NHTSA Complaint #11043429 — 2012 TOYOTA TACOMA

RECENTLY I WAS DRIVING MY 2012 TOYOTA TACOMA ON THE HIGHWAY AT A SUSTAINED SPEED OF 70 MPH. A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND MY CAR INSTANTLY DROPPED IN SPEED TO LESS THAN 40 MPH WHILE IN FAST MOVING TRAFFIC. I WAS ALMOST REAR ENDED BY A LARGE TRUCK AND WAS FORCED TO CROSS MULTIPLE LANES OF TRAFFIC TO GET TO THE BERM AND ASCERTAIN THE SITUATION. AS I COULD FIND NO ISSUES UPON INSPECTION, I PRECARIOUSLY DROVE THE VEHICLE TO A SERVICE STORE TO READ THE ERROR CODES. THE VEHICLE SHOWED P2440 P2442 ERROR CODES INDICATING SECONDARY AIR INJECTION FAILURES. APPARENTLY, THE VEHICLE WENT INTO LIMP MODE UPON THROWING THESE CODES WHICH LIMITS SPEED AND ENGINE RPM. THIS ALMOST CAUSED A HUGE ACCIDENT AND PUT ME INTO A A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. ADDITIONALLY UPON RESEARCHING THESE ISSUES, IT SEEMS THIS IS A WELL DOCUMENTED ISSUE CAUSED BY MANUFACTURING DEFECTS ISOLATED TO THE 2012 MODEL YEAR. APPARENTLY, THE SYSTEM IS DEFECTIVE IN MULTIPLE WAYS. FIRST, A PIECE OF FOAM IS INSIDE THE SECONDARY AIR PUMP WHICH DEGRADES AND IS SUCKED INTO THE FAN WHICH NOT ONLY CAUSES STOPPAGE AND BURNING OUT THE FAN MOTOR BUT ALSO ALLOWS FOR STINKY RESIDUE AND DEBRIS TO ENTER THE VALVES CAUSING THEM TO JAM OPEN OR CLOSED. ADDITIONALLY, THE SYSTEM ALLOWS MOISTURE TO BE SUCKED INTO THE VALVES ADDING TO CORROSION AND DEGRADATION OF THE VALVES LEADING TO THEM TO BE STUCK. THIS IS A ROUGHLY 1500.00-2000.00 REPAIR. IT IS A QUITE FREQUENT PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL YET IS NOT COVERED UNDER RECALL OR SERVICE BULLETIN. TOYOTA HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THE ISSUE YET NOT TAKEN ANY ACTION. ADDITIONALLY, THEY HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THE TUNDRA/SEQUOIA AND OFFERED REMEDY TO OWNERS VIA EXTENDED WARRANTY. THIS IS NOT ONLY A QUALITY CONTROL ISSUE BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY A SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE WITH THE AUTOMATIC REDUCTION TO A SLOW SPEED IN FAST HEAVY TRAFFIC.