lost the battle with Toyota corp on my differential

Again, best of luck to you. Lemon Law cases are actually not as hard as some would lead you to believe. I don’t want to oversimplify it but you need to have, among other things, good documentation, must be able to show that you meet the criteria set by your state, and a simple determination to see the process through to completion. Always remember in this process the manufacturers are not your friends. They never are and never will be. The dealers are generally middle men/messengers so keep that in mind. Your real fight is with corporate. I am 4/4 on mine so far over the years and I handled them myself and this is not necessarily the type of law I practice. Hang in there.

 

4 Lemons? Seriously? Some pretty bad luck there Moondog.

 

I would agree with you on that but it is what it is. I have owned over 30 new cars but had a few dogs along the way and I’m not one to lose money because I got a Lemon. Three GMs and one Chrysler.

 

No, my friend. I had four on my own. Yes, terrible luck. I research things to death and still get crap.

 

Ahh..yes. The Lemon of all Lemons. GM. Say no more.

 

Legit question. How do you determine a functioning vehicle is a lemon? OP claims that his functional vehicle has a mechanical component that is making a noise that he himself determined makes it faulty or unacceptable. Wouldn’t something like that have a tolorance or acceptance level that has to be proven one way or another?

 

@The Real Moondog, thanks.....but I actually really like my truck. I like my dealer too. I wish everyone had a dealer like this, but from what I read people don't. They take care of me. Toyota also gave me a 100k 7yr Plantinum Warranty. I think that was fair. The diff is noisy,but I don't worry about it. If it goes...it goes, but I dont think it will.

 

This is an excellent question. There is no one size fits all answer as each state has its own criteria for what constitutes a Lemon. Generally speaking the vehicle must have a defect that substantially impairs the driveability or value of a vehicle. A potential safety defect could certainly also qualify. Don’t get too concerned when you hear substantially because the threshold is often met more easily than one would think when lawyers start throwing spin on it. Having an expert such as a private shop refute the “normal vehicle characteristic “ claim is great but not always necessary. However with these rear differential cases it certainly helps in my mind. Also, manufacturers could just hide behind “its normal” on everything unless they are held accountable. While the truck is functioning I say attack this from a potential safety issue as well as a mechanical issue that just so happens to be causing an irritating noise. Toyota will want to say it’s just a noise. I would say they are partially correct - it’s a noise - but it’s a noise caused by a substantial mechanical defect that is also a potential danger. Then throw the expert analysis on them. The truck will be bought back before they let it go to trial.

 

My diff howls too and I’m dealing with corporate and a dealer that has been fine thus far. I love my truck and want it fixed. I have no immediate plans to do anything other than try to get mine fixed. Best of luck to you as well and I’m glad to hear Toyota has taken great care of you.

 

Thanks, I hope you get your issues resolved too.

 

I agree the Tacoma makes for a shitty car but it does pretty well as a pickup.

 

The copy on that site is very poorly written. They even have "late model" and "early model" reversed. Writers who know nothing about cars or car guys who can't write; pick one of those instead. If you suck at both things then perhaps you should recuse yourself from the assignment.

 

your differential failed because of a lack of gear oil and a technician who shouldn't have allowed you to continue to drive the truck in its condition(leaking) any differential will fail and have a catastrophic issue if it has little or no gear oil, what we have in your case is a perfectly fine differential that developed a leak(gasket) and there was no lubrication oil left to keep the ring and pinion gear cool and lubricated hence the failure, the biggest fail is the Tech saying to keep driving it. this is not a manufacturing issue of the differential, it needs to be lubricated in order for it to work properly.

 

Pure speculation Mr. CookieMonster. Unless it was noted in the tear down that in fact there was insufficient oil. While it is speculation that the noise associated with the differential is of mechanical concern resulting in failure at some point, it is annoying to some that had purchased the vehicle and at the time of delivery the noise was not present. Hence the vehicle is not the product the original owner purchased and any contention on the part of the manufacture that this is normal should have been noted by the manufacture prior to the sale so as to not alarm the purchaser when the noise would present itself.

 

if my assumption that having a leaking rear differential with little or no gear oil to lubricate the ring and pinion wont cause a failure then why even use gear oil at all?, because its main purpose is to lubricate and cool the gears to keep them from over heating and causing catastrophic failure in the case I quoted. having a noise in the differential at a certain speed doesn't mean there is a imminent failure of the diff. it means the truck you have has a natural characteristic that you consider bothersome, whether it was present at the time you bought it or not.

 

Lets take an example of a television. You purchase the television and on the package it lists everything the television is supposed to be. You take the television home and are careful to set it up correctly and when you do it looks great. One day a few weeks later you turn it on and there is this annoying static coming from the speakers that drowns out your ability to hear the programs. By your contention you would except this as normal and enjoy it as it is?

 

...not hijacking. I had an old bush hog with a howling gearbox, I drained the regular gear oil out and an old farmer told me to fill with a real think gear oil(I don’t remember the weight ...it might have been straight grease) and it solved my Bush hog howl. It (engine)runs at 2,200 rpms+/- all day long. I don’t know if this will help with a truck howl, but it will on farm equipment. Good luck, and I hope Toyota resolves your problem & makes changes to the 2018’s.

 

then you return the TV and get your money back, if its still under the 90 day money back guarantee, if not your SHIT OUT OF LUCK. heres another example I buy a new house and the basement starts leaking after a rain am I allowed to return it and get my full investment back no! unless they fix the basement under a warranty or I have homeowners insurance that covers it. Since Toyota Corp considers the rear diff noise a non issue as far the design and durability of the part, you will either live with it or move on and get a new truck. end of story

 

I think the gear oil theory in the 3rd GEN has some hits and misses, some have tried a thicker oil 75w90 or thicker with good results. the factory oil is a thin 75w85 gl5

 

@TheCookieMonster - That’s good to know, I might end up with an ‘18. Thanks for sharing this. I see 85W140 from time to time, what do you think of running it in a rear end?