Factory-ordered a 2005 Tacoma Access Cab on 2/1 (my first Toyota) and am becoming a little concerned about the "apparent" problems I have been reading about. Not so concerned that I want to cancel my order, however, because I really do believe that these problems will be addressed by Toyota (eventually).
I was thinking that it might be a good idea to put theses "concerns" IN WRITING before accepting delivery so that they would at least be "on file" should I have problems (ie:paint,leaks,etc.) down the road.
Any thoughts?
I have mine on order as well. From what I'm seeing though it seems like a production problem and not a design problem since most of the posts seem to be from what I call "early adopters" and got early run models from the factory. I would imagine (crossing my fingers) that by the time mine comes in that the production process would have been tightened up and the problems would go away. .. that's what happens when you build American cars next to foreign models. :-) .. just my opinion.. I will definitely mention these issues though to my dealer before I sign on the dotted line and check for any last minute TSB's prior to driving off the lot..
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Tacoma V6 Auto 4x4 Double Cab 128"
White
TRD Off-Road
TRD CAT Back Exhaust, Bed Mat, Husky Floor Mats, Wildcat Flash Nerf Bars, Prodigy Brake Controller, In Dash cell phone mount, Cargo Bars w/Thule Ski & Bike Attachments, Toyo Open Country A/T Tires (Stock Size)
I will be telling my dealer also but I have a feeling they will just say well if you have any of those problems thats why you have a warranty. So anyway i will be sure to tell them that the truck also has a recall on the parking brake on the automatics. Been on order 9 weeks here still no word and this is a dealer that has found hard to find toyota's for my family for a long time. Hang in there guys!!! This forum ROCKS!!!
Factory-ordered a 2005 Tacoma Access Cab on 2/1 (my first Toyota) and am becoming a little concerned about the "apparent" problems I have been reading about. Not so concerned that I want to cancel my order, however, because I really do believe that these problems will be addressed by Toyota (eventually).
I was thinking that it might be a good idea to put theses "concerns" IN WRITING before accepting delivery so that they would at least be "on file" should I have problems (ieaint,leaks,etc.) down the road.
Any thoughts?
GOOD IDEA! Here is what I would do also. Ask the dealer if you can test drive the truck for the afternoon and take it to a local car wash and spray water on the winshield/cowl section for at least 15 minutes. Really soak it. Then ask the dealer to have a tech pop off the both trims on both passenger and drivers side, stick your hands under the carpet up toward the firewall and feel for moisture. See my Arbitration thread, might be helpful. Good Luck!!!
I think all you'll be doing is putting the dealer on notice that you will be 'difficult'. That's not the best way to start a relationship. If a potential client tried to do something like that to me, I'd tell him to take a walk. If you have qualms about Toyota, then you shouldn't buy one.
Anybody that thinks the quality goes up when the model gets older in production terms is dreaming. The longer a vehicle has been in production the more they are able to cut costs. As far as build quality and attention to details, the most attention is given when the model is brand new. That is when people watch what they are doing. Once a model is a few years old, you think they pay attention to every little thing? NOT!
I think all you'll be doing is putting the dealer on notice that you will be 'difficult'. That's not the best way to start a relationship. If a potential client tried to do something like that to me, I'd tell him to take a walk. If you have qualms about Toyota, then you shouldn't buy one.
I respectfully disagree with your opinion on this. I do not think this is an unfair request in light of the problems that Toyota seems to be hush hush about. If you buy a $30,000 truck with a known mfg. problem then I would want to know if my purchase was affected. Not to much to ask.
I respectfully disagree with your opinion on this. I do not think this is an unfair request in light of the problems that Toyota seems to be hush hush about. If you buy a $30,000 truck with a known mfg. problem then I would want to know if my purchase was affected. Not to much to ask.
It's your opinion against theirs though when you say "known problem". I'm still waiting for mine but from I've been reading it seems to be more of an assembly line issue than an actual design problem. When you have a new model vehicle no matter what brand and new factories with new employee's you can expect that something will get missed or not quite done to spec. Unfortunately that's the risk you take with 1st year models and especially during the early production runs of the 1st year model. While it sucks to be in that position there is a known fix and the dealers that have seen it know how to fix it. Taking it to the next level so to speak doesn't do much good because the next level will tell you that you haven't tried the known fix yet and you're back where you started. As I mentioned in one of my other posts... the vehicle is mechanically sound and a leaky windshield is fixable. This probably won't be your only windshield as well. Freeway rocks will see to that. Good luck but you may want to tone it down and give the dealer a chance to fix it. If you don't like that dealers service then go to another dealer.
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Tacoma V6 Auto 4x4 Double Cab 128"
White
TRD Off-Road
TRD CAT Back Exhaust, Bed Mat, Husky Floor Mats, Wildcat Flash Nerf Bars, Prodigy Brake Controller, In Dash cell phone mount, Cargo Bars w/Thule Ski & Bike Attachments, Toyo Open Country A/T Tires (Stock Size)
It's your opinion against theirs though when you say "known problem". I'm still waiting for mine but from I've been reading it seems to be more of an assembly line issue than an actual design problem. When you have a new model vehicle no matter what brand and new factories with new employee's you can expect that something will get missed or not quite done to spec. Unfortunately that's the risk you take with 1st year models and especially during the early production runs of the 1st year model. While it sucks to be in that position there is a known fix and the dealers that have seen it know how to fix it. Taking it to the next level so to speak doesn't do much good because the next level will tell you that you haven't tried the known fix yet and you're back where you started. As I mentioned in one of my other posts... the vehicle is mechanically sound and a leaky windshield is fixable. This probably won't be your only windshield as well. Freeway rocks will see to that. Good luck but you may want to tone it down and give the dealer a chance to fix it. If you don't like that dealers service then go to another dealer.
Apparently, you have not read my other post. The dealer has attempted two times to apply the known fix. Still leaks. My truck has been out of service since 1/10/2005. Dealer is waiting on another solution from Toyota. I am waiting on the arbitration meeting.
Apparently, you have not read my other post. The dealer has attempted two times to apply the known fix. Still leaks. My truck has been out of service since 1/10/2005. Dealer is waiting on another solution from Toyota. I am waiting on the arbitration meeting.
Ah... but yes I have read your other posts which is why I said if you're not happy with your dealership try another one. Many others have stated they've had the problem and that it's been fixed by their dealer. There have also been posts stating what has been fixed and how it was fixed. Not every dealer has good techs.
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Tacoma V6 Auto 4x4 Double Cab 128"
White
TRD Off-Road
TRD CAT Back Exhaust, Bed Mat, Husky Floor Mats, Wildcat Flash Nerf Bars, Prodigy Brake Controller, In Dash cell phone mount, Cargo Bars w/Thule Ski & Bike Attachments, Toyo Open Country A/T Tires (Stock Size)
I think all you'll be doing is putting the dealer on notice that you will be 'difficult'. That's not the best way to start a relationship. If a potential client tried to do something like that to me, I'd tell him to take a walk. If you have qualms about Toyota, then you shouldn't buy one.
I'm not suggesting to be "adversariall" with the dealer as much as "concerned" about the anticipated problems. I would expect any responsible dealer to understand these concerns (especially if he was aware of them) and not hesitate to co-operate. Judging from the response of a few dealers 'after-the-fact' reactions, I don't see being up-front (on both sides I might add) as being a bad thing. Just a mutual understanding of what might happen outside of any warranty coverage down the road.
This thread is getting a little overboard. But....the dealer will probably not put anything in writing. The water leak seems to be with the doublecabs. I would recommend purchasing the running boards to help protect the paint. It's a great truck.
Ah... but yes I have read your other posts which is why I said if you're not happy with your dealership try another one. Many others have stated they've had the problem and that it's been fixed by their dealer. There have also been posts stating what has been fixed and how it was fixed. Not every dealer has good techs.
Again, the problem is not with the dealership. Two different Toyota Certified tech have made the repair. These guys are top notch, between them 30 years experience. Toyota is now concerned that my truck may have a "different" leaking problem than the normal one. My dealer has been great, I am driving a new 05 Tundra owned by the dealer. I would just like to see toyota step up and take responsibility and inform the owners by recall that there may be a problem with thier certain Vins leaking. There is not even an official TSB yet!
[QUOTE=toytruck86]This thread is getting a little overboard. But....the dealer will probably not put anything in writing. The water leak seems to be with the doublecabs. I would recommend purchasing the running boards to help protect the paint. It's a great truck.
I agree with toytruck--get the running boards to protect the paint, but tell the dealer you're aware of the paint problem and try to get the running boards at no cost. As for the water leak, it's been reported on access and double cabs. So far I've read no reports of it on the regular cab, but that may be just because not too many people own the regular cab.
As for quality improving over time, I'd say that would be true if the quality issues had to do with the parts being supplied to Toyota. If they're defective, Toyota would replace them. That was true with my '00 Eclipse--there were no build quality issues with the car but there were alot of defective parts, like the wheels, stereo, sunroof motor, headlight switch, etc. I traded it in for an '03 Eclipse, and the car was absolutely perfect because by then Mitsubishi had replaced all of the defective parts. But the issues this truck is having are build-quality issues, which are alot more troubling that parts issues, and Toyota has been having these problems for some time, not just with this vehicle. Check out the current issue of Automobile Magazine, the interview with Jim Press, the COO of Toyota Sales. Toyota currently ranks 28'th out of 39 brands on the J D Powers Customer Satisfaction Index, and that's not good. I think the problem is that Toyota is trying to build too many vehicles too fast, and is losing sight of the quality that, up until now, has turned customers into repeat customers. Once this truck goes into production in Mexico, I think you can expect the quality to diminish even further. Look what happened to Volkswagon's quality once it moved production to Mexico.
This thread is getting a little overboard. But....the dealer will probably not put anything in writing. The water leak seems to be with the doublecabs. I would recommend purchasing the running boards to help protect the paint. It's a great truck.
I agree with toytruck--get the running boards to protect the paint, but tell the dealer you're aware of the paint problem and try to get the running boards at no cost. As for the water leak, it's been reported on access and double cabs. So far I've read no reports of it on the regular cab, but that may be just because not too many people own the regular cab.
As for quality improving over time, I'd say that would be true if the quality issues had to do with the parts being supplied to Toyota. If they're defective, Toyota would replace them. That was true with my '00 Eclipse--there were no build quality issues with the car but there were alot of defective parts, like the wheels, stereo, sunroof motor, headlight switch, etc. I traded it in for an '03 Eclipse, and the car was absolutely perfect because by then Mitsubishi had replaced all of the defective parts. But the issues this truck is having are build-quality issues, which are alot more troubling that parts issues, and Toyota has been having these problems for some time, not just with this vehicle. Check out the current issue of Automobile Magazine, the interview with Jim Press, the COO of Toyota Sales. Toyota currently ranks 28'th out of 39 brands on the J D Powers Customer Satisfaction Index, and that's not good. I think the problem is that Toyota is trying to build too many vehicles too fast, and is losing sight of the quality that, up until now, has turned customers into repeat customers. Once this truck goes into production in Mexico, I think you can expect the quality to diminish even further. Look what happened to Volkswagon's quality once it moved production to Mexico.
I have no water leaks but was getting a lot of sand and grit on the sides of my Taco from the sand on the icey roads so I had a set of tube steps (by Dee Zee) installed and, now, I don't get hardly any dirt on the sides of the truck like before. (So, hopefully, no dings like many were getting.)
The tube steps look great, too....I have a Snug Top lid on order so it should be coming in soon...I'm hoping my 20-21 mpg will get bumped up a tad from that.
Preemptive Strike?
aint,leaks,etc.) down the road.
opinion on this. I do not think this is an unfair request in light of the problems that Toyota seems to be hush hush about. If you buy a $30,000 truck with a known mfg. problem then I would want to know if my purchase was affected. Not to much to ask.
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