a new truck or buy back this one, they are going to slap that new/reman engine in there, snug the bolts up, plug in the wire harness, crank it up in the shop bay and call it good.
If you just sit back and wait it out, they will install the engine properly, make sure everything is torqued, and take it for a good test drive.

Also, I saw someone say earlier something about the techs rebuilding the engine at the dealership. I doubt that will happen. Toyota will want the old engine and they have a warranty dept. with engineers that will tear into it and analyze the cause of failure, at that point it will be rebuilt and used as a reman for the next one that is needed. The dealership will have another block there while they are pulling yours, that way they can pull the old, install the new, and focus on getting you back on the road before they worry about the old engine.
I know this is a lot going on and as I have never been on this end of the situation, I am always on the Tech side of things. I feel bad for a customer that has had trouble on a brand new boat and I will take care of them as long as they trust me and give us ample time to make things right. I am not afraid to say it, the nice customers do get a different treatment than the others.

 

I don't know why everyone is so against getting a new motor. It's still going to have a full warranty and you know everything is going to be good with it. You may be able to get them to buy the truck back, however if you do that and get a new Tacoma, what is you end up getting a new truck that has a vibration or something else that drives you nuts but they say is normal? That truck may never have a motor issue but a squeak or vibration or something that is there forever. As for hurting resale, it's really not going to. Even if it shows on a carfax report. People understand things happen. The new motor will have less miles on it as well. I'd rather buy a used vehicle with a newer motor as long as the work has been done properly.

 

"I am always on the Tech side of things. I feel bad for a customer that has had trouble on a brand new boat and I will take care of them as long as they trust me and give us ample time to make things right. I am not afraid to say it, the nice customers do get a different treatment than the others."

I am on the customer's side but do try to respect the tech's opinion. Fortunately, the second dealership (first one a "that's normal" type) that took care of my rear door window seal issue and checked the transmission level let me speak personally to the tech that would do the work. He spent almost a 1/2 hour with me talking about the Tacoma and giving me some useful advice. After they received the new seal, I left the vehicle overnight with him (as requested) and it was ready the next morning (noon) when I returned to pick it up. He met me personally and showed me the new seal and how well it fit and then explained about adding 1 qt. to the transmission and resetting the ECU(?). After leaving the dealership I headed to a Panara Bread and bought a gift certificate for him and his wife to go out to eat. He was delighted (and a little embarrassed) and said that Toyota compensates him fairly for what he did. I teach senior-level business courses (marketing) and try to drill into my students heads (assuming I can get them to look up from their iPhones!) about how important a satisfied customer is to the longevity of the business. I must add the service writer at the second dealership was also very helpful as well. BTW, neither dealership was the one from which my Tacoma was sold. But again, my issue was less than minor compared to OP's situation.

 

From what has been stated here it sounds like the dealership wants to fix the engine or put in a remanufactured engine. If I were the OP I would seek the advice of an attorney and let the dealer play around with the truck and see what the outcome is. As I stated in a previous post the cumulative number of days that the truck is in the shop would go towards the lemon law. If the OP isn't happy with the results I would then play that card and have the engine replaced. The downside of having the truck replaced is that you would be on the hook for the percentage of miles driven of your warranty until the lemon law is enacted. In her case a little over 5% of the trucks value.

 

It's a waste to get an attorney involved. Manufactures will do buy backs way for engine troubles long before lemon laws are enacted. The dealer does what Toyota tells them to do. Either way the truck will get repair. If they buy it back they simply have the dealership repair it or they send it to headquarters if they think or find an engineering or major production problem. They will rip it down themselves to find the problem and document it. Then they fix or replace everything and send the truck to auction

 

I'm not sure about the laws where the OP lives but in New Jersey and I believe Pennsylvania under the lemon laws, there is no cost to the consumer for the attorney under the lemon law.

 

All other things being equal between two used trucks, if I knew one had to have an engine rebuilt or replaced and the other did not I'd probably pick the one without major repair services history because at that point, I have to wonder if there are more things wrong with that particular truck. Yet you could probably spin this several ways. In any case if I were OP at this point, I'd be hoping the dealer keeps truck for 30+ days so I can get an entirely new replacement vehicle plus considerations from Corporate for my time being wasted and anxiety. Time = Money. Another thing is if the engine dies while you're driving uphill towing a horse trailer and you get rear ended by a semi, or cause some other major traffic accident you might be able to argue it increases the chances of death/dismemberment. Some tangibles there you or a lawyer could potentially tie to this vehicle's issues IAW the Lemon Law. Might consider contacting a Lemon Law attorney for advice. Of course that will cost money and more of your time...but consider the money you've already invested in this problematic vehicle.

 

This.

That's why vehicle history reports exist. If I was looking at a vehicle for purchase and it had engine or transmission repairs at low mileage, it's automatically taken off my list to buy.

 

So, I haven't been "revealing my hand" to anyone, let alone Toyota. I've been patiently waiting for the service writer to call me back and haven't raised my voice or made any demands of any sort since the day of the incident where my new truck left me stranded.
As of yesterday, I got a call from the service writer and he said they are replacing the entire lower end of the engine. He didn't elaborate (and, admittedly, i was walking into work and didnt have time to ask specifics) but it sounds like they found something wrong aside from the piston rings.
I'm not sure how comfortable I am about accepting my truck back like this. I just don't know a lot about everything going on. People I've been speaking with are split in their decisions. Some say it's good and if the problem persists, you just bring it right back (wasting a ton of my time and stress with a loaner, borrowing a vehicle and simpky keeping tabs on repairs) and others are saying to raise a stink and refuse it; demand a new engine or truck.

 

You really don't have a leg to stand on until it has spent 31 nights in the shop.

 

This is the part that gets me. The lower end is usually referred to as the crankshaft, rod bearings, anything in the oil pan, etc. I didn´t go back and read but I thought I remember something about a cylinder failure or badly fouled spark plug, correct me if I am wrong. If that was the case that would be an upper end rebuild. Also, I don´t see them doing this in house, its a pretty big job, especially on a new truck with warranty. A block replacement is what I would be shooting for at this point. You may want to call back when you can and get some more details, maybe there is a miscommunication there, but I would suspect a upper end issue, and if they found something wrong in both the upper and lower, then you definitely should get a replacement engine. Please keep us posted, I would like to hear more details of the problems found.