Help 2007 Tacoma will not start

Best of luck, and thank you for serving.

 

Well, I got my truck back on Friday evening. The dealership reprogrammed both systems simulataneously, and now she starts. And moving on down the list...the engine is still making a loud tapping sound proportional to the engine speed. Do all Tacomas do this? I did not notice it in the one I test drove and my buddy's '07 Taco does not make the same sound. Also, there is now a lurch when shifting from Park to Drive when the accelerator is first applied.

At this point, my hands are tied until I return to KY in AUG. I am firing off a couple very unhappy letters to Toyota and the Dealership management. There are still gouges in my dash from where the techs worked on it the first time. In addition, I was given the vehicle back with an additional 650 miles on the clock from it being driven to PA. And to boot, there was less than 1/4 a tank of fuel in it.

And the cavalier attitude of the guy who drove it up here agrevated me too. Yeah, must be nice to drive someone else's brand new truck on a road trip. Along the lines of borrowing someone else's girlfriend for a weekend. But that might just be me being anal-retentive about my truck.

The sick part, I still like Tacomas...just not the one I drive. :-(

 

Hi Ricerun,
I feel for you, I really do.

On the letters to Toyota....don't waste your valuable time, they could care less if you are happy or not. Toyota is a TERRIBLE company at working with customers. ZERO customer support.

My advice to you as a friend is when you are able, dump the Tacoma and don't look back.

On the ticking and tapping noise if you private message me I will give you some advice that should you go up against Toyota you WILL win.

Again sorry for the troubles you have encountered.

 

here here i agree with gm3bow

 

you got me going what the hell, keep us posted curious to know the outcome good luck man

 

Here is an even more interesting twist to the tale...

So, following Toyota's advice that I take the truck to a local dealership while I am in PA, I look up the number and call the Service Dept on my lunch break. First, the guy has no clue who I am, my Case Manager said he would call ahead and explain the situation but never did, and after I tell him everything that has happened and been done, he tells me NOT to bring my truck by. Apparantly, "This is a clear case of buy-back and I do not want to get my Service Manager between you and Toyota." News to me, any dealer that lays hands on the truck can be found liable in an arbitration hearing. Not directly, but Toyota can place the blame on them afterward for something as simple as "not filling out a form correctly." And those are the words of the Service Tech I spoke with.

I know it sounds bad that I was turned away for warranty work, but just to hear some official acknowledgement this is bogus did worlds for my sanity. I called my Case Manager and told him "no one wants to touch this lemon because anyone with half a wit can see this is heading downhill." Then I asked him what his suggestion was. He told me to take it to the dealer. I chuckled and said "thank you" for telling me who I was dealing with.

So...any one want ring-side seats for the next round? lol. I also jumped on the Case Manager for only writing everything down I say but not doing a single thing to solve the problem. "I can hear you typing every word I say to you. Does it make you nervous that your job could be replaced with an $8 tape recorder from Wal-mart?"

And then I started doing my homework. Enough of a dose of idiots for the evening.

Tomorrow, the local dealership should be calling me back after he finishes contacting my old dealership and Toyota Corp. I told him if he can kick this crap in arse and get things resolved, I would be down there next weekend to buy a new truck with the arbitration check. Just hearing some common sense for once will go that far.

 

ricerun,

i know we've all been watching and listening intently to this horror story, and you've been getting plenty of sound advice. my two sense, if it hasn't been said before: make sure you're documenting everything (meaning conversations) at real time speed. while it didn't surround a truck purchase, i had a legal situation a couple years ago that i fortunately had the foresight to write down on paper as it unfolded. you've already done as much in this forum. but, i can't tell you how much it will help as any legal proceedings unfold. details fade with time, so make sure you can reference when you need to. it'll help any lawyer you have out a bunch, too. although, i'm sure you're already on it. as always, keep us posted.

 

Oh man, this is horrible. I guess we now get to see whats really behind all of those plastic smiles when you first come in to buy a truck.

I know it does you absolutely no good, but im pulling for you man!

BTW, thank you for your service.

Ted

 

If you contact your dealer and have bad response. Go over their head and contact corporate. I did and got one of the their finance personal FIRED. Word of advise, when you talk to anyone about your truck at the Toyota dealer have a tape recorder. Unbeleivable how much in their words really means!

 

Unfortunately illegal to record someone unless you inform them of such, of course then their tune changes.

Going to Toyota corporate is a complete waste of anyone's time here.

 

I contacted the Toyota Corporation in Torrance California. And when I spoke to the representative, I said that I am not saying that I recorded the conversation that I had with the dealership, but I did let my wife listen to it !!! And he took my complaint and within a few weeks the person that was in question was fired!! I was not saying that it is legal to record someone without their permission. What I said was I did it and they new it!!! And they took care of the problem. Now keep in mind that my wife is Asian and this was a Asian community, that she had full contact with the people that are the dealerships customers. As are the military personal that shop at said dealership. so I do not know why someone UP rank does not contact this dealership threatening some type of boycott of the manufacturer. It would make me pretty mad, if I was in the military (especially in the time of war) and some company did this to me! What is this persons name and area that he purchased the truck. I do not think that it would matter of just me, but if we as a group contacted the Toyota Corporation and voiced our complaint then that could show that it is not just ONE but a group of Toyota owners that is dissatisfied with the way that they are handling this matter. I bought my truck 3 months ago and I paid it off Thursday, and now my wife want a Camry. But with they way they treat this person I do not feel that I want to do business with the Toyota Corporation anymore. Or until this is resolved. If you could give me some info I would make the call, but like I said I don't think just one call will do it. It needs to show mass disapproval of the way the company handle it's customers

 

This should make anyone mad. It doesn't matter if you White, Black, Asian, pink, blue, military, non-military. This is a case of extremely bad customer service from the dealership all the way to Toyota corporate. Hopefully, the op will able to get resolution via Kentucky's lemon law... because no one should have to endure this.

 

RiceRun,

you wrote on 5/31 "Tomorrow, the local dealership should be calling me back after he finishes contacting my old dealership and Toyota Corp. I told him if he can kick this crap in arse and get things resolved, I would be down there next weekend to buy a new truck with the arbitration check. Just hearing some common sense for once will go that far."

Whats the word?

 

First off, I would like to say something good for once. Frederick Toyota of Lebanon, Penn are some good guys. Their Service Manager is on the ball and to the point. Wish I had bought the truck from them; would have saved a lot of hassle.

So...an over all sit-rep...
Engine is still making loud ticking sound.
There is a drivetrain "rubbing" sound when the accelerator is first depressed.
The truck was difficult to start last weekend, but did start after three tries.
My interior lights are out; climate control knobs, gear selector and windows/door locks.
There is something wrong in the steering. At first I thought it was an alignment issue, but there is an uncomfortable "loosness" when at highway speeds accompanied by a buffetting. Something in my gut says, "this does not feel right."
And there are three deep gouges in the lower dash from the last time the truck was worked on.

As of right now, Frederick Toy is scheduling an appointment with the Regional Service Tech from Baltimore. He will call me tomorrow with the date the tech will be available. Something to note, and as I explained it to the tech, yes the truck has only had trouble starting once in the last week, but my current stationing does not involving driving on a daily basis. Meaning, it has had trouble starting once in the last 4 times it has been driven. And if it has happened once since the last "repair", then the problem has not been fixed.

My Case Manager continues to be worthless. Absolutely nothing good to say about him.

I did fire off some letters to Toyota Corp, the dealership, the dealership's owner, the local news stations and the BBB. They should be arriving any day now.

I am also stopping by the JAG dept to see what my legal rights are, probably tomorrow. Turns out when Toyota denied me transportation for my reporting duties, they crossed some federal lines. Probably nothing, but something to ask none-the-less.

And this is where I stand.

 

Thanks for the update. I wish you nothing but the best and really appreciate your updates. Keep up the good fight! Good Luck.

 

Hi Ricerun and others,
Did you see where I mentioned in a past post about my completely worthless case manager as well?
Never experienced such a poor lack of customer commitment in my life, ever. In one of the other threads you can actually see the wise ass reply from a Toyota employee and I'll quote "Good luck guys, go get them". I read complete "screw you" in that quote.
I have officially filed for arbitration and we are fully prepared to go further if that fails.
Best part is my brother in law just asked me if the Land Cruiser was a good vehicle for my sister and I said probably...maybe....but the company backing it or lack of is terrible. After I told him of my treatment by Toyota he has decided on a Cayenne. BTW, Porsche is a fantastic company to be a part of, I am on my 3rd one.

 

so does anyone know what happened to Ricerun and his problem?

 

I hope you get a new truck with every option you want. At this point, you should pick out you new ride on the lot and drive away.....they should keep your other one and find the problem and share the results.