Timing cover leak 68K miles

Hey all,

First post here and wanted to share my experience on my timing cover leak for my 2018 3rd gen that was pointed out at 68k miles. Very unfortunate. I didnt notice any oil drips but during my 68k oil change the dealer pointed it out with video footage. After tons of research I see this is popular for the 3.5s. Here in Mesa, Arizona they want 5,400$ to reseal the timing cover and another 1300$ for steering rack and Pinion.

Ive sold Toyota for 3 years and my grandmother retired at the corporate office as Customer Relations manager. I tried creating a vehicle complaint case at Corporate Toyota. They proceeded to push the case to the dealership which told me no goodwill would be offered as I was 8k out of warranty. I proceeded to take the case back to Toyota corporate who said they will take a second look at the case and consider all options. I pushed that this w as a manufacturer issue and it shouldnt be happening this early. They drug it out a week and called me back to tell me no good will offered and to kick rocks pretty much.

I am at about 75K miles now and timing cover still needs resealed and rack and pinion need replaced. Thought I would share my experience from this and take any advice or recommendations. Thanks!

 

Try an independent shop for another quote.

Nothing mass produced will be perfect. Toyota seems to be one of the better manufacturers with goodwill fixes, but stuff like this does happen.

Speak with your wallet on future purchases if you feel Toyota wronged you.

Sorry to hear.

 

It's frustrating that Toyota turns their head on this issue. It's been a problem since the 3rd gen came out and has been an issue in general for the 3.5 in other applications. They should offer an extended warranty on this to 100k. There is no reason why someone should be expected to have a 5k engine repair bill on a truck with under 100k. Especially the truck that is supposed to be the pinnacle of low maintenance and high reliability.

Ignore the comments that you will see normalizing issues like this. Too many on here can't stomach the fact that Toyota is NOT the company it used to be.

 

Or, ignore the comments from people who do not work for Toyota telling Toyota what they should do! Toyota is a big company. They make their own decisions.

 

Unfortunately Toyota has been done giving the shop away for some time now. I was warned about this by the the finance manager guy at the region dealership I bought my truck from. He told me you have to get an extended warranty contract, if you want coverage beyond the original manufactures warranty, or your sol.
About all you do, is can try is to find another independent shop that specialize's on foreign vehicles like Toyota's, and get a repair quote from them.

 

The leak comes from an uneven seam surface in a specific area, so even if you do the repair, the timing cover may leak again after a while. Just clean up the area with degreaser and apply sealant on the outside.

How's your coolant crossover pipe?

 

Is there any way to do any preventative maintenance on this to avoid on newer tacos?

 

The timing cover I understand as it is a known, but uncommon issue. However, the rack and pinion leak has me questioning that. That would be incredibly bad luck.

 

Doesn't mean us as a group can't collectively disagree with the decisions Toyota makes. I think most would agree that this issue should be covered up to 100k miles.

None of truly know how many tacomas are affected with this issue but we can agree that it has been an issue for the 3.5 for years. So yes Toyota should do something about it.

Same with the failing white paint. Toyota should NOT tell people to pound sand after the paint starts peeling off on their 3 year old truck that was 48k to buy.

 

Good reminder for everyone. At 4yrs - 10/11 months, 58k to 59k. Pick the hell out of your truck and get it in for any power train related issues. That what I did.

 

Timing cover - no
Steering rack - avoid driving through water or mud that can submerge the rack. It seems the seal wear is accelerated if the rack shaft sliding surface is corroded.

 

Hold up, so you worked for Toyota and they still fleeced you? Send them the link to this thread, they will hear you when the views start adding up. What fools. If they found it @68k the reality is it probably occurred closer to the 60k mark.

hey Toyota bean counters, you suck!

wes dont be such a nice guy, there is some stiff in a polo shirt named Chad saying F this guy without considering all the money you have made that company. Or after second look he said too bad. All the people saying “tough shit” arent trying to help you, keep pleading your case on every forum and social media.

 

Thanks for the comments! I have some pics on my phone I can post later. All provided by the dealer. They provided a video the tech took walking around explaining it all pretty helpful as well. I was hoping with working for Toyota and having family retiring at corporate level they would offer some sort of assistance. Thanks for the info about the sealant Ive read that elsewhere its done at factory and really no preventative work can be done to avoid the timing leak.

Ill further update this post on what I do but I think I will fix the rack and pinion ((Low power steering fluid/Boot leak but no play or sound yet)) and for the timing cover I am going to clean up what I can and potentially get some other shop quotes of shops that have performed a timing reseal on a Tacoma. If I feel that I dont want to pay for the repair I may see if theres any equity left in the truck and sell it off and decide what I will do next.

Thanks for the comments again

 

Maybe. I replaced my PCV valve every so often to prevent this. I haven't had any leaks but there's no way to say that I would have if I haven't been replacing the valve. I just think about it as preventative maintenance. They're cheap and easy to change out so I do it when I replace plugs.

I think the logic is that if the valve gets blocked that pressure builds and blows out seals. That's how I think rationalize it anyway.

 

Sigh, I just tell them to buy something else. If enough do it, Toyota will take notice.

 

I would hold out a few more years. By then the frame will have rotted and it won't be worth fixing anyway. LOL...

 

Good eye. I found this thread once you mentioned something containing the same consensus complete with diagrams, p/n's, and even recently a how-to YT video linked. Maybe would be prudent to replace every 50k or so from what I'm reading.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/pcv-valve-replacement-help.771466/

 

Sorry this happened to you.

Definitely not a “popular” issue, it’s a well known issue on the 2GR FKS.

There are well over a million 3rd gen tacomas made, nothing in life is perfect and these things will happen.

 

If it’s just a slow drip ones in a while, clean it and see how much it leaks . Most of the time it’s a drip once in a while . The timing cover is not a high pressure oil area so it can stay like that for a very long time in most cases . So yes clean it and see if it’s a very slow leak which it probably is. I wouldn’t go crazy if I were you. Some people get a drop every two weeks after clean

 

Yeah it was just a minor drop every now and then. Since I live in Arizona, and now we are into the summer, I am seeing a drop every other day now. I have not yet "cleaned" down there since it was pointed out at 68k and yeah unfort I think it began much closer to 60k right out of warranty maybe. So between the 68k and 75k I am at now it is significantly more wet down there. I am going to clean it up best I can this week and then monitor the drops from there. Thanks for the response as well.