2004 Toyota Tacoma: brake failure

Filed Jun 15, 2023 · Brakes, Fuel system · MD

2011- check engine light was illuminated. Toyota dealership attempted repairs 11 times but could not find a cause. They replaced 7 different sensors, replaced gas cap, charcoal filter.. still could not get light to go off. refused to continue servicing same issue with no fault. Since 2011, I have had to run diagnostics on a regular basis to ensure there are no other mechanical issues. 2022- gas tank fell off of truck while driving. The straps snapped off due to rust and tank fell to the ground. This issue could have caused GREAT bodily injury or DEATH. 2023-lost brakes while driving. TOTAL brake failure. local mechanic stated it was a proportioning valve failure. The housing for it was rusted through and cannot be removed safely. After multiple days of research, a replacement could not be located. Even contacting Toyota, part is unavailable so vehicle CANNOT be fixed. Total brake failure could have led to GREAT bodily injury or DEATH. ONGOING-- vehicle frame is extremely rusted. bumper has fallen off, spare tire fell off, brush guard rusted and fell off. The frame under cab near bed of truck is rusted through. gas tank straps rusted through and tank fell off. You can literally push fingers/hand through the flaking metal. ALL previous recalls were completed including undercoating but the rust has gotten so bad the vehicle is not safe to drive.

Filed Jan 9, 2011 · Body · 119,000 miles · CA · 2 injuries

There was nothing that LED up to this event. I was just driving down the highway and the bracket that attaches the front axel of my truck to the frame just snapped off. This is a relatively new vehicle and has not seen too rough a road! It is quite pampered and well maintained. This is obviously a defect due to the many complaints of the exact thing happening. I searched online and discovered that I am not alone in this event as it seems to be it occurs quite frequently to (from what I hear), 2 wheel drive toyota tacoma's, that have installed a lift. I cannot imagine how many lives have been lost let alone how many accidents and injuries this has resulted in as you loose complete control of where the vehicle goes. And in some instances it also severs the brake line leaving the vehicle out of control with no brakes. I imagine that most crashes are not blamed on this due to the vehicle experiencing a large accident with impact to the front of the vehicle. And the bracket that holds the front axel to frame is mangled. Therefore, leaving one to believe that the accident caused the damage. When the fact is that the damage or defect if you will is what caused the accident which in turn damaged the vehicle, driver, passenger(s). Not to mention that accidents often involve other vehicles as well. It seems to be more prevalent on the driver's side so that usually means that the vehicle travels into oncoming traffic! Ie: head on collisions! How many survive a headon collision in a light duty truck? Few I would imagine. Well it almost became a reality for me as well as my passenger. We were just lucky that we live where we do and there was light traffic coming the opposite direction. I have heard that this happened to several others in the area and toyota tells them to go to "rocky's offroad", to get it fixed. No offer of explanation or reason why but that it seems to happen alot?! Doesn't that scream "manufacturer defect!" it's a

Filed Nov 26, 2007 · Brakes · 44,500 miles · GA

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota tacoma. While driving 45 MPH, the contact depressed the brake pedal. The steering wheel began shaking and the accelerator pedal felt rough and was vibrating. The contact heard metal rubbing against metal. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and a brake inspection was performed. The mechanic stated that the rotors were warped and the rear brakes failed because they were improperly adjusted. The contact later took the vehicle to toyota and they could not make any repairs because the warranty expired. The contact informed toyota that the repair was previously performed while the vehicle was still under warranty; however, the failure has recurred. The current mileage was 45,500 and failure mileage was 44,500. Updated 01-11-08. *kb updated 12/12/07

Filed Dec 22, 2006 · Brakes · 29,000 miles · SC · crash

December 16, 2006 - clear sunny day, great road conditions. I was 40 feet behind a vehicle going 35 MPH when a SUV slammed on brakes. My 2004 toyota prerunner brakes went to the floor and my truck would not stop. After hitting the SUV and coming to a stop, I released my foot from the brake and the pedal went back to it's normal position.

Filed Feb 16, 2005 · Brakes · 35,000 miles · WA

While driving at any speed, in inclement weather the brakes failed. The driver applied the brake pedal and the brakes failed to stop completely. Please provide further details. This information was provided by the consumers daughter. *jb

Filed Jul 16, 2004 · Brakes · MD · crash

It's the 5th tacoma I've owned. The parking brake lever in each of the other trucks always came out 4 inches from the dash. The "on" light came on when at the 3" mark. This new truck comes out 11.5 inches, hits me in the knee, making it almost impossible to get in and out, almost collides with the stick shift when its in 1st gear. The "on" light comes on before its pulled a quarter of an inch. The manual directs the operator, when in stopped on an incline, not to use the clutch to hold the car but rather place the car in nuetral and use the parking brake. After 26 hours owning the car, it rolled down my driveway. At the time, the car was in nuetral with the brake on to the extent all my other ( 4) tacomas would have been. The "on" light was on. I jumped out of the car for just a second and it rolled away. The insurance man renacted the incident .he agreed something wasn't right. As the car began to roll down the driveway, he got behind it and began trying to stop it. I was able to jump in and stop it. Fortunately no one was hurt. Before I approach toyota, I wanted his report detailing how the brake failed. I've yet to see it. I 'm not comfortable approaching the dealer, nor toyota, without some authoritative backing. The brake needs to be fixed. The bumper and slight body damage needs to be repaired . I was never "walked through" it at the dealer. Nor do I have anything that says the pre-delivery inspection was performed. I don't know if the dealer is mandated to walk one through the car or what if any, inspection is supposed to be performed and documented for the customer. What is in place to ensure a new car is not unsafe? I would really appreciate any response you may deem appropriate. I have e-mailed the toyota web site twice in an attempt to gather some informationabout the very questions I raise here. They do not appear to be responding. Thanks again, I look forward to hearing from you.