2003 Toyota Tacoma

The DARCARS Toyota dealership in Rckville, MD has refused to repair an outstanding safety recall issue for my 2003 Toyota PreRunner truck. I had received a recall notice from Toyota for my 2003 Toyota PreRunner. On July 21, 2023, I arrived for my 7:30 a.m. appt at DARCARS to get the spare tire lift carrier repaired. Although it was still within the eligible recall period, a very annoyed service manager told me that DARCARS would not repair it. Although I had made the appt 1+ weeks earlier, he told me no repair parts had been ordered in preparation for repairing the hazard. After I insisted the safety recall issue created a dangerous hazard for me and other drivers since the spare tire located underneath the truck might fall down onto the roadway while driving, he became angry and said the spare tire lift carriage must first be inspected (a 5-10 min inspection) to determine if corrosion on the lift was present. Since I had expected the dangerous part was going to be replaced, I agreed to the inspection. A Toyota service rep drove the truck to the service bays for an inspection. Although my appt was scheduled as the first day of the day, I waited over an hour with no response from the manager or the service rep. During this hour wait, I asked on at two occasions if the inspection was completed and was told "No" with no details provided. I finally walked outside to the back of the DARCARS dealership and discovered my truck had been sitting in a parking lot. No no one had bothered to inspect it. Due to the attitude of the DARCARS service manager, service rep, lack of communication, and the failure to have ordered any parts to repair the safety hazard, it became obvious that DARCARS had no intention of correcting the safety hazard. They intended to stall and make receiving the recall repairs as difficult as possible -- and requiring a second service visit. (Afterward, a non-Toyota mechanic performed a inspection and confirmed the lift carrier are severely corroded.)

While driving, on the highway, the rear shock absorber support mount came loose, allowing the truck bed to come loose from the frame/chassis. Fortunately only the passenger side came loose, keeping the truck's bed attached to the rear of the truck I later found that this particular model has a problem with Frame rot which generated a Toyota bulletin. I bought the truck from Toyota, as a used truck in 2011, but received no notifications of this potentially hazardous vehicle. If the bed had come loose at highway speed, any vehicle following the 2003 Toyota Tacoma truck would have been severely damaged or potentially resulted in the death of the people in the cars following behind me and the truck. There was a Toyota bulletin issued previously which was not disclosed to me at the time of purchase. The vehicle has been in Toyota shops regularly for inspections, maintenance and other repairs but the shop never mentioned anything about a "rusty" frame. Upon further research, I have found multiple Toyota Tacoma owners with similar issues with the frame. I believe Toyota knowingly manufactured and sold a defective product with serious potential safety issues. This vehicle either should be banned from the road for the safety of all drivers.

I TOOK MY TACOMA FOR STATE INSPECTION AND THEY COULD NOT LIFT IT BECAUSE THE FRAME HAS A HOLE THROUGH IT AT THE FRONT MOUNTING POINT OF THE REAR SPRING ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME HITTING A SEVER BUMP OR A POTHOLE COULD SNAP THE FRAME IN HALF. I HAVE OWNED THE TRUCK FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS AND NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE ABOUT THE FRAME, ONLY ON THE SPARE TIRE CARRIER. I'M NOT A COMPUTER EXPERT AND DON'T KNOW HOW TO ADD A PICTURE OF THE FRAME TO THIS DOCUMENT. I DO KNOW THAT I NEED THE TRUCK BUT I AM UNABLE TO GET IT INSPECTED TO DO SO. PLEASE HELP.

BROUGHT TRUCK INTO BODY SHOP IN JUNE 2019 TO HAVE WORK DONE. THEY TOLD ME THE FRAME ON THE TRUCK WAS SEVERELY RUSTED IN SEVERAL PLACES. THEY SAID IT MAY BE UNSAFE TO DRIVE. IN 2016 (ABOUT 2.5 YRS AGO) I BROUGHT THE TRUCK INTO THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER TO HAVE FRAME INSPECTED UNDER A RECALL NOTICE. AT THAT TIME THEY TOLD ME THAT THE FRAME WAS OK. IN ADDITION THE TRUCK WAS AT THE DEALER IN 2018 FOR ANOTHER RECALL FOR LEAF SPRINGS. AT THIS TIME THEY REPLACED LEAF SPRINGS BUT DID NOT REPORT ANY PROBLEMS WITH FRAME RUST. THE ORIGINAL BODY SHOP AND MY LOCAL CAR REPAIR SHOP TOLD ME THAT THE SEVERITY OF THE RUST DAMAGE ON THE TRUCK INDICATED THAT THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON A LONG TIME AND WERE SURPRISED THAT IT HAD PASSED TOYOTA DEALER FRAME INSPECTION. I CALLED TOYOTA NATIONAL LINE AND THEY TOLD ME THAT FOR FRAME REPLACEMENTS FOR MY TRUCK THE PROGRAM ENDED IN JANUARY 31 2019. SUBSEQUENTLY I TRIED TO WORK WITH THE LOCAL DEALER AND THEY HAVE ALSO TOLD ME THAT NATIONAL TOYOTA WILL NOT HELP. CLEARLY THE SEVERITY OF THE PROBLEM (SEE ATTACHED PHOTOS) INDICATES THAT THE RUST DAMAGE WAS HAPPENING OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME AND TOYOTA WAS NEGLIGENT IN REPORTING THIS TO ME. TOYOTA SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPAIRING/REPLACING THE FRAME SINCE CLEARLY THE PROBLEM HAS EXISTED LONG BEFORE THE JANUARY 31 2019 DATE AND I HAVE FOLLOWED UP ON ALL THE RECALL NOTICES FOR THIS TRUCK.

ENGINE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING EARLY MORNING 9/7/18. RETURNED HOME AND CALLED LOCAL MECHANIC, SUPREME AUTOMOTIVE. MADE AN APPOINTMENT AND TOOK THE TRUCK IN TO HAVE THE PROBLEM DIAGNOSED. CALLED LATER TO TELL ME FRAME RUST WAS TOO BAD TO REMOVE CERTAIN BOLTS TO TEST EXHAUST SENSORS. UNABLE TO CALCULATE A REPAIR ESTIMATE. SINCE I HAD SOME EXPERIENCE WITH A 1999 TACOMA THAT HAD EXTENSIVE FRAME RUST, WHICH TOYOTA RECALLED AND EVENTUALLY BOUGHT BACK, I DECIDED TO CALL TOYOTA BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE. I WAS TOLD BY TOYOTA THAT THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF MY TACOMA HAD RESPONDED TO A 2009 CORROSION RECALL NOTICE. THE UNDERCARRIAGE HAD BEEN TREATED. I BOUGHT THE TRUCK FROM FOX TOYOTA IN SPRING 2011 AFTER MY 1999 WAS DEEMED UNSAFE. NONE OF THE SERVICE RECORDS FOR THE 2003 INDICATED EITHER THE RECALL OR THE TREATMENT. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT THE SO-CALLED SUBSEQUENT RECALL, OF WHICH I WAS NEVER INFORMED, EXPIRED 6/13/18. NOTIFICATION SUPPOSEDLY SHOULD HAVE REACHED ME THROUGH THE CALIFORNIA DMV, EVEN THOUGH THE TRUCK ORIGINATED IN MICHIGAN. HAD I RECEIVED NOTICE I WOULD HAVE RESPONDED IMMEDIATELY, AS I HAD WITH THE 1999 TACOMA.

MY TRUCK HAD A RECALL THAT EXPIRED OCT 2017 BUT I DIDN'T FIND OUT ABOUT IT TILL RECENT WHILE DOING SOME REPAIRS THE FRAME FROM THE CAB BACK IS COMPLETELY ROTTED AWAY TO THE POINT THAT IT IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE SO NOW I HAVE A VEHICLE THAT IS IN EXCEPTIONAL SHAPE BUT CANT FIX OR SELL I THINK THAT A DEADLINE ON SAFETY IS WRONG AND I SHOULD BE COMPENSATED WHAT THE TRUCK IS WORTH