New Member & Lots of Tacoma Issues

Hi all! My name is Laura and I came to this website after reading as much as I could in hopes to find some help for our 2016 Tacoma.

Our Tacoma has been in and out of a licensed Toyota dealer since October. I am exhausted by this situation and finally escalated it to the owners and GM.

Today I was told to come get our truck and that it should be good to go! They’ve done so much to it I for sure thought we’d be okay this time but alas during my test drive with the service supervisor it went right back to doing what it’s been doing.

So what is that you ask? I’ll explain but hope I don’t receive judgment as I feel a lot of people do not treat women in the car industry well.

It appears not to be shifting correctly. Or ‘slipping.’ It will suddenly jump RPMs with little to no change in the pressure on the gas pad. I’ve also been sitting with my foot on the brake pad and had the RPMs suddenly go up and the truck jut forward.

Today while trying to complete the test drive I said I’m going to accelerate to see what is happening and the RPMs went up to 3 or 4 and then I took my foot off the gas pedal and they stayed there for way too long and then the car jutted / shifted weird.

I’ve had every TSB and recall checked. They’ve been doing non stop work on it. We paid 3k and they did another 2k in complimentary work and then today also did another complimentary replacement of rear rotors. Along with a software update. Apparently they had a Toyota master tech work on it.

The GM said he is contacting Toyota and I’ve seen other threads as well as bloggers, YouTubers complain about this issue.

So what gives? When will Toyota issue a recall? Does someone have to die for them to realize there’s something wrong with this make/ model and year? I’ve had 3 almost accidents in this thing and drive a disabled child around.

I just am so upset and disappointed in the lack of accountability by the dealership and Toyota ( though I am not sure anything has been communicated to them yet on our situation ) but I know I’m not the only one.

My research is showing that an entire transmission replacement might be the only fix? Who else is in this cursed boat? I refuse to go down with my ship and die because Toyota won’t issue a recall. It’s so so dangerous. It almost put me through a red light with my foot on the brake, also does not accelerate the way it should so I almost got clipped when turning because it wouldn’t move.

Thoughts? I’m considering contacted the attorney general of the state that I live in. This has been going on since October and I’ve spent money to still have no vehicle and was sent home in a vehicle that is not safe.

Okay, officially ending my very upset rant.

 

Since the issues happened again with the service supervisor actually in the truck with you, ask for a loaner and request they keep the truck until it's resolved. If they balk, ask to take a ride with the the Master Tech that worked on it. Let him/her drive to show it's resolved. When they tell you it's ready, ride over to the dealer in a different car than the loaner. Document everything. Call Toyota Corporate and update them. Request escalation and a meeting with the owner of the dealership. Be Professional, polite and calm and convince them you'll never go away or take no for an answer.

I have found bringing a friend/relative/spouse along >>>who never really talks or introduces themselves<<< (or vaguely) works wonders: especially if they are wearing a suit.

Welcome to Tacomaworld! You'll like it here.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld.

That's an odd one. First, I'm assuming you bought the truck used. If that's the case, did you buy from the dealer that's servicing it?

Could be transmission. Part of it could also be the sensor on the gas pedal being inconsistent. Very hard to say. I hate to think it, but maybe mice chewed some wires.

This isn't a situation where a recall would be issued. The shifting and feeling of slipping are known issues, sometimes caused by improper fluid level in the transmission. Some of it is the programming in the ECU (engine control unit), especially the crappy, unpredictable shifting. The surging while you're on the brakes would be problematic. It's been reported in vehicles since fuel injection came on the scene back in the '80s.

At least, it seems the service advisor got to see what your complaint is. I would hope they would have a regional service rep get involved.

Good luck, I don't have any wisdom to offer on your situation.

 

Williston and OldSchlPunk thanks for replies!

Since this all started they have put us in various courtesy cars ( thank gosh because the Tacoma is our only vehicle after selling my Rav 4 during the middle of Covid ). Which is very appreciated!

I am more just alarmed that they’ve had it for months on end, had “Toyota Master Techs,” work on it, taken our money and been unable to address it. And then most importantly that they told me it was safe to drive and then I had the incident at the red light with my foot on the break.

I agree that it’s a great plan to document everything and that their service supervisor drove with me today to experience it first hand. He did immediately text the Toyota tech. With updates and they told him that sometimes after resetting the ECU it could take time to “sort,” out but after experiencing it the supervisor agreed it was not safe to drive and was shifting and accelerating abnormally.

And this truck was purchased BRAND new from the same dealer, just a different location in the State, which I am hoping helps my cause.

The GM said he will be contacting their Toyota Rep and seeing what Toyota recommends directly.

We are just so caught off guard because we did a ton of research before deciding on a Tacoma and chose it for its reliability, safety and long term resale. So this has been such a weird experience!

We sold my RAV4 and I miss it so much. It was a terrific vehicle and right until the very end was reliable and kept me safe.

Anyway, thanks for welcome! And thoughts. Side note - mice have done major damage to past homes and actually our car seats - so I wouldn’t doubt their possible involvement lol!

 

Welcome Laura!

That sounds incredibly frustrating and dangerous

Its a good crowd around here, hopefully theres some helpful information somewhere in the brain trust.

Best of luck w your Tacoma gremlins