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1.5

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
111,414 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.

2004 Toyota Tacoma engine problems

engine problem

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2004 Toyota Tacoma Owner Comments

problem #11

Feb 282018

Tacoma

  • 113,000 miles

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

Vehicle has 113,000 miles on it but is undriveable because frame is rusted through.

- Yellow Springs, OH, USA

problem #10

Nov 012016

Tacoma

  • 210,000 miles
I have read many, many other people online are having this identical issue and is causing cars to stall out and have to nearly rebuild the engine. Cylinder number 6 is misfiring consistently after 175,000 miles and to fix it, the heads have to be shaved and is costing the consumer around $4500 minimum to fix the issue. The stalling of the engine put myself in danger on a public road when it happened.

- Felton, CA, USA

problem #9

May 222016

Tacoma

  • 190,000 miles
Problem with the electronic throttle control on acceleration, the throttle drops off like I let my foot off the pedal, the dealer replaced the throttle body per customer request (me) and it fixed the problem, only to happen again several months later, this happened one time again, a total of 2 new throttle bodys were replaced, now a few years later it failed again trying to pass a car and I almost caused an accident because the throttle failed.

- Waterford, MI, USA

problem #8

Oct 152015

Tacoma

  • 162,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Tacoma. While parked, the engine warning indicator illuminated. In addition, the contact discovered a hole on the rear driver side leaf spring and it was not connected to the frame. The contact stated that the frame had rusted. The vehicle was driven to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 162,000.

- Sprinfiled, VT, USA

problem #7

Dec 212014

Tacoma 4WD 6-cyl

  • 137,000 miles
While driving the vehicle loses pedal response due to the throttle control motor shutting down and the check engine light coming on. The engine either shuts down completely or the becomes very jerky and cannot sustain an idle. Incidents began to occur around 95,000 miles odo but stopped for several years after a mechanic worked on the vehicle and said the throttle position sensor was out of alignment. More recently the truck has again been experiencing the same problem as before: Loss of pedal response, and in addition it now shuts the engine down and the gauges shoot up to the top of the charts and tick unresponsively until the key is removed from the ignition. This has occurred multiple times now in traffic and along the roadway where the truck becomes unresponsive and is difficult to drive safely off of the roadway.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #6

Oct 302014

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • 115,000 miles
I was driving at a normal speed on the highway. The gas pedal became unresponsive. I had to push the pedal all the way to the floor in order to get up to speed. The check engine light came on and the transmission had trouble switching between gears. This problem occurred intermittently and continues to happen. The code that has come up is to replace the throttle body, which I have two separate times, but again the new replacement part is quoted at $1000.

- Cypress, CA, USA

problem #5

Jul 102014

Tacoma

  • 12,000 miles

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

While driving on the freeway about 55mph my truck stalled on me twice doe a second. Also pulling out of my drive I had a hesitation in acceleration and almost got hit from a oncoming vehicle. They are no check engine light that comes on. Took it to a mechanic and they couldn't fin a issue.

- Waipahu, HI, USA

problem #4

Jul 012013

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
2004 Toyota Tacoma V6 3.4L 5vz-fe with automatic transmission. Toyota originally equipped this vehicle with a throttle by wire system. The vehicle unexpectedly does not respond to accelerator pedal position. Toyota on board diagnostic system does not detect fault thus does not log any error codes or illuminate check engine light. Occurrence rate and duration of events is intermittent and inconsistent. Velocity of the vehicle rapidly decreases unexpectedly and momentarily as if foot was temporarily removed from the accelerator pedal. Vehicle also unexpectedly and momentarily does not respond when accelerator pedal is depressed to begin moving or suddenly decreases speed when accelerating. This is a potential hazard in situations such as cruising in traffic, clearing an intersection, crossing railroad tracks, etc... occurrence rate and duration of problem seems to be worsening over time or with increased ambient temperatures.

- Land O Lakes, FL, USA

problem #3

Sep 282013

Tacoma 4-cyl

  • 120,000 miles
Crankshaft pulley that drives alternator has become loose and makes squeaking sounds.. contacted Toyota and they couldn't help....what should I do since a recall of 4000+ has been initiated for this failure and my VIN number isn't included??

- Wylie , TX, USA

problem #2

Jul 312013

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • 51,559 miles
Local Toyota dealership service department reported that the engine (V6 3.4) left bank head gasket is leaking and requires a replacement of the cylinder head gasket, with a valve reconfiguration, at the estimated cost of $2,762. Since Toyota has had previous vehicle recalls for V6 series engine/gasket reliability issues and the vehicle in question only has 51,559 miles, with excellent maintenance and service, that the cylinder gasket head leak may be a production defect and other owners are experiencing this same issue.

- Palmdale, CA, USA

problem #1

Jun 012010

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • 70,000 miles
After the truck has reached operating temperature, or after restarting the vehicle after it has been parked and the engine is still warm, the engine loses power randomly when pressing the accelerator. It happens either from a standstill, in traffic, or reaccelerating after cruising. Most prevalent in 4th and 5th gear. Need to jockey the throttle to get it moving again. Flooring will cause the engine to "buck" when engine regains power. It's not drivable for anyone not familiar with this issue and I'm therefore the only driver of the truck. I'm attempting a repair at the Toyota dealership for the second time since I couldn't recreate the first time. I suspect we test drove it and engine diagnostics were performed with a cold engine and it doesn't do it then. The condition is getting worse since it started displaying these symptoms today with a cold engine for the first time. I can no longer simply pull out into traffic like I used to and constantly have to jockey the throttle to not get rear ended, since the speed decrease is significant when this happens. It seems curious to me that the dealership claims not to have heard of this issue before, yet it seems pretty common searching for "Tacoma throttle problems."

- Lexington Park, MD, USA

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