3rd Gen Block Heater Recall

Yup daily. It's a huge recall, they were installed with every truck in parts of the country.

 

400 watts isn't worth the hassle installing one. I bought a Katts magnetic pan heater and it didn't even get hot to the touch, returned that useless junk.
Has anyone cut in an in-line coolant hose heater? My tractor has a 1500w and it's just a simple pipe fitting with a couple nipples.

That said I'm in Ontario and if it's that cold for a few day I'll likely just take the wife's Civic.

 

Thankfully it hasn’t got cold enough here for me to even find the cord.

On a recent service I asked my dealer about the block heater problems and they looked at me like I had 3 heads

 

Dang this is insane! Glad you're getting a replacement taco. How about the damage to the house?

 

Imma resurrect this for informational purposes. I had the recall on my block heater done in Aug of 2018 on my 2017 Taco, it was the Canadian recall on American truck (Alaska). Everything was fine and I checked the replacement regularly to ensure the *new* heater was not melting or causing any issues. Fast forward to 2024 and a workmate had inquired about installing a head bolt heater as he moved up from Colorado to Anchorage for work. I went to show him my dealer install and found the plug had completely melted at some point during the last winter and I was oblivious to it. I was lucky that it melted at the plug, even when I plugged in the poles were separated and I never had a tripped GFCI or powered up.
I have since opened a case with Corporate Toyota because local (Kendall) ignored my concerns and said they would only 'cut the cord' and install battery blanket and oil pan pad but I would have to pay for it, and Corporate has closed the concern and sent it back to Kendall to deal with. So there has been no actual recall on the recall itself, so even if you had gotten the recall done there is still a chance of melting and failure. I've called Kendall 3 times requesting it be elevated each time with no response, pretty soon I'm going scorched earth on socials to get attention to it. I've never had good luck with Kendall anyway but to ignore a recall on a previous recall seems negligent. Yes, I will end up doing the work myself but there are folks in the region who should know that even a recall can be recalled and there is still a risk.

 

yikes - lucky catch. I ended up leaving mine in and just not using it.

 

thanks for the heads up

 

Early this year I managed to forget my block heater cord was plugged in and ran it over, heard the worlds worst bang when I did it. Thankfully that was the last time it was plugged in for the year. Fast forward to a week ago and I had the dealership give it all a look over before winter approaches and they gave it the all clear. It’s a 2021 but I’m still shocked there isn’t anything being mentioned about the fires that have taken place. I brought it up as well and they said “you’re all good”….

My plan has always been to only plug it in when it’s -25c or colder, and only with a GFCI breaker. I have a battery blanket too but I’m not left feeling confident about the block heater with folks having melted wires like our man Gooch

 

I have one of these in my chicken coop (specifically the TC-1: turns on @ -18C, off @ -12C) and it works great. Might be a good at the end of your extension cord, too.
https://farminnovators.com/products/thermo-cube-thermostatically-controlled-outlet/

 

I've dealt with Kendall over my 2005 TRD OR Taco, and even 18 years ago they were an absolute pain to deal with. Staffed by the most arrogant writers I have ever met.
I got much better service for my lowly Isuzu at Porsche/Audi/Isuzu Morrison dealership down the road.