chris2002tacoma

Ok, I had my 2002 Tacoma frame replaced last week and picked it up this morning. The work was done under the Toyota recall in Massachusetts. I will post the dealers name and full experience when the the remaining issues related to problems with the replacement are or are not resolved. I want to be fair to both the dealer and to Toyota and give them a day or so to resolve some issues with my Tacoma since replacing a frame is a major job, and there is sure to be issues related to such a big job.

When I first was informed about the frame replacement I was very cautious and went to varies Toyota forums to learn about other consumers experience. Some were positive and some were negative. My concern was getting a big bill for "extras" which some consumers had a problem with, and my other concern was that if I didn't have the frame replaced then I had to worry about the frame breaking and causing harm in all sorts of possible ways. I brought the car to the dealer. This dealer is a first time for me. It is a new place,so I went to them , even though this dealer is farther away than other Toyota dealers to me.

I was told by the service person (name withheld for now) that the frame failed and that it would be covered by Toyota, app $15,000.00 for Toyota to pay them. No buyback available since Toyota wants people to see their trucks on the road for years to come. That is understandable. I was also informed that the water pump had a leak(which I knew). I asked that no "extras" be charged to me, and that i would deal with the water pump leak myself.

The dealer let me use a loner car while my frame was being replaced which was nice of them. I went to the dealer dropped off loaner and drove my truck. The first thing I noticed was the check engine light was on, which I understand happens allot after a frame replacement and will probably go away-no big deal. As I was driving out of the dealer parking lot, the truck was obviously having some serious front end problems. I drove a bit more and the truck was pulling big-time to the right, and when I turned left the truck would almost jump over to the left during the turn. Naturally I brought the truck right back. I was immediately told that the vehicle was not aligned (front end alignment) and that I would have to pay extra for that. That got me mad. The dealer is making allot of money on a big job like this.

I went back to my truck and made a couple phone calls and went back in to get more information and something in writing about why exactly my Tacoma front end is way out of alignment. (When I say way out, imagine someone sitting in your passenger side and grabbing the steering wheel and turning it right while you are driving and then as you turn left the truck tire feeling like is jumps along.) The shop manager came out and talked to me about it, telling me that the problem is the front inner and outer tie rod ends. He told me that they tried everything to get them to adjust but they just would not turn, they used oil, heat, and strong wrenches and tried as hard as they could without actually breaking them. I'm worried that they may be compromised with all those hard attempts, maybe bent or something. The shop manager (name withheld) told me Toyota will only pay for x,y and z, and that customers can't expect Toyota to pay for every little thing the customer may want covered. I completely agree with the shop manager about that. I didn't expect them to fix my leaky water pump gasket for free( although a simple repair ) I didn't expect them to supply and replace my worn shocks for free, etc., but an issue with rusted beyond adjustable tie rods that cannot be adjusted at all to safely do a front end alignment should have been done as part of this replacement.

The Shop manager did offer me a discount on the tie rod end job if Toyota does not authorize the repair under the replacement. I really do not have the extra money to do this and I do not feel I should have to pay for it. I was told the reason I could get a discount is because the dealership made allot of money on this job. It puzzles me that if they made allot of money on this job why they just didn't do the tie rods knowing very well how bad the vehicle was now out of alignment and unsafe. When I got on the highway that is when I realized that I won't be able to drive this until it is fixed. If I didn't have to get home for my kids I would have not driven it all the way home holding on to the steering wheel as hard as I could. Anyways the shop manager gave me the number to call Toyota USA and speak with them, which I did. Toyota USA seemed very receptive and will call me back on Thursday. As of right now I wish i did not go through with this replacement. My truck drove fine and I loved it (170,000 miles, but hey...it's a Toyota) and now I won't drive it until I am driving it back to be fixed right. I have to get a ride to work tonight and probably tomorrow night. I really hope Toyota steps up a takes care of this. I just want my truck to drive straight just like before. Hey, a little pull here, a little shake here, no big deal, but the extent of the alignment problem is the worse I have ever encountered and I suspect, although unintentional, that the mechanics may have caused damage to the rods while trying as hard as possible to get them to move. I will post all my experiences until this is resolved. I would like nothing more than to post a positive experience. I have never had any problem with this Tacoma and am hoping to put allot more miles on it. Any suggestions much appreciated. If anyone has questions that may be helpful to you, feel free to ask. Thanks.

chris2002tacoma

UPDATE:

A Toyota rep did call me today (Thursday 1/20/2011) and she was polite and discussed the issues my Tacoma. I was told again that tie rods are not covered under the frame replacement, which I already knew from the dealership. I explained that I was not expecting free stuff like I pointed out in my post at the top of this thread, but that I felt that this is more of a safety issue and should have just been done and covered in future frame replacements nationwide. Brake lines and e-brake cable are included in the replacement due to a safety concern and I feel when factory tie rods rust so bad that they cannot be budged under extreme heat, oil, and strong wrenches in a shop, should also fall within "lets' include it for safety sake" especially when it prevents the mechanic from being able to do an alignment.
The Toyota rep is going to contact the dealer and here what they have to say, and then contact me back, hopefully either the dealer or Toyota will cover this. My truck drove nice and straight when I left it with them, now I will only drive it when I drop it off at somewhere to be fixed.
I will update the status on the forum in the next couple days.