Using Crawl Control ended up costing me $1100 in broken parts.

This is just a warning to those that actually use their trucks for offroading and go to remote places. On a recent trip to Mexico's unspoiled beaches I had a mishap while using the Crawl Control in the sand, which ended up costing me $1100 in parts and labor from Toyota. Here is what happened:

Another tacoma, a razor and I were playing on the beach. We got the trucks stuck pretty well and I thought what better time to try out the crawl control as they do in the infomercial. Right? So I put it into 4low and turn on the Crawl Control. It starts to do its thing but does not get anywhere within a few minutes. Then, all of a sudden, the crawl control kicks off and the dash shows "2wd-4wd Mode Change Failure." So we hooked up the winch and got out that way. Come to find out the error would not go away, even after disconnecting the battery for a few minutes and bouncing around the beach in 4 low for a few hours afterwards. Long story short, I had to tow the truck back home from Mexico (300 miles) because it was stuck in 4low. I towed it over to a Toyota dealership the following morning and received a call that afternoon with the bad news. The vacuum actuator on the front differential was broken off by the force of the sand. And it is not covered by my Platinum warranty because it's not a manufacturer's defect and was caused by external forces. After a few calls back and forth and arguing with them during which the service advisor/manager told me that "the trucks are not meant for severe duty like the sand" and that the "crawl control videos made by Toyota have a disclaimer to not attempt" - really? where? I had to shell out close to $1100 for the part and labor to resolve the issue.

Here are the photos of the plastic vacuum line/hose that broke off by the "force of the sand being shoveled in between my skids and the truck" by my tires while using crawl control:



So be careful when using your Crawl Control. And if any fabricators are reading this, there are some good spots for attaching a small skid to protect the nipple. I would get one tomorrow if it were available.

My truck on a trailer near Yuma.

 

Turd Gen...nuff said.

 

You have got to be kidding me, Toyota? Really?

OP sorry you got stuck with the bill, that really sucks. Hopefully someone will come out with something to protect that valuable piece of plastic

 

So the force of the sand or whatever element you were in broke a connector. Crawl control didn't break your truck...Sorry for your luck

 

Damn man that sucks big time. They advertise the crawl control as the ultimate get out of trouble resource. What does he mean there are disclaimers as to how it should be used. You were using a feature of the truck and it broke, it should have been covered under warranty. I would call toyota

 

I'm surprised he couldn't get it fixed under Toyota's "good will" account. Especially since OP has the platinum warranty.

 

Thats a bad situation, but I can see why Toyota didn't warranty it. Off roading is very tough on our trucks and sometimes we break stuff because of it, at no fault of how the truck was built. Its something we risk every time we go.

 

Wow, that's a crock of shit. Sorry to hear that OP.

 

Agreed OP. That sucks big time.

Not sure how Toyota / Dealership can say you should not use the truck for "severe duty" in the sand.

Here is Seatbelt Mike demonstrating Crawl Control in the sand at the Toyota press event.....

 

Actually your truck is on top of another truck in that pic.

 

Speciallyyy because he bought a platinum warranty. SHM

 

True, it was the showeling action of the tires while using CC. Which I guess could be done by anyone trying to dig out out sand in 4wd by themselves. Just surprised that Toyota made such a crucial part so weak.

 

If crawl control broke your truck then I believe you would have a good argument. That part could have been broken when towing the vehicle out.

 

"the newest thing to help you get out of any sticky situation, buried to the frame in loose sand? Use this button...but If it breaks, that's your fault."

Sucks that they gave you the shaft like that for a poor design flaw, if it was that important then it should have been sturdier or hidden better behind tougher components. Honestly, I think that feature is just something to jack up the price. People have been going places with equipment not meant for it for years and done just fine. This is something to make the urban cowboy think he can go mud with the rest of them in a stock truck.

I had a similar talk with my granddad on something like this, I told him a 4wd tractor would go more places and do more than our 2wd. His response, "If you can't do it or get there with a 2wd, you probably shouldn't be there to begin with". (this is referring to tractors that have a HELLUVA lot more traction than trucks) Just a thought.

 

http://store.sdhqoffroad.com/2005tacomaabsguards.aspx

@SDHQ OFFROAD could probably make a bracket for the crawl control vacuum line look at the link above how clean the ABS guard came out. Probably would need a similar design but would accomplish the same protection .

 

I recall seeing a YouTube video from maybe a year ago where I guy was just spinning the rear tires in dirt/sand for a few seconds on his 16 and the rear end locked up, don't remember if he had to foot the bill for a new rear or not.

 

Did you need a big sign on your RV steering wheel that says "CRUISE CONTROL IS NOT AUTO PILOT. YOU STILL NEED TO STEER" as well?

 

At least your truck looks nice on the trailer

 

The error came on while using CC. And CC auto disengaged after the error came on.

 

SDHQ is local to me so I could just bring over the broken one for them to play with