Sand in the tank, headlights, or electrical issues, the saga continues for the 4th time? (10/9/18)

LAWYER.

And I assure you, I do not easily arrive at that recommendation.

We are still pulling for you.

 

Update : parts have been on order for over a week, they dealership finally communicated with my insurance company and they worked over the 14k in payment today. I'll have a 500 copay once the truck gets fixed...

They also reinstated my rental car that as cancelled due to the dealer.

I just really hope this is the actual problem. If not I'm going to be pissed.

And when I get it back, I'm going back to Pismo with the GoPro and will film the damn filler neck not being opened.

If this happens again, it's getting lemon laws, since then it'll qualify

 

no it wont. lemon law is warranty work not insurance jobs

 

If it becomes excessive repairs or repeated repairs of the same thing it should qualify. It's worth a shot,

This should of been warranty work. If it happens twice then Toyota definitely needs to figure it out.

 

It's considered abuse. Has nothing to do with Toyota and not applicable

 

How is driving a truck on the beach abuse when its marketed to drive across the desert?

 

I think there are three scenarios here:

1. Someone vandalized your truck by putting sand in the tank: Insurance pays, Dealer is right, Truck is not crap design. [This is what the dealer thinks]
2. Through mild beach use, the truck got sand someplace it shouldn't have and broke the truck because it can't stand up to this type of use: Toyota *should* pay, Dealer is right, truck is crap design [This seems to be what you are implying]
3. Through mild use or unrelated, a defect in your truck was exposed that caused it to enter limp mode: Toyota *should* pay, Dealer is full of crap, Truck is not crap design. [This is what I think]

Here's why I think it's #3:
- New Tacoma's are not dying all over the place from going through car washes and playing on the beach. We. Would. Know. This. if it were true, everyone that has any kind of gripe seems to post here. Yours is the only one that seems to have this issue. I do not think it is a design problem. That would suggest Scenario 2 is unlikely.
- Several folks familiar with this dealer have said they are bad. I know I'm only hearing your side of the story, but they sound bad to me.
- You were able to re-create the problem with water only.
- Scenario 1 could be proven by dropping the tank. Nobody involved seems to be willing to make that happen.

You have every right to be angry, but I think your anger should be directed at the dealer. Unless we find out how much sand is in the tank, I feel like this is the dealer ripping off the insurance company (and you) because they couldn't figure out the problem and they didn't want to spend any more time without getting compensated.

This is a terrible situation and I feel really bad for you. I'm not sure I'm helping, so maybe I'll just sit quiet and hope this gets resolved to your satisfaction.

If this goes down and you have to pay $500 deductible, hopefully someone will setup a gofundme or other account for you. I will pitch in.

 

You'd need the Cascade Range sitting on top of that sand for about 40 million years to "dissolve" it. Spit that out at corporate

 

Yep. It was probably the guy in the damn Civic that put in the sand.

 

I was told my 14 has a fuel filter on the tank. Something about it being there causes problems when you overfill the tank. So don't keep dribbling it in there after the pump auto shuts down.

 

They aren't covering it under warranty, so no lemon law. I don't have a dog in this fight, just telling you the law

 

That is surely what Toyotas lawyers would say, but not so sure I couldn't convince an attorney I'm paying for that it should have been a warranty claim. The OP is following a path of least resistance (none of us wants to keep driving a rental instead of our new trucks) but I'd still contest it in a hearing. Especially if the problem reappears!

 

But by taking the path of least resistance (insurance) it is being treated as vandalism (if I read what the OP said correctly). So if it happens again, it won't matter under lemon law. If it did we could all just vandalize our own vehicles repeatedly to get rid of them

 

So unfortunately to avoid the lawyer that I cannot afford, (the military pays me more than 30k less than my civilian counterparts ) I will be following suit of the 'vandalism' case and be paying a 500 dollar copay.

It has now been a month and unfortunately I'm still in a Ford Focus.

Perhaps lemon law isn't the answer. But I need to know if this trucks sound. It'll be going to the same carwash, and short of spraying the underside of the hood, I will be washing it again. It will go to Pismo again, as I enjoy camping out there and won't stop my life lol.

I guess we shall see. I 100% don't believe someone poured sand in my gas tank. The only time the vehicle was left unattended near sand was at a business. My hotel was a few miles from the beach . However in this instance after having 0 support from a dealer, and being shot down by corporate with no additional answers.... when in Rome do as the Romans. Had it. It been between pay days perhaps I could of towed it to another dealer and started this whole thing over, however the truck was still in pieces and none of the mechanics seem to know much about it...


I just want my truck back and this whole ordeal to be over...

 

Well, I'll be in pismo next weekend, so if this shit happens to me, I'll be dropping my tank to check for sand lol, and most definitely not going to Fairfield Toyota. Or maybe I should, just to prove them wrong....

 

Then again, I'm not gonna be pulling randoms out of the ocean lol

 

That would be for a court to decide. OP hasn't vandalized his ride and suspects a warranty issue but is being pragmatic in going through insurance simply because it's a faster resolution to getting the truck back. If the issue reappears, it would add weight to his argument that vandalism wasn't the cause previously. Again, that becomes a situation for lawyers to duke out. I don't think he should be discouraged simply because he had insurance pay a claim, but I'd reach out to an attorney to see what his options are. Toyota is already lawyered up, no need to advocate their position.

OP my understanding is that if you do end up going for a lemon law determination, the manufacturer pays attorney fees assuming a ruling in your favor. So what ends up happening is that good lemon law attorneys will only take on a case where they believe they have a good chance of winning and not bill their client directly. If you look for one, I would reject any attorney that wants money out of pocket. A good one should also provide a free consultation where you'll get a chance to see if you have a good shot at succeeding with a lemon law case. If no lawyer wants to touch your case, thats a pretty good indication that lemon law isn't the right avenue to pursue.

 

You may not want to roll the dice and try again. What if it happens again? You think the insurance company will cover you twice?

Probably best to sell the truck once repaired, and go with a new truck.

 

I agree on only one point, don't try to replicate getting hit by a wave. Go to pismo, enjoy the desert, try to stay out of the water. Water crossings are one thing, but a wave is alot of force bringing the pain. If you go to pismo and get all sanded up and the shit happens again, id say stick it to them because as you've said, they advertise the damn truck out in the desert.

AND FOR GODS SAKE PEOPLE, QUIT TELLING THE DEALER THE FULL TRUTH, God knows they lie to us enough as it is, don't ever give them the upper hand and expect honest, good work from them. In this case I would have said, I went to pismo, had some fun in the dunes, took it to a car wash afterwards and it happened. At that point they can say sand this sand that all they want but you didnt abuse the truck. Tell them you got hit by a wave, even a foot tall or whatever, they're gonna say "TRUCK WASN'T DESIGNED FOR THAT" and you're SOL

 

Perhaps it would be for a court to decide. Unfortunately, any proof that the dealership was lying about is having been vandalized will be gone once the truck is fixed so they likely wouldn't rule in his favor. Regardless, I agree with you that he should reach out to an attorney. There are plenty that will hear his case for free. There are also many that won't charge a fee unless they win. OP is reluctant to go this route