NHTSA Complaint #10470854 — 2009 TOYOTA TACOMA

ON THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY OF MY VEHICLE BOTH OF THE RUNNING LIGHT LENSES ARE MELTING. THEY FIRST STARTED TO BUBBLE AND I NOTICED IT AT APPROXIMATELY 40,000 MILES. I TOOK IT INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT AND THEY SAID THAT THE WARRANTY WOULD NOT COVER IT AND OFFERED NO FIX. RECENTLY, I LOOKED AT THE LENSES AGAIN AND THEY ARE NOW CRACKED AND BURNT. THE PLUGS THAT THE BULBS ARE IN ARE BURNT AS WELL. TOYOTA TOLD ME THEY WOULD PAY HALF OF THE DAMAGES, BUT NOT THE WHOLE THING. IN TOYOTA'S SERVICE BULLETIN THAT THEY PUBLISHED IN 2011, IT STATES THAT THE 2005-2011 VEHICLES HAVE DEFECTIVE HEADLIGHTS AND CAME OUT WITH A NEW DESIGNED HEADLIGHT FOR THEM. WITH THAT SAID, MY TACOMA IS A 2009 MODEL. ONE OF MY BIGGEST WORRIES REGARDING THIS DEFECT IS THE FACT THAT I LIKE TO GO ON ROAD-TRIPS IN MY VEHICLE WHICH SOMETIMES REQUIRES ME TO DRIVE FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. I AM CONCERNED THAT OVER TIME THE LENSES WILL MELT COMPLETELY AND CAUSE A FIRE OR SHORT IN THE WIRES. I HAVE THREE SMALL CHILDREN AND I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT DEFECTED HEADLIGHTS CATCHING FIRE AND ENDANGERING THEM. THE LAST TIME I WENT TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, I WALKED AROUND AND LOOKED AT THE USED TACOMA'S AND FOUND THE SAME ISSUES ON ALMOST ALL OF VEHICLES. LIKE I SAID MY BIGGEST THING IS MY SAFETY AND TOYOTA KNOWS THAT THEY MANUFACTURED A DEFECTIVE HEADLIGHT AND REFUSE COMPLETE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT. *TR