Frame Replacement Issues. 05 Tacoma

Had my frame replaced in late 2015 via dealer.

During replacement they reinstalled a transmission cooler hose that I 100% believe they damaged. 3 weeks after I get truck back the hose bursts and my transmission rips the gears apart. Didn't get a light indication or see the fluid spraying bc it was raining. How is it their procedures do not require them to inspect 10 year old hoses before reinstall? The tech told me it was dryrotted. Yeah, it was, and when you removed the transmission and reinstalled it you obviously broke the hose which lead to the issue. Cost me $3500 and they wouldn't take responsibility.

I write extremely technical engineering procedures for a living, it amazes me there is not something in their procedure or training to ENSURE THEY DONT REINSTALL A PART THEY DAMAGED DURING REMOVAL and to INSPECT SUCH PARTS. Especially cheap parts that can cause serious damage. Anybody here done replacements or Toyota that can comment on this?

 

It’s a crappy spot to be in. They aren’t responsible for previous damages though, the frame replacement calls out specific parts to be replaced, doubtful the trans cooler lines are included. If the line was degraded it would have been nice of the tech to give you a heads up, but it sounds like it was working for a while after the swap before it failed. Curious how a tech could have damaged a hose if it was dry rotted? Not like he cross threaded it or didn’t install correctly.

 

if they broke the hose it would have leaked right away. Maybe they tweaked something that was old and rotted. It sounds like truck as a whole is pretty rusty underneath. The dealer can only do so much to recommend new parts when the under side of the truck is a rotted mess.

 

The hose is brittle after 10 years of use. After removing a brittle hose you should not replace it. The fact that Toyota doesn't caution this to their techs is beyond confusing to me. It wasn't completely burst, it was leaking which lead to the transmission getting ruined. One small cracked grows quite rapidly under normal operating pressures.

 

So it was leaking for weeks and you never noticed any spots on the ground?
Seems as it got lower on fluid the trans would act oddly.
Also this happened back in 2015?
Did they recommend things you may want to replace during the swap?

 

No not at the time they released the truck to me, at least not that anyone noticed. But a brittle hose can burst or start to leak at any time once it's integrity is compromised. Pressure takes time to create this. There's no doubt in my mind the hose started to leak as a direct result of them removing the transmission and putting it back on with the same hose on.

My real concern is that Toyota doesn't flag stuff like this as a risk mitigation issue. 10 year old hoses once removed shouldn't be reinstalled or at the very least they should be inspected. None of this was done and is common practice in most industries. If it was my company I would ENSURE this to mitigate any liability on Toyota or the dealer. Just silly to not do so.

 

Im becoming less and less surprised. My 06 frame was replaced in 17 and I have run across more than a few bolts that were completely cross threaded. I suspect the people putting it back together just went to town on the impact wrench just to call it a day and get the truck on the lot.

 

This happening cat lives in NY. I would've hit them with a small claims action. No second thought given. Like that FishyTacoma bloke said above, the mechanic was negligent in his decision to replace a dry rotted line. Judgment for Plaintiff. That you did not pursue this course of action only served to make the dealer less like to use due care in the future. Who knows how many Tacoma owners your failure to act has effected? You had a chance to stand up for all of us. Yet you remain seated and have allowed your angst to fester like a grape in the sun. Now you must find some semblance of a life and try to put this behind you. Peace.

 

Uve bin snowed n 2 long pilgrim, u have lost the real world.

 

so 6 years later you get mad and decide to create a profile to vent? Odd.

 

I have an 06 with a perforated frame that they limped past the 12 yr mark with the corrosion guaranteed spray. Oh and now the frame for me to buy and do myself is on nat'l backorder. Trade ya!

 

Long as you keep one foot in the real world while the other foot's in a fairy tale, that fairy tale is going to seem kind of attainable.

 

No. Truck is back in shop and I'm dealing with more issues separate from transmission which stemmed from frame replacement. However, when I brought this up again to the service manager a few days ago I was asking him specific details about their procedures and I learned there is no mitigation on this type of stuff. But Inbred is right I for sure should have filed suit. They were directly at fault.

This is the same Toyota dealership that said my instrument cluster was the cause of the vehicle not accelerating smoothly. Imagine instead of a steady gaining sloped line, it's more like stairs. Well, 1k later it wasn't the problem. And oh by the way they held my vehicle for 8 weeks and said I couldn't drive it bc they had sent in the exact mileage to part manufacturer. 7.5 weeks later they call me and ask for mileage when the vehicle was disassembled in their lot. Could have driven it the whole time. You see my concern with their incompotence???

 

Sounds like you need to find a different dealer or brand or something.
Maybe start your own brand?

My 08 frame was replaced in 2018!
Fn amazing job!
My 08 w/160k was like new!
I knew to provide parts I wanted replaced installed for free.
Rubber bushings lines etc!
I didn’t expect to have everything they touched replaced.
I met with the tech he had me come in and see during the swap!
As he said people bring in rusted neglected trucks and want everything for free!
He was a proud man and continued the path I started trying to keep shit maintained.
Mine wasn’t free I was willing to add new parts.
Do you do any maintenance yourself?

 

Most human being's that own a car sing the blues you speak of...where a dealership comes up short of your expectations. You can't get rid of these hassles entirely, all you can do is minimize their occurrence. Sounds like you have taken more than your fair share of cylinder honing and you probably feel like a dealership punching bag. But you can take pride in knowing that you are becoming a sort of martyr. You are the Tacoma owner that falls on his sword for the rest of us. It ain't what happens to your own wallet you need to think about. It's about standing up as a Tacoma owner and fighting for the collective ALL. Exert your rights and you make the collective all that more powerful. As my Dad use to say, "Don't let the Bastards get you down." He ripped this off from General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell who used it as a motto in the second World War. And Joe ripped it off from someone earlier down the line, no doubt. But now it falls on you, FishyTacoma and I am hoping you rise to the occasion and release the anger you feel in favor of logical and spirited protest with this dealership. Cheers my good friend and peace.

 

As someone who works in Service at a Toyota dealership, let me address at least some of your issues.

First, if your frame was rotted out, you can imagine that a number of other things were pretty rusty and tough to get apart in order to replace your frame for free. (And don't forget that you got over ten grand in parts and labor for absolutely free.) Toyota actually replaces much more than just your frame when they do a "frame swap" and nobody seems to give them any credit for it. There's a whole kit of "other" parts that get replaced for free at the same time. And no, dry rotted transmission lines are not one of those parts. Where do you want them to draw the line? Do you just want them to give you a whole new truck? Personally, I think the whole frame extended warranty / frame swap thing is a smoking great deal for the customer.

As for a Technician possibly damaging your dry rotted transmission lines when they did the frame swap, yes, it is possible. But just because the line went 3 weeks later does not mean they damaged it. It might have gone at that very same time even if you didn't replace the frame. Parts do fail over time you know. How can you say with great certainty that it was something they did. If a headlight bulb went 3 weeks later, would you blame the frame swap?

You say you write "extremely technical engineering procedures for a living." Have you ever written one of those for a process as full of variables as a frame swap? Not only are there all sorts of different variations of models and options, but customers have done an amazing number of modifications over the time they're owned their vehicles. Oh, and mother nature gets very creative with what rusts out and doesn't want to come apart. Some frame swaps are a piece of cake. Others are a royal PITA. And you can state / implore all you want about being careful with what you take apart and how, but there's a good deal of creativity required of the Technician to make one of these swaps happen. Trust me, it's not a fun or pretty process on the "taking things apart" side. Putting things back together is a whole lot better.

In summary, I feel your pain in having to pay for a new transmission. But I struggle with your certainty that it was something that the dealership did. Remember, shit happens and it may have just happened here. And as for you waiting all this time to vent your frustrations, give me a break.

 

If you take them to small claims the Toyota lawyers will just bump it up to civil court forcing you to get a lawyer. It sucks and at this point I would look at it as a $3500 new frame.

 

Sir, this is a bar.

 

I have no idea why this is upside down.

 

What day is today?
Looks fine to me!!