Toyota responds to tailgate issue
A couple of days ago we told you about two new issues with the Toyota Tundra that were drawing the ire of some owners. The first is the "rumble strip" transmission problem, for which Toyota has promised to replace the torque converter box of any affected truck. The other issue involved tailgates that were experiencing metal separation and cracks under load, some even deforming out of shape. Mike Levine from Pickuptruck.com again took the owners' complaints to Toyota for a response. Toyota said that it's aware of the issue but has received few complaints so far, and the cause is under investigation. Also, any owners affected by metal separation on their tailgates can visit a Toyota dealer, who will fix or replace the tailgate under warranty if it's determined the damage occurred under normal use. The Tundra tailgate issue was first reported by owners themselves on the TundraSolutions.com forum. According to Levine who watched in real time as more and more owners organized on the forum, gathered evidence and eventually started an online petition, there has never been a movement like this begun and carried out by owners themselves to have an automaker address a grievance. And it worked, too! For it's part, Toyota is doing what it should be doing at this point: promising to fix the problem. It can't go back in time and change what caused the "rumble strip" issue in some transmissions or a batch of tailgates to experience metal separation, but it can fix those issues on trucks that have already been sold to both loyal and new Toyota customers alike. Nevertheless, the fallout from these quality issues will still be felt by Toyota, which has yet to back down from its goal of selling 200,000 Tundras this year.
[Source: Pickuptruck.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
tbss_in_the_D 1:11PM (10/24/2007)
How many have they sold so far? I hope the fan boys come out now and tell us how this truck is changing everything about the truck market.
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Biff Baxter 1:12PM (10/24/2007)
Toyota is rapidly matching the sleaziest sales practices (ever dealt with their dealers?)with the worst recall record.
But not to fear. It's all still the Big 3's fault.
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Jeff 1:47PM (10/24/2007)
"Toyota is rapidly matching the sleaziest sales practices (ever dealt with their dealers?)with the worst recall record."
Absolutely agree. I have nothing against Toyota automobiles. They're below average in style and about average in quality.
Their dealerships, on the otherhand, are the worst of the worst. The two close to me constantly try to out sleaze each other. What pigs!
hokiebird 1:15PM (10/24/2007)
TundraSolutions isn't the first forum to start a petition. There are plenty of forums who start petitions about issues. Now actually getting a response from the manufacturer is completely a different subject.
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MoonRover 1:16PM (10/24/2007)
A person that has owned trucks can walk around the Tundra and find design problems with that truck, things that would never happen with a Ford, Dodge or Chevy. Toyota builds a good small truck, but when you get into trucks that do jobs, Toyota fails miserably. I have owned trucks for 40 years and I would not put one dime into the Tundra, it was flawed from the designers page.
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willem 1:25PM (10/24/2007)
I wouldn't even give Toy credit for their wheezy, thin-metaled toy-like deathtrap trucks. When your livelihood depends on it, only a full-sized domestic truck is up for the job.
Justin 1:31PM (10/24/2007)
I'd be curious for you to enumerate those design flaws. I dont claim to know trucks well, but I'm intrigued by your thoughts.
My dad had a little 89 Toyota pickup which I've always liked, did good work for small jobs, but if I was looking at a big work truck I'd go straight to the domestics...and that's based just on looks/perceived quality alone.
willem 1:56PM (10/24/2007)
I recall those '80s Toys well. Set anything on the hood and it'll dent, knocking off the welded inner supports from under it; the doors were so light that the "truck" rattled like the can that it was made of when you shut them; when it rained, the staccato racket above made you marvel at how the roof wasn't more dimpled than it was from the bird crap. It beats me how anyone could load anything into the truck box without damaging the tailgate by merely looking at it. It's nice to see that Toy hasn't changed a thing for the Turdra.
MoonRover 2:08PM (10/24/2007)
Starting with the primise that you can build a full size pickup just by making everything bigger in your small truck. Then using an inferior designed body frame, bolts in the payload bed, weak tie downs on bed sides, weak tailgate molding on top, small clearance between bed wall and exterior of truck(hit the inside of the bed and you may dent the exterior. Those are just a few things I noticed. Bad transmission, never buy a Toyota for a haul it not made for it.
david 5:01PM (10/24/2007)
Justin, flaws I have observed include showing a half ton work truck at the Chicago Auto Show with a plow. Less than a couple of inch clearance from the ground and who knows how bad it would be with the plow raised. Others include a bad camshaft on the first run, squeaking and rattling dashboard, tailgates ripping at the seams, portruding bed bolts, beds going into rocket trajectory when driving on rough roads, thin skin, torque converter problems, shimmying at moderate speeds, bad radios, and more. (these are complaints that are posted on the Tundra forums)
If this were one of the domestics the media and customers would crucify them and production would come to a screeching halt.
Yes, this is "the truck that's changing it all". It's giving trucks a bad name.
Toyota will probably meet it's goal of selling 200K units, but at what cost? Dealer markdowns and rebates are enormous.
I can take credit for saving one of my employees this week when I showed him all of the posts over the last few weeks about Toyota's quality. He intended to buy a Tundra, ended up buying a GMC. So solly Toyoda, but you deserved it.
porker 1:17PM (10/24/2007)
Notice it's only if the damage occurred "under normal use". What is normal? Many of the posters on the tundra boards report this separation and buckling of the tailgate metal due to loading and unloading ATV's using ramps. Some even say theirs are separating due to people sitting on the tailgate. You buy a truck to be able to do these things.
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Russell 6:08PM (10/24/2007)
No, toyota can define normal use like this.
Under normal use*
*does not include loading/unloading ATV/Motorcycles/Lumber/Sitting or standing on taigate/ or any other heavy objects
Guenther 10:12AM (10/25/2007)
The damade people are complaining about IS from what is defined as normal use. My 03 manual even spells out how much you can put on the gate to load (a lot) and how much while driving (still quite a bit). They won't cover impact damage and things of that sort. Geeeeeze.
Big John 1:26PM (10/24/2007)
Ah, the online petition. Where, for some strange reason, every person named Jack Meoff in the world gathers to unite under one banner.
Don't read too much into this... I'm sure people, you know, actually reporting problems to Toyota had more of an impact on this than anything.
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Gardiner Westbound 1:31PM (10/24/2007)
What's this normal use crap? Extraordinary use is normal for a pickup truck. I can't imagine a contractor going near a Tundra now. Toyota should have stuck with making cars.
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tankd0g 1:48PM (10/24/2007)
I see plenty of buckled tail gates on domestics too, put a 300 lb iron pipe on the tail gate and go bouncing down the road and you're going to damage the tail gate. Is that considered normal use? Perhaps. Is it a warrantable manufacturing flaw? Not in my book. Now with this being Toyotas first kick at the full size truck can, I'm sure they have some more development to do. They have had design flaws in the past that persited until the next big redesign like the head gaskets blowing in the 3.0L V6 in 90s 4 Runner. In hind sight it would seem easy to recreate everything people will do to their truck in testing but it is not. People who buy the first run of a completely new vehicle should be prepared for problems like this. Even if toyota gives everyone that asks a new tail gate, it will probably be the same one that failed and a note to be more careful with it, the next refresh of the truck will probably have a beefier design.
Mike 2:16AM (10/25/2007)
tankd0g,
There's a difference between a tailgate that's all bashed up from something bouncing or scraping it and one that's ripping apart at the seems- litterally from a 400lb load (spread over ramps) for a couple minutes.
DarkKnight67 1:37PM (10/24/2007)
Well, let's see, "the truck thats changing it all" has an engine sludge issue, a transmission torque converter and a crappy, thin-metaled tailgate. Hmm, congratulations Toyota, you have arrived in the real world and must deal with a customer base that can decide to abandon you over quality. Let's not forget the wonderful door welds on Sienna vans.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=678203
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Jim P. 2:55PM (10/24/2007)
I loved the wording in that article. "It's not a factory recall for the vehicles, made from 2004 through 2006, but the owners will receive a letter from Toyota explaining the problem and offering to take care of it at the company's expense." And if your out of warranty, you have to pay for some of the repairs.
So by not making it an official recall, it makes the owners liable for a bill they get stuck paying when they shouldn't have to. Nice way to get out of a 'recall' there, Toyota. Don't want to tarnish that steller quality reputation.
AfterGasoline 1:47PM (10/24/2007)
I am usually not a fan of Toyota, and I am definitely not a fan of the new Tundra. Honestly, though, they are doing quite well to have just begun getting into the full-size truck market.
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