Has anyone here Lemon Law'd a Gen 3 Tundra yet?

To add to this, I am currently going through the lemon process myself. Truck went in for the 5k service in July, and the next day had a dead battery. Had it towed back to dealer because every error possible came up on dash. They claimed it was due to the battery being dead. They topped off the battery and all the errors were still there. The following day, they claimed the seatbelt computer shorted. They replaced that and it still wasn't fixed. After a month or so of nothing, Toyota engineers recommended the dealer should replace the airbag computer as well. The only issue was the airbag computer was no where close to being in stock. after roughly 95 days, the computer was installed and everything was good to go. However now the carplay goes out constantly. Reached out to lawyers and they already came to a conclusion with Toyota. I am just currently waiting on surrendering the vehicle back to Toyota.
For the record, I am in Nevada, so the general rules for a lemon is 3 repair attempts/30 something days out of service.

 

Did you go through the state attorney general office (which is the "official" lemon law process), or did your lawyer negotiate directly with Toyota? While the outcome for you is similar, it does make a difference for statistical purpose. Toyota is very "sneaky" about lemon law process. Official lemon law cases (handled through the state) are public info and reported, among other places, to NHTSA. So Toyota tries to avoid lemon law cases as much as they can and will "settle" with you privately (and frequently ask for an NDA). This allows them to keep their lemon case count low compared to other manufacturers (and perpetuate a myth of reliability).

 

I reached out directly to the lawyer. Haven’t had any communication with Toyota whatsoever.

 

Have you successfully lemon lawed or done a buyback on a Toyota?

 

I suggest a poll. I hate forum polls. A poll of anyone here who has successfully gotten a lemon law claim in the positive regarding 22's and up. With or without a lawyer. Just sayin.....

 

To anyone considering internet lemon law or buy back advice, be careful. The forums are full of keyboard tough guys that have never been through the process and don't understand it. It is very prescriptive- Figure out the parameters in your state which are easily found online. The remedies are there as well. Usually, it's a proration of 120,000 miles.

Trying to bully a car company is hilarious. Most companies outsource the process anyways so you're wasting your breath on someone that isn't even a direct employee.

 

Great advice! Every state has different lemon laws.Yota has a very good team of lawyers. Any respectable lawyer would shy away unless gross negligence.

 

I ended up giving up. Florida didn't want to help me since I bought the truck in Texas. After a while it just felt hopeless. Weighing my options now, but I think I'm just going to drive the piss out of it until my 125k warranty is up in a couple of years and then ditch it.

 

Shouldn’t matter you bought it in Texas. Your beef is with Toyota itself and the product they produced. Odd you couldn’t get it lemon lawed if it qualified.

 

Florida Lemon Law provisions cover cars bought in Florida.
Have you called the Toyota brand engagement and opened a case?

 

Yes. They weren't willing to help me.

 

I’ve not read the entire thread. Did you meet the very clear terms of either state regarding attempts to repair the same problem or duration in the service facility?

 

Ummmm, Havent they always acted like that? I went to go test drive a Tacoma in 2017 and they were both Aholes and acted like MSRP was a gift from god.

I paid less for my F150 Lariat with nearly every option, including a rear locker, 2 years earlier than they wanted for a TRD OR Tacoma with that absolutely heinous 3.5L V6. If I actually had decided to buy a mid-sized truck i would have driven down the street to the Nissan dealer and picked up the Frontier Pro4X I had test driven just before. It drove better and the dealer offered something like $6000 off MSRP without me even asking.

 

That mentality only enabled by the Toyota buyers themselves. If the sheep didnt just walk in and buy whatever was offered, and instead laughed and walked out the door when confronted with that attitude like I did, things would be different.

I actually went to a Toyota dealer a month and a half ago to look at a fairly rare 2019 F150 Raptor supercab that they had one on the lot. The experience felt WAY slimier than the couple of used car dealers I went to to look at other Raptors as well as the used dealer I went to to buy my Chevy Bolt in October. It was not a good experience.

 

Adding to my lemon, tomorrow I am scheduled to surrender the Tundra at the dealer. We’ll see how it goes.

 

Odd how all your problems started the day after the 5k service ! Did you have the oil changed as well ? Planning to get another Pro ?

 

Who said they think they’re bullying the manufacturer with a lemon law claim?

Lemon laws are just a way for a consumer to be made whole, or at least as close as possible. No more no less. At least that’s all I take them for.

 

I don't think applying for a lemon law buy back is bullying at all. What I do think is ridiculous is when owners talk about how tough they're going to be on Toyota in the way they go about it. Spouting how loyal they've been and aggrieved they are. The process and the people you're dealing with at that point don't give a rip and in many cases aren't even Toyota employees. Work the process, not the emotions. I learned by experience.

 

You'll probably find it pretty free of emotion. Usually done by the GM or business manager. Sign some POA's. Get a check and leave the truck.
It's a draining process but congratulations on getting through it. Hope the surrender goes as planned.

 

What I find hilarious is that you purchase a vehicle, its registered and titled to the owner. Something goes wrong and they think the dealer will just say here's another car. Enjoy! Can't happen! I will say the dealers can work with you. I had a 4runner that had a paint problem. Dealer tried getting it corrected but in the end the solution was to paint the truck. I said no way on that one. The lower sales manager and salesperson really couldnt do much at a certain point but waste time. I ended up searching and finding every administrative email address for that dealership chain. Gave them a carefully crafted email with a timeline and how I was handled.
30 minutes later after I hit send, I got a call from a GM offering me the same spec'd ride as I had from a sister dealership.
Brought in the old and drove out with a problem free ride the next day. No lawyers no BS.

 

Excellent outcome! Congratulations. There are good dealers out there. When it comes to factory buyback though the dealers have virtually no say in it. They do provide the backup service docs to confirm attempts, duration and so on. Everyone should be very careful what you have the service advisor note on your tickets so it's consistent. Saying you have a radio issue, GPS, issue and settings issue counts as three different instances. If you say infotainment system 3 times with a specific sub head that counts toward fixing the same thing three times which is very different from a Lemon Law perspective.

 

Somewhat off topic, but the whole car buying process in the US is broken. By law, you have to go through a dealer instead of dealing directly with the manufacturer. State laws protect dealers and the powerful dealer lobby makes sure that the laws don't change. Hence, as consumer, you are at mercy of the dealer and the experience vary a lot. I have dealt with one or two excellent dealers in my life, but most are very shoddy businesses. It would be much easier if you could buy and resolve problems directly with the manufacturer like it is in most civilized countries. At least it would be consistent.

 

Most dealerships in Europe are owned by the manufacturer. Even if a dealership is privately owned, the purchase (price, sale contract, payment, etc.) is done directly with the manufacturer. The dealer only acts as a intermediary. In Japan, dealers are owned by the manufacturer.
In all these countries you can buy a car directly on the manufacturer's web site, bypassing a dealer, and only specify which dealer you would like to pick it up.
Bottom line, you buy the car directly from VW, Renault, Toyota, etc., not from a dealer. Dealers get some commission from each sale, but don't have the power to control pricing, inventory, etc. like here in the US.

The only manufacturer that operates more or less this way in the US is Tesla.

When it comes to repairs, there are "authorized repair and service shop". They are certified by the manufacturer to do warranty repairs on their cars. One shop can be "authorized shop" for several companies. It's not uncommon that in small towns the same shop is an "authorized shop" for Renault, VW, Fiat, ... They are independently owned and operated, just like non-dealer privately owned shops in the US, with the difference that they are certified by the manufacturer. They don't sell cars, only do repairs and maintenance service.

Dealers also have shops, of course, but you don't have to do warranty repairs through a dealer, but chose any "authorized" shop of your convenience. As most are small and you deal directly with the owner, the service is usually better (and cheaper).

 

Process was super relaxed. Met the guy and talked for a few minutes. He took a ton of photos and a copy of my drivers license.
Out here, I believe Toyota uses a third party. Since I used a lawyer, I’ll get the check at a later date. Not too worried about it. Very, very relaxed process.

 

Fantastic! Congrats on closing it out.

 

Yeah you are right, I read through a few threads and see the emotions running high.

I can understand why people get mad, I probably would too. That will not make the process go any smoother or faster though as you point out.

 

I believe they just rotated the tires. What killed me was them blaming it on my wife the next day. They said she left the dome light on. I exclaimed she didn’t touch the light at all and then asked if they were on timers in case you accidentally leave a door open and the service manager had no idea.
Anyways, the plan is to purchase another pro in the future.

 

FWIW, if you don't have to buy right away, I'd let all the frustration bleed out. Go drive everything, qualify the service departments and see what you think. When my F150 went sideways I thought I might buy another but I just couldn't. I just couldn't trust the dealer or parts support again. If you think the Toyota dealer is an idiot I wouldn't count on them to all of a sudden be good on the next truck. Good luck and again, congrats on getting the Tundra returned.