I am a retired toyota master diagnostic technician. I had to replace my rear brake lines on my 2003 tundra-with 79,962 miles. The rear brake lines have rusted through which had to be replaced- at my expense. My brakes failed as I was towing a trailer in heavy, city traffic. I was going 35mph when a vehicle pulled out in front of me and then proceeded to stop suddenly to make a left turn into a parking lot. I slammed on the brakes and the pedal went to the floor. I was lucky there was room to maneuver to the right so I was able to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me. I'm sure there have been those less fortunate. Then, as I was replacing the lines, I saw a fluid leak under rear of vehicle. Upon inspection I found the rear differential housing has rusted so badly that the gear oil is leaking through the housing. Unfortunately the only remedy is the replacement of the complete rear axle/differential assembly. Also the power steering lines have also rusted through which also had to be replaced- at my expense. The frame has already been replaced-under recall. It is obvious that the material that was used is of very low quality causing very dangerous situations.ie; loss of vehicle control due to differential lock-up, loss of vehicle braking due to rapid fluid loss, loss of vehicle steering control due to rapid fluid loss. I am amazed that toyota motor co. Will not stand behind the product they sold-without being forced to. One quick look under a 2003 tundra is all it takes to see that low/poor quality hardware and materials were used. Without repair and/or replacement of above stated components someone will get injured-possibly fatally. Please investigate these complaints as soon as possible. These components should last for the lifetime of the truck. A differential is not an item one expects to ever replace-"sorry but your warranty's expired". Thank you. Sincerely, information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
2003 Toyota Tundra steering complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 22 of 22, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota tundra. After the vehicle was started, the driver side air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that an unknown part related to the steering wheel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 261,000.
Gear shifter broke while trying to place in park. The vehicle was in drive and as I attempted to move the shifter up to the park position it broke when it got to neutral. I was stranded away from home and had to call someone to come help me get it home. When looking up on youtube there are over 27,000 views on one post about this. This is faulty parts and should be recalled and fixed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota tundra. While driving any speed, an abnormal winding noise emitted from the steering wheel. The contact mentioned that the steering wheel seized when driving at low speeds. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 35,000.
For the third time since I have owned the vehicle where the shift control goes into the steering column, where it connects has broken. This is a piece of metal that has again snapped making it unable to shift the car. What happens if I was in drive and could not shift into park? I have had this fixed twice before, once when I was stuck on the road and once towed to toyota.
I have a 2003 toyota tundra which developed an exhaust leak. The aft oxygen sensor became detached from the exhaust system. Upon further inspection I noticed the attaching hardware was missing, it corroded. I inspected other hardware and noticed the steering shaft attach point has severe corrosion. The hardware that attaches the shaft to the steering gear rack and pinion is halfway corroded and will eventually fail. If the hardware fails loss of steering will occur. I live in new york and the truck has 100,000 miles on it. The truck is in great shape but frame and associated parts have corrosion. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
We own a 2003 toyota tundra with 47,000 miles on it and are the original owners. On friday while putting the truck into reverse in a parking lot, the shift mechanism snapped off in my hand. Our certified toyota mechanic came and managed to get it into drive and drive it to his shop,and in opening the steering column, found the entire thing was broken within the steering column. Our mechanic, who is a certified toyota mechanic says that this should have never happened. As with another complaint lodged on this problem, it is not as if the mechanism has experienced rough handling in any way.
The frame on my 2003 toyota tundra is rusting badly. Toyota was unable to align my front end due to rust, and it has caused the emergency brake system to completely freeze up and the brake will not work. It is a complete failure of the emergency brake system, I have no brake. Toyota tried to free up the brakes but were not able to. They gave me a can of lubricant and told me to keep lubing the frozen section. They were completely unable to align my front end.
Tl*- while driving at 55 mphthe 2003/toyota/tundra ran into the retainer wall because the tie rod on the passenger's side snapped, lifting the truck. On january 11 2006 the dealer fixed the recalled tire rod end and ball joint. The contact believed that they should have also replaced the entire rod itself, they did not. He had the truck for seventeen days when the tie rod snapped. This almost killed his entire family. His was told to call the hot line by the dealer. The current and failure mileage were both 41000.
Dt: the contact's vehicle was involved in an accident while traveling at 50 MPH due to the lower ball joint causing a reduced steering effort. He lost control of vehicle. He contacted the dealership, they instructed him to contact the insurance company. The vehicle was totaled as a result of the accident.
The bushings used to attach the rack and pinion steering to the frame is too soft, causing the steering linkage to move. The steering linkage is not properly secured to the frame and I have to oversteer and it causes the vehicle to have the feeling of floating.
While driving at 45 MPH the tie rod broke, then the vehicle suddenly pulled to the left on flipped unto its side.
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