2018 Tacoma - Uncovered plastic gas tank

Long story short. Road trip across Canada. Broke down mid way because road debris punctured my gas tank and had it bleed out in front of me. Middle of nowhere Quebec. Nearly missed a wedding. We didn't hit or hear anything significant. The issue came to our attention when we stopped for snacks.

1. Why would they switch the soft plastic gas tanks and not install skid plates across any model with said gas tank?

2. Considering the gas tank protrudes further down than anything else, how could they get away without installing skid plates?

3. Apparently its not covered under warranty (according to Toyota) because its not a part defect, should it not be covered considering it's a clear design flaw? plastic tank - no protection. I havent yet to drive it on any rugged terrain, this was a road trip across major maintained highways in Canada

4. There's 2 other recalls on my truck that I was not informed about. I noticed them after this incident when I went to contact Toyota Canada. Any suggestions on how to approach Toyota about this? They're trying to brush me off and I'm trying to remain cool and not go ballistic

I'm sorry for the cheese and wine in this thread. I love(d) my tacoma so far - all 11 000 km's I've put on it. Just seeking friendly advice. I'm sure this isn't the first case and I'm nervous to take the truck on another road trip at this point.

The toyota rep claimed it as a fluke. I think the point of engineeing is to prevent flukes and when flukes occur should Toyota not stand behind their product and design which is clearl flawed. Other tacomas TRD equivalent but off-road models come with skid plates, should they not all have one covering that oh so tender plastic gas tank? I'm not much a of a gambling man, would rather not chalk this up as a fluke and cross my fingers until the end of my lease.

2 recalls and 1 separate issue at 11, 000 km's has me nervous

Most questions are redundant and I appreciate any feedback! I'm new to the tacoma world and want to stay in it

 

Welcome to Tacoma world. Sorry about your troubles. I've been here awhile and I don't recall any threads about punctured gas tanks. I suggest you pick up a metal gas tank skid plate at the many reputable vendors we have. I've only had TRD models and as far as I know, they have a plastic skid pictured below. As far as the recalls, the dealerships are obligated to remedy the recalls by law.

 

Go have a drink of scotch and have a smoke and relax.

The plastic gas tanks are quite strong and the off roads have a skid plate or use to. Yes it's a fluke this happened, engineering is not there to take care of random occurrences of things happening, no.it shouldn't be covered by warranty they did nothing wrong nor did you. Shit happens, sadly your left with the bill.

As for the recalls that's the dealer not informing you they may just be tsb's and not recalls as well and will.only be done should your vehicle exhibits those symptoms.


Their is nothing wrong with the truck and it is trustworthy I have 180,000kms and zero warranty left on a 2016. Trucks been pretty much flawless minus a headunit that likes to reset all the time and a broken abs sensor.. Of that 180,000kms 100,000kms of it has been on road construction and off roading on one of my jobs. Yup I've blown some.suspension out and rattled a few parts until they broke, no fault of toyita, trucks not designed to have that kind of mileagee on it off road and parts wear out.

 

Sorry that it happened. I can't really see Toyota, or any other company for that matter, cover something like this. I'm assuming you have a Sport? I know OR's have a "skid plate". Just a plastic piece.

Chalk it up to a fluke/bad luck. Sucks, but it happens.

 

You lost me there bud.

 

The OR and PRO both come with gas tank skids, the SR, SR5, and Sport don't. I'm unsure about the Limited trim.

I had a gouge in my SR5's tank after a mild trail, so I picked up a gas tank skid from RCI. It was cheap (I think something like $150 shipped on sale). You will also have to buy the gas tank hangers from an OR package to have the mounting bolts on the bottom of the tank, these are what I used:

$85 Spectra Premium ST323 Fuel Tank Strap

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPVC2M6

Don't consider it a manufacturer defect; most cars don't have gas tank skids, and you just got unlucky from road debris hitting it. It's not a common failure.

 

I could be talking straight out my third point of contact, but insurance might cover it. Really depends on your coverage and such. Of course Canadian auto insurance could be entirely different from U.S. coverage, but it's worth a shot.

 

Kind of like glass. May be covered by comprehensive. Worth a shot.

 

They use a plastic tank to save weight and it is as strong if not stronger than a metal one...after all it has to meet DOT requirements. Metal or plastic the outcome would have been the same.

 

There’s a gas tank for $25 on Craigslist in Portland Oregon!

 

My OR has a flimsy-ish OEM skidplate. I think it's plastic, if I recall correctly. It's on my list of things to replace... Eventually I'll extend the skid plates all the way to the fuel tank.


It's right there at the bottom (Fuel Tank Protector) of this diagram ^^^