Toyota Corporation Toyota the ripoff business that doesnt give a dam Torrance California

My head gasket is gone for the 2nd time at 148 000 KMS I dont know how to get it fixed as toyota said it had already been done. Any one know what I can do?

My head gasket is gone for the 2nd time at 148 000 KMS I dont know how to get it fixed as toyota said it had already been done. Any one know what I can do?

My head gasket is gone for the 2nd time at 148 000 KMS I dont know how to get it fixed as toyota said it had already been done. Any one know what I can do?

My head gasket is gone for the 2nd time at 148 000 KMS I dont know how to get it fixed as toyota said it had already been done. Any one know what I can do?

I am the owner of a 1993 Toyota 4 runner .I posted ad here also. I too have a headgasket blown in my truck the 6cyl 3.0l the design defect in these motors has alot of people losing $$$. The fact too that I was misled by local Toyota dealership to replace my headgasket without charge , having towed my vehicle into dealership under this pretense. To make a very long story short. I paid for my truck tow in only for the dealership to do work on another recall STEERING Rod in essence making money off this Campaign and denying the other. The dealership knew the headgasket was worked on in May 1996 and still they had me tow it in. Then I find paperwork on an extended Campaign which accomodated certain VIn Numbers. MINE included under a policy that work had not been done SINCE OCT 1996 would be entitled to headgasket replacement which My truck was suppossedly serviced in May well before the OCT stipulation. Another thing I find interesting is the Campaign on the Recall in 1996 SPAP9610 Oct 96'
The other campaign was dated in Dec1997 this is the SSCVO6 that further extends headgasket replacement on certain VIN types and VIN Ranges.
When the headgaskets were replaced there was to be a sticker in the door hinge. MY truck has not the sticker verification. Another point is the dealership that supposedly did this work is now closed as of NOv 2005. The Paperwork on my Truck states Campaign completed MAY 1996. Then the Campaign code VO6 which was not the correct campaign number for recall of 1996 . This is the recall of for DEC 1997. I am just amazed at this. Read my post under Grand Blanc Dealership . Toyota is well aware of the defect and the fact that it is an older vehicle is irrelevant. I have read about 150 pages of persons suffering the same illtreatment by Toyota customer relations and some dealerships. I tell ya.. I am learning as I go andknowledge is key.. After all we are the davids in this Giant called TOYOTA!! Good Luck and let me know your outcome. I am sure you will hear from me. Hopefully on a Positive note. The supervisor from Toyota CS will be calling me back soon about my Truck. GODSPEED! Cathie ccrep@juno.com
I applaud the UK and those dealerships who have bent over backward understanding the defect and keeping good standings with their customers. My situation is I am treated like a dingy and they are angry at me for asking questions. MY VIN is WITHIN VIN RANGE for REPAIR. I will let you know..

Did you drive it until the motor blew up?
I know two people that had Toyota trucks with the V6 engine. Toyota sent them a letter letting them know there was a problem with the head gaskets, sent them to their local dealer, and fixed both trucks at no charge. I think your problem might be a local one, maybe the dealer just wants cash out of you.

I own a 89 toyota 4 runner with a 3vze. it has 150,000 miles on it and runs great. my secert: I am my own mechinc. it also has never been to a dealership to be worked on. I am the second owner. the point I am trying to make: I am a automotive technican and worked in the feild for 8 years. I worked for ford and g.m. dealerships and I can under stand all of the customer concerns with this vehicle. First thing, if you hear the words "factory specs" be aware! lets take an issue like transmission with no forward gears and its a 06 model with 24,000 miles. my self as a technician would have to remove the transmission find the the cause and work up a cost analsis report then repair it and put it back together according to "factory spec". these specs are usually so wide you could drive a mack truck trough them. factory specs have such a broad range that a vehicle repaired to factory specs may still be repaired to a lower standard. what happens in the back shop would shock most people if you really knew what was involved. let me put into a better perspective for you. say you went to a doctor and he got paid 30,000 a year. he pays for all the tools in his office out of his own pocket and the clinic is owned buy someone that didn't care about you, the patient, just how much money they could get out of you. now in order for this doctor to keep his job he had to see at least 15 people in a 8 hour shift and spend only 15 minuts on each. if his production went down he was fired. now you are going to see him for a severe chest pain and he has to diagnose and treat you in fifteen minutes. he's going to start taking shortcuts in his practice to get enough people in and out. thank god this is not how the health care system is (well, not yet!) but this is how most dealerships are dictated in my experince. so automotive manufactures widen the specs to go faster so the dealerships can make a profit and buy more cars so on so on. at my dealership we also worked on flat rate. this means there is a set time on each and every repair operation if the tech dosent make time he gets shorted. it doesn't take long and he or she starts making a short cut to get it done faster. this is how problems like this start. so long story short, the problem with the 4 runner is probably not with the vehicle itself, but in the sub standard repair work it has had in the past. Finally it's sad in this counrty the pride of a job well done is gone and the torment of losing your job and the bottom line is the only motovation.

Brian,

Can only imagine how frustrating it must be under those circumstances. I feel for anyone in USA suffering as a result of this problem. I had a 4Runner for some time and had two head gasket changes. Neither cost me a penny and no questions were asked at the dealership who dealt with it.

I don't want that to sound like I'm rubbing any noses in the situation, I just want you to understand the differences between UK and USA.

Don't know how relevant this info is or if I'm telling granny how to suck eggs but, last time dealer did the job for me, he explained a couple of things.....

The engines on these vehicles, by design, run hot. In certain climates this creates lots of problems, including warped heads and blown gaskets. One way to get around this problem repeating was to do a few things to the cooling system. Firstly, uprate the viscous fan, either drop the limit on the thermal sensor (if you have variable type fitted) or drill a hole and put a bolt through the centre of the fan so it cannot slip. Next, change the thermostat (or take it out completely) to one that opens at a lower temperature, next change the water pump to an uprated version (sorry, don't know the specs of this), Finally, get the radiator pressure tested, if no good change it or take it to someone who can re-core it.
He did all this at the time of putting second head gasket in (at no cost to me I must add) and it was trouble free for the next 60-70k miles until I traded in for a newer model. He did warn me that it is not always successful depending on how well the vehicle had been treated and how warn it was.

I understand that this may hurt financially in the USA, but recommend anybody that suffers with this discuss these improvements with a "Good" mechanic to see if it will help you're cause.

Best of luck

USA Toyota, is Coprorate America at its best. Let's say I wasn't the 2nd or 3rd owner. Let's say Im the oringinal owner. At 135K miles I now have to have the 3rd set of head gaskets put on. I went back to the dealer that did the 1st repair. They say it was done to Factory Standards and the Recall is good for one time only. End of discussion! Ha Ha I bought a lemon. So did over 100,000 others. The numbers speak for themselves how many people were screwed over.

Bottom line quit defending the problem. They have failed to support their consumers. They have delivered a faulty product and half heartedly tried to repair the problem with a band-aid. I'm speaking from hands on experience here in the USA. Working with 5 dealerships and several calls to Customer Service which are just blown off. What you suggest doesn't work here.

USA Toyota, is Coprorate America at its best. Let's say I wasn't the 2nd or 3rd owner. Let's say Im the oringinal owner. At 135K miles I now have to have the 3rd set of head gaskets put on. I went back to the dealer that did the 1st repair. They say it was done to Factory Standards and the Recall is good for one time only. End of discussion! Ha Ha I bought a lemon. So did over 100,000 others. The numbers speak for themselves how many people were screwed over.

Bottom line quit defending the problem. They have failed to support their consumers. They have delivered a faulty product and half heartedly tried to repair the problem with a band-aid. I'm speaking from hands on experience here in the USA. Working with 5 dealerships and several calls to Customer Service which are just blown off. What you suggest doesn't work here.

USA Toyota, is Coprorate America at its best. Let's say I wasn't the 2nd or 3rd owner. Let's say Im the oringinal owner. At 135K miles I now have to have the 3rd set of head gaskets put on. I went back to the dealer that did the 1st repair. They say it was done to Factory Standards and the Recall is good for one time only. End of discussion! Ha Ha I bought a lemon. So did over 100,000 others. The numbers speak for themselves how many people were screwed over.

Bottom line quit defending the problem. They have failed to support their consumers. They have delivered a faulty product and half heartedly tried to repair the problem with a band-aid. I'm speaking from hands on experience here in the USA. Working with 5 dealerships and several calls to Customer Service which are just blown off. What you suggest doesn't work here.

USA Toyota, is Coprorate America at its best. Let's say I wasn't the 2nd or 3rd owner. Let's say Im the oringinal owner. At 135K miles I now have to have the 3rd set of head gaskets put on. I went back to the dealer that did the 1st repair. They say it was done to Factory Standards and the Recall is good for one time only. End of discussion! Ha Ha I bought a lemon. So did over 100,000 others. The numbers speak for themselves how many people were screwed over.

Bottom line quit defending the problem. They have failed to support their consumers. They have delivered a faulty product and half heartedly tried to repair the problem with a band-aid. I'm speaking from hands on experience here in the USA. Working with 5 dealerships and several calls to Customer Service which are just blown off. What you suggest doesn't work here.

There is more than one issue here....

Firstly, looking through some of the Toyota specific Rip Off reports, Dealerships in the USA appear to operate somewhat below the standard we are used to here in the UK. Our dealerships take great pride and go to extreme measures to treat their customers well, whereas, reports from customers in the USA indicate a different picture. I can honestly say that every experience I have had with the Toyota dealerships in the UK has been a pleasant one. I am on my fourth toyota and only let Toyota service my vehicle. (so thats quite a few experiences!)

The next issue is that of problems on the vehicle once purchased 2nd/3rd hand. Surely you cannot expect the manufacturer to take on the cost every time the head gasket blows. yes, yes, yes, there is a problem with head gaskets on this engine type, found in Hilux Surfs/4 Runners, its well documented and anybody can find out about it by typing the vehicles name in any internet search engine. But Toyota don't hold the warranty for the initial head gasket repair, the dealership that last repaired the vehicle holds that warranty responsibility. It should be returned to them for correction. If they can then prove that they carried out the initial repair to standard then they claim the cost back from Toyota, if not, they suffer the cost of the second repair.

Quick advice for the future, a bit of research goes a long long way!

The bottom line is Toyota has a bad engine. I have heard over 100,000 engines are affected. Given the gross number of faulty engines and Toyota's RECALL to replace the head Gasket only one time in the life time of the engine is admittance of the problem. Ask any ASE Mechanic that has been around for a while and they will tell you the 3VZE engine is notorious for the head gasket problem. Toyota should either quit using the word "Reliable" and or keep footing the bill to keep up to their word. It's $1200-$1500 for a head gasket job. Or what 90% of the 10-12 mechanics I talked to said they suggest getting a used low time engine to install. One that has never been opened. Once you open one up and or get a rebuilt you run the risk of it never being the same and always having to fine tune it. I'm the second owner of a 92 4Runner, the original owner paid $22,500 in 1992 and at 51k in Feb 1997 had the recall done. I bought a car thinking hey the factory fixed a known problem. Now at 148,500 having to put on the 3rd headgasket these cars are a money pit. Toyota put a band aid on, they did not heal the root of the problem.
Toyota's Customer Service is a joke. Plus my local Toyota dealer being the "Professional Mechanics for Toyota" tried to tell me it was my injectors that needed replaced. it was running rough because the coolant was getting into the cylinder and running lean. The obvious steam coming from the tailpipe is a dead giveaway, but the so called "Professionals" try to get more out of you by having you pay for something you don't need.

Personally, when you bought the car second hand, I dont see how you have the right to complain. Ideally everything would work perfectly, but depending on usage and a thousand other factors the vehicle fault could occur on any vehicle at any time. Maybe it is an engineering fault, but why do Toyota have to foot the bill when you bought a car second hand, so you never even paid them money in the first place.

If you buy second hand you take that risk unless there is a warranty on the work by the last dealer who remedied it at 59K. It is like someone buying a bag of sweets, giving you the last half for a few pence, and then you sueing the manufacturer for their being a sweet in there that doesnt taste nice - wholey unfair.

My experience with Toyota dealers, in the UK, is that they bend over backwards to help, even spending 20+ hours working on the car to find an electrical fault, replacing several parts and not charging us for any of it as it wasnt remedied - and we hadnt even bought the car new!
Next time you buy a car read up on the common faults and set aside cash to cover their replacement.

If it had blown twice for YOU I could see why you would be angry, if you had paid for the original repair.%6000 would buy you a new/recon engine and fitting labour so I doubt that figure. I guarantee you could get the head gasket replaced for
So in a word - when buying a car get the history beforehand, check the possible faults (though this isnt a vastly common fault - all mechanics say 'oh its common on these' to stop you doubting their word) and dont buy a car if you cant afford to have the possible necessary repairs done.

Jennifer,

Here is a copy og the Technical Service Bulletins for the head gasket problem with you 4 runner. Don't let Toyota get away with this. Seek a attorney and take Toyota to court.

You can also find several head gasket TSBs on the nhtsa. Go there and search you may be very surprised or maybe not after all it is a Toyota. Go there and order the bulletins from the nhtsa. Keep your receipts so you can get your money back in court.

Here is what I found for your 1993 4 runner. Toyota repeatedly extended the head gasket TSB because they just couldn't make them right. Toyota blames it on the EPA laws just like they blame the SLUDGE issue on the owners. Toyota is the one at fault on several DEFECTS however will NEVER face the fact they have some engineering issues.

Make: TOYOTA TRUCK Model: 4 RUNNER Year: 1993

Service Bulletin Number: 97121797017 Bulletin Sequence Number: Date of Bulletin: 12/97

NHTSA Item Number: 054015
Component: ENGINE:OTHER PARTS

Make: TOYOTA TRUCK
Model: 4 RUNNER
Year: 1993
Service Bulletin Number: 97121797017
Bulletin Sequence Number:

Summary Description:

SUBJECT ON SPECIAL POLICY ADJUSTMENT FOR THE HEAD GASKETS. *YC