It's a bizarre case they said... Updated: here we go again.

Waiting to see the screw...
(that looks like plastic, I think that may have been purely internal overheating/shorting.... not saying that the installer isnt the root cause, but I BET you there is no screw found puched thru that thing)

BTW, sorry for the troubles OP, but you are the best for posting the pics

 

You just gotta find an old fashioned trucker's tire thumper.



I inherited my grandad's. He claimed he found it on a jobsite where they were converting the old asylum wing into a new county hospital. It has teeth indents in it.

 

And every shop on the planet has buckets of self tappers. Everything on a vehicle should be mounted with a bolt, nut, washer, ect. Self tappers are the lazy man's answer to shit in, shit out.
Zim

 

Aaaand we're back on!

 

semantics

 

Definitely. But, I don't think there is high current on the right side? Maybe the actuator outputs for the 4wd ECU.

The fuse block, there certainly is.

 

Yikes



Edit...saw that it continues

 

last thing I can offer up for now is that the stereo guys, owner and the tech that did the install, were in route to the dealership to interface with the dealer tech to combine efforts to see what's up. I'll update when I next hear from either side on this.

 

Just got off the phone with stereo guys, they spent plenty of time at the dealership going over every connection they made on their end of things with the dealership tech and service manager, he said the dealership relented on their take of things that it was a bad install...it's harder to point fingers at the other guy when the other guy is right there with you going over everything.

Dealership hasn't contacted me yet, but stereo guy says they were going to order and install another ECU and see what happens, though they still couldn't identify a specific cause for all of this.

On my end, since the service manager intimated possible denial of warranty, I learned about a neat little gem called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975. The act says that a dealer must prove that aftermarket equipment caused the need for repairs before it can deny warranty coverage.
I'm back to the waiting game for now.

 

you are correct, but their lawyers will try to out last you.

 

Sincere good luck!

I didn't want to be a bearer of not so good news, thankfully @Spare Parts was first

Just to add to it
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ffs-lets-all-stop-referencing-the-magnussen-moss-act.609911/

 

Magnussen moss is the biggest joke because the the only corporations worth going after can out lawyer 99.99% of the population both in quality and cost

 

Service manager called me yesterday, completely pushing the narrative of I'm a great customer, just wants to make sure I'm happy and satisfied, wants to get me back in my truck as soon as possible and so on. He said stereo guys were the best he's ever had to work with, it was just about a bromance experience it sounded like.
Stereo guys left the stereo and remote unpowered, service manager has two components ordered and on the way, I'll have to find out what the other one is. ECU coming from California, so the truck will sit till probably Wednesday.
They'll install the components and we'll see what happens, they still couldn't say what the cause of all this was.

Stereo guys will hook their stuff back up if the truck has no issues, everything they are doing is gratis...exceptional service on their part.

 

Glad this is going well so far. Good luck and thanks for keeping us updated.

 

Good luck man. I think you misunderstood the MM Act. Here's how it works...
You take your truck in for warranty.
Dealer, based on manufacturer guidelines, approves or denys warranty and gives reason.
If you don't agree, you sue, THEN MM Act will start, after you lawyer up.
Dealer still has to prove nothing but you, through your lawyer, has to prove the claim has merit through MM Act.
Then your truck is impounded (so nothing can be changed) for a period of months while your case gets on the docket of an arbitrator.
If you eventually win, you get... the warranty approved. That's all.
There is a real good read on this in the sticky threads above.
MM Act is designed to keep manufacturers from denying warranty on unrelated circumstances... for example, they cannot deny warranty on your transmission just because you installed an aftermarket stereo.

 

It's a good thing then, that the tone from the dealership seems to have shifted completely away from "this is all on the stereo guys", to "we got this, just hold on tight a bit"

This dealership has actually been nothing less than awesome to work with since I got my first Tacoma in 2015, this particular problem is just a bit more involved and expensive. I'm fortunate to have another set of wheels to use till this gets resolved and hope that my end of things is just dealing with the inconvenience. Things happen, the dealership didn't cause them, but I'm getting the feeling that everything will work out fine in the end.
I am over-the-top curious as to the root cause, seriously can't wait to hear what it was.

 

The MM act is really nothing more than feel good legislation. The hoops that must be jumped through are extensive.

You’re better off using another dealer, if possible, when the one you have gets obstinate.

I had an issue with one where they just gave me the parts because they were too busy. The issues that came up later I went to another dealer.

I bought my Tacoma from that dealer. The smart ones know success is about future sales.

 

I just hope the parts they replace are defective on their own and there’s not an underlying cause that can’t be found that caused them to fail.

 

If you are satisfied with the way the dealer handles this when its all settled, let us know who it is. Someone on the fence may decide that's where they want to do business. The good guys should get some credit.

 

Probably due to botched install of aftermarket air freshener...