Truck problem after only 250 miles

Took the new (250 miles) '19 TRD OR on a road trip from Abq to Durango, CO today. About halfway there, truck suddenly lost power, check engine light & Trac Off light were flashing. Slowed down & pulled over, shut off the vehicle. After a few minutes, restarted, and the two lights flashed a couple times, then went off, truck ran fine. I was faced with turning around, or continuing on to Durango. Kept going. Got to Durango, found a Toyota dealer who had just closed, but the took my 4R back in to do a scan. I had not read of this issue previously... anomaly, momentary computer glitch, or what??!!

 

First, sorry your T4R let you down.
Second, it sounds like maybe a faulty alternator from the factory...

I see two solutions.
One. They find a simple fix & you are on your way.
Two. (Worst case) they cannot find the issue. If this is the case. I would demand a free loaner to get you home & a new vehicle when you get there!
250 miles is insanely low. If something happened I guarentee it was something that was missed upon the pre purchase inspection.
If any damage was done. Refuse the vehicle and demand a replacement (if they won't play), tell them this is going viral; after I call my lawyer.
You need to talk to the dealership GM not the SM. The SM will run you in circles all day!
Best of luck & sorry for your experience.

 

Update. This brand new T4R had an injector wire that was, get this, chewed by a rodent, most likely a mouse! 2 week old vehicle. I don't have mice at my house, and it sure couldn't have happened on the trip, unless the mouse could run 65 mph and jump on a hot engine. There were mouse droppings on top of the intake manifold. The Durango dealership went far above and beyond. The one tech (a 20-year Toyota master tech) who was left at the dealership after closing found the problem, fixed it after hours, on his own time, and sent us on our way. He did not find any more damaged wires, but...

My biggest concern is if there might be any more wires damaged. This had to have happened when the 4R was sitting on some lot, or on the ship, transport truck, etc., and happened to manifest itself on my first road trip. There's no way I could have known about the chewed wire, and I'm not sure where to go from here. The truck is running fine; I called my contact at the Abq dealership to let them know what had happened. I feel that at the very least, when I get home, the dealership I bought this from needs to go over it with a fine-tooth comb, and assure me there are no other wiring issues on this vehicle, offer to extend the warranty, replace the wiring harness, or trade it for a different vehicle.

Am I overreacting??

I'm sorry, but after having driven my '13 Tacoma for 6 years with no issue whatsoever, I can't believe I got the one in a million new T4R with a rodent-chewed injector wire! And found out 200 miles from home...

 

Toyota and other manufacturers have recently bought into the environmental-whako craze and switched to soy-based wiring rather than the proven petrol-based wiring.

Rodents love to eat the newer wiring, hence an exposion of problems with chewed wiring.

My former profession was as an automotive claims adjuster with a major insurance company. I started handling a bunch of these claims around 2010.

You can thank environmenalists for your breakdown.

 

BTW, Toyota was sued in a class-action lawsuit due to all of the problems with the new wiring. The justice system found Toyota not liable for bowing to political correctness.

 

You are definitely not overreacting but this is more common than you think. Once your dealer gives you the ok and you have that in writing I wouldn't worry about it. Some people actually put moth balls in their engine bay among other things. I fluid film my under carriage yearly and I believe this keeps those bastards away.

 

OP is very lucky that the dealership covered the damages.

Typically, they will claim (correctly) that the damage was not caused by a mechanical defect and is not covered under warranty.

That's when I would step in as an insurance claims adjuster and cover the damage under the comprehensive coverage of the policy; less the deductible, of course.

I helped a bunch of customers with Toyota Highlanders with chewed fuel injection wiring get repairs done.

It really is a shame that the people responsible for all of these problems will never be held accountable.

 

https://www.autonews.com/article/20...-of-suit-over-rodent-damaged-soy-based-wiring

 

I was very lucky indeed. It wasn't so much the dealer that covered the repair, per se, as it was a very understanding tech, who not only found the issue right away, but also stayed after hours to fix it and get us on our way, us being 200 miles from home, with no other transportation. I plan to write a letter to the dealership owner to let them know all that the people we encountered did for us.

The discussion with the tech when he discovered the wiring issue did include how insurance would probably have to cover the repair and not warranty, but he knew we were stranded out of town, and that process could take days if not weeks to complete. He assured me the repair to what he found would cost less than my insurance deductible, so I said go ahead. In the end, the fix was so quick he didn't even charge me.

I'm hoping that the dealership where I bought the 4R will at least give the rest of the wiring a thorough going over to ensure there's no more chewed wiring.

In light of this happening, maybe checking out the injector wiring needs to be added to the dealer pre-sale prep check list.

I don't really expect them to replace the wiring harness, or trade me for another 4R, but I would at least like to be assured that my new 4R doesn't have any more chewed wiring that I'm 99.9% sure occurred prior to delivery of the vehicle.

 

I had a rat chew 3 of mine three weeks ago. It cost him his life though. He was somewhere around the fan or belt when we started it up.

 

Update - the dealer I bought the 4Runner from apparently wants nothing to do with me now. I have made multiple attempts to contact them in regard to what happened, and have had no return calls, texts, or emails.

In light of this, they will never touch my truck again in the future.

Compare that to the dealership service tech in Durango who stayed after hours to find the problem, fix it, and get us back on the road, at no charge.

 

It's nice to hear of a tech so willing to help. He should be commended with a letter to corporate. In the same context your dealer should have a complaint filed. Being reluctant to fix an issue is one thing, but no return communication is UNACCEPTABLE. Let corporate know what penises they are.

 

The other dealer in town was the one where I bought my '13 Tacoma. They always treated me well. They'll get my business from now on.

 

post the dealership name that did not respond to your rodent damage ... this will help Toyota owners in your area . I purchased my Runner 15 miles from my house , because of the dealership quality service and sales.
the Toyota dealership 1 mile from my house has very poor service and sales . Acton Toyota Massachusetts is the best in my area..

 

New update - I did get a call from the dealer I bought the truck from about an hour ago. They do want me to come in first thing in the morning and have the 4Runner checked out. The person I spoke with also was mystified about how it could have had a mouse chewed wire. They agree with me that it must have happened during the transport to their lot, where it sat for nine days prior to my purchase.

I told them that I simply wanted to know if there was any more possible wiring damage, and to ensure that this event wouldn't affect future warranty...in writing...

I will retract my statement above that they apparently wanted nothing to do with me now, perhaps that was a bit hasty. I apparently did not give them quite enough time to respond, in my impatience to have the truck checked out. To be continued...

 

They are now.

 

if you had an injector wiring failure you could have engine issues.

 

I shut the truck down within a minute or so of the check engine light occurrence, so I think not...they are going to check out everything in the morning.

 

Sounds like you're on your way! One thing I'd add is to go to the dealership in person. It's difficult to ignore you when you are standing there amongst potential customers.

 

I'm taking it in first thing in the morning to the dealer I bought it from. They finally called.

 

Best of luck!

 

ill second that. acton is great and the only dealer where you go find a salesman and they dont chase you down in the parking lot...ever...its a rule lol

 

Hello j cat I'm down the street from you and have used Bernardi's on rte 9 for my "free" service. So you like Acton? I know where their at I've been pretty happy so far from what I've seen also. I also have a Honda which B in Natick has been doing things to for years no issues there also. They are a little high pressure wanting to do 5 things when ever you go in but not to bad and that I do expect from any dealership. I certainly don't think their not changing the oil or not putting in what their supposed to like some of the horror stories you read here. Maybe I'll keep Acton in mind for my next "freebie." Otherwise I've been happy with a garage 1.5 miles away when I'm going to pay. I don't wait 10,000 miles for oil changes.

 

Update - truck checked out at the dealer. No other wiring damage, no other codes showing, nothing further discovered. They tested all the systems they thought could be affected, nothing found.

 

Congratulations! Now continue to enjoy your new T4R. Go play & have fun.

 

Thank you, I will.

 

+1 to this- they take your money they need to be there to hear about the issues.