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.
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.
The running / parking lights are burning through and melting the lens covers on both sides of headlight assemblies. There are visible burn marks and cracks on the lens for both sides of the vehicle.
The plastic lens covering the daytime running lights/blinkers are melting and cracked. The cause appears to be from the lights which are on when the engine is on. Left and right side lens are melted.
On the headlight assembly of my vehicle both of the running light lenses are melting. They first started to bubble and I noticed it at approximately 40,000 miles. I took it into the dealership to have it checked out and they said that the warranty would not cover it and offered no fix. Recently, I looked at the lenses again and they are now cracked and burnt. The plugs that the bulbs are in are burnt as well. Toyota told me they would pay half of the damages, but not the whole thing. In Toyota's service bulletin that they published in 2011, it states that the 2005-2011 vehicles have defective headlights and came out with a new designed headlight for them. With that said, my Tacoma is a 2009 model. One of my biggest worries regarding this defect is the fact that I like to go on road-trips in my vehicle which sometimes requires me to drive for long periods of time. I am concerned that over time the lenses will melt completely and cause a fire or short in the wires. I have three small children and I should not have to worry about defected headlights catching fire and endangering them. The last time I went to the Toyota dealership, I walked around and looked at the used Tacoma's and found the same issues on almost all of vehicles. Like I said my biggest thing is my safety and Toyota knows that they manufactured a defective headlight and refuse complete responsibility for it.
The drls/turn signals of the 2009 Toyota Tacoma have a faulty design resulting with the lens melting (Toyota calls it bubbling) and cracking. Toyota did issue a recent tsb (T-sb-0129-11) to replace the headlight assemblies on impacted trucks. Several model years were included. The tsb is worded that only trucks with less than 36K miles and less than 36 months old will be repaired. My truck had about 40K miles and was about 34 months old when I finally took it to the local dealer. I didn't bring it in when I first noticed the defect because I didn't think Toyota would even consider not replacing the lights because it's an obvious design defect. Some of the older models mentioned in the tsb would have been older than 36 months when the tsb was released. Drls were developed so other drivers can better see you. A melted drl lens will dim the brightness of the light to other drivers. Toyota should be repairing all the damaged headlight assemblies.
I noticed that the dtrl had started to melt the amber lenses and brought it to the attention of my local dealer. Although I was still within the warranty mileage, I was over by a few months on the 36-month warranty (I bought the truck used in Dec-2011.) I just heard from my local dealer that I've been trying to work with concerning the melting lenses in my '09 Tacoma trd. I tried to get Toyota to replace the lamp assembly and they would only cover half of the replacement and subsequent re-aiming of the head lights. I then printed out some instructions to install a Toyota relay and jumper wires to turn the dtrl function off, leaving the turn signal function alone. According to the dealer, Toyota will not sign off on, nor allow their dealers to make this modification, even though the parts are all Toyota oem parts. I would also strongly suggest that every owner of a Tacoma that is having any issue (melting, bubbling, cracking etc.) with the dtrl's write Toyota corporate expressing their deep disappointment with the quality of Toyota products and the corporations lack of concern for the customers safety buying the product. With all the negative that Toyota has received during the past few years over safety related issues, you would think that Toyota would be falling all over themselves to correct a known safety issue in a required system, instead of tap dancing around like they are doing. As a retired law enforcement officer, I find that the response I've been receiving from Toyota to be particularly disappointing, especially since this is a safety issue involving a mandated lighting system. The staff at NHTSA is welcome to contact me at any time to discuss this.
In September 2011, I noticed the daylight running lights had an orange/brown spot in the middle of the lens. Eights months later, the daylight running lights have melted and cracked the plastic lens. The passenger side lens has completely melted in half. The bulb appears to sit too close to the lens in the housing unit. Fire risk.
My trucks headlight unit has daytime running lights "amber turn signal lighting" and its continued to cause melting around the housing. This has been going on for a year now and the dealership has been informed on more than one occasion and they refuse replacement because its not a declared recall from Toyota. The light issue continues to get worse and is almost completely melted around the turn area.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked when he noticed that the turn signal bulbs had burned through the turn signal covering. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that the turn signal bulbs were positioned too closely to the casing. The manufacturer was notified and offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 56,250. The VIN was unavailable...updated 11/29/12 the consumer stated the lights were no longer effective
I noticed the daytime running light lens had cracked & melted. This is obviously a defect due to the amount of heat the bulb is putting out. I am disappointed that a company such as Toyota will not take care of this problem. According to what I have read the fix is over $700 to fix. It makes you wonder if greed is the root of all evil.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. While examining the vehicle, the contact noticed that the daytime running lights were beginning to melt the headlight housing. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not available. The current and the failure mileage was 60,000.
The headlight lenses are melting in the front of the daytime running lights/turn signal. Both sides have the same issue. They both have a horizontal crack and a melted blob of plastic that will likely keep getting bigger. I consider this to be a safety hazard. While at lowes yesterday, I checked the headlights of one other Tacoma, and he had the same issue. When I got home, I performed a google search and found several forums where owners were having the same issue. Most said that when they mentioned it to their Toyota dealership, the dealership acted like no one has had this problem before. Some customers were able to get the headlights replaced and some were not. I'd be concerned that the replacement will have the same issue a couple of years from now.
The headlight lenses are melting in front of the daytime running light bulbs/turn signals. I feel that this is a safety hazard and should be recalled by Toyota. I was told by Toyota customer service that my Toyota extended platnium warrentee will not cover this part and they will not authorize the replacement of the headlights.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that front turn signal lenses burned out. The contact noticed visible burn marks on both lenses. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 66,000.
Daylight running lights burn /melt the lens due to excessive heat, in less then 30K miles. I believe Toyota has a design problem with the drls. Every Tacoma with the drl option will eventually have this problem. The compartment that holds the dlr light is small, with no ventilation, and the lamp dissipates approximately 28 watts of heat, which is focused toward the lens (along with the light). It is simply too much heat in too small an area, and the heat is sufficient to melt the plastic lens in front of the lamp. Since the drl is part of the headlight assembly, the cost of parts is reported to be around $700 plus labor. I believe that lenses (with proper lamps) should never melt. Asking Tacoma owners to pay $700 +, every 30K miles is outrageous! my headlight assemblies were replaced under warranty, but they are sure to fail again if something is not done to correct the design of the dlrs. It appears that Toyota is ignoring the problem and hoping most people won't recognize the problem until after the vehicle is out of warranty. Now I am concerned that this condition will eventually lead to an electrical fire.
My 09 Toyota Tacoma drl (daylight running light/turn signal) lens burned/melted/broke. I have exceeded my warranty but I feel Toyota should stand behind their product and replace my light lens. My local dealer did do a 50/50 split on the cost of replacement, but this is a design problem. Light lens should never burn/melt/break regardless of how old or how many miles the vehicle has on it. Not all Tacoma's have drl, this is an option, my local dealer did not know this but I pointed this out to him. I have a friend with same problem but his Tacoma is still in warranty and the dealer did a 100% replacement. I contacted Toyota with a letter and pictures and was told Toyota would not stand behind their product because I had exceeded my warranty.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- New Orleans, LA, USA