Hoping for good after nightmare purchase!

Hello all,

Been looking for a truck for awhile now and one finally seemed to land in my husbands lap! A coworker was selling his 2002 Toyota Tundra with 99K miles. Said it's 'not pretty but is in amazing shape'. Boy was this wrong!

Our bad for not trying it out as we thought he was trustworthy. First day we noticed transmitting issues. From 1st to 2nd it will slam into gear if giving it a good amount of gas. Changed fluids with a flush and it seems a tad better but still not good.

Along with a list of other things we keep finding. Cant turn on passenger air bag, missing tail gate handle, window makes terrible crack sound when rolling up, radio doesnt work.

So thats why I am here. I am hoping to make the best of a shitty situation. I would love to fix up the truck. I will need lots of help along the way. I will sift through the forums to see if anyone has already posted solutions. If I cant find anything be sure to keep an eye out for my panicked posts haha.

 

Welcome from CO and we'll help where we can.

 

Where are you located? If not in the salt belt that 99k is nothing. If she is full of rust, things may get a bit more complicated.

Don't panic though, things can be fixed, and the internet is a great resource. You just may end up spending more than you planned. Start with the most important, the transmission, and see what local shops are saying. Do you have any pictures of the truck?

 

Welcome from SoCal ma'am
Like the others said, 99k is nothing to a Toyota. Most of that stuff is cosmetic and easy fixes. I'd have someone look at the transmission and assess the situation. Get back to us with some pics or more info and a lot of the knowledgable members on here can give you great advice.

 

You came to the right place.

 

Nah. He is claiming the "Never heard it do that. Never did that to me. Dont know what you're talking about." Schtick. Oh well. Good way to learn just wish it was on a friendlier term.

I live in bay area California. No rust that I can see. Here is the best picture I can muster at the moment. Just had wisdom teeth yanked two days after I bought it. Will get better pictures soon. See that gnarly dent in the hood. Claims it was a branch but im starting to suspect theres been more of a bumper car action with all the strange bumps and bruises this poor truck has. Like I said buying it. I was ok not having anything 'pretty' as I planned to work on it as my project. Just wish I had a clear background on it.

 

run the VIN number with carfax and toyota owners to get some history on this vehicle.

 

What he said.
Good place to start.

 

link:

register the VIN/ truck there under your name and it will pull the dealership info for maintenance and issues that were found or fixed if any.

https://www.toyota.com/owners/

 

Welcome from Texas!

 

I don’t know if Toyota’s are affected this way but I had a Chevy in the past that started shifting funny. It was a firm 1st to 2nd shift if you were heavy on the throttle. I did some research and ended up changing the mass airflow sensor after trying to clean it and the throttlebody first. That cured my transmission issues.

 

Welcome from Ohio

 

Thanks, I will look into this!

Sooooooo... Again.. I shouldnt have trusted the co-worker. Carfax has 2 accidents. One which was hitting a fixed object and another where they side swiped someone. I hate that you cant trust people these days. We didnt even try to finaggle the price because he was a coworker, it was around Christmas and he has a family. We wanted to be fair and give him asking price knowing it had hiccups. Swore there was a clean title, no accidents. Grrr! Live and learn I suppose.

 

One time I sold a car to a friend, and right after I sold it I started worrying what if something went wrong, etc. I was honest and the car had no issues, and stayed that way until someone waffled it while it was parked on a busy street. It was totaled then, so I no longer had to worry. Sometimes things happen and it's out of one's hands. Sometimes people lie.

Carfax may help you out with some of the history on the vehicle.

Did you take it for a test drive and thoroughly check it out before buying?

Did the transmission shift rough on the test drive?

Tackle one thing at a time and do your research, I think you'll be fine. eBay, junkyards, and Craiglist may be your friend while trying to find the parts needed to get her going strong again.

The transmission is the biggie. As long as everything else is minor, it may not be as had as you think.

Good luck! Anything we can do to help, we will.

 

A lot of guys from the Bay Area that can prob help you

That sucks it's a shame you can't trust people even coworkers now a days. It still looks like a solid truck and you can bring it back to greatness with a little love and care

 

Yes it is a shame! Swore there was no accidents and clean title. Whats done is done though. I sort of view this poor thing as a rescue. It could be a great truck it just needs a lot of love. Lesson learned on not being very thorough before buying it though!! I was excited about my first truck, still am. Just peeling this onion one layer at a time.

 

My 04 had the same 1-2 rough shift, I did 2 cycles of the 4 quart drain and fill about 1000 miles apart and it's slowly getting better. I figure another one at the next oil change should finish it off, granted the fluid came out pretty dark and since I bought it with 168k on it who knows when it was changed last.

On the radio start with the easy things and check all the fuses. Tailgate handles can be had on Amazon for under $30.

 

I had looked things up with 2002 Toyota Tundras having a common transmission issue. If things took a turn for the worst and needed to be replaced, are there options with swapping it with something other than a 2002 Tundra tranny? I mean if its a common issue I wouldnt want to stick the same issue back in there you know?

As for the radio, I guess he had a system put in and yanked out before we bought it. Didnt tell us that though.

 

The 00-02 had problems with the OD planetary gears, it was fixed sometime in 03. You could get a transmission from an 04 that would be good if you can't live with it. Some folks have also had luck running AutoRX through it and getting the shift smoother.

 

Welcome from Texas! I'm sure you'll get the help you need here or at least pointed in the right direction!

 

Thank you Angel, I can tell this place is already a step in the right direction! Aslo, thank you for your service. I am an air force brat myself, sadly never got a chance to server.

 

Thank you! I enjoy serving. Sorry you never got to serve

 

Take it in to @Lucas7154350

 

Oh excellent! Thank you!

 

Yep, have him give it a once over
https://www.tundras.com/threads/automotive-services-offered-in-bay-area.18610/