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TundraGeneral discussion forum for the 2007 and later Toyota Tundra.
This is a discussion thread titled "Tundra Tailgate Failures!!! I am in the Club.", within the Tundra forum, part of the Truck Forums category.
Zack, you can blame the crowd of people that complained about the tailgate being too heavy, slamming down too hard, or too hard to remove. I see it as the devs made the tailgate lighter and easier to remove, but had to sacrifice the integrity of the tailgate for reduced weight and ease of removal. If you want to load your ATV safely, you should remove the gate. Or get a loader that rests on the bed, not a couple of 2x4's slapped on the tailgate.
Toyota would be a stupid fool to issue a safety recall for a tailgate. If anything, they'd issue a voluntary TSB for customers with complaints, as most TSB's are. Anyways, I'm just repeating myself as I've said most of this months ago in this thread.
my $.02, spend it if you like.
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You know I have been paranoid about this since I have an 07 Crewmax, but a few weeks ago I went on a week long tour of Colorado, camping and ATV riding. I have an 07 Can-Am Outlander Max 800. This thing is so long it will only fit in the truck with the tailgate down and the rear tires rest on the middle of the tailgate. I loaded and unloaded this thing about a dozen times or more during the course of the week and have not had any problems. The only thing that happened is my Linex chipped where the ramps met the tailgate. No sign of anything bending. I am actually very surprised by this. I cannot explain why my tailgate seems to have super human strength. Is this failure happening quickly or is it over many many loading sessions. Also, I noticed that my ramps extend far enough onto the tailgate so it is no putting pressure on the lip. Maybe that is key? I don't know, just food for thought.
Zack, you can blame the crowd of people that complained about the tailgate being too heavy, slamming down too hard, or too hard to remove. I see it as the devs made the tailgate lighter and easier to remove, but had to sacrifice the integrity of the tailgate for reduced weight and ease of removal. If you want to load your ATV safely, you should remove the gate. Or get a loader that rests on the bed, not a couple of 2x4's slapped on the tailgate.
Toyota would be a stupid fool to issue a safety recall for a tailgate. If anything, they'd issue a voluntary TSB for customers with complaints, as most TSB's are. Anyways, I'm just repeating myself as I've said most of this months ago in this thread.
my $.02, spend it if you like.
with all due respect, your suggestion to load without the tailgate on is useless to those of us with the crewmax. The tailgate is defective, no doubt about it....
I originally noticed my cracked gate in October of last year after seeing this thread (see my original post I believe 10/22/07). My truck was 3 months old at the time. I went to my dealer and dealt with the Service Manager. Well, after going through the process of pics, etc, I waited and waited but never heard back. It never got worse, but it didn't quite close all the way on the cracked side (@1/4" out). So I asked the Service Dept and she said that jackass had left, they had a new guy. so I grab him, and he can find ZERO records of it. so we started the process all over, and a month later (today) the field rep stopped in and looked at it, took pics, and told me he'll replace it. No questions asked. He even said they will respray the Rhino lining. I couldn't be happier, unless the original jackass had actually DONE something. Toyota stuck by their product for me, an dmy new gate (which he said was indeed reinforced) should be painted and installed next week. They have stood by their product, i will stand by Toyota until something drives me away. Just thought I'd share that. Good day to all, and Happy Holidays.
__________________ Crewmax Salsa Red Pearl Loaded.
Rhino Liner
Diamond Gloss
Remote Start
Undercover Tonneau
Pistol in the console
I go out to Glamis every two weeks and load my bed with heavy stuff all of the time. I've loaded a Honda 450R with the tailgate down many times and never had a problem. I also have a Honda EU3000 generator that we stick in the bed from time to time and we set it directly on the tailgate, sometimes with two guys standing on the gate as well to move the genny forward above the axle. That's about 500 - 550 lbs spread across the gate and nothing has happened.
I originally noticed my cracked gate in October of last year after seeing this thread (see my original post I believe 10/22/07). My truck was 3 months old at the time. I went to my dealer and dealt with the Service Manager. Well, after going through the process of pics, etc, I waited and waited but never heard back. It never got worse, but it didn't quite close all the way on the cracked side (@1/4" out). So I asked the Service Dept and she said that jackass had left, they had a new guy. so I grab him, and he can find ZERO records of it. so we started the process all over, and a month later (today) the field rep stopped in and looked at it, took pics, and told me he'll replace it. No questions asked. He even said they will respray the Rhino lining. I couldn't be happier, unless the original jackass had actually DONE something. Toyota stuck by their product for me, an dmy new gate (which he said was indeed reinforced) should be painted and installed next week. They have stood by their product, i will stand by Toyota until something drives me away. Just thought I'd share that. Good day to all, and Happy Holidays.
Yeah man, cut my veins and I bleed Toyota Salsa Red . Been a Toyota owner since 93'. I had a 4x4 extra cab...even before they called these things T100's or Tacoma's, etc. They had a recall on that truck where the head gasket was leaking coolant into the block. They also had a backlog of trucks to fix for this issue before I took mine in. They wanted me to stop driving it to prevent further damage so they gave me a rental for two weeks until my truck was done.
I'm sorry to hear the experience many have had with their tailgates, Seems most folks that have the issues are quad or AT owners. For me I don't anticipate I'll be loading very heavy stuff onto the gate but I will pay attention when I do and maybe even pull the gate off.
Glad to see this post and that Toyota Service came through for someone as they have done for me in the past...
For those who have had their gate replaced - did the dealer make you leave the truck with them to replace the gate? I spoke with my dealer and he said they needed the entire truck for 3 days so the painter could make sure it matched the truck. I am , since the repainted gate should simply match the one they replace (leave the old gate with them for color-matching).
__________________ ---Michael---
2007 Toyota Tundra 5.7L DCRB Limited 4x2 TRD - Slate/RedRock
Performance: TRD intake and exhaust; Hellwig adj. rear swaybar; Interior: Door sill protectors, WeatherTech liners, All-weather mats, Bedrug; Exterior: Truxedo Deuce bed cover, Spare tire lock; Mods: Shaved emblems
pull the plastic cover and look for the bolts at either end of the a gate. You can search for photos of the upgrade. It was the first thing I looked for when I purchased my truck.
If you want to load your ATV safely, you should remove the gate. Or get a loader that rests on the bed, not a couple of 2x4's slapped on the tailgate.
Everytime I read that part of that statement, I realize that it is a comment not conected to the reality of those of us that actually use our Tundras as trucks.
I have had pickup trucks for many years... I have raced motorcycles, and loaded them into many different pickups for decades. I have never even seen anyone use a "loader" that rested on the bed and not the tailgate, to load an ATV, mororcycle, or a lawntractor.
I have owned, and loved more Toyotas than most, and I love my Tundra, but .... even if you dress the problem up and march it around the block,... the tailgate was still a Toyota screwup..
For those who have had their gate replaced - did the dealer make you leave the truck with them to replace the gate? I spoke with my dealer and he said they needed the entire truck for 3 days so the painter could make sure it matched the truck. I am , since the repainted gate should simply match the one they replace (leave the old gate with them for color-matching).
I think color matching with a sample is better than using the paint code on the door sill. Therefore it sounds like the dealer is trying to do a good job on the paint.
However, you are exactly right in the assumption they can use the old tailgate for color matching without having the whole truck. You should be able to drop off your original tailgate and then return in a few days for installation of the new one. All of the work required for this swap is with the tailgate itself including swapping out hardware from the old tailgate. Your whole truck doesn't have to be there for that. Maybe the dealer finds it easier or is too lazy to schedule two visits.
When they replaced mine locally it was just a phone call and I gave them the paint code verbally. I got a phone call a week later saying it was ready so I left my truck with them for a couple of hours so they could swap over all the original hardware into the new tailgate. Very simple but the paint is almost indiscernibly different.
I actually wish Toyota would let DIY folks do the work themselves. My dealer's monkeys did a horrible job reinstalling the backup camera harness into the new tailgate and even pulled one of the pin wires out of the under-bumper plug. I had to do the troubleshooting to find it myself.
I guess the dealer employees are the only ones good enough and qualified to work on my truck. Whatever.
__________________
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." -- Thomas Jefferson 1802
Last edited by jliltd; 11-24-2008 at 12:01 PM.
Reason: sp
Everytime I read that part of that statement, I realize that it is a comment not conected to the reality of those of us that actually use our Tundras as trucks.
I have had pickup trucks for many years... I have raced motorcycles, and loaded them into many different pickups for decades. I have never even seen anyone use a "loader" that rested on the bed and not the tailgate, to load an ATV, mororcycle, or a lawntractor.
I have owned, and loved more Toyotas than most, and I love my Tundra, but .... even if you dress the problem up and march it around the block,... the tailgate was still a Toyota screwup..
Rex
True. Not to mention toyota showed ramps on the end of the tailgate in the 2007 catalog, uh oh! It was a problem, bottom line. Toyota stepped up to the plate.
__________________ Crewmax Salsa Red Pearl Loaded.
Rhino Liner
Diamond Gloss
Remote Start
Undercover Tonneau
Pistol in the console
Re: Tundra Tailgate Failures!!! I am in the Club.
Crewmax Salsa Red Pearl Loaded. 
. Been a Toyota owner since 93'. I had a 4x4 extra cab...even before they called these things T100's or Tacoma's, etc. They had a recall on that truck where the head gasket was leaking coolant into the block. They also had a backlog of trucks to fix for this issue before I took mine in. They wanted me to stop driving it to prevent further damage so they gave me a rental for two weeks until my truck was done. 
, since the repainted gate should simply match the one they replace (leave the old gate with them for color-matching).
Linear Mode
