2000 Toyota Tacoma

My son was driving the 2000 Toyota Tacoma across very smooth transition railroad tracks at about 25 mph and the right front ball joint failed, collapsing the suspension. He lost all control and the vehicle skidded to a stop. Had he been going any faster, the vehicle could have rolled over. I have reviewed the recalls for Toyota ball joints and found the there is a 50J recall for 2001-2005 Tacomas. Interestingly enough, the trucks/Tacomas from 1995-2000 have the same ball joint but were not included in the recall. I have tried to work with Toyota directly on this matter and they don't seem to want to help me. This is a safety issue and should be elevated to recall levels for all vehicles with this ball joint.

I was recently told my a service center that the frame has great corrosion and is unsafe to drive. I am now aware of past warranty extensions for this matter but Toyota will offer nothing because for my year, this warranty coverage extension is expired. My year was also not part of the recent class action settlement with Toyota vehicles having rusted frames for later models (2004+). I'm left with a decent truck that is useless now. I don't understand why a rusted frame that could crack or break would not constitute a safety recall, which I understand does not expire like their well played warranty extension. It is evident my problem is what has been experienced by many others and just because their extended warranty has expired, does not mean the issue was not caused by their defective manufacturing. It is a matter of timing, and our safety. We had taken the truck for service as a Toyota dealer in late 2008, when the program was active, and they did not mention it and maybe there was no rust. Between 2008 and 2015 when it expired, service was not performed at a dealership and still nobody mentioned it. The truck has lived in NC until 2011 and Ohio (snow) from 2011 - 2018 and now back in NC. We had it at a Toyota dealership in 2019 and nothing mentioned. My husband was driving this truck on the freeway every week day for 50 miles round trip to work until last year. I was driving this truck within the past few weeks and was having service performed when my service center mentioned this and said I should not put any more money into it until a frame evaluation is conducted. I have not yet had the frame inspected by a frame shop or dealership as I attempted to ask Toyota pay for this to no avail. I'm currently awaiting a callback from a supervisor next Monday 11/14 after being denied any assistance by Toyota. It is well documented that trucks can last for several hundred thousand miles. A rusted frame at 167,000+ mi that can break at any time is a major safety concern.

Owned Toyota Tacoma since 2005...recently took vehicle for muffler repair and discovered my frame was rusted out and in an unsafe condition, when I contacted Toyota @ customer assistance center they advised me that jy vehicle was too old to be covered by ant warranty...they also stated that they had contacted me about the defective steel used on these trucks....I have no proof of any notification, nor any recall of such notice Trucks like mine are still on the road with no problems, NOT MINE.....defective steel, improper rust prevention and lack of notification has left me with a vehicle I cannot drive, sell or repair... My safety and others on the road have been put at risk I would like my truck to get fixed and or compensated for the loss Toyota should stand by my vehicle ( in which they used substandard defective steel) regardless of any time factor. Courts have already determined their negligence....my vehicle should be included in this settlement

The contact owns a 2000 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that he received a recall notification for an unknown safety recall. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer who inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that the vehicle did not need the recall repair at the time. The contact stated upon taking the vehicle to the independent mechanic for a repair, he was informed that the entire subframe was corroded. The dealer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact that they could not assist as the vehicle was not included in a recall related to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.