NHTSA Complaint #10969650 — 2007 TOYOTA TACOMA

AFTER PURCHASING THIS TRUCK USED IN SEPT 2014, MY MECHANIC NOTICED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE REAR LEAF SPRING WAS MISSING HALF OF ONE OF THE LEAVES. I CONTACTED TOYOTA AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NO RECALL PROGRAM, EVEN THOUGH THE INTERNET REVEALED NUMEROUS OTHER OWNERS WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS. SINCE TOYOTA OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE WHAT SO EVER, I PURCHASED AN AFTER MARKET SPRING REPLACEMENT KIT, AND UPGRADED THE ENTIRE SUSPENSION. IN 2016, TOYOTA NOTIFIED ME OF A NHTSA RECALL 14V-604, DEALING WITH BROKEN LEAF SPRINGS, MY EXACT PROBLEM. SINCE I HAD ALREADY REPAIRED THE PROBLEM AT MY OWN COST, I SUBMITTED THE INVOICES FOR THE SUSPENSION KIT, AND MY MECHANIC'S INVOICE. THEY HAVE CONTINUALLY REQUESTED ADDITIONAL AND UNNECESSARY PAPER WORK, INCLUDING A SEPARATE DETAILED LETTER FROM MY MECHANIC. ONE IT HAS BEEN ALMOST 2 YEARS, AND TWO HE IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS. I WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY TO COMPLY WITH THESE REQUIREMENTS WHEN THE REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED, BUT OF COURSE TOYOTA WAS DENYING RESPONSIBILITY AT THAT TIME. THIS IS MERELY AN EFFORT TO DELAY AND AVOID PAYMENT UNDER THE RECALL PLAN. I AM NOT TRYING TO GET TOYOTA TO PAY FOR OTHER UNRELATED PARTS AND REPAIRS, ONLY THE REAR LEAF SPRINGS AND LABOR TO REPLACE. EVERY TIME I CALL TOYOTA, THEY SAY THEY WILL TAKE CARE OF IT, AND THEN A MONTH LATER I GET THE SAME ROBO LETTER REQUESTING THE SAME UNREASONABLE INFO THAT I CAN'T PROVIDE OVER 2 YEARS LATER. I WOULD FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE BBB, BUT TOYOTA HAS AN "F" RATING, SO OBVIOUSLY THEY HAVE NO CONCERN FOR CUSTOMER SAFETY OR SATISFACTION.