'05/'06 Tacoma Head Gasket Failure Poll

I mean, our trucks are almost 15 years old... I don't really feel like toyota owes me an apology or a discount (although it sure would be nice). Like I said... I'll fix it and keep enjoying my truck if it indeed does happen.

 

Right there with you.

I bought the truck new January/February of '05 (inside the known bad gasket date range) and have been driving it for 15 years, and even today, I'm surprised at how solid this thing still feels (a new frame and suspension helps with that), and how well it drives. If it blew up tomorrow, I would still consider it my all time favorite 4 wheeled vehicle. If/when it happens I'll just drop the money on a gasket replacement, and move on.

If anything (so far) this thread should make everyone feel better. The percentage of failures to date, are still relatively low.

 

Here are some questions I have

1) is this for sure a known issue on the 4.0 and how many other vehicles did this gasket get put on in 05 and 06?

2) If it is a “known problem” and according to this poll and other threads it is, will Toyota be transparent or have they been with this issue?

3) If Toyota comes out and mentions a defect in this engines head gasket for specified years and models does that make them legally or ethically liable?

 

I think Toyota doesnt have to claim this is an issue due to time frame....houses or cars or lawnmowers none that I know of come with lifetime warranties.....

 

Interesting point, time frame seems to be of relevance. How soon did these gaskets start failing, and at what percentage etc. These are metrics that would be hard to replicate with such a small sample of the units produced like those in this poll. But it’s a start.

Toyota would have this data with its network of service centers and would be able to produce an accurate analysis.

 

Guys,

I get it. I really do. I am not saying that Toyota owes me anything, either. And, if and when by head gaskets do go out on me I will likely get them replaced. I have no complaints with the truck. I am just trying to find out if the evidence is anecdotal or if there has been something more official.

 

1. The head gaskets for this specific year vehicle definitely have a higher failure rate than other years. If it is a manufacturing defect and failures are random, it would only be able to guess how many vehicles are affected.

2. Even with the defective head gaskets, most engines last through two or three owners and 10-15 years or more of service. Anything from Toyota would be a gift. Although it would be good customer service, Toyota is not going to eat $4K per fifteen year old vehicle to repair.

3. This is a not a safety issue and the failures are far out of warranty. Toyota has no legal obligation here. If the problem is not a manufacturing defect, but say a shipment of bad head gaskets, they would have an idea of the affected vehicles. Only Toyota knows the story and it's too far in the past for them to do anything.
As far as "ethically liable", there is no such thing. As far as ethics go, take a look at the world we live in. Ethical behavior would be loosely described as "doing the right thing". Good luck with that.

The information on this forum and other internet sources doesn't have a large enough data pool to make any real determination as to the extent of the issue. Could be less than 1% or over 20% failure rate. Not knowing is the worst and seriously detracts from Toyota's strongest qualities; reliability and dependability.

 

03-05 4runners also. I read some where that early fjs with the 4.0 had reports of the issue also. Then obviously the 05- early 06 Tacoma

 

[QUOTE="The information on this forum and other internet sources doesn't have a large enough data pool to make any real determination as to the extent of the issue. Could be less than 1% or over 20% failure rate. Not knowing is the worst and seriously detracts from Toyota's strongest qualities; reliability and dependability.[/QUOTE]

But this is my point, exactly. On the one hand, everyone states it as a matter of fact that there are known issues with the head gaskets. On the other hand, as noted above, there is not enough data to confirm this is an actual defect. Even the poll at the top of this discussion produces no definitive conclusion (166 say it has not failed and 28 say it has failed).

Sorry guys for beating a dead horse but it seems weird to me that we accept that it is a known issue / mechanical flaw but nothing. confirms it definitely. Granted, I am not mechanically inclined enough to know but having head gaskets fail when the truck is at 200K plus miles could be for a number of reasons.

Everything aside, however, if and when mine goes the biggest problem I will have is finding someone to fix it properly. Being in New York sucks for good mechanics -- as far as I can tell. I'll probably have no choice other than to have the dealer fix it and see what kind of warranty I can get for the work.

 

The issue comes in with Toyota fan boys, gossiping old threads without fact checking and of course the entitled folks who think that large corporations should cover everything.

Breaking this down analytically with metrics and data is a hard thing to do on a forum. It needs produced from Toyota with a third party audit to ensure compliance.

Responding with our views and paradigms won’t make it right or wrong. Toyota has the numbers on failures in this rendition of the 4.0L and every applicable application this engine was put in.

Ethically is simply right and wrong within the contracts of the environment. Toyota could be ethically liable if this was an issue that was held in the dark.

Ethic liability happens every day with choices made by company’s. To support controversial political agendas, could decide if you spend money with that company. The liability is losing customers who oppose your stance on a dividing topic.

Same goes with disclosure on “known” issues that aren’t inline with Toyota’s reliability following. They may not be legally liable; but this particular issue was seemingly not owned or publicly released. From the information I’ve came across.

 

Due to the number of complaints about the head gaskets about this year's engines and the nearly complete lack of head gaskets complaints from other years, I think it is reasonable to believe there is an issue. The only definitive answers would come from Toyota. In light of today's corporate policies and nearly nonexistent consumer rights and protection, Toyota is not going to do anything. Just the way it i$.

 

I think mine is blown. Would y’all just get a new engine or try to repair?

 

I've posted extensively about the head gasket issue. It depends on how long you plan to keep the truck, etc.

Short answer...

1. $50 Barr's will get you 10,000-15,000 miles
2. Pay the dealership or local mechanic $5,000-$7,000 to pick a random engine and toss it in and cross your fingers it doesn't have the same issues as the engine you pulled out.
3. Pay the dealership $4,000 for new head gaskets.
4. Pay a local shop $3,000 for new head gaskets.
5. Do it right, find a low miles J-VIN 2007-2009 FJ Japanese made 1GR-FE and put it in your Tacoma. About 20 Hrs of your labor and whatever the engine costs.
6. Change head gasket yourself. $1300 and 20 Hrs of your time. If it's been over heating... Might be a waste of time and money.

 

Option 5 sounds best, are all FJ engines made in Japan?

 

casted my vote. 05 here around 140k with no issues!

I feel like with any head gasket issue on any car maintenance can play a role but hey, what do I know.

Thanks for posting this!

 

Need help. Need an engine for an 05 Toyota Tundra. Auto repair shops around me are offering me an 06 150k engine for $3100 not including labor. Nobody is willing to work with an 08 or newer engine from a different model vehicle because of possible incompatibility. An 05 Tacoma engine for example will work in 4Runner, FJ cruiser and 07+ Tundra.but the 05 Tundra engine shows compatible only with 05-06 Tundras.

 

any chance you can point me to the official info that states That they fixed the issue after 12/2005? I can’t find it anywhere online

 

Looking at the parts diagram, they specify build dates on parts if they vary between MM/YYYY.

The head gasket is listed as 11/2005-5/2008. So the earlier statement of 12/2005 is probably safe since there may have been some leftover earlier ones in production of 11/2005.



http://japan-parts.eu/toyota/us/200...59W/tool-engine-fuel/1104_cylinder-head#11116

 

you are a genius. good thinking to look there. you may have just stopped me from my plan of selling my 2006 with a 07/2006 manufacture date. I was trying to get rid of it just because of fear of this impending head gasket failure

 

I was a little alarmed when I saw this thread revived. Forgot it existed. Bad timing because I've been planning a huge cross country road trip hauling a Four Wheel Camper. Fully loaded i'm looking at a payload of 1600 lbs, I will be putting this truck through its paces!! I am very curious if anyone else is doing real work with the "head gasket issue" year tacoma?

I just put about $2k into my truck prepping for this trip, even though in the back of my head i'm thinking "just get a used Tundra" . My Tacoma was built 02/05 and at 139k so there is hardly any logic to comfort my mind lol. And on that note as well, I will say that I've had air in my cooling system I haven't been able to bleed in 5 years of ownership! I can hear it gurgling in the heater core if I rev it while cold. Tried purging multiple times and on a steep hill too to no avail. I've been driving like this for a long time though, and hauling that camper for a year now, but it makes me wonder if it could be a very slight leak allowing air in the system during heat cycles.