Arbitration didn't go well..........

As others have said, I would find another vehicle and just trade the truck and cut your losses.

You say that you pulled the DS and had it worked on. Toyota's lawyers will jump on this and say you modified the truck and that could be the reason for some of the vibes that you have. I believe that this would be enough to have the case thrown out before it even gets started.

 

Another route to try is your local news station, most of them have an "On your side..." reporter. You get them to investigate and report about the horrible dealer and you might get a quicker resolution.

x2 to what Crux said. Make this public, but stay emotionless and calm.

They wont loos their ass buying back your truck and cost plus expenses, they just wont make as much on it when they resale it and get someone that doesn't notice the vibration or doesn't have the resolve to ride out the fight.

 

Only time a dealer / mfg can argue that it is "modified" is when the part is out of spec. For example lifting the front end with Baja shocks or the 5100s the 0.8" is still considered within spec according to my dealer and corporate. For example lifting the truck 6" is outside OEM spec and considered "modified". If mfgs and dealers could claim this then the first oil change the vehicle would be "modified".

I only use my prior experience with Nissan, Corporate branch of Larry H Miller group and now my Toyota dealer as an example.

 

So, basically it's fair to say that this is a characteristic of the truck, or in other words, "a lot of them do that"? That, plus all the posters here saying that their trucks do this, too, is going to sink any case you might have. It's a truck. It's rudamentarly, old technology. It's a little rough around the edges. It's not supposed to be refined like an Audi, BMW... or even an Avalon or Corolla.

 

Did you even read the OP's opening post ?? He'd already done that & more, & FWIW a new truck with 7+ visits to correct a "characteristic" flaw has "Lawyer up" all over it, I would too, I smell lemons....Theres a local member here that just went thru the lemon law process (& won) over the crappy 2nd gen clutch/transmission quality.

Last thing anyone wants to hear after dropping thousands of $$$$ on a new vehicle is that an issue is considered "normal" & learn to live with it, haha, yeah right, I'd be suing Toyota as well...

 

I agree somewhat with Buddy. The reason we have weak springs is the majority want a softer ride. On the other hand we should not have to deal with vibes especially at or below hwy speeds.

 

Then Toyota shouldn't be marketing them as such then, dont know if you've ever spent anytime behind the wheel of a 72' Ford or Chevy truck, thats old technology

 

You seem to be getting a bit upset there bud!

 

Well here's one more then, my truck is rock-stable at any speed. Which is, of course exactly how a Tacoma or any other new vehicle should be that has been manufactured in the past half-century.

There's no way I would ever put up with what the OP describes, and anyone spending their hard-earned dough on a new vehicle would be an idiot not to expect it to be vibration-free.

The lesson here IMO is never take anything for granted; a new vehicle should be test-driven thoroughly before taking delivery. Once you drive away, you are less than nothing to most dealers since you are no longer a potential new vehicle customer.

 

Yes, absolutely, 5+ times to the dealership, new leaf springs, new engine mount, new steering wheel damper, even got to the point after the 5th repair try and they installed 4 brand new Michelin's on my truck...and it still vibrates between 55-75! GA Lemon Law denied my claim, Toyota California (via there Florida office) denied my claim...but now I'm confused...a vibrating vehicle is "normal"? This causes premature wear and tear on the tires, ball joints, CV joints, steering system, suspension system, driveline, etc. I have EVERYTHING documented, but it seems Toyota has learned to just "investigate and close" their issues instead of actually doing right by the customer who spends $29K on a brand new vehicle. My dealership techs have been outstanding, however, it's Toyota that is making the decision and not getting caught in their cover up act. Keep all your documentation boys (and girls) and one day this will be flushed out and corrected.

Here's my first post on my issues:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...af-spring-tsb-2013-tacoma-10.html#post8668970

 

OP, I wouldn't listen to all these people who say to "live with it" and "move on". You probably spent around $35k for a truck that has bad vibes, which IMO is BS and there should be a fix. But you know why there isn't a fix? Because everyone just "lives with it". Unlike most people who have these same symptoms, you should take them to court, especially since they can't make it right. Maybe they will resolve your issue but in the grand scheme, maybe with enough complaints like yours they will finally get their engineers to come up with a fix for this vibe issue.

 

I just finished my lemon law case with my 2013 and I got a new 2014 out of it. Not a vibration issue, but an engine noise.

You are correct, Toyota Corp is a bitch to work with, everyone else was great. Keep in mind that arbitration is not binding for you, but it is for Toyota. In other words, you have the option to lemon, arbitrate, or get a lawyer, only the most beneficial outcome is your judgment. In other words, you can pick the best outcome and it is binding to Toyota. So for instanced if arbitration says live with it, and a lemon hearing says give him a new one, Toyota is bound by giving you a new one. A Lawyer is the last straw since that is the only choice that you have outside of Toyota handling it themselves. Unlike Ford/Chevy/Chrysler, Toyota handles these claims internally, which in retrospect I found to not be problematic. The big 3 use the BBB to arbitrate these cases. Lawyering up will cost you money and that's on you if you win. What you need is a dealership that is on your side.

Unfortunately I found with my issue, once the Toyota rep deemed it a non-issue, your truck gets flagged and no more work will be done on that truck related to that issue. I also found that the local rep was some what a piece of work too. He about blew his stack when he found out that after 32 days of my truck being out of service, I filed lemon the day before I picked it up for the last time. I was at the dealership that day to pick up the truck and he was there, he refused to speak with me.

If you go lemon law, be prepared for long periods of time with no information. My case took from February, until August 1st! Be sure to save all bills related to the problem, total # of days out of service, total # of service events, and I even let them know how many trips to the dealership and my personal mileage just to prove a point. I also told them that I was a Tacoma World member and I had 20,000 + hits and that everyone was watching for their response.

I had the same type of issue with a Kitchen Aide refrigerator, they said that it was a characteristic. I called the BBB and explained to them that if I bought 10 of these refrigerators and placed them side by side, Kitchen Aide said that they all do the same thing. When they said , oh no, that's not the case, then I said then OK, give me one that doesn't do it! They assigned an Engineer to my case at Kitchen Aide and he came up with a fix that literally cost $5 to do and they sent a tech to my house. 5 years later, I'm still trouble free! It pays to be respectfully persistent.

 

Exactly! We work hard for money, well.. the portion of it we get to keep before having to spending it and pay even more taxes. Any and every problem the manufacturer's have with vehicles becomes a characteristic, which is BS.

We've owned many different makes and models of vehicles in the past 30+ years we've been driving. Our last truck (2007 dodge Ram 1500) was wonderful, not a single issue.. no vibrations at any speed period. Then we relocated, didn't need a FS truck and unfortunately ended up with a defective tacoma.

We talk to a Toyota service manager, the same one the toyota regional manager discredited. He told us toyota has been working on this vibration issue for over 2 years, but does not have a fix. Then he told me they think it is a frame/chassis issue and probably won't have a cure for it till the next redesign.

This issue does impact the resale value, which is part of the lemon law.

"Substantially impair" means to render a motor vehicle unreliable or unsafe for normal operation or to reduce its resale market value below the average resale value for comparable motor vehicles

 

"Why does anyone need to pm you for the $6 fix? Why not just post it here for all to see?"


I have posted the fix numerous times here on TW already, didn't feel like repeating myself again, it is like talking to a blank wall....I tested it several times, the fix works rather well...and it is fairly simple...Toyota Corporate could benefit greatly and satisfy many with the same problem...

 

I had a vibration at around 60 when I test drove mine (2014 DC 4x4). They road force ballanced the tires and it was less of an issue, but still there....just now at about 65. Took it back last Friday, rode with the mechanic and he could feel what I was talking about. Long story short, new set of tires. Now even with this, there are some big ol wheel weights 2+ oz which tells me that these tires or wheels are junk.

I'm not impressed with the Toyota dealer (Russell Toyota of Baltimore) at all. I had to go stand on a manager's desk to get someones attention to the fact that I was not going to put up with the crappy service the dealership has. I won't be going back to them for any service. I'll either find a decent dealer, or do it myself.

Like the product, but Toyota's quality is suspect. It's too bad the taco is the one truck I really like, because otherwise.....I would not be buying a Toyota product.

 

That is exactly the way it goes. They have an issue but keeping pushing the product out the door. When somebody brings up the problem, they call it a characteristic and they're off the hook. The Toyota GM that attended the arbitration was pretty damn smug. "We build thousands of vehicles every year, not everybody is happy with every little thing about their purchase", "some complain about the seat being too firm, others complain about the placement of the radio knobs" and on and on... We are talking about the driveability, premature wear and possible safety issues with that wear AND the lower than average resale value due to this defect/issue, not cosmetic BS.

Well, I'm tired off taking what they dish out. Just because most people give up with a tire balance, or different tires (not flaming anybody) and living with the problem. I am not loyal to a company that doesn't care about customer satisfaction or the quality of their product.

I agree with you about the vibration causing premature wear on the driveline, suspension, bearings etc. I'm with you.

 

XJ1100JKen,

Ken,

I have posted three times to your thread, are you reading any of my posts?

You also have a PM...

If you can just answer this one question. Does your rig also shudder under hard acceleration from a complete stop? If so, I have your solution...I am done posting here....

 

I really don't want to deal with Toyota ever again. Their customer service line was horrible. I just want to move on.

 

Sorry, I've been working/driving most the day and I'm trying to answer the posts as quickly as possible.. hunt...peck no reason to be upset.

No, no shudder problem, just the vibration starting around 45 mph and increasing around 75 mph

 

All that typing, and yet not even a link to the solution you've found? Wow, just wow...