Bent Piston Rod and bad gasket, Dealership won’t warranty with 30k on 2019 Tacoma OR 4x4

I need some help from the community. Any legit advice is appreciated.

Here are all the details.

I bought this 2019 Tacoma OR brand new in November 2018. The day after I bought it I brought it in to have service check out a noticeable vibration. They checked the balance of the tires and alignment, all was good. They said that since the truck wasn’t throwing any codes, they couldn’t dig any deeper but recorded the complaint.

I am a photographer and do nonstop highway driving. So now the truck has 30k miles. I have serviced it every time at the dealership and have complained about the vibration and had it recorded. I have been told everything from it is the driveshaft, to the timing, but regardless of what the mechanic thinks it could be, they haven’t dug any deeper because it hasn’t thrown any codes.

So... this week the check engine light came on. The service writer calls me and says “I have bad news, you have a bent piston rod and head gasket that need to be replaced because of water damage to the engine. Because you have dirt and mud on the engine, Toyota will cover the diagnostic but won’t warranty the engine fix because I caused he damage. What is your insurance deductible so you can claim it on your insurance?

I told him I haven’t driven it in any water, I’m not having my insurance touch it. He then said he has guys that say that every day trying to get warranty but I can call Toyota or wait until tomorrow to see what the Toyota rep says.

I know enough to know this situation is VERY SHADY.

Anyone with good advice to navigate this mess would be greatly appreciated.

 

Fuck them. Head gasket leaked, sucking in antifreeze which hydrolocked the piston, bending the rod.

 

Lawyer.


/thread

 

One more gem of an add, the manager told me they may want to replace it with a used engine and not a new one because it has 30k. Is this a real Toyota thing?

 

Go to another dealer?

 

Call Toyota 100% and avoid any further communication with the dealer. They have no proof beyond a little mud.

 

Lawyer-up, demand new engine. Demand reduced value compensation. Your truck is fucked and if you're not lying to us, you need to contact a lawyer and stop posting about it online.

 

Not hydrolocked, just saying

 

I went and took pics of the engine bay and the air filter, and canister, All bone dry. I hate shady crooks like this.

 

Talk to the service manager. If the service manager wont help, get the general manager. If the general manager wont help, call Toyota directly and get them involved.

 

Yeah, not lying. Thanks for the advice.

 

We can usually tell by the inside of the intake plenum and runners if water got in. The air filter is the first sign. I've only seen one Tacoma engine denied and it was clear it was water damage.

 

Do you have the paperwork that the dealer gave you for us to look at? Hard for us to say much of anything without that.

 

Went to the GM. He says he’s helping. I worked with several of the sales managers,service department doesn’t know this, hopefully they will help.

 

Not yet because I left the truck there till tomorrow when the Toyota rep is supposed to make the call on it. What sketches me out the most is that two service guys kept asking me what my deductible was before The Toyota master mechanic could make the final call. That is what has me all messed up.

 

Sometimes a rebuilt engine will be used as a replacement in lieu of an entirely new engine. It's not just Toyota that may do this though.

Could we see the pictures in addition to what the service writers typed up and any other dealer paperwork relating to this?

 

Not on a warranty repair. Factory parts only. If the job is customer pay then sometimes a used engine will installed due to being severely cheaper, but only if the customer authorizes the used engine.

 

If they tear down the engine you should be able to prove that it was an internal problem, right? A hole big enough to bend a rod ought to be pretty obvious.

 

lol that filter is bone dry.