2012 TOYOTA TACOMA Complaints

AT LESS THEN 50K MILES ON THE ODOMETER AND 900 MILES FROM HOME MY TRUCK DECIDED TO GET A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND TRAC OFF LIGHT CAUSED BY CODES P2440 AND P2442 AND P2445. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME. THESE CODES PUT ME INTO LIMP MODE WHILE ON THE FREEWAY IN SNOWY AND ICY CONDITIONS. I COULD NOT MAINTAIN SPEED WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC AS I WAS TRYING TO GET TO THE SHOULDER WITH TRAFFIC ZOOMING ALL AROUND ME, DANGEROUS AND SCARY! TOYOTA WANTS $2000 TO REPAIR IT. INTERNET RESEARCH HAS SHOWN ME THAT IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM THAT TOYOTA FAILS TO RECOGNIZE FOR TACOMAS BUT HAS ISSUED A TSB AND EXTENDED WARRANTIES FOR TUNDRAS. SHAME ON TOYOTA. NOW I GET TO ENDURE THE COST OF REPAIR AFTER THE HOLIDAY SEASONS AND I'M SURE MY BOSS WILL LOVE TO HEAR I WONT BE RETURNING TO WORK ON TIME.

ALMOST LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE WHEN THE TRUCKS PERFORMANCE JUMPED INTO LIMP MODE "TRAC OFF" AS I WAS DRIVING. LOSS OF SPEED AND PERFORMANCE CAUSED ME TO BE A DRIVING HAZARD. 2 VENDORS TODAY FOUND THE CODES P2440 AND P2442, WHICH APPEAR TO HAVE TRIGGERED MY TRUCK INTO "TRAC OFF" AND "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT ON. MODE CAUSES MY TRUCK TO ONLY DRIVE ABOUT 45 SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTS PERFORMANCE AND DANGEROUS TO DRIVE. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD,I HAD NO WARNING THAT THE LOSS OF PERFORMANCE WAS GOING TO HAPPEN INITIALLY WHEN I WAS TRAVELING.THERE IS ANOTHER PROBLEM THAT APPEARS TO BE ON A LARGER SCALE.I HAVE BRIEFLY SCANNED THE INTERNET IN THE LAST HOUR AND SPOKE WITH VARIOUS VENDORS ABOUT THE PROBLEM & I HAVE CALLED MY DEALERSHIP & EVEN THE MAIN TOYOTA LINE AND EVERYONE IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CODES ARE P2440 & P2442. AFTER FINDING OUT THE CODES I LOOKED AT THE AIR INJECTION PUMP & I WAS ASTONISHED TO SEE THAT THE PUMP WAS COMPLETELY FULL OF WHAT, LIKE SOMEONE LITERALLY TOOK A WATERHOSE & FILLED IT UP. LOGICALLY, THIS IS WHY THE AIR INJECTION SWITCHING VALVES 1 AND 2 ARE BOTH STUCK OPEN ONE CODE FOR EACH OF THE VALVES. THE NEXT THING THAT IS UNUSUAL IS THAT THERE ARE AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE HAVING THIS SAME PROBLEM BUT NO RECALL..THEN I FOUND THE TUNDRA RECALL FOR THE EXACT SAME PUMP ISSUE! IT IS PECULIAR, THAT A DIFFERENT MODEL TRUCK WITH THE SAME PUMP HAS THIS PROBLEM & NO RECALL OR REMEDY. FACT-TUNDRA IS A MORE EXPENSIVE TRUCK THAN TACOMA, IS TOYOTA FIXING PUBLIC RELATION ISSUES FOR THOSE MORE WELL OFF BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW TO COMPLAIN TO THE RIGHT FOLKS OR CAUSE A BIG STIR AND THEY WILL HOLD OFF ON PULLING THE TRIGGER ON A "WARRANTY FIX OR RECALL" ON THE WORKING MANS TACOMA? THIS IS JUST AN OPINION BUT MY INTUITION TELLS ME THIS IS INTENTIONAL. THE FIX IS APPROX $2000 I AM STUCK DRIVING 45 MPH TILL THEN WITH SHADY STEERING & PERFORMANCE. #ACCOUNTABILITY #ME TOO

CODE P2443 VALVE STUCK CLOSED CAME UP WHEN MY "TRAC AND CEL" LIGHTS CAME UP ON THE DASH. THIS HAPPENED ON STARTUP. THIS CODE IS A FAILURE OF THE SECONDARY AIR INJECTION SWITCHING VALVE STUCK CLOSED. THIS CONDITION CAN LEAD TO LOST POWER WHEN DRIVING CALLED A "LIMP MODE" AND IS OCCURRING ON TOYOTA TACOMA"S AT AROUND THE 50K MILE MARK AS I HAVE FOUND ON THE TACOMA WORLD WEBSITE. THIS ISSUE HAS ALSO BEEN NOTED ON THE TOYOTA TUNDRA AS WELL AND A TSB HAS BEEN ISSUED TO FIX THIS PROBLEM BUT NOT FOR THE TACOMA. I HAVE NOTED THAT MY POWER HAS DIMINISHED SINCE THE LIGHTS CAME ON (3 DAYS). I CHECKED WITH MY TOYOTA DEALER AND THEY SAY THEY HAVE NO HISTORY OF THIS HAPPENING. TACOMA OWNERS SAY THIS ISSUE IS WELL KNOWN AND TOYOTA IS FAILING TO ADDRESS A FIX. THE LOSS OF POWER CAN OCCUR ANYTIME AND IF IT HAPPENS ON A BUSY INTERSTATE OR HIGHWAY CAN RESULT IN ACCIDENTS.

39K MILES THROWS CODES RELATING TO SECONDARY AIR INJECTION PUMP. $2100 QUOTE TO FIX. MANY OTHER OWNERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND TRAC OFF LIGHT CAME ON. TRUCK WENT INTO "LIMP" MODE AND WOULD ONLY GO ABOUT 35MPH. CHECKED THE ERROR CODE AND IT WAS P2442 WHICH SAYS THE SECONDARY AIR INJECTION SYSTEM IS FAILING. TRUCK HAS ONLY 55K MILES ON IT AND HAS BEEN REGULARLY MAINTAINED BY TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS EVERY 6 MONTHS / 5K MILES. DEALERSHIP HAS SAID IT WILL BE $2023 TO REPLACE THE SYSTEM. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL OR EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THIS INJECTION SYSTEM

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND TRAC OFF LIGHT CAME ON AND NEXT THING THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE PROPERLY WHILE PULLING OUT ON TO A HIGHWAY HEADING UP HILL I HAD NO POWER. FORTUNATELY I WAS NOT KILLED BY THE 50 PLUS MILE PER HOUR TRAFFIC. AFTER MAKING DOWN THE HIGHWAY WAS ABLE TO GET INTO A PEP BOYS WHERE THEY CODED THE SECONDARY AIR SYSTEM. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE THAT COULD HAVE KILLED ME OR SOMEONE ELSE. I PLAN TO CONTACT AN ATTORNEY AFTER FINDING OUT THEY ONLY COVER THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE VEHICLES WITH THEY EXACT SAME SYSTEM. I GUESS 35K ON A TRUCK WASN'T ENOUGH. THE PART COST ME $770 DOLLARS AND I'M NOT SURE IF ITS SAFE BECAUSE I HAD TO DO JOB MYSELF BECAUSE I COULD NOT AFFORD $2000.00 FOR 2 HOURS WORK.

OEM PARTS FAILURE DUE TO MANUFACTURERS DEFECT. THIS EXACT ISSUE PROMPTED RECALL OF THE TOYOTA TUNDRA. DEALERSHIP REPORTS NUMEROUS CUSTOMERS WITH SAME ISSUE. REPAIR IS OVER $2,000. THIS IS SERIOUS ISSUE. AIR INJECTION PUMPS AND SWITCHING VALVES ARE FAULTY ALLOWING WATER INTO THE SYSTEM AND CAUSING THE ENGINE TO SEIZE UP AND DECREASE ENGINE SPEED. THIS HAPPENED ON I-90 IN HEAVY TRAFFIC CAUSING OTHER MOTORISTS TO APPLY BREAKS QUICKLY. CONTACTED TOYOTA AND THEY ARE AWARE OF THE ISSUE BUT HAVE NO PLANS TO INITIATE A RECALL.

RECENTLY I WAS DRIVING MY 2012 TOYOTA TACOMA ON THE HIGHWAY AT A SUSTAINED SPEED OF 70 MPH. A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND MY CAR INSTANTLY DROPPED IN SPEED TO LESS THAN 40 MPH WHILE IN FAST MOVING TRAFFIC. I WAS ALMOST REAR ENDED BY A LARGE TRUCK AND WAS FORCED TO CROSS MULTIPLE LANES OF TRAFFIC TO GET TO THE BERM AND ASCERTAIN THE SITUATION. AS I COULD FIND NO ISSUES UPON INSPECTION, I PRECARIOUSLY DROVE THE VEHICLE TO A SERVICE STORE TO READ THE ERROR CODES. THE VEHICLE SHOWED P2440 P2442 ERROR CODES INDICATING SECONDARY AIR INJECTION FAILURES. APPARENTLY, THE VEHICLE WENT INTO LIMP MODE UPON THROWING THESE CODES WHICH LIMITS SPEED AND ENGINE RPM. THIS ALMOST CAUSED A HUGE ACCIDENT AND PUT ME INTO A A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. ADDITIONALLY UPON RESEARCHING THESE ISSUES, IT SEEMS THIS IS A WELL DOCUMENTED ISSUE CAUSED BY MANUFACTURING DEFECTS ISOLATED TO THE 2012 MODEL YEAR. APPARENTLY, THE SYSTEM IS DEFECTIVE IN MULTIPLE WAYS. FIRST, A PIECE OF FOAM IS INSIDE THE SECONDARY AIR PUMP WHICH DEGRADES AND IS SUCKED INTO THE FAN WHICH NOT ONLY CAUSES STOPPAGE AND BURNING OUT THE FAN MOTOR BUT ALSO ALLOWS FOR STINKY RESIDUE AND DEBRIS TO ENTER THE VALVES CAUSING THEM TO JAM OPEN OR CLOSED. ADDITIONALLY, THE SYSTEM ALLOWS MOISTURE TO BE SUCKED INTO THE VALVES ADDING TO CORROSION AND DEGRADATION OF THE VALVES LEADING TO THEM TO BE STUCK. THIS IS A ROUGHLY 1500.00-2000.00 REPAIR. IT IS A QUITE FREQUENT PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL YET IS NOT COVERED UNDER RECALL OR SERVICE BULLETIN. TOYOTA HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THE ISSUE YET NOT TAKEN ANY ACTION. ADDITIONALLY, THEY HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THE TUNDRA/SEQUOIA AND OFFERED REMEDY TO OWNERS VIA EXTENDED WARRANTY. THIS IS NOT ONLY A QUALITY CONTROL ISSUE BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY A SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE WITH THE AUTOMATIC REDUCTION TO A SLOW SPEED IN FAST HEAVY TRAFFIC.

SECONDARY AIR INJECTION SYSTEM FAILURE CAUSED MY VEHICLE TO ENTER LIMP MODE IN A HIGH SPEED/HIGH TRAFFIC AREA. "LIMP MODE" RENDERS THE VEHICLE INCAPABLE OF SPEEDS HIGHER THAN 30 MPH. CAUSING A HAZARD TO OTHER MOTORISTS, I EXITED THE HIGHWAY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. UPON RESEARCHING THE TOPIC I CAN PLAINLY SEE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS QUITE COMMON WITH MY PARTICULAR VEHICLE. HOWEVER, OTHER MODELS MADE BY THE SAME MANUFACTURER ARE BEING RECALLED AND REPAIRED WHILE THE MODEL I OWN IS NOT. IN ADDITION TO MODEL, THE YEAR OF MY VEHICLE SEEMS TO BE EXPERIENCING AN UNUSUALLY HIGH VOLUME OF FAILURES. FILING A COMPLAINT HERE IS ONLY APPROPRIATE AND APPROPRIATELY, THE AUTOMOTIVE MAKER SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE.

I START UP THE TRUCK AND PULL OUT IN TO THE STREET. WHETHER AT AN INTERSECTION OR MAKING A TURN, I PUSH ON THE ACCELERATOR AND NOTHING HAPPENS. THE RPMS DON'T INCREASE, ENGINE MAKES NO SOUND - AND I AM LEFT SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. I PUSH THE ACCELERATOR TO THE FLOOR AND EVENTUALLY THE ENGINE COMES TO LIFE AND THE TRUCK MOVES FORWARD. HAPPENS MORE OFTEN THAN NOT WHEN THE VEHICLE IS "COLD" - WITHIN THE FIRST 20-30 MINUTES OF OPERATION. THE ACCELERATOR IS NOT LINKED DIRECTLY TO THE ENGINE THROUGH A CABLE BUT IS A DRIVE BY WIRE. I HAVE MAINTAINED MY TACOMA METICULOUSLY SINCE PURCHASE INCLUDING TUNE UPS, OIL CHANGES, ETC. I HAVE CLEANED THE MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR WITH NO CHANGE. THE PROBLEM STILL PERSISTS. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION WITH A VEHICLE THAT HAS LOST POWER.