Posted on 11/21/2012 7:34:33 PM PST by NormsRevenge
(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> is recalling about 160,000 Tacoma mid-size pickup trucks from the model years 2001 to 2004 in cold-weather U.S. states and in Canada because the spare tire could fall off.
The spare tire in these Tacoma models is stored beneath the trucks' bed. When the trucks were made, the metal plate that keeps the spare tire in place was not coated with sufficient amounts of phosphate to retard rust, Toyota said.
Two accidents have been reported to Toyota involving vehicles following a Tacoma truck, but they did not result in injuries, a Toyota spokesman said.
Over time and in limited cases, corrosion of the plate could cause it to break, causing the detachment of the spare tire, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. said in a statement on Wednesday.
Be Safe! and keep an eye out for a loose spare..
Last week during morning rush hour a guy had a very large and tall refrigerator in the back of his pick-up. Apparently whatever he thought he had holding it tight broke and it went flying out the back end. Made a big mess with lots of damaged cars but not quite as bad as the day before when a mattress went flying out the back end and landed on the front of an 18 wheeler’s windshield blocking his view. Everybody involved was moving along about 60 mph bumper to bumper. I stay way away from anyone hauling anything in the bed of their truck. Will just add Toyota Tacoma’s to the list.
I always take the tire off and throw it in the bed anyway. I don’t want to crawl under the truck in the mud before I even get stated changing a tire.
Once was enough to teach me.
Darn good advice CC. Mount a spare the roof, overland style.
I’ve always thought it was foolish to put them under there but I live in Michigan and have seen how rough it can be on anything hanging under a vehicle.
You would think ford would know better but they put theirs under the bed too.
As a former NYer now in AZ who has seen more than his share of vehicles rot away, I am stuned to my Beeber that a 12 year old ANYTHING is still on the road up there and not a brown pile in the snow, considering the tin foil they make new vehicles with.
My last project, a 79 F250 sat fully sanded to the metal outside for 2 months before I got back to it.
Not a speck of rust. I love AZ ;)
“You would think ford would know better but they put theirs under the bed too.”
Back when I had my Aerostars they were under the back of the van, and the worst part was the way they were attached:
You accessed the spare by turning a crank that had a steel cable wound around it that lowered the spare. You put the spare back by cranking the cable back up. Nothing but the thin steel cable, under tension held the wheel. Yep, the cable rusted off, of course. I figured that out when I heard a noise and looked in my side mirror to see my spare sliding along in the other lane, headed for the ditch it ended up in. Lucky it didn’t bounce, end up on its tread and roll into somebody.
A dumb design for a vehicle that was used in the winter salt regions.
“As a former NYer now in AZ who has seen more than his share of vehicles rot away, I am stuned to my Beeber that a 12 year old ANYTHING is still on the road up there and not a brown pile in the snow, considering the tin foil they make new vehicles with.”
I still live in the snow belt of NY.
You would be amazed at how little rust you see on vehicles now. They really are better than they used to be. I rarely see rusty vehicles that are less than a dozen years old, and even then they are just beginning to show small holes. Some vehicles just seem to go on and on and never show rust.
It sure is a big change from the rusty crap from the 70s and early 80s. As you know, back then we were lucky to get 8 or 9 years out of a car before it was rusted beyond being structurally sound and was junked.
They announced early in the week that they have to recall all their ugly Prius lib jalopies because of faulty steering.
I’ve never liked Toyotas. Nothing specific, they just don’t feel right to me. But I bought a RAV4 for my wife. I figured it’s her car, I don’t have to drive it. And the Toyota reputation for quality sounded good. But it’s had 3 recalls and one $600 repair that should have been a recall. Don’t think I’ll be getting another Toyota anytime soon.
The four Toyotas I’ve owned have been completely indestructible. Course they were older models from the ‘80s.
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