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.
Inside the front left and right headlight assembly is a combination turn signal indicator/ emergency flash indicator/daytime running light. The lense for this combination indicator inside the headlight assembly has melted and affected the integrity of the component. I contacted my local dealership twice and Toyota customer satisfaction by telephone. But they did not offer any additional information for correcting the problem, except for total replacement of the complete assembly at my expense. By the regulations of the federal government with the dot Toyota should comply with part 564 of the safety regulation requirements, and by this should notify owners of the optional replacement parts as a service bullitin with a mailed notification letter. Because of this oversight Toyota has chosen to adapt a stratagy to use an exception to their warranty contract by limiting their responsibility in effect of component exclusions I.e. light bulbs because of Toyota's inabillity to recognise and address this issue with a notification. Many of the dealers and owners who could have corrected the improper matching of the assemblies, before damage to the integrity of the signal indicators required safe operation was lost and Toyota gained considerable financial advantage at the expense of safety.
The daytime running lights (drl's) on my 2009 Tacoma have bubbled up and cracked the lens/plastic. I am not sure if this is because the bulb is too close to the plastic or the wattage is too high for the plastic. The drl's are also used as front end turn signals. If these fail, it could be a major safety hazard. Dealership denied to pay for replacement for it is not covered under the agreements of my extended warranty.
When I took my Tacoma pickup to the local dealer for its 35,000-mile oil change and tire rotation, they pointed out that the lenses on both daytime running lights are burned and distorted, apparently from the heat of the amber bulb. They said there is no solution other than replacing the entire headlight module on both sides. Parts and labor would be somewhere between $700 and $1,000. I'm past the three-year warranty coverage. I sent an E-mail complaint to Toyota and they said this is a cosmetic problem that they will not fix. Wrong. This is a fire safety problem. From online research, I have now learned that this is a huge problem with Tacoma. On new models, it has been fixed with a redesigned headlight module that moves the bulb socket farther back to prevent the heat from the bulb from damaging the lens. On older models, you could just remove the bulb to avoid a fire except that the daytime running light bulb is also the turn signal bulb. I hope you will do something about this huge safety hazard.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that the dtr lights malfunctioned and melted the headlight case. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they advised him that the dtr light bulb assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. The current mileage was approximately 89,569.
- Mission Viejo, CA, USA
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Daytime running lights are too hot causing the plastic lenses to crack, melt, and burn. Toyota is treating this as purely cosmetic in T-sb # 0129-11 (for 6 model years they were aware of it). This listing should be changed to a safety recall, that amount of heat could start a vehicle fire.
I have a 09 Tacoma and the drl's have actually burned, melted and popped the lens in front of them. Also, the bulbs themselves, upon examination, have burned the socket in which they are held. You can see black around the base of them. Took it to Toyota at 59K miles and I have the platinum 7year/100000mi warranty and was told it would cost me 1100 for parts alone to fix, offered no help and lied to me and said they have had no other incidents of this nature and its a rare problem never before seen. I have removed my drl bulbs out of concern of a fire starting and then I probably get stuck with that bill of a burnt front end. I should not have to pay because Toyota put in a bulb that's too hot or because Toyota decided to make a cheap plastic cover for the bulbs. I had zero influence on this failure. There are countless posts on all kinds of websites concerning this problem. I can track down over 1000 in less than 30 min. Please help. When I call Toyota I just get bullied around and talked to like I'm dumb or don't know what I'm talking about.
Front left and right signal light lens melted and cracked. Unit was inspected by an authorized dealer and determined to replace both headlights under warranty due to defect lens. Approximately a year later lens melted and cracked again. Called Toyota to report and find out if there is a recalls for this issue. Toyota representative initiated a report and informed me that there is not a recalls for this issue at that time and will not be replaced due to vehicle is not under warranty. At this time I am not sure at what point this lens melting; due to the light bulb heat may cause a fire and I am taking under consideration to remove the signal light bulbs which will make signal lights nonoperational. It has to be a bad manufacture headlight design that is causing that area to melt and an investigation should be initiated for recall consideration. Your response will be appreciated.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that the daytime running lights became overheated and fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised the contact that there were no recalls for the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted who stated that there was no defect. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 66,000.
Running lights have melted, cracked and have brown color on plastic. Contacted Toyota dealer (sun Toyota) and they said it's not under warranty. Contacted Toyota Corp and they said that they haven't heard of this happening. I believe there is a potential of a fire happening.
The headlamp assembly: Running lights build up excess heat and burns/cracks the lens. This has occurred on both passenger and drivers sides. On the drivers side the lens has broken and fallen out of place.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that the daytime running lights were melting the headlight lenses. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the lenses would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified and offered to pay for the cost of the lens but not for the labor costs. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 51,000.
Daytime running lights are causing melting and cracking of the lens covering from the inside. I took my vehicle to a Toyota dealership in tampa, Florida. Vehicle was inspected. I called Toyota customer service on November 28, 2012 and explained that this is a fire hazard and requested it be repaired. Toyota customer service called me back on November 28, 2012 and said that because the "original factory warranty" had expired so that there would be no remedy offered by Toyota. This problem is well documented online on various Tacoma / Toyota owners' sites. Personnel at the dealership told me that the "replacement part" had been re-designed to eliminate this problem....so Toyota is aware of the problem. The headlight is progressively getting worse. It seems that the daytime running lights were not properly engineered in this model. Because of the defect there is a clear conscience the melting lenses create an obvious fire hazard. The Toyota dealership where I purchased my Tacoma in the tampa Florida area advised me that Toyota has no recall of extended warranty for this "known" problem. I was very dismayed to hear this because the issue is clearly presents a threat to the driver. Because of this situation I have to make a decision on what options are available to me. Either I replace the entire headlight assembly with the Toyota factory assembly which is already known to have a defect or I figure out a way to disable the daytime running lights to cut back on the head that builds up with them constantly being on. I would rather not disable the daytime running lights because I believe that they do provide significant safety value. I am not sure what I am going to do at this point but clearly action is needed. I would like Toyota to step up to the plate and replace the defective potentially harmful headlight assemblies.
Daytime running lights are causing melting and cracking of the lens covering from the inside. I took my vehicle to a Toyota dealership in superior wi. Vehicle was inspected. The service manager called Toyota financial services, issuer of my platinum vehicle service agreement, and then called me a few hours later to say that my claim had been denied because "lamps" are not covered. I called Toyota customer service on November 15, 2012 and explained that this is a fire hazard and requested it be repaired. Toyota customer service called me back on November 19, 2012 and said that because the "original factory warranty" had expired so that there would be no remedy offered by Toyota. This problem is well documented online on various Tacoma / Toyota owners' sites. Personnel at the dealership told me that the "replacement part" had been re-designed to eliminate this problem....so Toyota is aware of the problem.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that the daytime running lights would cause the headlight lens to overheat, melting the plastic lenses. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that there was a bulletin from the manufacturer that stated if any headlight was defective they have to replace both headlights. The dealer will repair the failure of the parts free of charge, but the contact has to pay for the labor. The manufacturer was notified and advised the contact that there were no recalls and offered no further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 37,800.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that the headlight lenses became melted and cracked. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for inspection but they only took pictures of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified who stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was 37,383.
The daytime running lights have melted and cracked the lens/plastic. These are also used as front end turn signals. If these fail, it could be a major safety hazard. While there is a tsb, the dealership denied to pay for replacements since my 36K warranty has now expired. This is not something that just started to happen and Toyota is aware of the problem.
After completing an oil change on my 2009 Toyota Tacoma in October of 2011 I noticed that the amber lens in the headlight was discolored and seemed to be melting due to overheating. Over the past year I have been monitoring the situation and noticed that the melting and cracking of the amber lens inside of the headlight is progressively getting worse. It seems that the daytime running lights were not properly engineered in this model. Because of the defect there is a clear concern for driver safety. The melting lenses create an obvious fire hazard. The Toyota dealership where I purchased my Tacoma in the metro atlanta area advised me that Toyota has no recall of extended warranty for this "known" problem. I was very dismayed to hear this because the issue is clearly presents a threat to the driver. Because of this situation I have to make a decision on what options are available to me. Either I replace the entire headlight assembly with the Toyota factory assembly which is already known to have a defect or purchase and aftermarket headlight assembly and hope the it is engineered better than the Toyota one, or I figure out a way to disable the daytime running lights to cut back on the head that builds up with them constantly being on. I would rather not disable the daytime running lights because I believe that they do provide significant safety value. I am not sure what I am going to do at this point but clearly action is needed. I would like Toyota to step up to the plate and replace the defective potentially harmful headlight assemblies.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Wichita Falls, TX, USA