2023 Off Road Engine Problem

I have been looking at Tacomas for awhile - wanted a vehicle for rougher forest service roads, trail access, camping.

Ordered an automatic 2023 Off Road short bed in December. Was told it’d be about 6-8 months til it arrived but got a message from the dealership a couple weeks ago saying someone else had ordered the same model/colour but backed out. I went down looked at it, went for a short test drive and bought it.

Also got the factory lift kit. Took a few days for the install at the dealer, then I went and picked up the truck.

Pick it up Thursday night - drive home and around the neighbourhood a bit - maybe 10km of driving. Planned to take it out on the weekend and go up a dirt road somewhere. About 20 minutes into the drive on the highway the engine starts stuttering and the throttle is no longer producing acceleration. I pull off the highway and turn the truck off. I looked under the hood but there wasn’t anything obviously wrong. Try to turn it back on and it won’t start. Got the error message: “malfunction in the electronic control of the engine, throttle, or automatic transmission has been detected”. Odometer was at 61km. Called the dealership and they helped me get a tow back there.

Called the dealership once 2 days after it stopped working about the rental they set me up with and then 4 days after to see if there were any updates. They say they have a ticket in with Toyota and couldn’t provide a time estimate.

Anyone else had this kind of issue with their Tacoma? I’m fine with the fix taking awhile but I want this truck to be reliable in the backcountry and am hoping for some explanation from the dealer of what went wrong with it / odds it would happen again with this particular Tacoma.

 

Not sure where your at since your talking kilometers, but at 61 of them, I would think the message translates to “ you got f’d in da A”

 

I would definitely demand a replacement or money back. It might he a sign of things to come. New vehicle should bring joy and excitement not misery and inconvenience . Best case scenario, I do believe the tech may have stretched a one sensor wires during the lift install . Worst case is they don't know whats going on and you'll keep on coming back and endanger yourself and your love ones. ( imagine if it happens on a busy freeway)

 

Well, lemon law is always an option...

 

In CA they get 3 attempts to fix it. So if they fix it, then no lemon law would apply. Not sure where OP lives and his laws there.

 

I thought it was based upon the number of days in the shop or something like that?

 

I'm no expert, but yes it's at least 2 unsuccessful attempts and/or over 30 days in the shop. My point was they usually fix the issue before a lemon law case can even begin.

 

Considering it's in kilometers and "Bigfoot Cedar" is his profile name, probably somewhere along the southwest coast of Canada. There are no lemon laws in Canada but there is a series of arbitration laws including total reimbursement for repairs or total replacement for vehicles within 4 years of manufacture date depending on the severity.

OP if you're residing in BC I would suggest asking in both the BC Toyota 4WD page, 4WDABC page on Facebook for recommended dealerships where you live. Lots of good shops down south, north of Quesnel I can't give any solid recommendations. Dawson Creek maybe.

https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/of...ing-big-ticket-items/recourse-vehicle-defects

 

Who knows what could of happened. Relax and wait for the dealer to figure out what’s wrong . Anything can have an issue . There are a million sensors on new vehicles. Just because one thing does wrong does not mean it’s a lemon . Shit happens that’s what warranties are for .

 

very unfortunate but way too early to be discussing lemon law or arbitration. i'd be very concerned but you have no choice other than to let the process play out.

the part that would make me most upset at this point is it seems like a week or so has gone by and there is no diagnostic yet. an open 'ticket' with toyota to figure this out isn't good. hopefully it is something simple the tech overlooked and you're back on the road shortly.

please keep us updated.

 

Every time we buy a new Toyota, and always from an allotment these days, when picking it up at the dealer, it should not have more then
2 - 3 miles on it. No reason to have more then that, on delivery.

 

Could be something as simple as a plug that was not completely seated and came loose somewhere. I wouldn't panic OP. Sorry for your misfortune it sucks to buy something and have a problem right off, but shit happens

 

Yeah, so the original customer must have taken a long test drive? Kind of make you wonder if this might have been why they didn't want the truck.

 

Very rare issue so benefit of the doubt applies here, agree that it’s hard to draw conclusions w/o knowing what the issue is, might be minor & irrelevant to long term reliability or might be really bad luck of the draw. Either outcome, sorry this landed on your lap.

A little surprised that the dealer apparently doesn’t have any answers for you. Real mystery, good luck and keep us posted

 

The fact that the dealer has not been able to figure out what is wrong and clear the fault after a week, and that they need to get Toyota involved would lead me to believe its something not so simple. For me, that would give me a no confidence in the backcountry when the truck comes out of the shop and I would keep my eye out for a truck to trade it in on.

If they just had it a day or two and corrected the fault after running the codes etc. I would look at it differently. I am guessing that it might be a bit more of an issue than just an electronic gizmo, considering the length of time they have had it, with no answers. They are probably waiting for toyota to tell them which component to tear down or replace, (transmission or engine).

 

Electronic stuff USUALLY fails right away [like 60km's or so.....] or lasts a long time. There really isn't much in between for most of it. You just happened to have something fail right away which is far better then failing just out of warranty and on your dime. Now, pretend your loaner is a off road truck and go baja it until yours is repaired.

 

^^This. It's unfortunate you've had this issue on a brand new truck but the dealer put you in a rental at their expense and is working on making it right. Yes it sucks and it's aggravating, but in the end it really isn't indicative of reliability or how your vehicle will perform in the future. You'll get a much better response being calm and respectful than going in and demanding stuff that they can just simply say "no" to.

 

Check the gas cap. A loose cap will throw a check engine light.

 

You don't think the dealer couldn't have figured that out in under 5 minutes?

 

Sorry you having to deal with this. But it doesn't truly surprise me, surprised we are seeing more of this with chip shortage and quality these days.