Failed Mudflap has nearly turned me

About 4 days ago my front driver mudflap failed, as it appears many have. Unfortunately it chose to fail while passing a line of slow cars going about 90, so the natural tenancy to flap in the wind was insanely pronounced. I thought the tire was tossing its tread, so I VERY quickly stopped.. on the wrong side of the road and made a left to get out of everyone's way. Damage was basically only plastic scuffs on the paint from contact with the mudflap as it spun in circles. Obviously I was pissed, but hey... I have a great truck, from a great company, and a strong "PLATINUM" warranted that will cover this. So I finished ripping it off the truck and drove home to make the call.

Now the story gets long winded, and VERY depressing.

I call my local dealer (not the one I bought from) and tell him my story. He seems to be interested in fixing me up, until he hears that Im at 36780 miles. Yes, only 780 miles out of factory warranted!! He asks if I bout the truck from his dealer... no I got it 60 miles from him. So he tells me to call them, maybe they will do something for me. The BS has only just begun!!

The next day I call the dealer that sold it to me, they seem helpfull and wants to inspect the dammges so they can schedual repairs..untill he hears the mileage...now 200 some miles higher.. and then hes couldnt care less. I get home from work that night..now MORE milage.. and look up my paperwork from the sale.. 7 year 75000 mile warantee!! Im all set !! So the next day, and MORE mileage, I call back and mention the added coverage. Interests are agian peaked, but Im forwarded to a finance guy that tells me that he will have to call to get coverages listed and clearance to do the repairs and give that info to service, who is turn supposed to call me. Great... everything is going in the right direction agian. I wait, somehow patiently.. for 3.5 to 4 hours and get a call from service. The service manager tells me that he got a message that I had a repair that I wanted done, but had some questions. No dumba@@, you were supposed to call me with answers to the questions. All he can tell me is that I need to call about the added coverage, but he knows that extended warantees dont cover body panels and trim. And my problem wasnt a mechanical failure so he cant do beyond the factory coverage to help me. (Read as - "Go Screw Yourself") I go on about this being an obvious manufacturing flaw, and if it were a failed hood latch causing the hood to flip up and go thru the window killing the occupents, would that be a mechanical faiure. His responce was incredable!! "Body panals and trim are deisigned to last forever!" If I could kick him in the throat thru the phone I would have! Im like... So your telling me that 37000 miles is considered forever? Are they not designed to last this long? He agian makes the stupid responce.. NO! I let him know I would be visiting his dealership and letting everyone know this weekend that the SERVICE MANAGER says that toyota body parts are not designed to last more than 36000 miles.. He hung up.

I got home... after more milage and called Coorperate Toyota and they are working the issue. Im sure they will take care if this, and I will upday as this goes on.

Sorry for the long post, I had to vent, and I cant kill anyone here so it seemed the safest avenue. And I wanted everyone to know of my problems.

 

Sucks that you had that problem man, but usually it takes a call to corporate to force the dealership to help you, i hope you get it solved asap!

 

I do have to add though... if it weren't for this BS I wouldn't have fond this place.. so their is good to come out of it. I am going to forward the overall worthless probably poll results to Toyota in a month so please everyone vote, honestly. Maybe we can get them to redesign the flaps

 

Actually there is some background on the issue on the site, check out this thread, some of the posters actually had case numbers and all

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/6480-toyota-ignores-mud-flaps-issue-call-them.html

 

on the 06 i had.....i broke a front flap off while offroading. they are just way too long, and not being flexible dont help either. i got 2 used ones, cut 5 inches off and remounted them. they looked good and were still functional too. now i got an 04 and the flaps are pretty flexible!!

 

My problem had nothing to do with length, rubbing while driving, or running over them while backing up a curb. It simply tore loose from wind. The only thing I do rough in my truck is drive it like its a Porsche! And she loves every second of it!!!

Length isnt the problem, and realistically rigidity isn't either. Its the 2 part construction

 

The mud flaps are crap. I took mine off at 540 miles before they caused any damage. Even so I could already detect a faint line where they were starting to rub on the paint. I sold them on eBay for $160. However, I did keep all the hardware just in case Toyota, in the next couple of years, comes up with something worthy of the truck.

 

Well having bought a total of three new Toyota's in the past I would play the angle you have already started. Most dealers are very big on being a "signature" dealership. If you talk to the overall manager of the dealership where you bought the truck and let him know that you have alerted Toyota at the corporate level that you are happy with the truck and would buy a new one in the future however the customer service seems to be lacking and this might drive you to something such as Nissan then this might help persuade him to maybe fudge the mileage on the factory claim. A simple reminder that Toyota pays the dealership and they pay nothing out of pocket to repair it may help as well. If that fails to work offer to meet him halfway on the charges that normally helps. Good Luck! Jay
PS. Now I am going outside to make sure my mud flaps are tight... JK

 

I broke one off wheelin on day to on the trail. So I ripped the other one off

 

Live with it and quit whining like a baby. Most extended warranties don't cover trim, and the Toyota factory warranty is gone. Toyota might lend a hand and fix it if they want, but are under no obligation to do so, so ask nicely and they might help, since they dont OWE you a new mudflap. By passing a multi car line of traffic @ 90mph on a 2 lane road you already look like an idiot.

 

Well played LRH! Well played!

 

I was wondering if anyone noticed he was doing 90 on a 2 lane road.

 

Beat me to it.

 

I figure its easier to just ask, rather than waste more of my time looking over your past posts... are you this much of an a@@ to people in person, or are we using the internet to release bound up frustrations?

I didn't expect the extended warranty to cover the flaps... dont think I ever said I expected them too. I also never said that anyone OWED me a replacement, but I did imply that Toyota OWES its past and present owners a solution to the substandard manufacturing on this particular part. Its no different than the TSR on the rear springs and shock replacement for people that overlaod their beds... if your an moron and overlaod it, then why should Toyota give you heavier suspension? The bed itsself is STILL OVERLOADED.. yet they see it as a failure to meet customers needs and expectations. Toyota in general is a great company to deal with, and they almost always do the right thing. Your stupid comments of my WHINING only shows that you dont have the spine to stand up and try to make changes when changes are needed. Ya.. I was speeding.. what the heck does that have to do with a damn thing? Maybe by driving on the wrong side of the road causes undue stress on the mudflaps? Purhaps it was my speeding that did it.... wait.. driving 65 MPH into a 40 MPH headwind produces wind forces of 105 MPH.... so obviously your just let down that your trucks smaller than mine. Get a pair, treat people like you want to be treated, or climb back into your hole.

 

You're not helping your case with your response. The fact is, these vehicles aren't meant to be flying down the road at the speeds you're saying you drive, not to mention that you shouldn't be going that fast on public roadways in the first place.

Face it, you're whining about mudflaps. Cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it.

 

It seems to me the occasional burst of speed or gust of wind shouldn’t cause parts to break off the truck. A Toyota is supposed to be quality throughout. The POS mud flaps are a legitimate complaint.

 

Clearly that's not true... it seems to me that she just screamed "I'M NOT A PORSCHE!" in what turned out to be a very attention-grabbing way.

See above... doesn't sound like an "occasional" burst of speed to me.

 

Firstly, it has already been established that your an idiot.

The TSB, not TSR, applies to vehicles with excessive bottoming out. It was happening to people with only 300lbs in the bed, which is much, much less than the truck is supposed to carry.

Your angry that your mud flap came off at 90MPH? Wow. Take your bullshit to another site. You damaged your truck through being irresponsible. It's not Toyota's fault nor is it their responsiblility to fix this.