I have a 98' tacoma 4x4 and when I looked under it I also saw a reddish fluid, but after careful inspection I found it to be only grease from the U-joint for the front driveshaft. 118k and no problems so far!
I have a 2003 Tacoma 4x4 with 2.7 engine. The truck has been great so far. I have 3000 miles on it now and went to change the oil. That's when I discovered that it's not built for the home mechanic. I'm a little disappointed to say the least. Now I'm looking for a special wrench to remove the severely overtightened factory filter. I didn't want to take it to the dealer for the oil change because I'm filling it with Amsoil. I wish Toyota would have made a hole in the skid plate to drain the oil without removing it, and made the filter accessible.
YB NORMAL.
Regarding dash board rattling. We have found that if both the driver and passenger hold their hand on the dash board while going down the road, the rattle disappears! Another quick fix... turn up the radio really loud! We love our Toyota truck to death, and are not thinking about buying any other truck than a Toyota (this is our third Tacoma), but our front end tires have excessive wear. They are Bridgestone. We have rotated the tires according to the maintenance schedule. At 24,000 we need new tires all the way around. We have taken it to the dealer. He said we were running the tires at too low a pressure, and couldn't see anything wrong. Has any one else had tire wear problems with their Tacoma? Were you able to resolve it with Toyota?
Regarding the dashboard rattle, there is a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) for it. The TSB# is NV006-02, and should be covered by warranty. www.alldata.com has all of them listed. As for the oil change: my 2002 Tacoma has a hole in the skid plate for the oil drain plug, just need a 2" ratchet extender to get to the bolt. The filter was extremely tight the first time I changed my oil, and the awkward placement of it made it very hard to remove. I found the only way is to lay on my back just behind the driver side front tire and reach up to the filter with my right hand, going just behind the suspension arm. Note that it will leak a little oil onto the skid plate that will drain off the back of it (have your drip pan ready). Aside from the rattly dash, I also had the clutch click noise early on, which has now turned into an awful squeal. Other boards say it's a busted bushing/bearing, all I know is the dealership WILL fix it (I will make sure they do). Another strange issue was a dead fly behind the glass of my instrument panel. Didn't notice it until I was cleaning the dash the first time, but hopefully will be gone when they take the dash out to fix the rattle. Other than that the truck has been great! 2002 TRD Extra cab 4x4 V6 w/moon roof.
I have 2002 tacoma trd 27000 miles power steering pump went out so far I had a dash rattle toyota fixed this by sticking soft foam between the dash and front window tires are almost gone at 27000 I think the style of front end eats tires my front rotors are warped also get rid of facorty crap rotors looking at some drilled and slotted rotors these trucks are way better than 98 f 150 4x4.
Hi I wish I could help you all the dash rattle, tire wear, and clutch noise are all simple fixes for a Toyota Technician and I am one so I will try to help. first off to set the record strait, there maybe be 10 or so people complaining of these types of problems, but they are not that common--trust me I am a toyota technician. the dash rattle is simple between the base of the windshield and the edge of the dash is what makes the noise-- simple fix apply small pieces of foam between the two above mentioned pieces it will do wonders for your happiness. next tire wear, well like most people don't do you should rotate your tires when you get your oil changed every 5k miles. in doing so you can get 45k miles out of a set of tires easily and periodic alignments-just becasue no parts get changed and people think they are useless they are totally wrong-because alignment is what decides how your tires wear so align vehicle about every 15-20k because things as small as bumps can throw it off. also incorrect tire pressures will wear the tires more-high pressures will make the insides of the tread wear out and low pressures will make the outsides of the tread wear out think about it tires are just strong balloons. and the clutch noise is just from lack of lubrication of the clitch linkage under the dash just go under there with a can of lube spray (wd-40) and spray it then depress the clutch a few times trust me I do it all the time. and lastly before I go the problems and cures I listed work 99% of the time, but your vehicle may be special and require other reapirs. thanks Tom
P.S. let me know if I have helped anyone and also I just bought my 2004 toyota tacoma v6 5 spd TRD Limited silver extended cab truck so if I run into these problems with my own personal truck i'll come back and tell ya.
I have a 2001 Tacoma X-cab 4x4 TRD V6. It's a great truck and has performed mostly quite well. The comments here have helped a lot of my problems with it, especially the squeaky/rattling dashboard. I'll try the "foam fix" as soon as I get home.
Specifically, I was wondering if anyone else had problems with front rotors/brakes on these trucks? My truck vibrates (sometimes terribly) anytime I brake for the past 4 months, especially above 60 mph. I've turned the front rotors, put on new pads and still had the problem. Then an East Coast Toyota dealer (we were on a cross country trip) told me it was back brakes, so I turned the drums and put on new brake shoes. Still had the problem. Now our local West Coast dealer told me the rotors were warped and under spec, the drums were out of round, and the pads and shoes needed replacing! I do all the work on it my self, but neither I nor my father-in-law (who restores cars) can find anything wrong. Should I just buy new Toyota rotors (at $120 each) and hope it works, or buy the cheap rotors online for $40 each, or... any ideas?
Hi Folks,
02 ext Cab Trd. Experienced the dash rattle. Took it to the dealer and got it fixed under warranty. While discussing the problem with the dealership, it was obvious that toyota was well aware of it and I got the truck back the same day. Dealership also noticed that the power steering pump was leaking and replaced it. Anyone else seen a problem with the steering pump?
I just purchased a 2002 Tacoma Ext cab, v6 TRD, with 2,800 miles. I immediately noticed a dash rattle, but it is sporadic, and I couldn't get it to occur while at the dealer. For everyone out there, did you have a constant rattle in the dash, or was it sporadic? Thanks!
I've got a 2002 2.7L ext cab Tacoma 4x4, and I too have had a rattling/squeaking dash. But it only occurs when the outside temp is below freezing. Will try the foam to see if it helps--won't find out for a while.
I have 71000 miles on mine and the tire wear is great and haven't had any other problems to speak of.
Hi,
I own a 2.7L 2001 Tacoma 4x4. I have noticed since I bought the vehicle about a year ago that there has been a steady decline in my fuel economy. I have replaced the air filter and consistently checked the tire pressure, and have still noticed a decline. Does anyone else have this problem? If so, what is the remedy? Also, with regard to the the squeaky/rattly dashboard, is that repair covered under a normal factory, power-train warranty, or would I need a more comprehensive one? Just wondering.
To the guy who's noticed the gas mileage go down in his Toyota. Have you changed your cap and rotor, sparkplugs, PCV valve? And use a can of "Restore" in the oil. The restore helps keep the motor run like new. You can get the details from the can. Use one can with every oil change. You can use it with all types of oil. You can go to any auto store and get this. When you change your plugs use "AC Delco or NGK or Champion" Anything else is a waste of $$. You can also try putting your tailgate down. You can get about 50 miles or more to a tank of gas. Try shifting between 2500 and 3000 rpm. Hope this helps.
Looking to get a Tacoma for myself.
Justin.
I have a 2001 Tacoma Extra Cab 4x4 with 89,000 miles and I have a problem with the brakes sticking, I changed the pads and calipers, but they still stick, and the truck also vibrates bad when I drive at speeds above 40 mph, I have changed the universal joints already and it did not help if anyone has had any related problems with theirs or any advise please let me know what I could do to fix these problems thanks. wes_swingle@hotmail.com.
I have a 2002 Tacoma TRD double cab. I have experienced some rattling also, but I think it is coming from both driver's and passenger's side mirrors. they are moved electronically. I am wondering if it is caused by wind or bumps. I also have a huge problem with brake dust, but plan to change the front pads soon. Other than that, I will always have a toyota.
UPDATE TO MY ORIGINAL REVIEW.
Yep still have the Truck, its been a while so I thought I'd update the status of what been going on with this Truck. Since my original review and update postings along the way things have progressed.
Okay first off, the air conditioning went on me while still under warranty around the 60,000km mark. The Dealer fixed it no charge.
Second, bad water leak on the Driver-side. It went in the same time the airconditioning quit and the Dealer said it was because of the air conditioner failure...?
So they ripped up the carpet and put all new stuff in, but the water leak continued. It took three more visits to the Dealer to resolve the water leak issue. They finally had to take the driver side fender completely off and seal between the inner fender well and the firewall. I guess there wasn't any sealer on the joint from the factory and the water would just run into the cab pooling on the floor. After they "sealed" it I have not had a water leak since, problem solved.
The annoying dash rattle appeared around the 70,000km mark and seems to be worse in cold weather and goes away in warmer temperatures. What I've done is cut small strips of black foam rubber about 1/2" wide and stuffed it between the window and the dash board plastic. This worked and the rattle went away.
Third, the rear shocks started to cause the truck to handle strangely especially under a medium load. The shocks did not appear to be damaged in any way or leaking anything, but the rear of the Truck would bounce and sometimes cause the Truck to sway or skip over large bumps. I replace the original OEM TRD Bilsteins with Toyota replacement TRD Bilsteins shocks just like what originally came on it. The handling improved 100%. The original shocks must have screwed up internally or something another problem solved.
The Truck now has 107,000km on it and is still going strong. I plan to keep it until it finally dies.
I still stand by my original review that started all the reply postings.
Tim.