Power steering recall

You don't mess around

 

Easy easy money!!!!! Bring 'em on!

 

Can you take piccies of the offending punch marks for the crew?

 

^^^ That is top secret info!!! Can’t do that!!!! We can’t ask questions or check up on the shops opinion.

but it’s nice to see a picture of new one and a used one!!! NOT!!!

 

Yeah, you're right. I was hoping he could put on his Groucho Marx disguise and sneak in a picture without anyone noticing. Tell em you're Rufus T. Firefly if anyone asks.

 

So,,, I was allowed to go back and talk to the mechanic and he took the picture (everything is ok up to there even the pie chart above) he sends picture and it comes back in seconds with a reply “REPLACEMENT NOT REQUIRED”!!! I then ask him what dictates replacement and he said if it is ON THE B then we replace it!! That’s the story,, and the replacement not required part I do not remember exactly what it said but it doesn’t matter. If it is on the B it gets replaced. The mechanic also said they are turning them loose till the part comes in!! Seacrest out!!!!!

And the lettered pie chart above is the one they use for reference!!

 

That matches what I was told when I called to make my appointment for my inspection. The (admittedly non-technical) person I talked to had the service bulletin in front of them and read some of it to me, and basically B equals "replacement required". Despite telling them mine is in B, and sending them a pic, I still have to make the four and half hour round trip so they can look at it (correct that, so they can take their own picture, send it to the Mothership and await the same instructions already contained in the service bulletin), plus another four and a half hour round trip when they get the part in.

Still trying to wrap my head around the fact they're sending folks back home with trucks that have racks shown as "replacement required". Must be the bean counters figuring that loaners/rental vehicles would cost more than any injury/death lawsuit if it possibly fails in the interim.

 

^^^ one good thing is it will be done and they can get it ordered. They were replacing one on a TRD Sport that the guy wrecked somehow and bent his and the mechanic had the new one in so they are getting them in. If they are not busy it takes just a minute and you’ll be on the scenic drive back home! Do not know what the big secret was about??? WOW! Be safe!!

 

You absolutely could have gotten a car to drive. I've posted it a dozen times on here. When the recall first launched as an interim recall, if you went to the dealership and told them you wanted a car until there was a fix, you could have gotten one. Ask for the phone number for the Toyota CEC, and tell them about it. We had customers in rentals for MONTHS while we were waiting on airbag inflators, maybe even 6 months.

 

Update: dealership says mine has to be replaced but they are waiting on parts. Funny…when I scheduled the appointment on Tuesday, they said they had all the parts in stock for plenty of trucks and I’d be fine.

Now I need to drive a truck that could have the steering fail at any moment until they get the parts. Fun times.

 

Pretty sure that you have to have a VIN number to order the rack at this point, so until it fails they can't order the part. There are ways around it, good parts managers can do it, but it's not really common when parts are being released like that.

 

That just makes me more angry that they lied on the front end of this. Also, sending me home with a truck that they know has a faulty steering rack is no bueno. I’m on the horn with corporate right now.

 

Corporate said if the dealership says it is safe to drive then it is safe to drive. I advised them that they just accepted a significant amount of liability should power steering fail and that leads to a collision/loss. They said the dealer knows best. I doubt Toyota’s Office of General Counsel agrees but so be it.

 

i'm not suggesting at all that you weren't polite on the phone, but when it comes to Toyota, being nice gets you far.

I can assure you that if a customer simply told us 'I'm not comfortable driving the vehicle until this is remedied, we would put them in a car and seek reimbursement from Toyota.

The correspondence from Toyota to the dealers regarding this repair authorizes 2 days of rental once the repair is ready to be performed, meaning the parts are there and the vehicle is there, but there is also a part about 'alternate transportation up to 60 days, which is likely for the time to get the parts etc.

Just my 6 cents worth of useless information.

 

I was overly nice, on purpose. Call recordings go a long way if this leads to a loss on my part. Toyota dropped the ball on this one.

 

About an hour and a half wait at the dealership and found out my vehicle is not affected.

 

It's sounding like I was wrong about B being good. I'm going back to edit my post.

 

Thanks for the update and good to hear yours isn't affected. Mine is going in for inspection this Monday and should have the same result based on our photos.

 

I wonder what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) would have to say about Toyota inspecting a vehicle for a known safety related defect, discovering that the vehicle is indeed defective, and then telling you to drive it home. I have been prevented from taking possession of mine, that I put money down on in October due to the NHTSA issued “Stop Sale” because of the safety recall. I really don’t see the difference, an unsafe vehicle is an unsafe vehicle. Of note: my truck has not even been looked at yet to see if is defective. It’s just sitting in the rail road receiving yard.

 

In stock units are completely different than customer owned vehicles, and that IS not on Toyota (as far as I know).

I can't tell you how many times we've put 30, 40, 50 cars in the back because of a 'STOP SALE' yet there are millions on the road.

There is something about liability when it comes to actually completing a sales transaction on a car that has an open safety recall.

 

Thank goodness it's covered in the protective plastic film. Rail yards are full of nasty airborne crap that ruins paint....Unless your vehicle is rust colored.

 

I was very nice and cordial with the dealership and corporate. Only after asking nicely four separate ways did I mention the liability they are taking on and how my counsel would view the joint and several liability with the dealership. They said they trust dealership professionals. They are rolling the dice.

 

Good information, but I still think a steering system failure is kind of a big deal. Hope no one gets hurt.

 

Thanks. The angel on one shoulder says “you have been driving it this way for four months event-free” while the devil on the other shoulder says “your truck will fail you”.

 

Another thought…think about the media attention this will bring if someone is told by the dealer and corporate to drive it home and then a power steering failure causes fatalities. I’m very disappointed in how they are handling this. They might as well be GM.

 

Trucks back to better than new! Took it yesterday for 5,000 mile service and oil change along with my steering rack inspection. My truck failed the inspection and required a new rack. Had the parts, gave me a rental car and in less then 24 hours had my truck back riding better than ever. I'm fortunate it didn't fail and leave the family stuck. With a new rack, fresh alignment and balanced tires think it driving better than from the factory. Experience went really well with my dealer. Glad to have piece of mind back. Good luck to everyone else with theirs.

 

A safety thingy makes for more peace of mind and a much more enjoyable Tundra Truck!!! You know, one less worry!!

 

Sorry this happened to you… Good news is once you’re thru this you’re home fee my man!!

 

Haven’t had the inspection yet but mine looks like it’s in the “A” spot. So hope I’m good.

 

Mine gets inspected Friday...know of one that passed so far with similar or same build date. They say up to 30 days with rental is covered. Sounds like range of answers on that aspect. Rather not have to get it broken down but it is what it is. Just had 5000 mile checkup recently and paid to have oil swapped. No other issues. Waiting on
bilstein fronts and some driving lights before next updates so would be nice to get this out of the way sooner than later. No issues with my turbos...