The Case of the Missing Oil Filler Cap

To clarify, after the latest oil change I checked and ensured the filler cap was in place and was tight. 300 miles later, it's gone. Other people have posted about having the same issue so I'm convinced it's an issue on certain trucks.

 

That's weird. My 2017 hasn't had that problem. Maybe the threads are messed up on the newer 3rd gens. Or maybe it's made of gold?

 

there's no reason to not leave it on / near the battery if you complete the process. Personally i leave mine on the battery. Only if you forget to put it back on is this an issue, and then, it doesn't matter where you put it.

 

Like I said seems to be a 22 23 issue. Early gen 3s have the opposite problem it seems. They probably switched manufacturers at some point and something happened. who knows what remains to be seen.

 

Happened to me. ‘22. Put an AutoZone one with the rubber seal on it, and no more issues.

 

More than once it's rolled away into the engine bay abyss sitting on the battery or the engine bay cover. Another time I went to grab it as I was wrapping up and it slipped from my fingers...into the engine bay abyss. Butterfingers.

 

I picked my Tacoma up from the dealership this afternoon. Unsurprisingly they found nothing wrong and simply replaced the cap. I was told that if this new one comes loose, or disappears again, to come back and they will look into replacing the filler neck. I'm going to keep a spare cap around and check it weekly going forward.

 

I wonder what happened to mine at 21k miles, it sprinkled a mist when it was off.
I replaced it with a OEM part. I think I'll replace it with the aftermarket part.

 

They definitely changed the design at some point, my 2017 has no embossed writing or anything written on it, and also doesn't have the little knurling on the outer corners....

 

I put the oil fill cap next to my key fob on the work bench while changing the oil so I don’t forget. I does seem odd that they come off. I have noticed that the rubber gasket on the cap will stick to the oil fill tube sometimes or fall off the cap when taken off. Maybe the gasket falls off and the cap won’t stay snug.

 

Glad the dealership gave you the assistance and recommended another solution if problem persists.

 

I think I will have to adopt this practice.

My vehicle is a 2021 and the O-Ring is very much a part of the cap I cannot easily pry it out of its recess - I think as others have opined Toyota changed suppliers over the years and something about their standards was not passed on to the new supplier(s).

 

attach a tether to it, if it comes off it won't go any farther than the tether will allow.

think...

 

Toyota Parts Manager here.
There is def something going on with the caps, but Toyota themselves haven't "officially" acknowledged the issue.
We noticed a few customers coming back and complaining to us about caps missing and we reimbursed/replaced them and gave the techs crap about it but by the third or fourth in a row and all being Tacoma we became suspicious that there is something going on. Then my wholesale customers (independent shops) started buying them and writing them off we started telling them to go easy on their own techs as it seems there's something deeper going on.
We ended up reaching out to the Toyota Field Service tech and asking him about this and he says he has heard rumblings but they didn't have enough evidence, and I suspect it's because most stores were blaming it on the lube techs and writing them off to policy. Plus, they never had any to look at as they all "vanished". Our techs were now on the hunt for suspicious feeling oil caps and we found one that wouldn't tighten, Kinda felt like a gas cap where any torque would spin the threaded portion of the cap free from the head. We swapped it our for the customer and held it here for Toyota. Then one of our service advisors had the issue happen to him and the Toyota FST requested we replace his oil filler neck as well and hold it here for him. They just picked up these 2 parts yesterday. It seems they are researching the issue and I'm sure they will find something. The perfect situation would be to retrieve a cap that has fallen off but so far none have come back.

 

Now I am paranoid. Changed my oil on 11/27 and cap went on tight, checked the oil level next day, cap was still there. I guess I should do it weekly.

 

It's not a priority for Toyota. Just like the spare tire mount that creases the tire sidewalls.

 

You do realize when you turn the truck the cap can remain stationary as the truck rotates beneath it? That’s why i use cap clamps as im sure others on here do as well….kind of a no brainer

 

I would suggest periodic checking on the tightness of that cap. It seems to happen randomly and a throughout this whole Gen of Taco.

 

You should have seen how excited the FST was that we had something for them to look at. They care trust me. Their rep for reliability is their whole marketing strategy, imagine Toyotas were just as reliable as jeeps. They know how much that factors in to why people spend what they do on these vehicles. Look at Nissan. Cars are boring and their trash now, honestly probably 24 months away from going bankrupt. Also, the current Tundra has been kind of a catastrophe for them... Those things are toilets. Give it a few years they'll work it out but def has some first iteration issues.

 

Right before I bought mine I opened the hood on the dealer lot and it was missing the filler cap.. is this a joke among toyota techs??