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Toyota Tundra Problems
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Comments
I will say that to me it seemed the Rado complaints were quite more severe than Tundras. I was also suprised by the sheer number of complaints Rado Vs Tundra, but as Quad pointed out, the number of vehicles on the road between the two differ greatly, so that is to be expected. I found quite a few Rado consumers who described their experiences as "dangerous" and "safety issues" , haven't seen those words yet in Tundra posts but still quite a few to look through.
So Tundra owners...no one fessing up? Do you have forged pistons or not? Such a simple question...no answer? Or am I asking this question at the "wrong" site? So WHERE ARE all the knowledgeable owners?
Good luck on this one now.................................................................................................
I leave the game playing to you and the others. It's so obvious reading the Tundra complaints to NTHSA, including air bags failing to deploy resulting in injury, seat belt failures, and an incomprehensible number of brake complaints, that there's no credible spin you can use to distort the fact, that Tundra owners are complaining about problems at a rate DOUBLE G.M or Ford. If Tundras were truly problem free, the higher complaint rate would only infer that Tundra owners are whining complainers. Simply not the case, present company excepted!
Toyota Tundra won J.D. Powers awards for 2000 and 2001, the only two years it has been eligible. Guess who is going to win in '02?
The '01 award for the most dependable truck according to J.D. Power? The '96 T100. This is the result of a 5 year study.
Consumer Reports ranks '00 Tundra as a reliable used vehicle. Chev '99 and '00 trucks are rated used vehicles to avoid (ALREADY). I wonder what that will do to Chevs already wimpy resale.
Obwannatundra and you have both personally owned Lemon GM trucks. Edmunds claims the GM truck they tested is the worst vehicle they tested EVER by a factor of two. Car and Driver's long-term Chev truck literally fell apart on them.
Automobile magazine did a long term test on a Tundra - 0 repairs. Motor Trend did a long term test on a Tundra. 0 repairs. Do you see a trend here?
I personally own a truck that has been perfect for two years. Neither you nor Obywannatundra can claim this. Dohhh!!!
Now I know that you and oby really got stung on those Lemonados of yours, but I think it is time that you and Oby run along.
Isn't this the cue for ObywannaTundra to come back and make some more asinine remarks? Tweedledumb and tweedledumber!
I have a several complaints. The equipment rental dealer would not let my tow a small, trailered skid steer with it. He said their policy is a full size Ford, Dodge or GM, that they had a bad experience with a Tundra owner who claimed a trailer bent his axle. I told him Tundra is a full size truck, but he would not rent the equipment.
Since owning the truck for about 3 months, I've noticed the steering wheel will shimmy when the brakes are applied, and the brake pedal feels like it is pumping under my foot. I took the truck in to a dealer, and said the truck shakes when the brakes are applied. Without looking up from his clipboard, the arrogant s.o.b. said "you and everybody else!"
I almost didn't want to tell him about my second problem, which is a mysterious "bump" that happens just before coming to a stop. Feels almost like I am being tapped from the rear, but no one is behind me. He continued writing without looking up, very rude, and said "they all do that." What a jerk!
When I picked my truck up, the write-up stated they turned the front rotors and replaced brake pads. The technician changed the transmission fluid and cleaned a screen, and charged me for this! But I still feel the bump from behind.
I never had a problem with a Honda. This truck worries me. Anybody with similar problems?
Do a search on brakes, brake problems, brake vibrations, transmission problems, transmission clunks. There are hundreds of posts in the archives.
Jim
The Toyota service department always treated me fine -they fixed it right the first time - and if problem came back - even after warranty was expired - they fixed it again for free. I did have one problem Toyota - and I got to know the guys in service too well. Maybe it was an act - but I always felt like they did care about all the problems I was having, and did everything they could to fix them. One mechanic even stayed until 7:00 pm on a Friday to finish up so I could pick up the vehicle early Saturday morning.
If the sales department treated me 1/2 as good as the service department I may still be driving Toyota products.
And Quad, I might tend to believe that Tundra owners perhaps are a tad bit more asinine when it comes to their trucks. Especially after being fooled by Toyota into believing that they have a true "full" sized truck with Tacoma parts.
And speaking of being "fooled," obyone, didn't you buy what was advertised as the "longest lasting, most dependable truck on the road?" Pfff, YEAH RIGHT!
Isn't is strange that obyone, by his own admission, owns a bonafide lemon-law qualified Chevy that spends 4 months a year at the dealer but seeks "vindication" for his plight by brooding in Toyota threads at Edmunds Town Hall?
I hope obyone sticks around in our Toyota threads, however. Despite his best efforts to criticize Toyotas, he provides the ultimate example of why Chevys should be avoided.
You will find that a vast majority of Tundra owners on "that site" are very happy with their trucks. But hey, don't take my word for it, go and see for yourself.
kip
I think the important point is all makers will produce a problematic vehicle, but the RATE at which they produce them is the real indicator of quality, or lack thereof.
I would say you'd be exremely unlikely to get a real lemon-qualified Tundra as in rstubener's case. But with GMC, especially lately, it seems you're lucky just to get a "good" truck that doesn't knock, shake, or have such a bad transmission the owner wants his money back or has to take GMC to court for settlements. It's SOOO obvious the automotive world (and everybody else with open eyes) is recognizing GMC's quality issues while the loyalists simply can't accept the truth.
It also seems that the loyalists like to make themselves feel better by attacking - TA DAA - Toyota, the company generally recognized as making the world's most reliable vehicles.
I personally find all this quite amusing. Anytime there's some anecdotal tale about a Toyota with a problem, hundreds of angry Chevy Lemonado owners rejoice and say "HA!!! Toyota made a lemon! Take that you Toyota zealots!" then pat themselves on the back, trying to ease their pain and convince themselves Chevy is still #1. If it makes the Chevy owners feel better, more power to them.
But none of this changes the fact that Toyota is NOTED for quality, while Chevy ADVERTISES it. Perhaps that's why you always hear the argument "My Chevy is as reliable as your Toyota" and NEVER "My Toyota is as reliable as your Chevy."
Interesting, huh?
P.S. Find a new dealership
rstubener - don't give in.Toyota OWES you a truck that works.
kip
As said before by many, the truck is not perfect and the brakes have always been more of a complaint than other components. So for some to say that these complaints are even CLOSE to rivaling lemon Chevys / GMCs is ludicrous. It's not as if theres a new problem being posted in here daily such as peeling paint, seat malfunctions, or anything else for that matter. The majority of problems reported fall within the well known problems of truck.
What classifies as a "lemon" to me ?? The fact that something different and unsuspected is always falling apart or malfunctioning on it. This isn't brand specific at all, just in general. You read some of the other vehicle threads in general around Edmunds and you will see that the Tundra most definitely, isn't close to rivaling a "lemon" type vehicle. Maybe Rstubener has had other complaints as well he did not mention. I'm wondering if the brakes feel different now or if you feel they have been fixed, at least temporarily if nothing else ??
Here's what I consider real Tundra problems and more specifically Toyota problems. The lack of "quality" service at the dealers. This seems to be the common denominator among many Toyota owners. For some it's the service depts., others the sales dept.. Their staffs have been called " rude", "inconsiderate" , " not helpful" by quite a few customers. I personally don't have Tundra yet but will soon, and will be able to attest to dealer complaints myself. Just remember though, while the service you receive may be a Toyota complaint, it is NOT necessarily a specific problem with Tundra itself. To knock down the reputation of truck due to poor service seems unjust.
Yes, since service is a huge part of any manufacturer, it counts. I for one think that Toyota has something to be desired when it comes to providing more consistent quality service. Yet to think that the Tundra itself is anywhere near some of the other lemon trucks aforementioned is silly. Not to mention the fact that the Tundra itself is still only in its third year of production. I'm sure theres things that in time will be ironed out. Heck, theres Rados, Rangers, Rams and many other trucks that have been in production for years and STILL have a number of unsolved problems.
As far as a rental company denying opportunity due to the truck you're driving, well don't know what to say to that. I can't say that the Tundra is best choice for workhorse truck. Also, no one can realistically compare any truck performance to a cars. They are both designed to perform different functions for different situations.
Rstubener, I hope Toyota is able to resolve your problems satisfactorily. The dealer could have been a little more customer service oriented im sure, maybe a different dealer would be of help, good luck.
First, the brake shimmy is due to warpped rotors on a lot of 2000 and 2001 Tundras. There is a TSB out on that one and you can get it fixed under warranty. I would make sure that you use you parking brake when you park. Using the parking brake rests the front to rear brake bias on the Tundra due to the fact that the Tundra runs drums in the rear.
Second, the bump from the tranny that you hear is due to the drive shaft bindind. When you hit the brakes the weight of the shaft will push on the tranny causing it to bind. when yoiu release the brake you will release the pressure on the shaft and it will do a bump sound. The way to fix this is to remove the shaft from the tranny and grease the splines (thanks to hillhound's post on GM trucks site I know what the splines are) of the U joint. I was told that this process will take care of the problem. Use high quality grease that has a long life. I have the bump, but it is occasional. I want to try the above process to solve the problem, but I have not had the time.
This is also a common problem on Chevys as reported on the Chevy Truck board. Hillhound has posted about it and does give a goood explantion of the process to fix it.
You can take your truck to the dealer and demand that they grease the splines and see if they will do it for you. If they give you a song and dance routine, go to the NHTSA site and print the page from the 2000 Tundra that reports on this problem.
Here is a copy of the complaint:
ODI ID: 726251 Make: TOYOTA TRUCK Model: TUNDRA Year: 2000
Incident: No
Fire: No
Number of Injuries: 0
Date of Failure: 04/20/2000
Component: POWER TRAIN:TRANSMISSION:AUTOMATIC
Summary: CONSTANT BINDING OF THE TRANSMISSION. AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP, VEHICLE WILL JERK FORWARD AS THOUGH IT HAS BEN HIT IN THE REAR-END. THIS WILL ALSO HAPPEN AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP, AND AFTER BRAKE PEDAL IS RELEASED, VEHICLE WILL JERK. AT TIMES, AND AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP AND SITTING FOR A FEW MINUTES, VEHICLE WILL JERK FORWARD AS THOUGH IT HAS BEEN HIT IN THE REAR-END. VEHICLE FEELS AS THOUGH THE TRANSMISSION IS BINDING WHEN BRAKES ARE APPLIED. ONCE BRAKES ARE RELEASED, BINDING IS RELEASED, AND JERKING BEGINS. I HAVE TAKEN VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP WITHIN A FEW WEKS OF PURCHASE TO HAVE PROBLEM CORRECTED, ONLY TO BE TOLD NOTHING WAS WRONG, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT THERE WAS NO FIX. I HAVE SEARCHED THE INTERNET, AND HAVE READ VARIOUS COMPLAINTS BY OTHER TOYOTA TUNDRA OWNERS EXPERINCING THE SAME PROBLEM, BUT TOYOTA FAILS TO RECONIZE THE PROBLEM.
Doesn't change the fact that Tundra is manifestly possessed by design woes, and owners are complaining to the government about problems at a rate double G.M. or Ford.
Look at Pluto for example. He doesn't deny driving a one star side impact rated truck. Yet he proclaims Toyota is tops in quality. I personally think its hyporcritical on both Toyota's and Pluto's part. Why didn't they correct his problem? It's a known fact that the Toyota engineers went back to the drawing board to correct the error in the following years yet they haven't done anything to address the issue with regards to what Pluto drives. I just hope he doesn't have a family cause I would consider it abusive to insist that they ride in that truck with him.
If the Edmunds moderator is reading this, I think there is a mixup of forums. Its annoying to read Chevy problems when Im looking for Tundra problems.
It would be great if this could be fixed. If I wanted to read about Chevy, I would be over in the Chevy forum. Because Chevy is Chevy and Tundra is Tundra. Can we all say Tundra? Very good boys and girls. Now someone please post Tundra stuff.
Thanks and I hope this gets fixed soon.
Robert
Regards
Thanks for explaining the proceedure on the GM truck board. I finally understood what was going on.
Hope this eleviates any concerns on greasing the splines, as it is an easy job. The only recommendation, if it is 4WD, point the front down hill to keep the fluid in the transfer case (driveshaft is seal for fluid) when removing spline from transfer case.
The relative positions of the yokes on the u-joints is critical. If they are not in the correct postition you will introduce vibration and additional strain on the driveshaft, u-joints and bearings.
The best idea is to use a chisel or punch to mark the two pieces and be absolutely sure you put them back the same way they were when you disassembled them.
Ok, now that you have determined that it is binding in the slip yoke, you can either fix it yourself or convince your dealer to do it. Dealers don't make much money on warranty repairs unless parts are replaced, so they often may opt to replace the entire driveshaft assembly, which is fine as long as they hand lube the slip yoke with some good quality grease. But replacement of the driveshaft is typically not necessary. The slip yoke just needs to be greased properly, particulary on the 4x4s. 4x4s have the slip yoke at the back of the driveshaft where it connects to the rear end pinion shaft. The 4x4 driveshaft uses 4-bolt flanges at the rear end as well as at the transfer case output shaft. The 4x2 on the other hand has the slip yoke in the tailshaft of the transmission and as far as I know (I have a 4x4) is lubricated by the transmission fluid. I have heard of 4x2s with the thump, but most problems are with the 4x4s. The 4x2s may benefit from had greasing the slip yoke splines, but I have not confirmed this.
The 4x4 driveshaft slip yoke has a zerk fitting for adding grease; however, it is not very effective at getting grease at the point where the friction is taking place. There is a large void under the zerk fitting and it may take 30-40 pumps on a grease gun to actually get any grease on the splines, depending on how much if any grease was in there to begin with. The splines and seal are very tight and you may encounter significant resistance on the grease gun while grease is migrating along the splines. I've had my driveshaft apart examining the slip yoke and you have two options to properly grease the splines. One is to drop the rear driveshaft where it attaches to the rear end via the 4 bolts (always match-mark the two flanges to ensure you put them back in the same position - also, turn the bolts, not the nuts since the nuts have a high friction base flange to resist turning) and pull the slip yoke apart (again, match mark both halves of the slip yoke to ensure they go back together in the same relative position - the splines do have a wide spline to prevent mismatch; however, it is hard to see which one it is especially with grease on them and it's a pain trying to find just the right spot where they will slip together - match-marking the two halves before disassembly makes this much easier). Once the slip yoke is apart is then readily apparent why putting 5 or 10 shots of grease in the zerk fitting won't do any good. You can then hand lube the splines with a good quality grease. I would clean out as much of the existing grease as possible, but as long as you use a lithum base grease there should be no compatibility problems. Toyota recommends a lithium base NLGI#2 chassis grease for this. I recommend a lithium base molybdenum disulfide (moly) NLGI#2 chassis grease for this, the same grease that Toyota recommends for the double cardon joint. Once you've got everything greased up good, slide the yoke halves back together using the match marks to guide you then put the both flanges together, again using the match marks as a guide, install the bolts and nuts and torque. I think the torque is about 40 ft-lbs, but I don't have my manual handy at the moment. Torque from the bolt head, not the nut since the nut has a high friction base. After it is all together, shoot about 5-10 strokes of grease in the zerk fitting for "reserve", but you do not want it completely full as this will limit compression of the slip yoke.
If all that is a little more than you want to tackle, here is an easier way that is probably just about as effective. Take your grease gun loaded with lithum base moly chassis grease and start pumping grease in the slip yoke zerk fitting. At some point you will encounter significant resistance on the grease gun handle and will likely note that the slip yoke is expanding. Slowly add grease at this point. You will likely see the slip yoke expand on each pump of the handle and then slowly contract. Continue adding grease for about 5-10 more strokes unless you see grease coming around the seal, then stop. Now get on the rear bumper and bounce it up and down a few times. This will tend to compress the slip yoke and force more grease along the splines. Now take a wrench and remove the zerk fitting to allow excess grease to escape. Once the zerk is removed, if a tablespoon or so of grease doesn't come out, then gently bounce on the bumper again to give it a little help. Once the excess grease is out, re-install the zerk, clean up the mess, and you are good to go.
This was known as the "arkie6 fix" over at Tundrasolutions and it resolved many of the "thump" problems people were experiencing, mine included. I initially used the straight lithum base chassis grease on the slip yoke and I started getting a hint of "thump" after about 5,000 miles. I subsequently put in the lithium base moly (an extreme pressure additive) grease and haven't had any hint of "thump" in 15,000+ miles. My truck (2000 Tundra 4x4) now has 28,000+ miles and is "thump" free.
Alan
Well said. I pumped in Mobil 1 ( non moly ) until resistance felt, jumped up & down on the rear bumper and have not had any clunk since. I will most likely use moly on everything in the future.
I had hoped when I decided to invest in a very expensive used truck, that with the reputation and backing of Toyota, I would not be saddled with design flaws, which this appears to be. This type of driveshaft maintenance, if necessary, is burdensome, if as you say, they should have put the slip yoke up front.
I've have also noticed in places, the paint is chipping. Anybody have this problem?
I say give the truck some more time to break in. I have 4K miles on mine and I still love the truck. If you still do not like your truck 5K miles from now, then sell it and get a Chevy/Ford/Dodge. I am aure that you will like those much better :-P
If ndahi12's truck is suffering this problem with only 4k miles, this is flawed. What's an owner to do? Lubricate the splines every oil change? Splines should not need this much attention. I still think it's coming from the transmission.
Lube it up
Robert
I can't believe Toyota and GM would both make a faulty design. What I think is happening is both manufactures have specified very tight tolerances for shaft fit to prevent vibration. This leaves very little space for grease. The closer the fit the less grease that can fit between the parts.
Both of these trucks drive very smooth and vibration free, even at speeds near 100 mph. It was not long ago that trucks did not drive like this.
Tundra won the J.D Power quality award in '00 and '01. My Tundra has been flawless. I personally know of three other Tundra owners (including my brother) who love their trouble-free trucks.
The Tundra was long-term tested by Automobile magazine - no repairs.
The Tundra was long-term tested by Motor Trend - no repairs.
You will not find a more capable, better built, more reliable truck.
What you post means nothing to me. I like trucks and have bought many of them, so I have experience on my side when it comes to foreign and domestic. My last pickup truck was a Nissan 4x4. I have had many Honda and Toyota cars too. Current pickup truck is a Silverado 4x4, it is a great truck......get over it. This is not the place for your personal comments like "don't worry". I was just trying to give Tundra owners an explanation of why their trucks may not have a defect.
"Get Real. My last Toyota 4x4 truck had a transmission problem!"
Two consecutive posts by ABC. LMFAO!
Sure it is, this absolutely is the place for comments like this. Duh.
Besides, this is a Tundra Problems forum, not the I disagree with Bama so I'm going to pick apart everything he says and bash him forum.
Fact is, the Tundra is a very well built full-size truck. Most people who buy them have nothing but praise for them and would buy another. If the Tundra meets your needs, I would recommend it over any of the American made fullsize trucks.
While that may be true, the problem is YOU shouldn't try and speak for "them" when they are already here, present in this topic right now. And they are trying to honestly report difficulties. You need to cease with the damage control posting, spin doctoring and just let these people report the facts as it applies to them.
Fact is, I ACTUALLY OWN A TUNDRA!!! (in my best Artie Lang voice). So I think I'm a little more qualified to discuss the merits or demerits of the Tundra than you or abc who DO NOT own Tundras.
I was simply responding to yet another chevy owner who came here to personally attack the Tundra and a Tundra owner.
I was trying to help a few Tundra owners who thought they may have a defect. My post is actually pro Toyota. The only reason I posted was because I have never seen an explanation for driveline thump for GM or Toyota trucks.
"This is not the place for your personal comments like "don't worry".
"Get Real"
"Silverado 4x4, it is a great truck......get over it"
Sounds pretty hipocritical to me