NHTSA Complaint #756182 — 1999 TOYOTA TACOMA

MY TRUCK WAS RECALLED FOR A DEFECTIVE TRAILER WIRING HARNESS CONVERTER. NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER:01E041000. I TOOK THE TRUCK TO FERRIS TOYOTA IN DOVER, OH. THEY TOLD ME I HAD A CONVERTER THAT WASN'T RECALLED. THEY TOLD ME NOT TO WORRY IT WOULD BE FINE. ON 12/28/01 I HOOKED MY TRAILER UP TO THE TRUCK. BEFORE PULLING OUT I DISCOVERED THAT I HAD NO BRAKE LIGHTS OR TURN SIGNALS ON THE TRAILER. USING A TEST LIGHT I DISCOVERED THAT I HAD POWER TO THE CONVERTER BUT NOT OUT OF THE CONVERTER. I TOOK THE TRUCK TO CAIN TOYOTA WHERE I HAD ORIGINALLY PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. THE GENTLEMAN IN PARTS TOLD ME THAT ALL THE WIRING HARNESSES HAD BEEN RECALLED. SO I WROTE THE VIN NUMBER AND CONVERTER PART NUMBER (PT207-04980) DOWN AND TALKED TO THE GENTLEMAN IN SERVICE. HE SAID HE WAS TOO BUSY TO RUN THE NUMBERS, BUT HE WOULD SET UP AN APPOINTMENT FOR ME NEXT WEEK TO RUN THE NUMBERS AND SEE IF IT WAS COVERED. SO, I CHECKED YOUR WEBSITE AND SAW THAT MY PART NUMBER WAS NOT LISTED. I CAN'T BUY A REPLACEMENT CONVERTER. MINE WAS DISCONTINUED. THE DEALERSHIP SAID THAT THIS IS NOT A COVERED REPAIR. THE UPGRADED WIRING HARNESS WILL COST ME 180 DOLLARS. THIS ISN'T COUNTING THE LABOR COSTS. THEY WON'T SELL THE NEW HARNESS TO ME BECAUSE THEY SAY MY WORKING ON IT WILL VOID MY WARRANTY. YET IN ALMOST THE SAME BREATH THEY TELL ME MY WARRANTY WON'T COVER THIS PROBLEM. I NEED TO GET THIS FIXED, BECAUSE MY TRAILER IS 18 FEET LONG AND TALL ENOUGH TO COVER MY TAIL LIGHTS. IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION I'M HOME MORNINGS FROM 9AM TO 2PM. THANKS. *AK