Weak Tailgate

3093 Views 18 Replies 16 Participants Last post by mhadden, Jan 11, 2007

bluestreak05

Discussion Starter · Jan 4, 2007

Another to add to the list. Mine buckled offloading a ski doo (total dry weight 435 lbs), actual weight on the tailgate was next to nothing. Need help, been talking to several dealers and they are all classing it as damage and willing to do nothing for me. Whats the point of having a truck if i can't use it like one, loading and offloading the bed. The capacity of the bed is 1435 lbs, and this is not an isolated incident, its been happening to lots of you guys. Its time for toyota to step to the plate and admit their tailgates have issues. Considering a trade to a toyota echo, probally do a better job at hauling my sled.

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

amp2oo1

· #2 · Jan 4, 2007

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t170979.html

get yourself one of those

rpmspeedyBlue

· #3 · Jan 5, 2007

Sorry about your tailgate:sosad: It really sucks to have a weak tailgate especially when you use it to haul semi to heavy loads. Toyota does need to address this problem before someone gets hurt severly. Sethmark is making a cap for the tailgate and seems very promising. I will be buying one when he finishes the proto-type and puts it up for sale. Can't rely on Toyota to do any about the weak ass tailgate. I guess if Toyota does do anything about the weak tailgate problem that would mean that they admit fault and would have to have a recall on all the tailgates and that would mean $$$$$$$$.:thumbdown

Pb

· #4 · Jan 5, 2007

I wish we had a Taco owner on here that was also a lawyer. He could file a class action suit or something. That might get Toyotas attention.

samcollett

· #5 · Jan 5, 2007

my dad almost did just that. i was loading our honda rancher atv when i first bought the truck and the tailgate buckled. he said, "Sam, you just spent 25,000$ on this brand new toyota. There is absolutely no reason for something like to happen." if i let him know that a lot of people were experiencing this problem, he might file a suit.

eyedoc

· #6 · Jan 5, 2007

samcollett said:
my dad almost did just that. i was loading our honda rancher atv when i first bought the truck and the tailgate buckled. he said, "Sam, you just spent 25,000$ on this brand new toyota. There is absolutely no reason for something like to happen." if i let him know that a lot of people were experiencing this problem, he might file a suit.

do it, do it, do it, do it, do it...........yea, yea, yea, yea!!!!!!

msibille

· #7 · Jan 5, 2007 (Edited)

Sounds like a plan...:thumbup:

Those who've had a tailgate failure certainly have a desire to seek reimbursement and resolution, and those of us who haven't, would like it fixed before we do.

bluestreak05

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jan 5, 2007

For those of you with bent tailgates, are you still running those on your trucks? Did you have them repaired or replacement and at what cost? I'm looking for a speedway blue in a front on accident so i can snag the tailgate!! Here in canada i paid 44,000 for my double cab TRD sport SR5 power package, i refuse to have a buckled up tailgate.....

goldmember

· #9 · Jan 5, 2007

samcollett said:
my dad almost did just that. i was loading our honda rancher atv when i first bought the truck and the tailgate buckled. he said, "Sam, you just spent 25,000$ on this brand new toyota. There is absolutely no reason for something like to happen." if i let him know that a lot of people were experiencing this problem, he might file a suit.

Especially when all the ad's on tv's show quads in the back of a tacoma.

Tacologist

· #10 · Jan 5, 2007

Any lawsuit should not only be for those with a bent tailgate but for those that will potentially get a bent tailgate and that would be ALL of us.

forbye

· #11 · Jan 9, 2007

Bulletproof !! BS
guess i'll have to get creative in the shop as others have

bluestreak05

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jan 10, 2007

I took the bed liner off the tailgate and could not believe what i saw. The angle brackets which are there for support are not even spot welded to the gate, they are held in place with a big squirt of rubberized epoxy. Toyota has stupped to an all time low.

75cruiser

· #13 · Jan 11, 2007

I know Adospeed had a pretty big mess with his tailgate. There are about 3 posts that talk about what happened to his tailgate and how Toyota treated him.

tonys10

· #14 · Jan 11, 2007

bluestreak05 said:
For those of you with bent tailgates, are you still running those on your trucks? Did you have them repaired or replacement and at what cost? I'm looking for a speedway blue in a front on accident so i can snag the tailgate!! Here in canada i paid 44,000 for my double cab TRD sport SR5 power package, i refuse to have a buckled up tailgate.....

44,000 CDN?????? Wow, that's a great deal....never though I would hear of a Tacoma going for $43.57 ;-)

Chipper57

· #15 · Jan 11, 2007

this will be my first and last Toyota, If i cant use it to haul my toys then what is the point in having it. I will be trading in next year for a 08 silverado.

rpmspeedyBlue

· #16 · Jan 11, 2007

Chipper57 said:
this will be my first and last Toyota, If i cant use it to haul my toys then what is the point in having it. I will be trading in next year for a 08 silverado.

Don't blame ya one bit. Hopefully Toyata will get the hint soon before they get a bad reputation on building inferior trucks.:disappoin

taco4me

· #17 · Jan 11, 2007

Get a Attorney

For all of us that have not put a load on our tail gates for fear of it bending. Have been waiting for SOMEONE WHO HAS BENT HIS TAIL GATE TO FILE A CLASS ACTION SUIT!!!!! To force Toyota to recall ALL of our tail gates to FIX them. If we fix these defective tail gates ourselves Toyota will never have to do a dam thing. Why should we pay to fix our own tail gates, Toyota has a LOT of our MONEY!!!!! We all bought our trucks to use as trucks. If we needed a car we wouldn't have bought a truck.

AZFIRE06

· #18 · Jan 11, 2007 (Edited)

Sorry to hear another tailgate failed. I also would like to see Toyota address and fix the problem for the +05 Tacoma's owners. I doubt this is going to happen. I think at best Toyota may redesign the tailgate in future models, but do nothing for us who own older models.

What fascinates me is, for those of us who know of the problem, some of us continue to use the truck tailgate as if it has no load bearing issue. Since being aware of the issue, I am more carefull of how I load items into the truck bed so as to minimize the weight on the tailgate. Should I have to do this? No!. Should Toyota address the issue? Yes!. Will they? Probably not.

So guess its up to us as owners, to come up with solutions. It is great to see what some are coming up for for fixes.

mhadden

· #19 · Jan 11, 2007 (Edited)

taco4me said:
For all of us that have not put a load on our tail gates for fear of it bending. Have been waiting for SOMEONE WHO HAS BENT HIS TAIL GATE TO FILE A CLASS ACTION SUIT!!!!! To force Toyota to recall ALL of our tail gates to FIX them. If we fix these defective tail gates ourselves Toyota will never have to do a dam thing. Why should we pay to fix our own tail gates, Toyota has a LOT of our MONEY!!!!! We all bought our trucks to use as trucks. If we needed a car we wouldn't have bought a truck.

Someone is working on a class action suit. I just can't find the thread that was talking about it. In the mean time, report defective tailgates to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This will help spark action by Toyota if there are enough defects or injuries (or deaths).

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

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