Quick News About Toyota Problems

There's a lot of news out there, but not all of it matters.

We try to boil down it to the most important bits and pieces -- the recalls, service bulletins, and lawsuits that can help you solve you car problems. Interested in getting these quick story bits as an email? Signup over at CarComplaints.com.

  1. It's Friday, so in the immortal words of Loverboy I feel I can say that "everybody is working for the weekend."

    That is, unless you're one of the defective airbags in over 2.1 million vehicles. Those suckers don't work at all. The airbags have a nasty tendency of randomly deploying due to electrical noise and have been recalled. If that sounds familiar, it's because they've been recalled before. Unfortunately 40 of the recalled vehicles still had a random deployment after they were "fixed", according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). That's unacceptable, even by government standards.…

    keep reading article "Electrical Noise Causing Random Airbag Deployments"

  2. If your car or truck has an optional accessory like running boards, chances are Southeast Toyota distributors put them on ... and I use that term loosely.

    The distributor recently admitted that many accessories probably weren't attached with the proper torque and can fall off. Whoops! Since dropping a running board at 70mph on the highway is a serious safety concern, Toyota is recalling 3,942 vehicles to address the problem. That includes some:…

    keep reading article "Optional Accessories Keep Falling Off"

  3. One of the automotive world's worst science projects is coming to an end. Toyota dashboards have [long been known to melt and warp][19] under the heat of the sun.

    The deformed dashes have also been known to extrude a strange, goo-like substance that is oddly shiny and sticky; like something you'd find in a toddler's coat pocket. This led to some understandably upset owners and a couple of lawsuits. Feeling the heat of pending litigation, Toyota announced they will extend warranty coverage on the dashboards in 3.5 million vehicles rather than go to court. I guess they wanted to avoid a sticky situation (I never promised that the jokes would be good, folks).…

    keep reading article "Toyota Tries to Get Out of Sticky Dashboard Situation with Warranty Extension"

  6. Does your dashboard shine like Mr. Clean's freshly polished cranium? Does it feel like you let a toddler loose with a glue stick?

    A new lawsuit says Toyota designed, manufactured and subsequently ignored dangerous Velveeta-like dashboards in the 2006-2008 [Lexus ES][4], [Lexus IS][6] and the 2007-2009 [Toyota Camry][7]. The lead plaintiff, Melissa Graham, says the melting conditions create a glossy film on the dashboard that make it difficult to see when it's sunny out. Melissa should just move to northern VT, it feels like my house has been under a never-ending wall of clouds the entire month of November. But I digress...…

    keep reading article "Toyota Melting Dashboard Lawsuit"

  8. Oh, Tacoma! Just days after Toyota recalled 690,000 trucks for corroded rear suspension leaf springs, an Arkansas man has filed a lawsuit claiming that isn't the only thing rotting away on these trucks.

    Plaintiff Ryan Burns says hundreds of thousands of Tacoma owners have trucks with rusted frames that need repair or replacement and they shouldn't be responsible for the cost. He states that Toyota is aware of a problem with their frames because:…

    keep reading article "Tacoma Owners Pool Together And File a Rusted Frames Lawsuit"

  9. If we were ranking car problems on a scale from 1-10

    , it might look a little something like this:

    • 1: My wiper has a tear and now my windshield gets all streaky when it rains
    • 5: My suspension clunks along at a techno beat while driving down a bumpy road
    • 10: Neighborhood kids started roasting marshmallows over the charred remains of my car

    You never want to get to 10, but unfortunately Tacoma owners might not have a choice. Toyota recently announced part of the truck's rear suspension can break and rupture the gas tank or damage a brake line. Thankfully, there's a recall and here's a breakdown of what you need to know:…

    keep reading article "Busted Tacoma Suspensions Recalled for Rupturing Gas Tanks"

  10. Toyota thought the scourge of unintended acceleration was finally behind them.

    They had, after all, recalled millions of cars, paid hefty fines to the government, entered talks to settle hundreds of class-action lawsuits and even paid out $1.6 billion to owners because the trade-in value of their vehicles had diminished. Besides, the world's attention had turned to GM's ignition switch fiasco. So are Toyota's problems with unintended acceleration in the rearview mirror? Not so fast, or in this case ... slow.…

    keep reading article "New Unintended Acceleration Petition Filed"

  11. Pop quiz -- name two things that don't mix well because they're highly combustable.

    Go ahead, I'll wait ... if you said flammable liquids and sparks you're absolutely right! Bonus points to anyone that said republicans and democrats which is also 100% correct these days. Toyota recently announced it is recalling 20,000 vehicles that could experience gas leaks. Anytime flammable liquid is somewhere it shouldn't be, there's a chance for fire. Here's a breakdown of what you need to know:…

    keep reading article "Popular Models With Bad Welds Are Leaking Gas"

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