Died and Limped Home - 2023 TRD OR 4x4 w 15k ODO

Toyota dealers have been shitty as long as I've been dealing with them in 2012 (the service side, anyway).

Unable to repeat issues, claiming I'm lying about shit, and then not even ordering parts for the appointment I made to fix the damn thing. So definitely not new.

 

My perspective is there is always a risk when modifying a vehicle. That said, the fuse tap on that location seems highly unlikely as the culprit.

The good news is this is an easily reversible mod. Just remove the tap and you’d think you’d be back to good.

I’m assuming this is going to be your next step. I’m really curious to hear if removing the tap actually does anything.

FWIW, it seems like the first step in the Toyota tech’s analysis was to carefully inspect the truck for any modifications and as soon as they found anything, they claimed it as the cause.

I would’ve felt much better about this dealership if they had removed the tap and tested the truck to ensure proper performance.

 

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing this morning. Sounds like they couldn't figure out the issue, so pointed to the modification as the culprit.

And agreed, they should have proven it by disconnecting and testing the truck, right now it's just hearsay. Hopefully the independent shop can do a better job.

 

The reason techs don’t want to dive into actual diagnostics is because the dealer isn’t getting paid from Toyota for it and return techs won’t get paid since they’re flag rate paid not hourly. If they find that a customer did a mod now they customer will get blamed and they can get rid of this “problem” and most likely the customer will have to pay the diagnostic fee for that but sometimes the dealer will waive the fee out of “good faith”

my buddy bought his son a used taco and there were absolutely zero codes stored when the ran it for codes but he said he noticed a very very slight flutter but everything drove perfectly fine so after they bought it and took it home he had a compression check done and one of the cylinders was about 20psi off so the truck is running on 5 cylinders but no check engine light

point of the story is op needs an actual component tech to diagnose his truck not dealers who’s job is to do anything but dealers are basically a glorified jiffy lube these days

 

Even if best case to the dealer in this one, there's zero evidence of the fuel line issue that's being harped on by them.

 

I think he's referring to my frequently ignored complaints regarding gas mileage.

So he's not wrong but it has only been a minor annoyance up to the point where it died. And then I spent a few months on this and likely a few months more.

 

Oh they have absolutely abandoned the Fuel Line Narrative. When I asked it was "Huh? No. This is it." pointing to the fuse tap.

I think he was just using "fuel line" because it's a scary concept to a lot of drivers.
"Ohhh! He said it was a nicked fuel line! That sounds important! I better do what he says."

 

Could be. A coworker once had his catalytic converter replaced because he was told the mechanic could see flames shooting out of it and he was going to have a fire..was lucky he hadn't yet. Bullshit.

 

The latest...........

GT GALLOP
January 23, 2025 at 05:40 AM
Jennifer - I got your V-Mail yesterday. I'm on site at conferences yesterday and today.

Todd did send me a link to the fuse diagram as promised and as I explained to him, the fuse I'm using is the wiper motor. So he's wrong about that and his claims this was under the hood are wrong. His claims that there was a nicked fuel line are wrong. His claims that I spliced a wire that controls the fuel are wrong. None of the things in his original assertion are correct and the thing he's calling a "spliced wire" isn't.

I've pulled the Ham Radio / Amateur Radio out of the vehicle entirely and the fuel economy is still poor and well below EPA ratings. If it's mere presence in the vehicle was a problem like Todd stated, then this would have magically fixed it.

I called a local shop and they referred me to an automotive electronic specialist. I still have ZERO documentation from Todd to explain what they did, and what they checked. I'd like to have that to take it with me to the shop.

At this point I have Zero confidence in Bell Road Toyota.
I have Zero confidence in the warranty that Toyota issued for my vehicle.
I have Zero confidence that my vehicle is a viable vehicle.

I hate to give up a 2023 in 2025 but I'm starting to wonder if I skip having the local shop review it and just start car searching now - And not at Toyota.​

 

it will reset the mpg estimator

 

Everyone lives in a different part of the country which puts alot of emphasis on gas mileage due to your geographical location

 

He stated in the post you quoted that he has received zero documentation from the dealer.

 

duh...

 

I have owned numerous new vehicles and I don’t recall ever leaving the service department with zero documentation.

 

Reading this entire thread makes my blood boil. There is no such thing as a good dealership service department. There's only the ones that haven't been caught yet.

 

Yeah I'll go snag pics in the daylight later today.

 

Here are three pics...
Pic 1 is as it is today with the radio removed.
Pic 2 is as it is today with the radio removed and with the fuse removes so you can see the fuse slot
Pic 3 is how it is installed

I do need to issue a correction and an apology - It was NOT in the wiper fuse slot.
It was in slot 23


I'm guessing I moved it to that slot later for some reason.

Slot 23 isn't listed on the diagram and was likely an OPEN slot. Probably why I moved it there.


The other taps you see in the pic are for the camera. They made no mention of those and pointed to the one that goes to the ham radio.

 

For transparency - Here is the E-Mail Todd sent me with the link to the diagram.
I think it is the same source I used earlier in this post. At least we agree that it's a good website.

On Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 05:23:30 PM MST, Todd XXXXX <toddXXXX@XXXXXX.com> wrote:

SUBJECT:https://www.startmycar.com/us/toyota/tacoma/info/fusebox/2023

Hi Mr. Gallop,
My apologies for the delay, the link above is a great source for identifying the fuse location.

Let me know if any questions.

Todd XXXXX
Service Manager| Toyota |
Earn Customers for Life. Improve Constantly.
Take Personal Ownership. Have Fun.​

 

Todd's email signature has killed me

 

And as the latest update.....

I just got off the phone for Jennifer at Corporate. That lady is an angel. I'm not a happy camper when this topic comes up and I really work hard to hold back. She shouldn't take the brunt of this but sometimes I get a little heated. She knows that something posted to my account the other day. It was my comments from January 23, 2025 at 05:40 AM earlier in this thread.

I reiterated that message since she had not yet had a chance to read it. She told me that Todd was supposed to contact their technician before performing the diagnostics and didn't and now owes them a call back to discuss his findings and hasn't. She set an appt with him today for 1:00 Central to get his take on this. She'll call me after. She's still working on having their technician come out to see the truck at Bell Road some time, but I told her that I wasn't going to darken the door of Bell Road Toyota ever again and probably not another Toyota Dealership for service or buying a car. They are making Chevy look better and better.

I did bring up the Magnuson Moss Warranty act so she was aware I had read it and that Todd's diagnosis that the ECU is electric and the radio is electric so it must be causing an issue fell far short of proving that this is a customer issue. I also redirected her to this thread on Tacoma World.

We'll see what she says when she calls back.