ok I ve read this post for the last few mo now and I'm going to go to the dealer and show them the bulge on the right inside fender, mild but still there.
I think that by now we all know that toyota knows of the problem. that they are looking to fix it. the more vic that they repair the more info they have to look at. as to threats and the call to arms if thats how you do things go for it me i like to talk things out and find out first if they will fix the problem on there own. it saves all of us in the long run as the cost will show up in any other vic toyota builds later. so far Ive not seen anyone turned away.( if so please show me and have a vin number so as to cut dn on spamers ) as to getting it fixed now I would. it then show that a problem has been seen and a fix attempted. this may not be the last fix i don't know . I hope that at some point toyota will get it right .
like to see them start using the trail team as a test bed on this too by fixing and then putting them back out in the field. this may already be happening as far as I know. a note here would be nice too. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen but think they read this post too.
what better feed back could you have then from us the owners that are willing to help.
where is this dealer at? because it seems like hes trying to wait it out id call toyota and ask a customer care rep!
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Hey guys just got back from the dealership, I met with the service director(great guy) he checked out my Fj and felt the bulge and saw the crack. I showed him how other members are also experiencing this. He partially knew about this issue. The only thing is he told me to wait, either so that the crack could be much more obvious. But he told me one thing for sure toyota will fix it even if it has 100000 miles on. So i will just wait and see what will happen.
Thats bull! You have an obvious safety issue with your vehicle. And it needs to be documented by a Field Tech that the New Revised Inner Fender Panels are bulging and cracking too! Get it back in there bro please. Call Toyota Experience at (800) 331-4331 and tell them the dealer told you to wait, but this needs to be reported to Toyota. Even if you do not get it fixed right away.
Hey guys just got back from the dealership, I met with the service director(great guy) he checked out my Fj and felt the bulge and saw the crack. I showed him how other members are also experiencing this. He partially knew about this issue. The only thing is he told me to wait, either so that the crack could be much more obvious. But he told me one thing for sure toyota will fix it even if it has 100000 miles on. So i will just wait and see what will happen.
EVERYONE needs to go HERE: E-Mail Toyota and submit a detailed complaint about this issue. Don't forget to create an account after you complete your complaint, or your complaint will not go to Toyota. Be assertive!!! Let them know you are serious about taking legal action if necessary!!! This is how things get done, i.e., the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Sorry if it seemed like I was giving you a hard time. Your vehicle is one of the most important to get to Toyota right now. Your dealer sucks, look at the post I just made. I gave you the phone number to call Toyota Corporate so you can explain why a "Field Service Tech" needs to photograph your trucks bulges on the New Inner Fender Skirt design.
We would all appreciate it.
Hey there i really appreciate
your concern about my truck again. I will do what you told me to do, but dont you think we should wait till the crack gets a bit bigger than this so we could have a better chance ?
I am glad you don't think I have been too much of an a** to you. I am worried about your safety, and the fact that Toyota needs to see the failure in the Crumple Zones of the New Fender Panels that you have. You are one of the few where this has surfaced. The fact that there is a bulge(I see it in the photos) alone, let alone the crack at all, means you have a 100% chance of getting this taken care of from Toyota. If you get in an accident, the crumple zones may not work properly, and your health could suffer, or you and your passengers could die as a result. This is a bona fide safety issue with our vehicle.
Considering you have less than 10,000 Miles on the Vehicle, I assume its going to get worse fast like mine did. My bulging did not start untill about 25,000 Miles, but it progressed really fast after that. Look at FJ Larry.....his crack has spread through his whole wheel well.
Call (800) 331-4331, which is Toyota Customer Experience, "tell them what you are experiencing with your vehicle." You can tell them that the Dealer told you to wait for the "Crack in your Safety Crumple Zones to get worse, but you are concerned for your safety." Furthermore, tell them you have the "same Inner Fender Panel Part # (currently bulging and tearing), that is the same Part # used to replace the defective Inner Fender Panel Skirts on other peoples vehicles." So "they need to find another solution to address the ROOT CAUSE OF THE ISSUE."
If you lived near me I would buy you beer or something legal if you are not of age.....You can help us all!
Am I clear enough or have I confused you more than the apathetic dealer has?
So as you all know the dealership called FJ Widow and me and said, bring it in and get it fixed. So I talked with the service manger who was quite rude to me. I asked what was causing the problem and got "I don't know" i asked, how could you fix a problem if you don't know the cause. he said "You can either bring it in or don't". After taking a deep breath I moved on to Toyota 1-800 were I got an even ruder lady so I moved on again and found someone who would actually do their job with some respect. She called up Tech support and told me they said it was from mods and off roading it to hard, I explained to her just as many stock pavement only FJ's show the same bulge/rip. She then said she would call me back. I got the call and she revised her statement to "we don't know the cause of the problem but we our working on it". Funny two hours earlier it was my fault. I explained I was very concerned that they want to fix it without knowing the cause, plus it has to be done outside of Toyota at a body shop. She told me I had to contact the dealer to contact the rep to meet up IN 2-3 weeks AGAIN.
I don't know what to do.. Take my Chance on the fix from some body shop or sit and wait..
Also, I am under the assumption that if a manufacturer has to outsource a warranty repair it has to be done under contract with the shop who has been trained by the manufacturer on that repair. state to state the laws might very. Can anyone give me some insight to this????
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Last edited by dark matter : 10-02-2007 at 08:45 PM.
Doesn't matter. It's on the verge of getting too much publicity. If Toyota actually has to do something drastic to a lot of vehicles and it breaks in the general automotive press, forget it. There will still be a market, but everyone will know that certain model years are suspect, and they won't want those model years.
Quote:
wjorg previously said:
The new welds involved will be obvious, not to mention the fact that there are new inner fender panels on the trucks....very easily detected if you know what to look for.
I disagree (respectfully of course, not trying to argue), the chances that his becomes a highly publicized product quality issue is low. Far larger issues with other vehicles have gone largely unnoticed by the industry. Besides, since when is your dealer/car lot/average buyer ever that informed?
If it does become a large issue, then I see your point, but until then it is just another instance of speculation and would not hold water as a depreciated value claim.
As far as the welds, most are spot welds and it is highly dependent on the skill of the shop doing the work. I have not seen a Fender Apron replacement job done yet, so I will reserve any further comment on whether it is detectable by most (emphasize "most") until those photos are posted.
The body shop that is doing my work (hopefully only once) is a certifide Toyota body shop. They are the ones that would not replace the fender aprons with out the front clip ( It was cleared by Toyota). If they have to do it more then once so be it. I do believe it will happen again.
Its up to you if you get the fix now or later. I'm having mine done because I do not want mine to rip all the way down the wheel well, like the pic. of the Prado I posted way back. CruiserLarry's rips are showing those signs as well.
This is the pic of the Prados inner wheel well ripping. I'm assuming the longer one waits the Fj will have the same outcome. I'd rather have solid sheet metal in case of a front end crash.
The body shop that is doing my work (hopefully only once) is a certifide Toyota body shop. They are the ones that would not replace the fender aprons with out the front clip ( It was cleared by Toyota). If they have to do it more then once so be it. I do believe it will happen again.
Its up to you if you get the fix now or later. I'm having mine done because I do not want mine to rip all the way down the wheel well, like the pic. of the Prado I posted way back. CruiserLarry's rips are showing those signs as well.
This is the pic of the Prados inner wheel well ripping. I'm assuming the longer one waits the Fj will have the same outcome. I'd rather have solid sheet metal in case of a front end crash.
Wow!!, I knew this was serious but that's unbelievable. Toyota better come up with something soon. With that kind of damage and a serious MVA and they will have some real problems on their hands.
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, I knew this was serious but that's unbelievable. Toyota better come up with something soon. With that kind of damage and a serious MVA and they will have some real problems on their hands.