Toyota recalling 228,000 Tacoma's due to oil leaks and possible loss of control of vehicle

I think a lot of it depends on where people live. If you live in an area where your dealership has 100 Tacomas waiting, it's likely going to take longer than places where your Tacoma may be one of only a few.

 

Where is everybody getting that they are changing studs ? Studs are not listed on the parts list Toyota provides.

 

Below is the official remedy from toyotas recall page:

Remedy
The remedy will involve an inspection to determine if a leak is present between the rear differential and the rear axle. If the vehicle has no signs of a leak, all fasteners will be re-tightened. If a leak is identified, the rear differential carrier gasket will be replaced with a new one, and new fasteners will be installed. If rear differential components are damaged, the rear differential carrier assembly will be replaced with a new one. This remedy will be at no cost to customers.

It says carrier gasket will be replaced. Nothing said about the smothering or application of sealant which in this application would really be considered a backyard fix imho.

 

Yeah someone else mentioned that also which I passed on to the service manager which went no where. As I have a OR my truck isn't officially part of the recall so in their words it can be handled differently....

 

Nor does the extremely detailed procedure include any direction for replacement of same. It is the nuts being "upgraded" which strikes me as odd as I have not read any reports of the nuts stripping. Reports of studs snapping yes, but not studs or nuts stripping?

Also if there is no weeping the original "18 lb·ft nuts" are retained and just re-torqued--which really strikes me as incongruous...

 

26 days. My truck is back and repaired. Dealership was extremely accommodating and professional. The 2017 Blazing Blue Tacoma off road loaner was nice and I treated as if it was my own. The repair of my truck consisted of replacing the differential carrier assy, 10 hex nuts, diff. gasket, 75w140 gear oil. The stated problem was a miss aligned ring and pinion causing loud whine. I don't hear the whine anymore. The seepage was corrected with the replacement of carrier assy with gasket. Barring any set backs I am extremely satisfied with the outcome. It did take 26 days as there was some back and forth with the manufacture over whether it was a recall or warranty and some delay in obtaining parts. The conclusion was to repair under warranty.

 

If not recall, it would be covered under warranty. That means to fix 'as new' and a new diff isn't sealed by goop-fix-all.

Looks like you had a good dealer and did things the right way.

 

Questions:

1) So is everyone not on recall per Toyota website but seeing signs of rear differential leaks getting this done at the dealership?
I got 2016 Offroad and not on recall but do see signs of leak.

"There are no open Safety Recalls or Service Campaigns for this vehicle."

2) Call or just stop by the dealership to show them?

3) Is Toyota only claiming sports models to be affected?

 

i was on the recall list and my weeping spots were way way smaller than yours--not much bigger than the size of a quarter and my truck is grounded and waiting for parts. Take it in.

 

It has varied on what dealers have done on the no recall list trucks. Some dealers contacted corp. and corp had them to the same actions as the recall. Some dealers said was normal and sent owners on their way, some dealers simply retorqued the nuts and sent people on their way.

The bottom line, the recall order says any leak even minor seepage is considered a leak.

So if a truck that is not on the list seeps, leaks,etc, must be fixed.

Toyota has no clue. When the recall first came out, Toyota said only 1% would be affected, now the spokesman for Toyota is now saying 5% need the gasket and or carriers replaced.

 

"Might not have the necessary parts until the first quarter of 2018??" I hope this isn't true. Haven't had my truck since the 3rd of May. Guess the only good thing is I'm not putting miles on it. I've put 11k miles on the Rav4 since then. lol

 

Where did you hear that?

 

My truck is being stored off site in a parking garage as well. I freaked out a month ago when they couldn't find it on the lot. They finally figured it out and drove me over there. My truck was parked on the roof so I asked to move it down a floor to be out of the sun and or hail since I live in a hail prone area.

 

https://www.trucks.com/2017/07/21/toyota-takes-tacoma-trucks/ Read it here. Not sure if this was just for this dealership of all of them.

 

I just got off the phone with the CEOs assistant. She reassured me that that is not the case that we will not be waiting into the quarter of 2018 to receive our parts.

 

Update #1:

Alright so just got back from the dealership. Talked to the service guy, he said my 16 OR is not on recall so i showed him the pics of the leak. He sent me to an office and they took my info. Said to me mines not on recall, showed her the pics and ended up setting an inspection for tomo. She said we'll check tomo and see how much it will cost me to get it fix since my VIN # is not on recall but i stated again, you see it is leaking all around it. She then said... looks wet, could be water.
What the hell? I thought to myself... is she serious!?

So if my VIN# is not on recall but clearly it's leaking, they should fix it under warranty. Lets see tomorrow...

 

What I would do if I was you is I would give them a bad review on Google to start off with to the dealership period and secondarily I would reach out to corporate out in California their information is somewhere on this thread. them what the dealership told you and how this is unacceptable.

 

Good luck... had the same thing on my OR... twice. The second time I took in the recall paperwork that shows Toyota's "official" pictures of what a leak looks like. Told them, look I know I'm not on the recall, but showed them that my rear diff looks just like the one in the official recall paperwork... They took it back to let the tech look at it, who in turn supposedly sent in pic to whatever department at Toyota Corporate approves warranty work.... yep, no dice, they said they wouldn't cover it, so the dealership's not going to do it for free, thus nothing can be done. Called corporate to complain, and they just called the dealership... told me there is no fix for my OR (not part of recall), and even if there was a fix, that my "situation" wouldn't qualify for it, because "THIS IS APPARENTLY NORMAL".

So, yeah, I'll wait for it to start weeping again and then take it back a third time, and I will talk directly to the service manager and no one else. And if they don't want to fix it, I'll get go down the road to another dealership..... there are about 6 or more here in Houston... could make for a long week.

Just so fucking frustrating.... I mean I take a official fucking Toyota document to them, that has a picture in it that says "this is a example of a leak". I then show them my rear diff, that looks just like the picture in my fucking hand, on fucking paper, and "nope, that's not a leak."

 

fyi
Powertrain Coverage: 60 months/60,000 miles

She then said... looks wet, could be water.
i take it she is a qualified/certified mechanic?

at this point i think id take it somewhere else.

 

Mine looked the same. I posted pictures dozens of pages back. When I took it in they claimed to not see it. I went in a few days later when their senior tech was available. They put me under the lift and it was bone dry. I showed him the picture and he shrugged. I couldn't fight him on it--it was dry. It didn't look like they cleaned it. He said "maybe it was water from the road?"

I have no clue. A month later I hopped under there after 2 weeks without rain and it was seeping again. I've tried the dealership too many times to warrant going back again. I called corporate and got some douchebag that said "if they said its not a problem its not a problem."

Between the howl and the leaking I'm not really confident its not going to grenade. I just hope I dont get hurt or hurt someone else in the process. Toyota mechanics tell me its normal...