Called Toyota about leaf spring recall

I called back in late July and they told me it would be a couple months. They were about right, Oct 8 and its in the shop today. Denver, CO..... I love my Tacoma!

It rides and drives so much better! Can really get the full enjoyment out of that Rancho suspension now.... Rides like a sweet dream now.... oh yeah!

 

I had mine replaced even though I'll lift it sometime this winter. (Free parts, right?) However, my truck sits more level now, instead of slightly nose down like it did before. Has anyone else noticed the replacement springs sitting lower than the original ones?

 

I don't know how mine could go lower. Mine are bending backwards

 

Well, as of this past Friday, it's been 4 weeks since they ordered my springs. So I called them today, and what do you know, they have them in stock, again, if I was paying for these, you can bet your ass they would have called me and let me know they had them in stock. Going next Friday morning and get them installed.

 

So heres my story... I went and had the first step of them looking to make sure i qualified 43 days ago i did.. Then told it would be a month to get parts.... I called today to get ETA, i was told that they got a shipment in today for parts, but those were for the people in June... So she said it may be around December or January before i get mine done.... and so now i wait

 

for some people who are tired of waiting, i suggest to call corp and let them know you're getting the run around from your dealership.

 

No Shit!

 

THIS WILL DO NO GOOD! UNLESS...here is what none of you know... TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS are locally owned... LEXUS DEALERSHIPS are corp owned. How do I know this? I also own an RX350. I can drive up to ANY LEXUS. dealership in the US and they scan my bar code and instantly know everything about my car and even get in touch with my personal service representative "Mark" in Baton Rouge, LA! Why does this matter? Because NO ONE GETS PREFERENCIAL TREATMENT AND LEXUS "TOYOTA" IS THE BOSS!!!!! THIS MEANS IF I CALL "1-80-25-LEXUS" the person on the other end of that phone WILL MAKE ME HAPPY OR THE REP IS FIRED AND THE LOCAL LEXUS CORPORATE OFFICE (note i did not say dealership) is in BIG TROUBLE!!!! Calling Toyota is equal to, "Thanks for being a concerned citizen, we thank you and will let the Obama know you have a leaky faucet in your home" Ironically, THE ONLY TIME I EVER HAD TOYOTA CORPORATE CALL AND MAKE SURE WORK WAS DONE, WAS AFTER I CALLED THEM WHEN I HAD AN ACCIDENT TO THANK THEM THAT I HAD A FAULTY SPIRAL CABLE BECAUSE I WAS IN AN ACCIDENT AND THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY... by it not deloying... it probably saved my life! Ironic, huh?Lesson here is, Toyota Corporate CAN NOT DO ANYTHING TO INFLUENCE A LOCAL DEALERSHIP! I tell people everuday, with Lexus you pay for service and warranty, with Toyota... you better be damn glad that Toyotas are excellent vehicles because after your almost irrelavent warrany, YOU ARE PRETTY MUCH SCREWED!BUT, my Tacoma I'm keeping for life, the RX... soon as warranty over... craigslist, lol! The extra $20,000 for service and a badge... never again! Just wanted to share how Toyota REALLY WORKS! Well, also at Lexus, you get a loaner just like yours or better anytime you have service done, or request a flatbed pick up your vehicle for service. so you dont use warranty miles to get service work done or if you do have to wait you get lunch and drinks, etc...

 

E-mail to Corp worked for me. Name dealership names and service tech names, and how fed up you are with Toyota in general. My springs came in ricky tick.

 

I guess it's a hit or miss. I've had some luck with raising some hell (politely at times) via calling corporate. It's really unfortunate though that some dealerships will give you the runaround in purpose. It's even more unfortunate when you know your vehicle more than the techs, service managers, and even at times the master technicians.

 

Last week I finally had the 3 leaf pack replaced with the new 4 leaf pack by the dealer.

The Tacoma Access Cab is from 2011 and had a bout 35k miles, and I haul motorcycles and dirt all the time.

The new 4 leaf pack feels much softer than the the original (old and used) 3 leaf pack.
I noticed immediately this difference, like the next day. The truck now tends to squat when loaded and feels like a old vehicle.
The struts and the damping is fine, it does not jump up and down like a pogo stick. It just goes through the suspension travel too easily.
Does this make any sense?

How is it possible the brand new 4 leaf suspension is that much softer than the old and used 3 leaf?
(I understand the number of leaves in itself does not mean stiffer...)
This makes no sense to me.
I called Toyota customer service and they opened a case number but had no suggestions other than taking it back to the dealer which has already assured me they installed the right parts.

Anyone else experienced something similar?

CB

 

I had my 4 leaf Harsh Ride leaf pack replaced. (with the correct Harsh Ride Replacement Kit)
The original leafs were tight and supported a motorcycle in the bed no problem.
The new springs are weak and already sag over an inch. Must be made of cheap chinese scrap steel.

Fritz

 

What do you mean by "harsh springs"?

 

Harsh Ride TSB. Installs the Canadian/Mexican HD 4 leaf spring pack instead of the three leaf std american leafs.

http://www.lieblweb.com/images/tacoma/LeafSpringTSB.pdf

It now covers 2005-2011 (+) years.

Fritz

 

Got it. Never heard of it. Wish I could find some over here in Michigan. My Tacoma is usually loaded with something.

CB

 

So can one request these springs as the replacement springs under recall for free, even if the truck is out of warranty, and never had this TSB done?

 

Well, got mine inspected and installed today, they had a set left from someone that brought theirs in for the inspection, but had to order the parts, and then they sold the truck. I'm going to have to wait until I decide if I'm happy with them, but the ride with no load is pretty amazing, and to top it off, all my rattles and squeaks when going over bumps and speed humps is completely gone!

 

Let us know if it sags after a few weeks. Some have said they do.

 

finally got mine installed today. just drove it home crosstown empty, didn't really notice any ride difference. I'm starting to think about upgrading to the bilstein 5100's