Nashville mechanics

Having continued issues w/ my dealership and am curious whether there is anyone who you guys have used in Nashville who actually KNOWS Tacomas. I keep finding that communication and awareness of the dealerships and the known Taco problems with vibes, differential, etc., are unknown to most of them. I'm looking to find a skilled mechanic, whether affiliated with a Toyota dealership or not who can drive my truck and help me understand some of my issues that seem to be suspension, steering, and differential-related. I don't trust Toyota (or a dealership) to give me an honest assessment and certainly would have this person do the ECGS bushing if indeed one of my problems is the front driver diff issue.

 

Which dealership are you having problems with? Beaman?

 

Bingo. They have thrown up their hands and have, thankfully finally gotten me scheduled with the field tech who is coming down from Cincy next week to do a ride-along. In advance I'm going to take the truck to CS Auto in Brentwood this week and pay $200 out of pocket for them to do a full check-up / analysis. There are some big problems here and I won't accept "normal" or "cannot replicate" - I just want it fixed, and I think b/c I cited so many issues they are afraid of a lemon which is NOT my point. I want the truck, to work, properly - that is all. Hopefully by going in with a sense of the specific problems (some of which are visual - driveline/leafs, loose front diff) and some that are felt easily while in the driver's seat.

That dealership has been a real let-down though, sad b/c I always had good experience with prior vehicles - seems like they see Tacoma these days and run the other way though...

 

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean about them. I went in there to get a warranty rear wheel bearing replaced (the techs at a dealership in Tuscaloosa improperly installed it so it was leaking within a year)... had to jump through numerous hoops to get them to want to do the work... calling the other dealership, haggling with them.

Then when I got it back, the rear brakes were suuuuuper squishy. I take the rear drums off and lookie there, the shoes were way out of spec. I adjusted and it fixed my pedal free play. But not before I saw that the rubber grommet that covers the star wheel on the backing plate was missing.

I've brought my truck in for a pretty bad engine pinging in warmer months, driving up a hill, and they insist it's a rattling cat heat shield. I'm not buying it. I know where the heat shields are, they aren't right in front of my nose, where I'm hearing the noise. Still have not found a fix, or a mechanic that I would trust to do the work. I've yet to try Cool springs.

Very lazy and poor attention to detail at this dealer. I will probably end up driving all the way to Cool springs next time I need to get any work done.

 

Yeah, I used them for years and had pretty good service and since I work downtown it's so easy to be able to drop it off for service on the way to work, pick up after... but that convenience will go by the wayside. After my truck experience with them I'll unlikely ever take it back to them for service once I get these immediate issues resolved.......

And I would recommend anyone go to Cool Springs over Beaman

Funny thing too, I used to get a call to do a survey after almost every trip. They haven't asked me to do a survey since buying the truck (and my numerous service attempts).

Just disappointed in general I suppose. I buy toyotas because they are (normally) low maintenance and run well for many miles before you need much done to them. I've spent more time diagnosing and making trips to the dealership on this truck than I have on my last 3 vehicles combined. If I wanted to constantly troubleshoot I would have saved $20k and bought a used car with 150k miles on it - and it doesn't help when the dealer is doing nothing to help. We'll see how the Toyota rep treats me, but that will be the last chance.

 

What kinds of problems are you having? I think I read in the 3rd gen section something about some sort of diff spacer but that's after lifting for most.

 

@bshammer0

All Points Automotive. It's a small shop, but Chris is one of the best mechanics I've ever met. He's done a lot of work on my Tacoma, and know the motor and frame really well.

Chris is professional, but really personal and will always take time to walk you through the issues with your truck. He will gladly put it on a lift and explain to you why things are happening, and help you create a plan to address the issue.