MY GAS TANK FELL OFF!!!!! I had just filled the tank, drove a couple of miles when I heard a grinding noise. I looked under the truck and the entire right side of the GAS TANK was laying on the pavement.Towed it to the dealership where the service manager said he had never seen straps break like these did and said I should report it to Toyota.
In late March Toyota notified me that certain '04 - '06 Tundra's were exhibiting more than normal corrosion and to bring the truck in for inspection by July 31st 2015. The service manager said they would perform the inspection while they waited for the straps for the gas tank to come in. I did not have any rust perforation to the frame but they did respray a Corrosion-Resistant compound to the under body.
The replacement of the straps was on me, $327. The service manager apologized several times. Obviously this could have been at minimum an environmental disaster (17 gallons of gas) or maximum an explosion.
I called Toyota and was told the letter I received was not "a recall, which is imposed by the government" but a "campaign that Toyota was doing because they are dedicated to providing outstanding quality and value Then I was told that there would be no compensation as "this was my fault for not taking my truck in for regular maintenance as recommended in my owners manual" I explained that I bought the truck with 92K miles on it and outside of regular oil changes I wasn't aware of any maintenance that needed to be done. Then the rep. said "You should know better, after all with all the snow and salt things like this are bound to happen" I told him that out of the 17 vehicles I have owned none of them ever had a gas tank fall off. When I asked to speak to a manager I was told the decision to not compensate me "was written in stone and nothing is going to change it"
Seems odd they know there is a issue with corrosion occurring but the gas straps rusting to the point of failure is not their problem.
Anyone else have a gas tank fall off a 10 year old truck? Any suggestions?
Update from Jul 23, 2015: I contacted Toyota and was told it was my fault that the straps broke, "if I had brought it in for regular maintenace they would have noticed that the straps were rusting through and replaced them". I bought the truck from the original owner with 92k miles on it. Not sure why I would need to bring it in every 3K miles (according to Toyota) to have it serviced (?). I have oil changed every 3K miles and only have 122K miles on this vehicle.
I did get a "campaign notice" from Toyota stating the underbody corrosion spray was faulty and the frame needed to be inspected for rust just prior to the straps failing. But according to Toyota it had nothing to do with the straps rusting. We consumer sure are a dumb lot.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
MY GAS TANK FELL OFF!!!!! I had just filled the tank, drove a couple of miles when I heard a grinding noise. I looked under the truck and the entire right side of the GAS TANK was laying on the pavement.Towed it to the dealership where the service manager said he had never seen straps break like these did and said I should report it to Toyota.
In late March Toyota notified me that certain '04 - '06 Tundra's were exhibiting more than normal corrosion and to bring the truck in for inspection by July 31st 2015. The service manager said they would perform the inspection while they waited for the straps for the gas tank to come in. I did not have any rust perforation to the frame but they did respray a Corrosion-Resistant compound to the under body.
The replacement of the straps was on me, $327. The service manager apologized several times. Obviously this could have been at minimum an environmental disaster (17 gallons of gas) or maximum an explosion.
I called Toyota and was told the letter I received was not "a recall, which is imposed by the government" but a "campaign that Toyota was doing because they are dedicated to providing outstanding quality and value Then I was told that there would be no compensation as "this was my fault for not taking my truck in for regular maintenance as recommended in my owners manual" I explained that I bought the truck with 92K miles on it and outside of regular oil changes I wasn't aware of any maintenance that needed to be done. Then the rep. said "You should know better, after all with all the snow and salt things like this are bound to happen" I told him that out of the 17 vehicles I have owned none of them ever had a gas tank fall off. When I asked to speak to a manager I was told the decision to not compensate me "was written in stone and nothing is going to change it"
Seems odd they know there is a issue with corrosion occurring but the gas straps rusting to the point of failure is not their problem.
Anyone else have a gas tank fall off a 10 year old truck? Any suggestions?
Update from Jul 23, 2015: I contacted Toyota and was told it was my fault that the straps broke, "if I had brought it in for regular maintenace they would have noticed that the straps were rusting through and replaced them". I bought the truck from the original owner with 92k miles on it. Not sure why I would need to bring it in every 3K miles (according to Toyota) to have it serviced (?). I have oil changed every 3K miles and only have 122K miles on this vehicle. I did get a "campaign notice" from Toyota stating the underbody corrosion spray was faulty and the frame needed to be inspected for rust just prior to the straps failing. But according to Toyota it had nothing to do with the straps rusting. We consumer sure are a dumb lot.
- chambersmi, Traverse City, MI, US