2009 Toyota Tacoma: engine overheating

Filed Aug 16, 2026 · FL

My truck has experienced a major coolant leak, but it's not the radiator nor the water pump. After replacing both the radiator and water pump, the leak remains. Upon further investigation, the hose connecting to the coolant bypass housing has come completely disconnected from the housing and the male connector, which is part of the housing is completely gone. After further research, I've come across numerous posts on multiple forums of other people experiencing the same issue with the same hose disconnecting and the same part of the coolant bypass housing completely gone. Had I not caught this problem while in my driveway, the truck would have leaked all the coolant and caused major issues possibly resulting in an accident on the road.

Filed Mar 9, 2020 · Engine · 190 miles · CT

The original water by-p pipe was faulty. The pipe was made of plastic and it wore off at the flange. This caused coolant to leak out and caused overheating, loss of heat and coolant. The new part number from toyota is 1626875131 which is now made of what appears to be stainless steel. The part from the dealer list 58.04 the labor from the dealer I was quoted was 6-8 hours and total parts would cost about $150. Which included gasket 1625875021, bolt w washer 90119a0183, gasket, intake 1717775040, gasket, throttle 2227175070, and super longlife antifreeze 2 00272sllc2. I did this work myself and at the age of 59 it was both a mental and physical strain. The intake has to be taken off to gain access into the valley to reach the water by-p pipe. I did this work in dec. 2019. I had a hard time seeing exactly where the anti-freeze was coming from and had replaced the thermostat a number of times before realizing the real issue. This should be a recall from toyota as it could cause a car to over heat and blow a head gasket because of this faulty part. It must be obvious to toyota because the pipe is now stainless steel. I'm lucky I didn't break any intake bolts or fuel lines in the process. My 2009 toyota truck has almost 200k and is back running without leaking anti-freeze. I'm not sure if I can get anything back for what I paid for and my time, but perhaps this will help others. I have photographs before and during the work I performed. Please let me know what I or others can do. Thank you. I did the work in my garage

Filed Aug 30, 2019 · Lights · 120,000 miles · WA

Burnt headlight len. The running light lens is burnt and cracked due to overheating. When I tried to contact toyota's recall phone number, after over a dozen attempts, the number was always busy.

Filed Apr 29, 2014 · Lights · 36,000 miles · GA

Day time running lights overheating and melting the plastic inside headlight which looks like it is burnt and black causing headlight to crack and damage to the bulbs. I have replaced driver side now and passenger side has started to melt.

Filed Mar 20, 2014 · Lights · 50,000 miles · TX · fire

Tl * the contact owns a 2009 toyota tacoma. The contact stated that the headlight lens would continuously overheat and become cracked. The contact was concerned that the vehicle would possibly catch on fire since the bulb was so close to the lens. The vehicle was not taken for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 100,000. Updated 3/13/14

Filed Oct 31, 2013 · Lights · AL · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota tacoma. The contact stated that the head light bulbs were overheating and causing the lens to melt. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician verified the failure and stated that the headlight assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 77,000.

Filed Oct 17, 2013 · Electrical, Lights · 49,567 miles · SC

My vehicle daytime running lights (drl), are burning through the lenses. The lens in front of the bulb is discolored and seems to be melting and cracking due to overheating. The plastic is dark and looks burned. Because of the defect there is concern for driver safety as there seems to be an obvious fire hazard that has not been addressed by toyota. This problem exists in both of my front headlights.

Filed Jul 31, 2013 · Electrical, Lights · 30,500 miles · GA

My vehicles daytime running lights (drl), which are located in the headlight assembly, are burning through the lenses. The lens in front of the bulb is discolored and seems to be melting due to overheating. The plastic is dark and looks burned. Because of the defect there is concern for driver safety as there seems to be an obvious fire hazard that has not been addressed by toyota. This problem exists in both of my front headlights.

Filed Jul 18, 2013 · Lights · 33,000 miles · HI

2009 toyota tacoma. Last week I have to change the burnt light bulb for the turn/daytime running light and noticed that the lens inside the headlamp assembly was broken in half. By looking from the front side I can see that the plastic lens has been melted down. After a thorough inspection, I noticed that there is a trace of overheating on the socket. This issue can cause a fire on this vehicle. I hope toyota will stand for it's reputation and correct this issue. Because, it will create a fire hazard in the future.

Filed Dec 28, 2012 · Lights · 66,000 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota tacoma. The contact stated that the daytime running lights became overheated and fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised the contact that there were no recalls for the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted who stated that there was no defect. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 66,000.

Filed Nov 2, 2012 · Lights · 37,800 miles · CA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota tacoma. The contact stated that the daytime running lights would cause the headlight lens to overheat, melting the plastic lenses. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that there was a bulletin from the manufacturer that stated if any headlight was defective they have to replace both headlights. The dealer will repair the failure of the parts free of charge, but the contact has to pay for the labor. The manufacturer was notified and advised the contact that there were no recalls and offered no further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 37,800.

Filed Oct 11, 2012 · Lights · 51,528 miles · GA · fire

After completing an oil change on my 2009 toyota tacoma in october of 2011 I noticed that the amber lens in the headlight was discolored and seemed to be melting due to overheating. Over the past year I have been monitoring the situation and noticed that the melting and cracking of the amber lens inside of the headlight is progressively getting worse. It seems that the daytime running lights were not properly engineered in this model. Because of the defect there is a clear concern for driver safety. The melting lenses create an obvious fire hazard. The toyota dealership where I purchased my tacoma in the metro atlanta area advised me that toyota has no recall of extended warranty for this "known" problem. I was very dismayed to hear this because the issue is clearly presents a threat to the driver. Because of this situation I have to make a decision on what options are available to me. Either I replace the entire headlight assembly with the toyota factory assembly which is already known to have a defect or purchase and aftermarket headlight assembly and hope the it is engineered better than the toyota one, or I figure out a way to disable the daytime running lights to cut back on the head that builds up with them constantly being on. I would rather not disable the daytime running lights because I believe that they do provide significant safety value. I am not sure what I am going to do at this point but clearly action is needed. I would like toyota to step up to the plate and replace the defective potentially harmful headlight assemblies.