Warranty advice - please help

Rodents chewing through wiring happens more than you might think. Especially on a vehicle not driven much. It happened to me twice in a Honda Fit that we drove occasionally as a 3rd vehicle. They also got into a Honda Rancher ATV.

The ATV had the most damage. Dealer wanted $1200 to replace all wiring. A local independent mechanic took it on as a project to work on during slow times. He repaired each wire individually and took 3 weeks to do it. But only charged me $300.

The transmission in the Fit was acting up and throwing codes indicating the transmission was bad. I had several damaged wires and one wiring harness had to be replaced, not everything. Cost me $500. The 2nd time they only found 1 wire with insulation chewed off. The wire was still intact. They shrink wrapped it and charged me $50.

I'd take it to an independent mechanic. You may well only have 1-2 damaged wires that can easily be repaired. The dealer won't touch that. They will replace EVERYTHING. But I do think you may well have rodent damage. It will be on a wire not easily accessible, and you may have to start pulling stuff off the engine to even find it. Mice don't build their nests where you can normally see them.

 

Sure, I get the fine print.
But aren't certain issues clear cut? I mean, an engine failure (or a defective harness) a transmission, pump failures etc, basic components... if any of those fail or are defective, those are clearly under warranty, no?

 

The problem you face is that each dealership is a franchise. There fore they have to go through corporate Toyota to get said work done. Now keep in mind warranty work only pays half of the actual shop time the dealer/franchise wants to sell it straight to you for 3 times the price..

 

Don’t need an independent mechanic yet. This truck is still under bumper to bumper, and there’s a decent chance the dealer is trying to take OP to the cleaners.

Get another (Toyota) opinion first. But if it really is rodent damage, good advice.

 

I agree with you, don't get me wrong. I have issues up the wazoo, 3rd brake light problem, shifting/transmission issues, broke rack and pinon at 35k miles. Now I am not gonna sit and whine and complain. I have not treated this truck 3rd gen very nice. I had a 2007 and it was bullet proof. Oil changes, spark plugs and air filter. She was good to go. This new 17, I want to drive into a ditch and hope it catches fire.

 

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this is why I traded my 17 in with the tranny issues and signs on the leaking timing cover for a 4 Runner

 

Not to be discouraging, but there is lots of the wire harness you can't easily see when you 'open the hood'. There could will be damage you could not spot w/o rooting around some more. Or being on a lift.

Go to the dealer and have them show you the damage. If it's really there, call your insurance agent.

If it's not there, take your truck elsewhere.

 

Yikes.... say it aint so... ... is yours stick shift or automatic?
I can't say I'm uber happy with my '22 manual but I don't regret buying it... yet.
But other than this issue, I had/have other minor ones that do bug me: bad fuel economy, stick not smooth/hard when shifting gears, horrible wheel buttons (how TF is the volume button left/right and not up/down ...so stupid), no driver or passenger rest handles, other minor ones...
I love driving stick shift trucks, is why I got it, but yeah, I'm not entirely happy.

 

Did OP jump it correctly?

 

I drove our work Ram today. More low end power, smoother, more comfortable, …

You accept compromises when purchasing a Tacoma. Although lack of reliability is not typically one.

Wait, what is this thread about?

 

Thanks for all the replies, folks - much appreciated.
Will update tomorrow after I'm back from the dealer.
Please spare a thought for me and my wallet.

 

Good luck OP stand your ground with these people

 

This is kinda reminding me of my first trip to the dealer for an alignment at 435 miles. Called made an appointment they said they would cover it , when I got there I start getting grilled on how it got out of alignment, “did you hit a curb?” - no, “did you run over something?”-no, “did you take it off road?” - no(but I did).
After he mentioned did I take it off road I said “well, it is a TRD Off Road, says so right on the side, he then chuckles and says “these are street trucks, they’re not meant to go off road” that kinda pissed me off, so after he says I needed to leave it over night I just got my fob back and drove over to Firestone.

 

Sorry you are going through this, hopefully a polite but firm approach when working with the dealer gets this repaired quickly under warranty.


When you get the truck back consider changing the transmission fluid for Motorcraft XT-M5-QS, it meets the Toyota specifications, it has a reputation as a "problem fixer" fluid for balky manual transmissions.

I changed to the Motorcraft at 30K. On the first trip around the block I was stunned at the improvement in smoothness, the transmission felt instantly "slicker".

I had experienced occasional first gear blocking and also the "crunchy" second gear shift, I don't shift (or drive) very fast.

Previously I was frequently conscious of the syncromesh working when shifting, I could feel it in the stick, it wouldn't grind but you knew it was there, after the fluid change the sensation was gone.

These transmissions seem to take some time to break in, at about 55K now and shifts very nicely.


Motorcraft data sheet:

https://www.motorcraft.com/us/en_us...ull-synthetic-manual-transmission-fluids.html

Rock Auto had the best price.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/parts/motorcraft,XTM5QS,transmission+fluid,13630

 

It is an automatic. LA traffic sucks with a manual transmission. I have owned 6 manuals, not including the 2004 frontier I still have as a manual. But spend 5 hours on one of freeways in one, you would rather drive strait into the ocean than push that clutch one more time.

 

Lol, exactly!

 

oof ... brutal honesty

QFT

I would think yes, dependent upon your insurer ... USAA has been very good at representing me and going after the other party in similar circumstances.

Always listen to "CB."

x10


I haven't read all this thoroughly ... but I didn't see any mention of pursuing the matter through your Toyota Regional Manager ... next step above your dealer. I understand that may be time consuming and require some patience ... but if you have both, time and patience, you might get more favorable results than from the dealer. Personally, my one available dealer up here has gone to shit ... I refuse to go there any more and opt to pay my locally owned reliable shop 5 mins from my house.

Oddly they seemed to go to shit around the time Stitch hit 36k miles ... some that I think was "C" word related ... but they haven't recovered.

Good luck Op.

 

Part out ?

 

Always, cause there only 3 ways to get your money back.

 

Maybe I missed battery issues being ruled out in a prior post? To start, walk in there with a brand new Interstate or other decent, FULLY charged and confirmed battery and a couple tools to change it out. You have a Code Reader? Beg, borrow, or steal one and get the results. At least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing what is happening from the voice of the truck. I have seen some wild shit in my days with electronics going crazy with crappy batteries, not to mention jump starts. These trucks are insanely sensitive to electric anomalies. Ask me how I know if you have an hour or so?