Learn From My Mistakes...

I was sold a brand new Tacoma with a bad transmission, and it has been an utter nightmare ever since.


If even one person can learn from my mistakes, then taking the time to write this is worth it.


Key Lessons Learned:


1.Serious issues, contact a lawyer immediately. Lemon Law covers your legal fees.

2.All new vehicles are not created equal. Once you decide on a specific vehicle, test drive 3-4 of the same model to avoid a lemon.

3.Toyota quality is not what it used to be. Best to expand your net when shopping for a new car, no need to pay a premium for “quality” you are not receiving.

4.Toyota “Customer Care” can not only be shockingly unhelpful, but very rude.

5.Toyota is now a global enterprise, no longer bound by Japanese cultural values and dedication to excellence. Profits are all that matter now.


My story:


I have been a loyal Toyota owner for the last 20 years, I have only owned Toyotas for the last 20 years. My previous vehicle was a 2003 Toyota Tacoma Off Road 4x2. I owned it for 8 years. The only thing that ever broke was the air conditioning unit – not a big deal. After loving every Toyota I have ever owned, there was only one option for me when I decided to buy a new one: the new Tacoma. I spent two months researching the different features, options, prices, etc. When I went to buy, I knew exactly what I wanted. I did a fairly extensive road test of one Tacoma, but ended up buying a different one (although it was exactly the same thing). The one I ended up buying, I pretty much just drove around the block. It was exactly the same truck, and brand new, it never crossed my mind that Toyota would sell a lemon off the lot. The whole reason I have been loyal to the brand and happy to pay a premium, is for the quality. So as to avoid issues. To have a reliable product. To love my truck and be excited about it. My blind loyalty has caused me a lot of heartache. Now I know. Obviously I wish had never purchased my particular truck. I wish I had bought the one of the other ones I had driven, or not bought one at all.


I have owned the truck for about two months. I have had the truck serviced 5 times. The issues I have experienced are as follows: transmission (more below), CV joint, dash vibration, USB port, cabin light. More problems in two months than I had in 8 years with my previous truck…mind blowing, irritating, and incredibly disappointing – this was my dream truck. This was supposed to be a reward for years of hard work.


The most serious problem is the transmission. Beyond rough gear changes, slipping, “clunking”, and just an extremely unenjoyable ride, I have narrowly escaped two accidents when the transmission failed to engage. The first time was when I was turning left in front of oncoming traffic. Instead of accelerating through the turn, I pressed on the gas but the truck did not accelerate. I was just a sitting duck. Luckily the transmission engaged just in time and I got through the intersection unscathed. The second time was when I was on the freeway and wanted to accelerate and move into a faster lane. Same as before, I pressed on the gas pedal but the truck did not accelerate. I was almost hit from behind, and when the transmission did finally engage the truck jumped forward and I almost hit the car in front of me. Both cases were unsettling to say the least. The truck is not safe, and I do not allow my family in it. Think about that. I cannot take my family in my brand new truck because it is unsafe. I would not drive it at all, but do not have an alternate vehicle, and I thought Toyota would have resolved this dangerous situation a long time ago.


In summary, I cannot possibly communicate how frustrated I am with the truck. Treating myself to the truck was supposed to bring me a lot of happiness, unfortunately it has been nothing but pure irritation, from driving it, to the constant trips to the dealership, to the rude customer service. Thank goodness there is the Lemon Law to protect consumers!!

 

Welcome to the forum. Good luck with your next vehicle. My truck is pretty much perfect after 30K miles in one year.
My friend spent $126K on a lemon from Range Rover so it's not just Toyota.

 

You can get a lemon from any manufacturer. I don’t think Toyota’s failure rate is any higher than it has been in years past. Good luck getting it sorted out.

 

It’s Toyota’s strategic way to sell more Manuals

 

So I assume you have been to a dealer (more than once by now) and had this looked at since you've posted about issues from the day you joined. What did they say?

 

Sounds like you need the TSB update

 

Learn from your mistakes ? Everyone here already has a Tacoma breh

 

That's fine by me!!!

 

So sorry to hear about your unfortunate situation with your truck. My friend is going though the same thing with his new BMW M5. Just under 5k miles and it's been in the shop 8 times for various issues. 72k vehicle and it's basically a POS to the third degree. Being in the automotive industry for 30+ years I can say it happens to ALL manufacturers and is an industry wide phenomenon. I have a customer who has a 180k Ferrari and that thing is in the shop more that he drives it. So try not to put too much blame on Toyota specifically, they sell thousands of problem free vehicles for every one that rolls off the essembly line destine to be a lemon. Hopefully everthing works out as painlessly as possible. Good luck to you

 

I read it through and didn’t learn nuthin.

 

You need to press the ECT button.

 

Unfortunately pushing the ECT button does not fix the stumble he's experiencing. TSB 0062-18 is Toyotas fix for said stumble. I had the same issue and the TSB fixed it.

 

According to your previous posts, you’ve had the truck since around the end of August. Is that correct? That would mean ownership is at three months now?

 

Cut and pasted to another forum (as 1st post) 17 minutes later. Maybe OP's email ends with @ford.com

 

I had the same issue at 28,000 miles, brought it in and an hour later they said a clutch pack was burned out, needs a new trans. They gave me a loaner Tacoma and was replaced under warranty in a week. Works great now. Try another dealer is what I’d recommend

 

Wow . Sorry you have to deal with that.

 

Weird. My transmission is fine.

 

Chilton. More suited as fire starter than manual.

And Toyota doesn't publish that.



(Yea, I know you made a funny. Just thought I'd mix in some facts )