Toyota Getting Some Bad Press

Tundra owners report glitches

Web Posted: 10/23/2007 07:54 PM CDT

William Pack
Express-News business writer
San Antonio Express News

Toyota’s Tundra pickup, already stung by criticism about its reliability and crash-test results, now is getting its reputation nicked by complaints from owners on the Internet.

Some owners are reporting a shuddering sensation with the six-speed automatic versions of the truck’s large 5.7-liter, V-8 engine. In recent days, owners contended that their tailgates were cracking or breaking apart when heavy equipment like all-terrain vehicles were rolled into the beds.

Mike Levine, editor of the online truck publication pickuptruck.com, said the combined problems demonstrate Toyota has had a “challenging launch” of the new, full-size Tundra, which is built in San Antonio and Indiana. One glitch in a new design might be overlooked, but repeated complaints could make owners of competitors’ trucks uneasy about making the switch to Toyota, Levine said.

“They can have no more major issues to achieve the goals they have set for the truck this year,” he said.

Toyota Motor Sales spokesman Bill Kwong said the company is working to repair any malfunctions in the new truck but stands firmly behind its improved sturdiness and reliability

“It’s a great truck,” Kwong said. “We’re on track to sell 200,000 Tundras.”

The Tundra has faced a series of challenges this year, including camshafts that broke on at least 20 of the early Tundra versions and crash-test ratings from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration that were lower than many of its Detroit rivals.

Consumer Reports also gave the Tundra’s four-wheel-drive version below-average ratings on its reliability survey.

The newest complaints have become hot topics in forum groups involving Toyota vehicles on the Internet, although the number of malfunctions remains unclear. Many of the postings there come from satisfied Toyota customers and those who have not experienced transmission and tailgate woes.

Kwong said the company had received several complaints about a shudder during acceleration and deceleration of the large Tundra engine, but had no specific number. The company had not received official word of the tailgate malfunction, he said.

Toyota is looking for the source of transmission problems associated with the 5.7-liter Tundra engines. The symptoms described to Kwong were not as extreme as those reported elsewhere.

“It’s more of an annoyance,” Kwong said. “Some customers may not notice it.”

Pickuptruck.com said at least 10 owners of the 2007 Tundras had posted reports online that their six-speed transmissions hesitated unexpectedly during gear changes.

Automotive News reported Monday that Toyota officials had nicknamed the gearshift problem “the rumble strip” because of its resemblance to driving over wake-up strips that line the sides of highways. The rumbling usually lasts several seconds, the report said, at times worsening to the point that some owners couldn’t shift into certain gears.

The publication said Toyota had acknowledged the problem was caused by a malfunctioning torque converter, which acts like a clutch in automatic transmissions, disconnecting the driveline from the engine at stops so the engine does not stall.

Kwong said analysts have focused on the torque converter but have not concluded that is where the shuddering problem starts. He was not certain how long it would take before the investigation is completed.

Automotive News said the torque converter at issue is made at an Aisin AW plant in Durham, N.C. Kwong said the company does not disclose information about supplier contracts. The company considers the converter a Toyota part, he said.

If customers believe they have a problem, more than 1,200 Toyota dealerships are ready to diagnose the issue and repair what’s broken, Kwong said.