10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
36,448 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2009 Toyota Tacoma drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2009 Toyota Tacoma Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #25

Feb 262020

Tacoma

  • 100,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

After coming to a stop at a traffic light or stop sign, it feels like a "thud" under the vehicle and/or getting hit from behind. I noticed this on a rare occasion starting about a year ago, but it seems to now happen more often than not.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #24

Oct 012009

Tacoma

  • 1,000 miles
Transmission seems to slip or slide as one comes to a stop, it feels like one is getting bumped from behind.

- Farmington, NM, USA

problem #23

May 012019

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 79,899 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. While driving approximately 10 mph, the brakes did not work. The brake pedal went to the floorboard momentarily and then started working again. In addition, the service engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the technician cleaned the brakes and stated that there was no brake failure. On another occasion, while driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle shifted from regular gear into four wheel drive on its own. Also, the traction control indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to joel confer Toyota (814-237-5713, located at 120 clinton ave, state college, pa 16803) where the technician added transmission fluid and removed a metal piece that broke off the fuel tank cover. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. And contact was told unintended accerlation template was the problem, happen for 4 days. The contact did not believe the vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 79,899. 'parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'

- Kane, PA, USA

problem #22

Jun 212018

Tacoma

  • 135,150 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driveshaft and universal joint problem. Toyota has issued a "warranty enhancement - ZH2" for this problem, but it should be a full recall, as the condition can lead to sudden driveshaft failure, loss of vehicle control, and death. The problem appears to also extend to the center bearing and possibly the driveshaft itself, as I took my truck in for service under warranty, and still have vibration issues even after the warrantied parts (and center support bearing at significant extra cost) were replaced. This vibration begins around 40 mph and increases through 60 mph. I am concerned that the vehicle is unsafe to drive and may sustain a sudden driveshaft failure from improper remediation of this issue under the ZH2 campaign.

- Greer, SC, USA

problem #21

Jun 062017

Tacoma

  • 97,000 miles
Rear wheel bearings grinding while driving.

- Galloway, NJ, USA

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problem #20

Apr 122012

Tacoma

  • 26,000 miles
I have exactly the same problem with read leaf springs as everybody else- the rear is sagging and and the front end is starting to rise(excessive tire wear) my truck has 66,000 miles and it only carries a 210lb vintage dirtbike 5 or 6 times a year. Do people have to start dying like GM's ignition switch before someone in the federal govt gets off their rear end and actually does their job? also spiral cable recall that could damage driver's airbag(cob (C1B) I have paperwork from Toyota and dealer stating the recall and now they are denying that one exists or ever existed. Also, when transmission shifts at low speeds(usually downshifting, clunk is heard in drive shaft) too much lash in rearend or junk U-joints. I have an aas in automotive technolgy and over 105 credits in automotive engineering. I'm not just blowing smoke. When I lived in nys, I had a vehicle inspection license and I would definitely fail many Toyota with these problems. No inspection sticker-no driving of vehicle.

- Richland, MI, USA

problem #19

Jan 192016

Tacoma

  • 70,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

After going in reverse then stopping and placing the vehicle in drive, the transmission will slip, I would accelerate but the vehicle does nothing but rev up and then it will finally engage.

- Port St Lucie, FL, USA

problem #18

Jul 222014

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Rear leaf spring recall - received safety recall interim notice Sept. 2014 advising of defective rear leaf spring. Contacted dealership numerous times for repair, and advised continually Toyota has not yet designed or created a fix for the problem. As of July 28, 2015 dealership still does not have replacement part for the defective rear leaf spring. I have advised dealership multiple times that the vehicle when stopped and brake applied, vehicle abruptly without warning jolts forward on its own and makes a loud clunk immediately afterwards. Feels as if the vehicle has been hit from behind from another vehicle, when in fact it has not. Dealership confirmed that the issues explained above are definitely related to the faulty rear leaf spring, but has no answers or any remedy of problem. I was also advised by dealership that rear leaf spring may cause brakes to fail or fuel tank to be punctured and cause fire. This is definitely not safe, and we are concerned for our safety! please intervene! updated 12/12/2017

- Jupiter, FL, USA

problem #17

Jul 072014

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • 45,600 miles
As soon as I came to a stop at an intersection, with my foot on the brake pedal, I noticed and felt a thump coming from underneath and towards the rear of the vehicle. It does not do it every time but this has happened several times already... updated 09/30/15 updated 11/01/2017

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #16

Jul 162014

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
Bought a 2009 Toyota Tacoma new. When slowing down to make a turn, then accelerate the engine revs up to 3,000 rpms and the transmissions takes several seconds to engage into gear. This is a definite hazard when it comes to on coming traffic.

- Canton , GA, USA

problem #15

Dec 012011

Tacoma 4WD 4-cyl

  • 31,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Clutch slips going up hill. You have to downshift when going up hill.

- Amity, ME, USA

problem #14

Jan 262014

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • 34,000 miles
I came to a red traffic light and I hit the brakes but the car would not slow down so grabbed the steering wheel and pushed down on the brake petal but the car still would not stop so put the transmission in neutral and the car finally stopped but the engine continued to race the tack was up to 4000, when the light changed to green I put the car into drive and the car jerked forward and after about 4 seconds the tack dropped back to 2000 RPM.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #13

Jan 022014

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • 130,000 miles
When driving the vehicle, upon reaching 35 to 40 miles per hour the vehicle starts to shake for about two to three seconds. After doing research on the computer and after having the problem diagnosed at the dealer, I was told that I needed a new transmission. Apparently there is a torque converter lockup problem. I was told that the tsb does not pertain to my vehicle because it is no longer under warranty. I believe that Toyota is deliberately trying to find a way to not have to fix the problem. If this is happening in other vehicles there is obviously a problem regardless of what the vehicles mileage is when the problem occurs. Toyota will generally stand by the products they sell and these are the vehicles my family has ever purchased. However, we will definitely never purchase another vehicle from Toyota again.

- Brandywine, MD, USA

problem #12

Feb 012010

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • 1,000 miles
Shortly after purchase, I noticed that the truck nudges or slightly moves while at a stop, brake on and engine running. When brake is released it nudges again. I am unable to determine if this is a transmission issue or a brake issue. I have taken to Toyota on number of times. Nothing done. One comment from Toyota online was this is the characteristic of that year transmission. Funny, it did not do this when purchased. Now I cant sell it because of this problem. It seems to be getting worse, but no assistance from Toyota. Another find online from others was that this is a drive line wrap. Something to do with the drive shaft while under load. The truck runs great and I do not experience any issues with the shifting or drive-ability of the transmission while moving. New tires were installed last month and the problem seemed to diminish. It is now back to the same pattern...at every stop. Can you assist with any solutions? I just would like to have it fixed. Hopefully by Toyota on their nickel. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Corpus Christi, TX, USA

problem #11

Jun 142012

Tacoma

  • 19,000 miles
At freeway speeds grinding noise from driveline upon deceleration. It sounds like something is going to break/lockup. Dealership had the truck for 2 weeks trying to diagnose the problem. They opened a service ticket with Toyota and eventually a field service tech came to diagnose the truck. He didn't acknowledge it stating "no abnormal noise heard during operation at highway speeds. No further repairs authorized". I called Toyota customer care and they told me "we stand behind our techs". tcc would not allow me to speak with the field service tech"!? I expressed my fear of an accident to tcc to no avail. Why would the dealer be so concerned about my truck but Toyota blew it off" I am very displeased with Toyota.

- Allentown, PA, USA

problem #10

Jan 012010

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • 15,000 miles
My Tacoma has a constant shimmy in the steering wheel. My mechanic and Toyota service have tried balancing, alignments and road-force testing, but nothing works to eliminate the shake. It is at its worst when I first accelerate to cruising speed after the truck has sat for eight hours. At these times it is an approximately a 1/4 inch shimmy in the wheel, and is quite a violent shake. It seems to dissipate after a while, but the shimmy never goes away completely. It exists with both my all-season tires, and my snow tires.

- Colebrook, NH, USA

problem #9

Dec 102011

Tacoma 4WD 6-cyl

  • 52,000 miles
Manual transmission clutch difficult engaging. Slipping feeling in forward gears and reverse. The center section of the clutch disk have separated from the friction material section of the clutch disk. Defective clutch.

- Covina, CA, USA

problem #8

Feb 202010

Tacoma

  • 4,000 miles
Purchased new Toyota Tacoma trd sport in Aug 2009 with zero miles. All seemed ok, other than a few frustrating cab rattles here and there. However, I also noticed that as my truck neared more miles (7,000 current), I now have to press on the brake pedal a bit harder, yet when I brought this up to the dealer, they stated all was normal and could not replicate. I've had a couple of instances where I've had to press the brake pretty hard to come to a stop or slow down. It seems I need to ride it a little harder than when I first bought my truck. I also want to add, that besides the irritating rattles (door panels/tray holder in center console below the steering wheel - which was replaced, but still make pop sounds here and there, the other smaller rattles - some of which were coming from ill-fit window seals were not really fixed. The dealer replaced the seals and the popping sounds stopped for a day or so then returned. I found the problem is the seals tend to be somewhat improper fit. In other words, they are too large and cause the rubbing. I personally corrected this by removing all door panels only to find out that some of the rattle sounds I had complained about merely had a small piece of felt on the backside, which did not completely cure the problem. I purchased an entire roll of this material myself and coated the inside of each door panel then added a small piece of weather stripping to the inside of door panel edge where it touches the glass window. This helped considerably in reducing air noise and no more rattling. My complaint is still with the brake pedal sometimes, not always, needing to be pushed harder than normal to come to stop or slow down. On other thing I addressed with the dealer was the fact that when I slow down and make turn, not complete stop and go, my engine RPM's don't decelerate quickly enough for the transmission to catch up. Dealer states this is normal operating rpms catching down to shift down of tranny.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #7

Feb 222010

Tacoma 4WD 6-cyl

  • 1 miles
I have 2009 Toyota Tacoma double cab 4X4 V6. I also had 2008 model of the same vehicle. Both these vehicles shared a common negative characteristic. The engines have sudden RPM increases that are significant enough to propel the vehicles forward. This usually occurs while the vehicle is stopped and the transmission is in the drive position, at a red light for instance. Additional pressure must be applied to the brakes to maintain control of the vehicle. This problem was identical on both Tacoma.

- Grayson, KY, USA

problem #6

Dec 042009

Tacoma

  • miles
During slowing down and coasting around 10-20 mph transmission not being able to find right gear and pressing on accelerator revs engine like it is in neutral not responding. When I called dealership workshop I was told by someone that is common problem for Tacoma and there is no fix for it. Contacted Toyota usa customer service who set me appointment with dealership manager who said all car needs is resetting and for car "relearning" but problem did not go away.

- Simpsonville , SC, USA

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