Crazy story about how my v6 failed at 78,000

It’s not a defect, it’s stupidity.

 

On who's part?

 

It’s an interesting question. I’m not sure how the law works on this but the engine was clearly built with a manufacturing defect. Maybe Toyota isn’t responsible for providing anything other than 60,000 miles of use or whatever the warranty says. But I think most people would agree that Toyota should step up to the plate here. I’m pretty sure BMW or Porsche would take care of its customer in a similar situation and even be a little embarrassed even though accidents happen. In fact BMW has for me.

 

If the OP had 278,000 miles on the truck and the engine went kaput due to this issue, Toyota still on the hook?

 

Toyota, since their employee at the engine plant dropped the rocker arms into place and provided an unnecessary extra.

 

I'm not sure what the statute of limitations is on damages resulting from negligence

 

My personal take if this happened to be me at that number of miles would be that I got a reasonable amount of use out of the truck and I wouldn’t be super upset if they denied reimbursement. But 78,000 miles? Common sense would have me arguing I should be at least helped with the cost. It’s not a cut and dry thing legally or otherwise but it sure seems like Toyota would want to take some responsibility here, especially if they wanted a repeat customer.

 

So let's say it's 2029, and the OE head unit in your truck dies. Bumper to bumper warranty is long gone. The failure can be traced to insufficient solder on a critical connection. Like they barely used any. But somehow it has held up to this point.
Are you going to demand Toyota furnish and install a NOS head unit?

 

That's a great question and some fairness is due to Toyota as well here.
In my mind (which isn't always right) you got a 5 year / 60K power-train warranty and that's all they are on the hook for. That covers things like manufacturing defects. And when I say "manufacturing defects" I'm talking about quality control in the parts themselves. A crack in a component, a plastic thing that melted, hoses that burst early.

Having bonus parts in the engine is straight up employee negligence.

But yeah if they cover things at 80K then every wahoo that over boosted a Magnuson Supercharger would toss in an extra lifter or rocker arm and take a pic before they returned it to stock and wheeled it in to the dealership.
"HEY! Look what I found. Pay up Toyota!"

Kia / Huyndai still offers the best warranty in the business at 10/100K. With new car financing going out 8 years in some cases, car companies ought to at least be up in the 6/60K to 8/80K warranty range. And don't tell me "It'll cost too much!" Have you seen the price of a Kia? Yes they are inexpensive cars but dayyyyyum you get a lot of car for the buck. Something to learn here. It can be done. Manufacturers don't WANT it to be done.

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/advice/which-automaker-has-the-best-warranty

So yeah - these have to be taken on a case by case basis and it is at Toyota's discretion, not yours, if they pay up. But still. Play nice and civil, but let them know you have teeth and are willing to use them. And I agree with the sentiment that old man Toyoda would be rolling in his grave if he saw what was badged under his name these days.

 

Toyota built the engine, not the head unit. The truck is useless without an engine, not the head unit.

 

No, because a head unit isn’t critical, a head unit wasn’t made by Toyota, and wherever it was made (I think Bosch), it was put together by a precise robot. If a solder fails, that is a true defect. Extra parts in the engine by someone not paying attention is not a manufacturing defect, it is just a simple mistake that should not have happened.

The engine is critical and it’s a big deal to have to spend $6k on it because a negligent employee not paying attention did something they weren’t supposed to.

 

Head unit is critical in many Toyota models. Cannot control the HVAC without it.
Toyota didn't make Takata airbags, so why should it matter if Bosch makes the head unit?

In my example, the solder issue could be lack of maintenance on the robot: Human issue. Poor programming: Human issue.

[And just to be clear, I'm not trying to pick a fight. This is a critical thinking exercise. At least for me.]

 

Any photos of said rocker arm sitting in the head holding the valve open. That would have been the first thing he should have done. Video documentation would have been great.

 

That's is workmanship defect and Toyota covers it under basic and powertrain warranties, which are long expired.

 

Technicalities aside, if Toyota had some common sense, they would help in some fashion. This wasn't a part failure after the warranty period - it was an extra part floating around in the engine they assembled. OP bought the truck new, has all the service records since it was new, and unfairly bought a truck where Toyota messed up the assembly of the engine. I think that is why for me, I think the OP should continue to pursue this. OP had a problem, took it to the dealership, their tech found low compression in the cylinder, and OP went to a third party to enact repairs for a lower cost. Very common when the vehicle is out of warranty. So there is dealership documentation to lean on, its just lacking the extra part because they didn't open up the engine. Plus the third party master tech also found the same issue (low compression), they just found the root cause when they opened up the engine. If anything, I think it helps the OP's case with Toyota to have both pieces of documentation available for them to review. As someone pointed out earlier, this is likely a 1 in a million situation, so instead of dismissing the OP because this is past the expiration of his powertrain warranty, why not help the OP, and then this post on TacomaWorld is positive praise of how Toyota's customer service is second to none, instead of a negative post with a debate over whether Toyota bears any financial responsibility for the situation to get fixed. Its not a cheap fix for an owner, but the corporation could have handled this better and likely made a customer for life if they did the right thing.

The question earlier about a head unit with a failed connection isn't exactly the same situation in terms of financial impact to the owner. I think that is the difference. I know on principle perhaps its similar, but lets face it, a failed head unit doesn't impact the owner as much as a failed engine, nor is the cost to repair/replace nearly as much of an impact as an engine. Most of us would likely just replace the head unit and move on with the truck. That's different than a $5-9k engine rebuild / repair.

 

Here ya go

 

It’s still not the same. Nobody is going to pay that for a head unit. They will find one used on eBay or on the forum or they’ll go aftermarket. Or they’ll go without. There is no quick/easy/cheap option for swapping the engine or rebuilding/installing a new cylinder head, and they need that a lot more than they need a functional head unit.

 

If my factory head unit failed, I'd be off to Crutchfield for an equivalent aftermarket unit. Aftermarket car audio has a long history of being better than factory units. Not so for power train parts.