-ToYoTa-

Purshaced a 1997 toyota tacoma 4x4 v6 3.4 liter. bought it from a friend and knew the last 4 years history of the vehicle. a rod bearing cap bolt broke. of course cauesing the enige to fly all to crap. now seeing that the bearings and everything in the motor that is only at 125,000 miles. look brand new still without any wear what so ever. i am gonna say the bolt breaking caused the whole problem. so that to me wiht the bolt being broke straight off and not at a angle would mean it would be a defect in toyotas bolt. these rod bear cap bolts have forged ends on them. ok i understand that the warrenty is of course out on this truck. but i also understand that this broke because of defect and not of neglict of the engine or from driving. so i have filed a claim wiht toyota. and notified the dealer near me. for the last few days they have been throwing me back and forth to the 1-800-331-4331 number and the hickory toyota dealer ship in north carolina. today i was called and told the regional serivce manager would have to look at the case. and they REFUSE to give me contact info for him. says he comes to the dealership every month or two and i would have to wait until he arrived. so i called the 1-800-go-toyota number they are unable to give regional info out. and said i would have to file a claim to get intouch with him. which i had already done. so why is this guy JIM POPE is his name so hard to get ahold of. and why should i have to wait up to 2 months to get ahold of him? and then leave it up to THEM which could care les sabout my problem to contact me. SOOOOO i am in search of contact info to regional department. hopefully for North Carolina. any of you guys help? i just want a COMPATENT person to look at my trucks motor and broke part. any fool can see what has happen. any help will be helpful thanks



6 year toyota owner

cvlighthouse

Even if it is an engine defect part you will not get it covered. Thats the whole point about the warranty. They will cover engine defects untill the warranty runs out. Now if it was a recall then you would have it covered, but it isn't a recall and it takes hundreds of cases and court battles to get a recall on a product. If the bolt was tightned by someone to tight than the piece may break. Who's to say if you or joe smoe did some shotty work. Or johnny turbo redlined it all the time.

I suggest you look into replacing the parts or finding a 3.4l to swap out. The 2nd gen toyota door handle and tailgate handle break on almost evey truck after 10+ years. Yet they're not a defect, just a worn part. Toyota isn't going to replace these for free. It's job security! BTW welcome to Yotatech!

-ToYoTa-

bearings and whole entire motor look brand new. except for the 9 big pieces and the ton of lil pieces sitting in the bottom of the oil pan. the hole in the motor. the 2 piston rods in about 3 pieces each broke all the way up to the pistons thereelves. next lets save up and pay cash for a 97 tacoma. the nexpect to still ahve the money for a $2800 engine. lol its worth a shot what i am after. chevy or ford would make it good. Its just good will on there part. step father has been a mechinc for about 45 years. he has seen many things Warrantied long after the warranty was already off. i am a big toyota person, hell my dogs name is Tacoma. So just after to see what toyota will do. besides the dealership and the 1800 number giving me the run around back and forth. i am only asking for sumone to look at my problem from toyota with the autority to make a decision

rimpainter.com

And where are you getting that information?

yamarocket630

Save your money and fix the motor. GM would under no circumstances cover that... Trust me. I'd make sure of it, it's my job. Sorry about your luck, it sucks, but that is the point of a warranty. The manufacturer assumes responsibility for a problem until a certain point, and sometimes *a little* beyond if you're a good customer AND THE ORIGINAL OWNER WHO THEY MADE MONEY OFF OF, but at 125,XXX miles? Not a chance. At this point Toyota (or any other manufacturer) could care less about how and why the bolt broke, it' just not their problem.

Rivalred

Too bad to you were not near MI... I would take the truck off your hands.

-ToYoTa-

lol at making sure chevy would not fix the problem. let see step father being a mechainc for about 35 years now? hes had MANY replaced outta warrenty. and also hearing the CHEIF mechanics advice from the chevy dealership here. oh yea which is my brother. and my orgianl father working for the other dealership for abotu 18 years. so looks like i would also know most people there. so yea i am sure u could get it stopped. but its not a chevy so dont worry. that should answer two peoples questions. i am only asking forthem to look at my problem and make some kinda of decision. now either they can help me with this and get me into contact with the rep. or i will call him at home seeing i now have that number. i am sure he would like that call on a weekend when he was trying to rest. i only ask for them to do there job. and even though i am not a FIRST buyer i am still a OWNER and support there product by making it look good and have not one BUT 2 around. and buy all replacement parts from toyota to keep it orginal. being the FIRST buyer makes no diffrence. yall people are good at trying to help toyota out. i am asking for my help. i get enuff of toyota trying to do the run around. and if u was in my shoes and just replaced it wiht out doing what i am trying ur a fool. if these parts where in ur hands u have a total diffrent outlook and what u are saying.

rimpainter.com

OK, let's do a little recap of your situation:

* Bought a Tacoma from a friend who knew the history of the vehicle for the past 4 years (not its entire life), and you make no mention of any documentation regarding service.

* Vehicle has 125,000 miles; 65K miles out of its powertrain warranty period.

* You are "gonna say the breaking caused the whole problem."

* It [the engine] "looks brand new with no wear whatsoever."

* First you say your father has 45 years experience, now you say your step father has 35 years experience, and now its your brother who is a chief mechanic at Chevy.

You are going to argue with the regional rep, if you can get a hold of him, that Chevy would replace an engine in this circumstance because you have family with experience as mechanics.

You are going to base your entire premise on hearsay. Reality check dude.

Not gonna happen. Sorry.

-ToYoTa-

here ya go check it out http://www.geocities.com/toyota_94_97/Toyota.html. if u cant see it then ur a fool. and if i can get ahold of the rep? well since toyota would not contact me wiht him. i have his house number maybe i should call him there and tell hyim that the dealership gave me the number. seeing that the internet offers phone number lookups for free. but i am sure that would upset him so i give them time. i am asking them to look at the engine. not asking for a million dollars. u guys kill me. maybe u should try to work for toyota. since u must never have anything happen to you. and u must make 100 dollars and hour and afford anything u like. no wait u only drive a 96 4runner. maybe u should by a new one since u can afford it and never have any problems. i asking for help here. not ur bull˟˟˟˟ opionin. i doing what i think i should do. maybe u can let me have the $2,800 for a new engine?? that be awful nice of you. I AM A TOYOTA PERSON. and what has happen to this engine shouldnt have happen. i asking for sumone to look at it. its not that hard.

rimpainter.com

If you are going to resort to personal attacks, go away.

cvlighthouse

ToY- You didn't buy a lemon because it had 125,000 miles w/o engine problems. Engines throw a rod or break a arm all the time at 125,000 miles. A previous owner may have ran it hot while running low on oil which resulted in the problem (any manufactures excuse). Nuff said. Toyota doesn't have the blame. There is a slight chance that your engine ran 125,000 miles and then a defective part broke, but it still ran 125,000 miles! I feel your pain, but I'd have to say your ˟˟˟˟t out of luck on this one.

snwbrdpunk16

What the heck is with all the Rude noobs around here lately??

turboale

He may "only" have a 96 4runner, but....

At least he passed 5th grade english class...

and

his truck also runs...

-ToYoTa-

first off i am not being rude. i asking for ideas or help. and i am basically being flamed. to the note of being ran hot while low on oil. there again. every part in the engine looks NEW. theres no motor wear what so ever. i posted the site with pictures. for a bolt to be discolored like it is. black looking. had to be broke for a while. a fresh break would be silver. maybe i should post a pic of the diffrence, between the two. i am not downing toyota. i own 2 toyotas, and have owned 3 all together. i do love my toyotas. i am only stateing that toyota can not mass produce cars with out problems. there are no signs why the engine should have done this, except for the bolt. But you know what not everyone can afford a new car. and again all i ask is any help or anything that could get me to someone that has the autority and the knowledge on engines, from toyota to look at my situation. that was my post. wasnt asking for flameing. like i said put urself in my shoes. i think what i am doing is worth a shot. Ane My 1994 toyota truck runs, Along with the 1996 Dodge 1500 4x4. so it does hurt me one bit to let the tacoma sit there until i am finished with this claim.

cvlighthouse

Your not being flamed. Everyone is just playin. If you get mad you lose. Please keep us posted. I hope this doesn't change your opinion of toyota. Untill your finished with this claim. Your funny dude. Don't you get it. There is no grounds for a "claim" in your claim. Peace...

Bob_98SR5

yes you are being rude, though I've seen worse. your problem is that you cannot accept what you're reading because you want a certain outcome (direct contact w/ the regional manager and an out-of-warranty fix). its not going to happen.

my suggestion is that you take the advice of the members who already posted here...many of whom are extremely knowledgable. just get it fixed or sell it.

and who knows, you might have other issues that require their knowledge and depending on how you conduct yourself here, they *might* even help you with those other issues.

bob

-ToYoTa-

lol oh i know how to contact the regonial man. seeing they was smart enuff to tell me he was a very nice guy that lived in a city near me. and the powerful search of yahoo and there people search gave me his house number. haha. sure he would like that early morning sunday call. telling him that a certain woman at toyota dealership gave me this number and told me earlier morning weekend would be the best time to contact him. but i am giving them time to atleast be honest with what they say they are doing. before i decided to piss the guy off. far as "mechainc" advice, i sure i can do with the help of people on the fourm. maybe just a lil bit of help on spelling though but just as soon as toyota gives me the help i am asking for. i will be sure to scan and post proof of what happens so that if u ever have problems of the nature u will know what to do. and far as having no claim???? well i see no signs of neglect on my part, or any other owners part. so maybe lil leapercons came the nite before and trasported into my engine and sawed the bolt in two. because i ran over one of them the day before. i dunno. or maybe just maybe the bolt was just bad and broke. dang reckon stuff like that could happen every now and then? when u mass produce. but i am sure u guys are right. toyota is owned by GOD and they dont mess up. they cant possably do anything wrong. HaHa. just asking for a lil help ok ok ALOT help that i aint gonna get "in your opioion". but i am trying with no one on my side i am still trying but thanks for all the backing and helpful comments.

fiveofeen

sounds like a crap situation but if it was my dealership i wouldnt cover it. why should i? have you ever heard of the saying "there is no such thing as a free lunch" i understand why you would make the claim, but there is no sesne in beating a dead dog. your best bet is to make friends with the folks here and find good info on where to find a nice used 3.4 to put in.

also, i have never seen such bad grammar and spelling by an adult in my life. ( i am not perfect either, but you should really take a little more time when you write these posts).

-ToYoTa-

I said I could not spell that I needed help on that. That and the fact I text message on my cell phone to much and learn to make everyword in slang and shorter then it really is. But anyways, Finding a nice used engine, I have not asked for that. Nor am I going to ask for that. Also you said YOUR dealership would not cover it???? So what u dont think there is hmmmmmm 5 or 10 more dearlerships within say 100 miles of yours? Excatly, they are more then one. So I would just go to the next. I am not asking the dealership to do anything. The dealership is a nobody in this case. they have been informed, that would be all they needed to know about it at this point. You know this is great practice, for when I get to talk to the real person in charge. you guys are actaully helping me I just never realized it. Thanks

tulsa_97SR5

ToYoTa, I too buy older vehicles. I could afford a brand new one, but would rather spend my money on other things. It's a trade off though. I get a low/no car payment, but the risk is that I'll need to drop an engine or tranny in it at any point. Even if I do, that's equal to making a new car payment for a few months, then i'm back to cheap/free each month. It's almost always cheaper to keep a used car running than buy a new one, but it's never free to keep a vehicle running forever. It's the nature of mechanical things that one part fails first, it would be very unusual to see an engine where all the parts turned to dust at the same moment.

That said, I'm a big fan of people trying different things, so go break some new ground and get Toyota to refresh all of our warranties. If it doesn't work out there's ton's of advice here about swaps & replacements.