Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||||
| DL00303 | 10/01/2003 | 10004512 | Synthetic rear differential fluid maintenance and repair information. *tt | 12/17/2003 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 4572 | 02/28/2005 | 10015555 | 2004 tundra repair manual correction for the torque converter clutch and drive plate. 00400-rm109-u1. *tt | 07/28/2005 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 09/07/2012 | 62900 | 1 | |
| Excessive rust throughout underbody and drive train components. porous, rusted through differential now leaking oil. rust issues started while vehicle still under 3/36 warranty. belt tensioner bracket, bracket mount and ball joints at 33,921 miles, sway bar linkages rusted through at 45,168 miles. both issued repaired as warranty matters. toyota claims current problem not covered but admits defective material and offers to provide replacement parts only, requiring estimated $770 to complete the repair. have initiated complaint with toyota, file number available upon request. *tr | |||
| 09/07/2012 | 62900 | ||
| Excessive rust throughout underbody and drive train components. porous, rusted through differential now leaking oil. rust issues started while vehicle still under 3/36 warranty. belt tensioner bracket, bracket mount and ball joints at 33,921 miles, sway bar linkages rusted through at 45,168 miles. both issued repaired as warranty matters. toyota claims current problem not covered but admits defective material and offers to provide replacement parts only, requiring estimated $770 to complete the repair. have initiated complaint with toyota, file number available upon request. | |||
| 08/23/2012 | 147526 | 1 | |
| During the course of routine service at independent garage mechanic pointed out three major components with severe corrosion issues that need to be addressed immediately: 1) frame severely rotted by rust, a perforation was identified on front driver's side 2) rear axle body severely corroded by rust, not leaking yet but likely will soon 3) power steering rack severely rotted by rust on passenger side, not leaking yet but likely will soon, described by mechanic as tender failure of any of these items could cause an accident leading to serious injury. *tr | |||
| 08/23/2012 | 147526 | ||
| During the course of routine service at independent garage mechanic pointed out three major components with severe corrosion issues that need to be addressed immediately: 1) frame severely rotted by rust, a perforation was identified on front driver's side 2) rear axle body severely corroded by rust, not leaking yet but likely will soon 3) power steering rack severely rotted by rust on passenger side, not leaking yet but likely will soon, described by mechanic as tender failure of any of these items could cause an accident leading to serious injury | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 08/10/2010 | 123000 | ||
| Column shifter overdrive on/off switch wire leads in 2004 toyota tundra fails or shorts out causing loss of control of overdrive setting on automatic transmission. this can cause downshifting at highway speed or your vehicle to not shift into overdrive causing poor fuel ecomonmy problem occurs after so many shift cycles of the colum shifter from park to drive cause the wire leads to break from metal fatigue causing the failure or short in the switch my truck started this with about 123,000 miles on it. i found numerous posts on the web detailing the fix on this problem. upon investigation i found the routing of the wires is causing the issue and you can see where toyota has tried to tape the wires to give extra protection in a poor routing of the switch wires | |||
| 07/15/2009 | 1 | ||
| My 2004 toyota tundra double cab has an excessive amount of rust on the undercarriage. because of this rust, the camber bolts cannot be removed to properly align the vehicle. i have been told that they will have to use heat to remove them, along with a lot of force, and in turn may do frame damage in the process. i have been quoted by my dealer $5,200 to fix the problem which initially started with a small shimmy in the steering wheel which grew into a big shimmy especially while towing. that quote does not include any possible charged from the body shop if damage to the frame should occur. i do not have $5,200 so i ended up with a new set of tires and half of an alignment because the camber bolts were not able to be removed. here i am months later and my new tires are so bald on the front that i am actually seeing the tread showing through. i have always loved my tundra, but all of this rust on the frame and undercarriage is very concerning regarding the longevity of my vehicle. i was told that toyotas last forever. at this point i feel that my truck is dangerous to even drive but it is my only vehicle. i have owned and maintained many vehicles and never had rust issues like this, nor have i ever been faced with such a costly repair on a not so old vehicle. i am stuck in a bad place and just don't know where to go or what to do. i desperately need my truck. without it i lose my source of transportation as well as my ability to earn a living. i just simply cannot afford... meaning i just do not have this kind of money to bring my truck back to health. all of this stress and frustration is a result of this excessive rust. included in the estimate is remove and replace camber bolts $1,957 --- steering rack boots 400.00 alignment 90.00---- driveshaft assembly $2,003---- rear u-joint $433.00---- differential fluid $330.00 it does not include any possible damage to the frame/body in their attempt to remove the camber bolts or another brand new set of tires. *tr | |||
| 08/25/2004 | 1 | ||
| While driving tracking device came on and off on its own. vehicle accelerated uncontrollably. consumer depressed brake pedal in order to stop. then, consumer drove the vehicle to dealer for inspection, and mechanic informed consumer that the problem could not be duplicated. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) | |||
| 06/01/2004 | 1000 | 6 | 04/14/2004 |
| The 2004 tundra is available with a fully extended cab, which i own. this model uses a different electronic/mechanical mechanism to shift gears than other models. with 1200 miles on the 2004 tundra i realized there was a problem if you shift from overdrive to 3rd gear to slow down while going doan a hill, then shift back to overdrive, the transmission will fail to switch. there is a button you drpress on the steering shift knob that electronically shifts in and out of overdrive. if this button is briefly tapped to switch gears, this will cause the transmission not to shift back. instead, it will reverse so that when the dash light says you are in overdrive you actually are in 3rd gear. when the light says are out of overdrive you are in overdrive. the dealer was able to replicate this problem. they checked with factory and there were no other incidents of this. the dealer did not know why they used a different shifting mechanism from one cab design to the other (extended). the service report was written and states this condition as being a normal operating condition at this time.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - TORQUE CONVERTER | |||
| 09/04/2004 | 1000 | 3 | 08/02/2004 |
| Purchased a toyota tundra brand new with 16 miles in august 2004. several weeks later i noticed a high-pitched scraping noise occurring from the engine. after two trips to the dealership and no resolution they contacted toyota in florida and sent a southeast regional representative to inspect. the noise was occurring when the truck shifted into overdrive while doing appx. 30 mph and 1100 rpms. letting off the gas caused the noise to cease. giving gas also caused the noise to cease. the noise only occurred when the speed was maintained at 30 mph. the toyota representative stated the he thought the problem was occurring with the torque converter and that it was something that i was going to have to live with. he also stated that this was the only reported case that he was aware of. i told him i was not going to pay $25,000 for a vehicle that was making a strange noise and that he could either replace the truck or eliminate the noise. he stated he was not going to replace the truck but that he would consider replacing the transmission. *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY - AXLE SHAFT - SEAL | |||
| 01/28/2007 | 40000 | 1 | |
| Rear bearing failure in 2004 toyota tundra, related parts abs gear broke. not able to control truck at a regular stop feels like truck wants to keep going. also feels like the rear violently shifts. number of vehicles with same problem are unknown. but is a ordinary thing according to local dealers!!!!!!!!! *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 07/08/2008 | 101000 | 1 | |
| 2004 toyota tundra leaks gear oil from rear differential cover plate. cover plate is so thin a pin hole developed. cover plate is pressed on so in order to correct problem, a whole new rear axle is needed according to dealer. when i brought truck into dealer, dealer told me he seen 6 of these like this already. metal plate is too thin and doesn't hold up to winters in new york and is rusting out due to metal being too thin. cost for repair is $3500 . when i contacted toyota, they just said there isn't any recalls on this subject yet. they did recall toyota tacomas due to rust eating out the frames but no recalls on rear differential cover plate. if gear oil for rear differential leaks out, due to metal fatigue, truck is not drivable and heat caused by friction of gears could cause a fire. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | |||
| 06/11/2012 | 50166 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota tundra. the contact stated that he noticed a stain in his driveway and took the vehicle to a personal mechanic for a diagnosis. the contact was informed that the rear differential had completely rusted out and was leaking fluid. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. the dealer acknowledged that there was an issue, but offered no assistance. the manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure and current mileages were 50,166. | |||
| 01/15/2005 | 35000 | 3 | 03/30/2004 |
| 2004 toyota tundra with a limited slip differential. on wet payment, if both wheel spin at the same time ( loose traction), the truck bed will kick left and put the truck into a spin. the truck was taken to the dealer and the dealer said the lsd (limited slip differential) was functioning. he asked me which side the truck kicked. i told him left. the dealer has seen this problem before with this truck kicking left. the dealer stated i had to contact toyota motor sales and file a complaint. this was done and i was refereed to toyota regional office in fl. i was contacted by them and they told me that the lsd was functioning correctly and that toyota has no intention of fixing this problem. this problem need to be fixed! *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - TRANSFER CASE (4-WHEEL DRIVE) | |||
| 01/01/2004 | 0 | 1 | 12/31/2003 |
| The brakes on my 2004 toyota tundra double-cab do not work properly (and never have). when you press on the brake pedal, the brakes make a loud noise (not the typical anti-lock brake noise) and do not stop effectively. i've almost ran into cars in front of me. i took it to stevinson toyota, but they said the brakes were fine. they weren't. i took it pep boys and they replaced the pads & turned the rotors. it is better, but still bad. i think i'll get rid of the truck. someone is going to get hurt with this brake situation on the truck model. *tr | |||