Ok I know this has to be a new one. So I took my truck in on Saturday for the 60,000 mile maintance with thinking nothing of it just the usual. I noticed my truck had been running a little rough lately (more than usual) and then I get a call back not much later and find out my motor mounts got ripped off the frame of my vehicle. So apparently I have this gapping whole where my motor mounts were. It wasnt the motor mounts themselves but the bracket that is welded to the frame that broke off from the frame. Toyota apparently doesnt cover it because it was caused by "an outside source" I do have the extended warranty, and im pretty sure it was the best one they had. Ill have to check my paper work obviously but to me this doesnt seem like it should happen although at the same time I can see it happening. I wish I had some pictures to show you but I wasnt allowed in the shop after it was in there and it "wasnt safe to drive" hahah after all the hunting I did on back roads and the hour and a half drive to the dealer from my town. So now they have to send it to the body shop to get worked on and then they can do the maintance and what not. Has anyone ever heard of the new trucks havent problems with the frames of the vehicle or something like this happening? It seems to be if it was a good weld that the mounts themselves would break WAY before the welds??? Someone like 6shooter or a mechanic or body work person have any input on this? Thanks in advance
This isn't new at all - I was just thinking of this the other day actually, thinking I should check my own as I have a slight clunk in the front end that I can't seem to locate.
I'd raise hell with Toyota (if you hit a dead end) with this one...
Yeah I would go check under neath and see if its actually ripped from the frame of if its just the mounts themsevles. Mine was the bracket that connects to the mounts. Also my engine was leaning aganist my cooling fan shield towards the front left
Weren't you complaining about the fan rubbing a few weeks ago and someone told you to go out and check for this exact thing???? Apparently you didn't listen or this would have been found weeks ago and it wouldn't have been a surprise when you took it to the dealer.
Toyota apparently admitted to a problem with the welding robots in their frame factory. They replaced all affected/damaged frames from that point forward without question (at least that's what I remember). The info is in the link from TTORA.
EDIT:
If you meet any resistance on this matter, I would register with TTORA (if you aren't a member already) and contact the individuals over there that had this issue resolved free of charge. This was a known problem.
I wish I had some pictures to show you but I wasnt allowed in the shop after it was in there and it "wasnt safe to drive" hahah after all the hunting I did on back roads and the hour and a half drive to the dealer from my town.
Say what??! Someone, anyone, told me I had an issue like that, I would insist seeing for myself. If they wouldn't let me back to look, then they could damn well bring it out for me to see.
Yeah well needless to say I love my truck but I didnt have time to argue with them because I had a family members wedding I was going to be late for and they arent open on sundays, he'll call me on monday and we'll talk more then. Somethings going to be done no matter who I have to yell at or make my case to. Its bullshit that where the strongest part of the frame should be breaks.
Haha does it matter either way? It was taken to the dealer when they were already broken then and now. If it wasnt broken back then then the fan shield wouldnt of broken. Not all of us can miss time off work to do shit, come on now. That wouldnt of done anything to help the problem
If someone told me I might have such a serious problem with my truck I would have made the time to crawl under it and find out, and if I found the problem I would have made the time to take it in...I paid too much money for the thing to have an oh well it was already broken when they told me attitude. And I sure as hell would not have driven a truck for weeks that was displaying all the symptoms of the problem without getting under it and atleast looking.....Irresponsible if you ask me...:disappoin
And could it of helped the problem by taking it in...Possibly, the mount may not have broken completely off at first.
I was just reading a thread about this a couple days ago, I can't for the life of me remember which forum it was on though.
In any case, the motor mount broke clean from the frame but the original poster said that he was getting a new frame from Toyota because Toyota R&D wanted his old one. Don't know the truth of this story, but I wish I could find the thread...
Im going to talk to Cell2Soul or whatever his name is on TTORA because he seems to have got a new frame out of the deal and it seems like certain 05 models and VIN's during that year were affected by something and I think it should be looked into. Some people might say I was offroading it too hard or whatever but then what do their commercials depict? Their commercials make it look like you can offroad the hell out of them and they'll be fine. I mean come on its a truck, oh well Ill talk to the guy monday and let everyone know what goes on
Oh is that what the attitude was? You know all about me then? Come on now lets not go down that road. Not all of us have the money and time in the world to take time out of our busy lives of getting up at 430 and working 10 hours everyday to drive an hour and a half and get a ride back from the dealership. If I had to do it over again I would of done the exact same thing. Seems like a piece of shit frame if you ask me to have a "FRAME" of a vehicle break, collapse, do anything of that sort. I had a jeep for 240,000 miles and was WAY rougher on it than I am to this tacoma. I baby my vehicle and the motor mounts just rip from the frame? Haha if thats the case Ill go buy a chevy next time. I love my tacoma dont get me wrong but if toyota cant make a reliable vehicle like my 1980 Toyota Pickup anymore count me out. To have a frame break, a frame 08TRDOFFROAD come on
I think Toyota has lost its edge in terms of reliability when they introduced our current model Tacoma. Too bad this is the first Toyota model I have purchased.
If there was no extensive abuse to Colville's truck (and it doesn't sound like there was), then there is no excuse for this happening, even once. And it appears this is not the first one .... Dang!
Colville, I hope you get it all fixed at no cost to you and to your satisfaction!
I am trying to contact a couple of guys on TTORA about it to see what they have to say about it. I heard some of the first 05 Tacomas had a problems with the robot welder or something along those lines reading the artcile or forums on TTORA. Ill have to send them some PM's and ask around
ill be paying someone to inspect my vehicle at 33k, to make sure anything about to fail does fail before the warranty runs out. I am not in the mood to have a 20k+ truck crap out 1k miles after the warranty expires.
How much will that cost you? And what's the risk that still something is missed or fails shortly after.
You can still get the extended warranty. I am debating this right now, I have about 3 weeks left to make a decision.
alright, i'm just going to say this: i don't know the exact circumstances but-it sounds to me like this is somewhat of a unique scenario. i personally have never seen this happen-which doesn't mean anything, just that it's not a hugely common issue. yeah yeah, i know a couple links have been provided to other guys who have had this problem, but seriously-we're talking about a FEW in thousands and thousands of trucks-this isn't an epidemic people. i don't understand the "toyota has really done it now" attitude people seem to chime in with whenever someone posts up a thread complaining about some freak problem. and while yes of course i agree with everyone-a motor mount should absolutely not break, i don't agree with anyone who says that toyota trucks are no longer reliable, tough, or the best option in the world of mid-sized trucks. also for what it's worth (and with all due respect) colvilletacoma isn't exactly the nicest to his truck-he uses it-which he should! but, don't start thinking that he was just driving down a two lane highway at 55MPH when it happened. he is hard on his truck, which is perfectly fine-so am i! it's what they were meant for. i have yet to (knock on wood) have any serious issue like this, and i've beaten the piss out of mine to some degree, so don't give me a story about how toyota has lost it's edge..... have you driven a ranger, or s10 lately?? (cue the "my s10 had 350,000 trouble free miles" stories) they are pieces of shit-total and complete garbage. toyota still has them beat in every conceivable area, despite a few isolated issues.
all i'm saying is that you can find something wrong with every vehicle, and shit can happen to any vehicle depending on the circumstances. toyotas are still the toughest and most well built trucks on the road.
oh and colville, i hope you get this issue fixed somehow-if toyota absolutely won't help you, go after your insurance. (maybe something hit it on the road, etc.)
good luck.:thumbsup:
too late tonight to post the whole story ... But ... same/similar thing happened to my 2005 4x4 - The frame was ripped / torn on both sides at the motor mounts.
How did I first notice it? The fan would rub against the shroud under heavy braking, going around sharp corners and when I was reversing.
From there, I had a friend put it in R from P with me standing beside the truck (hood open) You could see the whole motor pivot / flex downward when the tranny went to R
Ouch
Fortunatley I found THE guy to fix it - Toyota nut, 4x4 nut, and the the best welder around (and no, there was no hope of warrenty)
I don't do "I Told You So's"....however, I will express my disappointment in him for not heeding my advice. I mean, how long does it take you slide under the front of your truck and check the mounts? You couldn't find 5 or even 15 minutes just to slide under the front and check it out? I can easily slide under the front of my truck...and mines not even lifted. I realize a lot of people are busy, but this just seems like sheer laziness to me. With all the modification of your vehicle that you do, it seems odd to me that you couldn't find time.
Anyways it's too late for regrets now, I hope everything works out!
So you mean to tell me that trucks should be used for nothing else but hauling furniture to and from your local Wal Mart?
Contrary to popular belief, some individuals do use their trucks for hunting, fishing, travelling to the cottage and other various off pavement excursions. Don't you ever take the woman in the bush for a picnic? There should be other variables other than if the truck was ever driven somewhere without asphalt or concrete below its tires.
My truck is used regularly off road - which is why I forked out extra coin for the Off Road package. I don't hide it from my dealer and rightfully so, I shouldn't have to. If I'm competing in an off road Baja style race or rock crawling and bust something up, I agree they have the right to reject a claim if excessive use is suspected and can be VERIFIED. I don't understand why the majority of people begin shaking in their boots each and every time they drive more than a mile on a dirt road for recreation purposes...
For example I'm out of town on business this week and just checked into a sweet Hotel that's located over 100 miles from a piece of ashphalt. There's a suite a few doors down that was regularly occupied by George Bush Sr. as he angled on the local world class salmon river. His autographed portrait hangs in the dining room.
The road in question is a government maintained gravel highway in the middle of BF nowhere. Thousands of people live and commute in towns along this isolated route. Contrary to popular belief, I doubt the hundreds of vehicles I passed today were sold without warranty due to an individuals place of residence...