Aggravated Tundra Owner

Hello all

Not sure where to post this. I am not a brand new Tundra owner as I had a Awesome 2014 Toyota Tundra until an accident in April. Now I a have a brand new 2019 Tundra and find myself confused and frustrated. Let me explain why.

on June 7, 2019 I started to smell gas around my vehicle and thought I had gotten bad gas. Well the truck stayed parked the weekend. Monday when I went out to leave for work I always check my engine for cats. Low and behold a rat was running around my engine which is highly unusual because I have outside cats and nothing survives around my house. Well I thought I had gotten it out. On my way to work I stopped and filled up and got to work and was parking and apparently the rats was still in the truck but he met his demise from my engine. The smell of gas was so bad that I took it to the dealership and waited for their call to let me know what was going on. Note the rat apparently came from my office because there were others running around and no the Landlord will not take responsibility.

The Service Dept called me and said everything was fine on the Tundra except 2 fuel lines. Apparently the rat chewed on 2 lines. This is where the confused and frustration comes in. One of the lines would be in that Wednesday and the other line is not in stock and they do not know when it will be in. I was told the first week of July and they could not tell me why they did not have this part in stock. They just kept saying it is such a new truck. Friday when I went in to check on my truck they said the part has now been pushed back another week. Needless to say the Service Tech knew I was highly upset.

I questioned him about the part and why it was so hard to get and he could not give me an answer nor could they put me in a loaner vehicle because they supposedly do not have any available for me. We discussed when the part comes in if it will affect the truck in any way negatively since the gas tank has been pulled from it since June 10th. I was told the trucks on the lot are not cranked for months at a time and I simply stated yes but they also don't have their fuel tanks removed do they. He did not reply. Has anyone had any experience with something like this?

My Toyota Tundra is a 2019 4x2 SR5 Crewmax with 4,077 miles on it. Another question I have is this going to cause me long term problems on my Tundra. With it sitting in the shop with no gas tank attached for possible over a month. I just do not understand why a Toyota Dealership would sell a vehicle and not have parts in stock for it or readily avaliable. Thank you for any advice or input.

 

Sucks about the rats. Shame that customer service is down then drain too. Have you tried @Roman to see if he has fuel lines to ship to you or the dealer?

 

Ask what part it is and see if you can find it elsewhere. I don't see how it being a brand new truck has anything to do with it. The truck has been the same since 2007 mechanically. If it has something to do with it being a 38 gallon tank part, that has been around since 2016. Nothing brand new here that they wouldn't have the part. I understand your frustration.

 

I could see that with this being a problem that was not caused by Toyota itself, it is feasible to believe that they would not have every single part in stock for the truck. What is confusing is that it's taking a very long time to get this part. If I was a betting person, this line or hose is probably not something often replaced and if replacing is needed because of damage then the truck was probably totaled from whatever caused it anyways... canceling out the need for replacing. Clearly I'm playing devil's advocate here. Still, they should have this part tucked away on some shelf somewhere on the chance that something like this comes up. Have you tried speaking with his manager about it? I'd keep going up the chain here.

 

I ordered some parts to they didn’t have it in stock it took literally 2 weeks

 

The dealers don’t have room to stock every part that’s on every Toyota vehicle from 1980-current. They have supply warehouses that feed the dealership, and sometimes if the closest supply warehouse doesn’t have stock (parts not commonly replaced) it may come from a supply warehouse across the country. Said part needs to be picked, packed, and shipped - probably wait for whatever day the line-haul truck moves from one warehouse to another, then from another warehouse to the final destination. It probably moves in and out of trailers multiple times.
To avoid this, as mentioned, ask for the part numbers and do some calling around and checking on-line for quicker availability. Your dealer isn’t going to exhaust every option and use different dealers to bring your part in quicker, only you can do that.
It sucks the dealer isn’t more accurate on their time-line. Sorry to hear this, and sorry to hear of the rats. Time for some traps or better cats it sounds like!
ETA - your truck is fine sitting with no gas.

 

Dealerships stock very few parts, and then only the fast movers. It's the way of doing business now...everybody depends on central OEM warehouses for pretty much everything. It's a shame that the dealer's parts guy seems inept at getting correct parts in timely manner. Somewhere in a Toyota regional warehouse, the part you need IS on a shelf. For a couple dollars more profit, your truck is setting apart in the shop. @COMiamiFan suggestion to get the part number from the dealer, and try @Roman is a good idea.

Your concern about there being some long-term effect from the tank being out of the truck is probably needless worry. I can't think of any real reason why it would have any effect, short-term or long-term, on your truck's performance.

 

I would definitely call around to other dealers with the part# in hand.

 

What I would be pissed about is they can't give you a loaner...that is part of the deal. Call them and give them another chance, if they cant get you in one off the lot, they should be getting you one from Enterprise or something. They tell you to go pound sand then a call to corporate will fix that.

 

Quick story about loaners. Once my wife's milf-mobile (Honda Odyssey) literally threw a check engine light on a Saturday morning in front of the dealership. She called and asked what she should do, so I told her since it is basically brand new to pull it in and I would come get her. When they opened I called them and let them know what was going on.They didn't have a vehicle for us...I asked what they are supposed to do about that. They offered me a rental from enterprise at the local airport. When I went there I asked the rep how much Honda was covering. They told me and I asked how much more for the SS Camaro...they said 10 bucks a day. What do you think I ended up driving for the week?

 

It’s taking me 2 weeks to get a tiny bottle of touch up cement paint, your wait doesn’t surprise me one bit.

Push the rental car. Other than that don’t fret about your gas tank being removed. That’s not going to cause any damage, not sure how you would have even dreamt that idea up, your truck will be fine as long as it goes back together correctly.

 

Took me a week to get my Trd front sway bar in for pick up

 

Thank you all for your replies. I will call Monday and get the part number on the fuel line and check around. Lol the rat problem was not at my house, it was at my job. I have no problems with rats at my house with all my cats. You all have helped ease my worries on my gas tank being off of my truck. Thank you again.

 

Hope it all works out

 

For some reason rodents are attracted to Tundras. SUCKS big time!

 

Wish I could send you my cat. About 3 lbs and catch's rabbits, snakes, etc. Seriously, do you have room in life for cat?

 

I'm talking outside cat. They keep my home clear of lots of things

 

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a21933466/does-your-car-have-wiring-that-rodents-think-is-tasty/

 

Technically it's your bosses fault for the rat problem at work. Ask him to get "mousers" to patrol your job site!!!

 

Switch dealers immediately . A great sales department can be paired with some real Imps for a service department.
https://images.app.goo.gl/QEPFNQ6DstfTvJuy5

 

Might want to think of throwing some deterrent under the hood. There’s a couple of threads around here on it with some good suggestions. One of them being mothballs another being some essential oil‘s that I can’t think of at the moment. I’ve even heard of dryer sheets being stashed in places.

 

From what I've picked up from my kid who has been in retail dealer motorcycle parts for 15 years.

Many parts orders go in and then just SIT THERE until enough parts (don't ask cuz I don't know what "enough" is) are ordered to qualify for low or free shipping. Might take a week to accumulate enough orders.

The work around might be to see if there is a distressed or Truck Out Of Service type of order that moves it out of group shipping.

 

Ask them if they can splice it for now to get you back on the road and then call you when the part arrives.

 

Doesn't 2 year Toyota Care apply here? I thought it automatically included some form of loaner where the repair was prolonged as in this case.

 

Call Toyota headquarters and speak with someone there. Explain your situation and frustration, they will bend over backwards to help you. Keep track of who you speak with and give them the information about the dealership and the service tech.
As far as your fuel tank being out of your vehicle, it will not cause any problems, unless they didn't do their due diligence in capping lines or covering openings over fittings to prevent debris or bugs to get into places they shouldn't be.

 

Get some predator urine (fox, coyote.. etc) from an outdoor supply store and splash it around the area you park your truck. Pepper and chili powder work too, but only in enclosed areas. Pepper/self defense spray works too, but you have to be very careful while applying... and you have to be aware of it should you ever have to work on your truck, or anybody else. As far as dealing with Toyota, that's going to be on your dime, or your insurance company's.

 

1. Your dealer sucks find a new one.
2. It will be fine just sitting as long as they block off any open areas. I'd be concerned if any openings to a tank or fuel lines were left open.
with your luck you'll have a snake crawl in the fuel line

 

I took mine in recently because my battery went dead on a 4 month old truck and when I opened the hood to jump it I discovered crusted radiator fluid around the intake so they had to replace the radiator hose....didn’t have it in stock and was going to take 3 days....a radiator hose. Called autozone and they had one in’s stock for $20 so I told them I would just fix it myself but they had already taken it apart....told them I would go buy the part and give it to them to put on....they said that it needed to be a Toyota part to make sure it wouldn’t fail....I asked them wasn’t the one that failed a Toyota part? They had no answer and I had to wait.

 

I went on a cruise for a week last year and when I came back, my 2008 tundra wouldn't start. Some electrical wires were chewed by a squirrel that was trying to nest by the battery. Funny thing is that the cotton used for nesting was from my backyard patio furniture... I'm kind of scared with my new 2019 tundra...

 

This isn't a warranty repair so they wouldn't offer a loaner.