Toyota Tacoma (2004 and earlier)

cw3nola

Thanks dasman. beer never tasted better.

mcandler

having same problem. done all the same fixes. need help ASAP :mad:

cwbytee

I have a 2003 XtraCab 4x4. I have had trouble with the dash lights for a long time. They would be okey for weeks then one or two would go out the days later they would be back on. I decided to replace them. I disconnected the battery and removed the dash. I replaced the bulbs with long-life bulbs and put everything back together. Now my turn signals and hazard flashers won't work. The fuse looked ok, but I replaced it anyway. Any ideas?

mtrreader

on the way home my oil cap must have come off oil went everywhere under hood ,,did not know it happen till arrived home , ckd oil level seems ok , any thing i need to do , beside getting new oil cap and cleaning up mess

mdawg25

Hello
I'm looking at buying a black '04 Xtra cab, 2.4 engine and 5-speed. The dealer wants $10,900 for it and it has 69k on it. First of all, I think this is a little pricey, but what do you guys think? Also, what should I look for as far as common problems? I know the frames are notorious for rotting, but the roads don't get salted too terribly much here (Kansas City), so I'm not too concerned with rust. Anyway, any input would be appreciated

mud_13

I have a P0135 code on my 2004 2.7L extended cab Tacoma, which also reads as malfunction in bank1 sensor1. I can see where the sensor sits ahead of the convertor on the exhaust, but the wire leads up into the floorboard through a rubber gromet. Can someone tell me where it goes and how to best access the end of the cable? Should I take off the passenger seat and somehow get under the carpet? I have a replacement sensor that has the rubber gromet already on the wire between the sensor and plug.
Thanks in advance for any help!

mikefm58

I wish I could help out as my son's truck had the same problem and I ended up paying the dealer to replace the O2 sensor to the tune of $340...Ouch! For a 4 cyl. engine, that one seems to be difficult to get at things. Let me know how you make out.

riceman09

My 96 has 200,000 miles and with all the rain has had trouble starting. Dried out and is starting ok but the engine light is on. This is my 3rd Tacoma 4x4. Should I try to fix it or buy a new one before it's too late?

Also thinking of switching to a 2wd. Any thoughts??

harveyelmore

My 2000 Prerunner has been a dream truck for 100,000 miles. I am now getting a pretty good vibration around the 35-45 mph mark and also around the 55 mph mark. I have replaced my carrier bearing but that did not help. Does anyone have any ideas on where to look next.

toyguy1

When I turn my key to crank the engine I hear it start, but as soon as I release the key it dies out. I have replaced the ECU (thinking that this was the problem) and fuel pump relay and still no improvement. Any ideas??????????

colinb1

I have a2003 Tacoma with around 80,000 miles. I have never had any problems, but recently whenever I get to highway speeds the truck randomly shifts out of gear. Also every now and then when I put the truck in reverse, the truck will not move. Has anyone had a similar problem, or any advice?

carolyn20

Hey Tom, before you buy another toyota pick-up, do your homework, they just ain't what they used to be. You can check out these forums for info. I've owned two of the 90's pick-ups (before they had names for them) and they were great. Just regular 2wd, stick. I ended up buying a 2004 2wd auto Tacoma and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Seems to be okay, but anything newer than that seems to have a lot of problems for a Toyota. I just had to replace the kick down cable at 45k in the tranny, luckily it was only $400-$500 to replace. Then I came on this forum and found out I've been fortunate. I may go with a Ford pick-up next time OR get the extended warranty the next time.

carolyn20

Hey Colin...I don't know if it's the same thing, but I have an '04 Tacoma, auto, 2wd, and I just had to have the 'kick down' cable in the tranny replaced (or it can be adjusted cheaper if not broken). My vehicle was not synching gears with accelerator speeds but did okay in reverse. It was about $400-500 to replace but they seemed to know right away what was wrong. I took it to a Toyota dealer I trust (Piercey Toyota in Milpitas, CA, if you live in the SF Bay Area). Good Luck!

richard122

My 2002 Tacoma 6cl 2wd. with 98,000 miles going 45mph up a hill I hit the ECT Power and destroyed the engine. Toyota says that I am 2 yrs over warranty wants
8 grand to fix.Has anybody had this problem?

richard122

Welcome Home Thank You!! God Bless You.

mrhophead

I have a 2002 Tacoma with a little over 60,000 miles. Should the timing belt be replaced now?

eomckamey

What activates (on a 2002 Tacoma) the rear brake automatic adjustment feature? Is it use of the parking brake OR as on some vehicles, backing up, then using regular brake pedal etc.

mark_b_1954

I have a 2004 4WD 3.4 Tacoma with TRD package and automatic that I bought new and have had serviced by a local Firestone service center from the beginning. I've had chronic steering, alignment and handling problems with this truck since around 30K miles. The truck is not within the VIN numbers for the lower ball joint recall, and I had the initial alignment readjustment done by the Toyota dealer after the initial 3K break-in miles to reset everything to spec in vehicle's steering components. The service center has reset my alignment at least 10 times under the lifetime alignment plan I purchased for about $130 from them years ago. I'm at about 67K on the truck now, and am on my second set of standard tires for this truck (no altered tire size or suspension). This truck is still handling poorly, and my inside front tires are again wearing unevenly at only about 20K miles, as happened on the first set of tires that came on the truck. The service center keeps checking the alignment, which is always within their specs, but the problem persists.

Now the service center mechanics are telling me I have a worn tie-rod end and are even saying the rack and pinion steering gear has to be replaced. I took the truck to an independent mechanic who's Toyota certified and he told me immediately upon looking at the truck on the rack that the service center has never greased anything on this truck! I was really ticked off, since this service center told me years ago that this truck had sealed grease fittings and didn't need any grease. Reading past postings on this forum, I can see that this truck does indeed have grease fittings, and that many service centers and even dealers neglect greasing these fittings during service.

My question: does anyone know if this oversight of not greasing the fittings would result in tie rod end wear and/or steering box failure? I have a written memo from the independent mechanic (who will be getting my business from now on) stating that he observed these fittings and parts of the rear drive shaft and noted that the service center never has done grease servicing on this truck. With that, would I have a case to make this service center replace the tie rod end and/or steering gear?

Thanks to all who respond.

Mark

bigandy

Clearly they should fix this for free.

The other question is who should do the job, if they refuse to take care of it. I would take the work elsewhere and never come back if they don't take responsibility for this.

twcropdust

I have 3 pulleys on the front of my engine that appear to operate the a c comp., power steering and alternator, and water pump. The rear pully, closer to the motor, failed and I am having a hard time breaking the bolt loose that appears to hold the pulleys to the crank. I have removed the skid plate, fan, and fan schroud and I am working from under the truck. Do I have to remove the radiator to use air tools or is there a better way?

vlok

YOU MAY HAVE A CASE IF YOU DOCUMENTED ALL THE SERVICING AT THE DEALERSHIP.

I RECOMMEND YOU GO TO CLARKHOWARD.COM . HE'S A CONSUMER ACTIVIST, HAS A RADIO PROGRAM, AND HE LOVES HELPING PEOPLE WHO FIND THEMSELVES IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS.
GO GET 'EM !
GOOD LUCK

99accent

2002 Tacoma 80K miles ,OK went for a state inspection and the shop said needs both catalytic converters replaced ,cost $800.00 I paid in full,3 days later the light come on Eng check, they the first shop said take it to some other shop they deal with that has more up to date equipment to to find out where the real problem is now this 2nd shop said I hope the first shop put the California converters in it because it says so on tag marked under hood.made in california. "well the second shop changed a oxygen sensor and the Eng light is out for 2 weeks now its fixed right [no charge], OK back to the first shop and they want another $400.00 because they had to pay the 2ND shop that to change the oxygen sensor? should I pay him when he got $800.00 out of me cash and he knew he screwed up and couldn't fix it in the beginning and charged me for 2 new catalytic converters that maybe I didn't even need and he admitted he doesn't have the right updated equipment to check all things out , and I still don't know if I got the right California type converters in it so total He got $800.00 cash and wants $400.00 more =$1,200.00 would you pay him the $400 or walk away ?

mark_b_1954

vlok-Thanks for that info and your reply. Sorry for the delay in responding; I've not visited this site in awhile, as I was relocating from CO to NM recently. I'll check this website out and see what goes. My Bilstein shocks are now shot at 73K miles, and I'll have to replace them first to see if that helps any of my steering and handling issues. If things persist, I'll have the local Firestone dealer here take a look and see if they think the tie-rod end or other greased components are still at fault. If so, I'll go to this website and see what can be done.

Mark

cos36

I have a 2003 tacoma pre-runner that i had converted to 4 wheel drive about 10 months ago. I recently noticed that my front drive shaft constantly turn even when i am not in 4 wheel drive. Is this normal?

thanks