Finally Called In for Rear Leaf Spring Recall 2005 - 2011 models

New ones are sweet lol
Truck rides nice like it brand new lol

 

Asked the service advisor about this - he told me they are only replacing springs if they are damaged, and they will only do each spring - not both.

 

Just wanted to offer some input here as I may be taking the opportunity to upgrade the springs before I get my letter. See page 8 of this US notice....

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM496226/RCMN-14V604-9451.pdf

If I can upgrade my springs for free I'd sure as hell like to jump on this opportunity. My appointment for inspection is actually tomorrow. I bought the truck in April, so I decided I was going to handle things myself since I would not have gotten any previous letters regarding this. I eventually want to upgrade the suspension on my 2011 anyway, so I am considering just cancelling tomorrow and getting that done if they will reimburse me.

 

You should definitely go that route. Unless you get some crazy SUA long travel set up your bill will likely be lower than what the dealer would make corporate pay.

Btw I'm in the US and gonna do the same although I already got my letter. If they want to screw me over I'll just threaten to say fuck it and take it to the dealer to be replaced again. I'm sure at that point they would rather send me a $1,000 check than $2,000 for the dealer...

 

Yeah the guy I spoke to on the phone said that they haven't rolled out the remedy in western Canada yet, which implies that some people in the east have at least gotten called in. I have pictures of my suspension and the driver's side leaf is busted as hell so I can definitely just say "hey, the thing was legitimately broken, and I'm not ready to die quite yet, so I replaced them."

I have heard some fellas in the states say that they even installed new springs themselves (no repair order from a shop) and got reimbursed from Toyota as long as they had proof of purchase. Like you said, Toyota would rather pay half the price for someone's upgrade than a fat invoice from the stealership. If I can find a few more cases like that I'll cancel tomorrow so that I don't get put on any lists waiting for parts or something.

 

When I talked to corporate in America they said it's very important to have these three things for a successful reimbursement since the government is involved in a safety recall:
1) cause, condition, remedy letter from a certified mechanic/shop
2) invoice detailing parts and labo(u)r
3) proof of payment

I thought of installing it myself but won't now. Pain in the ass anyway

 

Eh, fair enough. I guess I'll get talking to my mechanic. Thanks for your help, really appreciate it.

 

Pleasure. That's what this forum is for and good luck!
I'm goin with Dakar springs. You?

 

The most interesting thing about that report, is that mexican and canadian taco's come from the factory with HD "harsh ride" springs, and the american trucks come with regular ride springs.

 

From what I've learned on these forums, I don't think there are any other springs worth getting!

 

Seems a bit strange that Toyota will only replace damaged springs.... Logic says if someone has a lot of miles on their vehicle, that the likely hood of spring failure is higher than someone who parks his truck much of the time and has lower mileage. Far as I'm concerned, if the springs were manufactured faulty then the failure can occur after the springs are inspected.

 

Flamtap, if you go this route (i.e. get aftermarket springs installed outside the dealership and charge it back to Toyota) can you please post any updates back to this thread?

 

I didn't read it that way. Doesn't it say that if your vehicle had T-SB-0359-10 (for Rear Spring Harsh Ride) performed on the vehicle, then springs with a part # of 04005-34404 (the Canadian and Mexican spec springs) should be used.

I'm not reading that all vehicles from Canada and Mexico have harsh springs from the factory. I read it if your USA truck has been diagnosed with a harsh ride, and got the TSB done, then your replacement springs should be the Canada/Mexico spec. but I could be wrong

 

Yes, I will for sure. I just cancelled my appointment at the dealer tomorrow, going to talk to my trusted mechanic tonight and run everything by him.

For anyone interested, this is what I understand will be needed for a reimbursement, based on what @hx989 said as well as the American recall letters.

• Cause, condition, and remedy letter (repair order)
• Invoice for parts and labour.
• Proof of payment
• Proof of ownership

 

Doesn't matter. They all suck

 

You might want him (or yourself) to call Toyota and get them to confirm that they will do this as I assume you'll have to pay the mechanic for his services and then file the reimbursement yourself.

Would suck to hear that you got the work done, paid for it, seek reimbursement and then Toyota Canada says they won't pay you as the above policy only applies in the USA.

 

Yeah I got this from Toyota Corporate USA. Cost me one hour on the phone...

I don't know why it would be different in Canada. And if they want to be dicks and not reimburse you then you can tell them you'll go to the dealer and have new springs installed again. If they don't reimburse you they at least need to do that to show the government that this vehicle has been taken care of properly... That's also where the cause condition remedy letter that I referenced above comes in. They need it as proof that the recall has been taken care of by a qualified mechanic or shop. That's why I doubt that anyone who replaced the springs on their own will get reimbursed

 

Yeah, that's good advice. Can't be too careful I guess. I'm basically gonna tell them that my driver's side leaf spring is busted (it is), and I need it fixed today because it's unsafe, and ask for their guarantee that I'll get reimbursed, or at least something to that effect.

 

That TSB is for when people complain of the rear suspension being too soft. It means that all Mexican and CAD trucks come stock with the heavy duty leaf pack. Probably because in Canada we all have DCLB's which are heavier, plus we actually use our trucks for hauling.

 

Update:

Just got off the phone with Toyota Canada. They said that there is a reimbursement consideration, but you have to get the work done through the dealership. I want to avoid this if I can.

I am going to try and find the most useful person I can at the dealership and ask them what they can do for me. Because I don't want to drive for 2-3 months with my leaf spring busted up as I wait for recall parts. Doubly so because I'm moving at the end of the month and am gonna be hauling my belongings around. Ideally, I can buy some OME springs and have them install them for me, haha.

My other options are:

1. Roll the dice and get it done by "my guy", and hope Toyota will still reimburse me.
2. Do everything myself, and eat the cost for parts.

I mean, let's say my leaf spring failed catastrophically today, and I needed to get new ones ASAP. Would I just be SOL in such a situation?

I must say option 2 is looking a lot more attractive as this situation wears on, haha.