Buying in NC, Lookup Shauna East at Midstate Toyota

Ok, thanks for the info. That's what I was afraid of. I'll have to mess with that suspension stuff if I want the bumper, so I guess I'll wait till warranty runs out, lol.

 

No need to wait. If it's what you want, do it. It will not void the warranty. The Magnuson-Moss Act protects consumers from the "it'll void your warranty
folks".

 

Not so sure about that. Dealership holds right of first refusal, meaning short of holding a gun to the Service Advisors head, you aren't going to MAKE them perform a service. You in particular may conduct business with your clients a specific way but the same guy could easily drive across town and have a service advisor tell him to pound sand. The average Toyota owner isn't going to wrangle up a bunch of lawyers to get them to fight the case. If there's a concern with a specific component on the truck, and adding a modification that attaches to or in some way impacts that component ...you could very well be facing a hassle if it comes down to getting it repaired. My dad ran a ford dealership for 30 years and I know plenty of other folks in the industry. Most of them have advised against me getting any type of lift or aftermarket tires/wheels, etc. until Toyota irons out these Rear Differential issues. Because I personally do not want to spend the time, money or effort to repair the rear differential on my own.... and I've already had one fail.

Point is, Magnusson Moss is not a 'get out of jail free card' for every dealer. I can't speak for your department at MidState obviously.

 

I agree that different places can handle the same issue different ways. I worked for Ford for 6 years, and saw both the dealer, and FoMoCo try to get out of legitimate
repairs. That being said, I also wouldn't pay for a vehicle and expect the dealer to dictate what I can do to "my" vehicle. If you bring it in with the frame bent, and air bags blown out from jumping your truck...No, I can't get that covered.

When Toyota shows the Tacoma playing chase with dirt bikes in their commercials, I expect it to take heavy use(not abuse).

Just for fun, say you had a lift, and tires on your vehicle(33's) and came into Joe's Toyota with a whining noise at 10k miles from the rear differential where the advisor claimed it was related to increase in tire size. You have increased the tire size less than 10%. If the powertrain warranty is 5yr 60k miles and you are well less than 20% of the projected coverage of that component they'd have some real explaining to do on how a 10% increase in tire caused a 80% decrease in expected life(if, and only IF the differential is only expected to last 100% of the powertrain warranty which is projected to last far, far beyond that point).

But, yes, you ask 10 people you'll get 10 different answers.

 

It's good to know there are folks out there working to really try and support the customer by every reasonable means possible! Hats off to you sir.

 

^^both of you above have valid points to consider. But I will have to hold off mostly due to $$, this forum just gives me too many ways to stay broke, lol. In the meantime, I can gather more info since I know nothing about a good aftermarket lift, suspension and wheel/tire setup that will suit my needs, so this just gives me time to make a really good decision. Appreciate all the input, and I will be getting that awesome ARB bumper in the future!

 

You know you raise a very good point. I plan to get new wheels and tires for my truck but I understand that some of these tacomas are having rear differential problems. If my truck were to experience this problem then the dealer could use the excuse that my tires and wheels are causing the problem

 

I think this speaks to how business is conducted at Midstate Toyota. My dad and I have each purchased a few Tacomas from them. We've had similar experiences with different salesmen. I'd highly recommend them for sales and service.

 

Some might still help you out but yeah I tend to err on the side of caution. If you're buddies with the service manager you may be OK. Or have the dealer install them for you with written guarantee he will cover warranty.