Problems with 2008 Toyota Tacoma POWER TRAIN

While operating this vehicle on my property in 4wd the transfer case became stuck in 4wd. it still is stuck in 4wd and won't return to 2wd as it should. i've been forced to remove the front driveshaft (no easy task) to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on the front differential. after reading numerous forums relating to this subject i've determined that this is a common occurrence with this model transfer case.

Part inside differential broke and punched hole in differential case. differential could have locked up at high speed. i was lucky to discover that oil was leaking from the differential before an accident happened. truck had less than 18,000 miles on odometer.

It has happened twice too me truck is running fine and then check engine light comes on truck goes into a limp mode . has done it twice once running about thirty miles per hour the second time running 70 mph in busy i-10 traffic in jax fl rush hour bad news. truck never shuts off goes to a idle speed and will not run over 20 miles per hour maybe if you lucky . no throttle response it will only have a idle . never shuts off . *tr

Heard humming noise from front end and took my truck to my mechanic who found excessive play in the front wheels.he said the wheels could come off and that it was dangerous to drive. he replaced both wheel bearing and hub assemblies. test drive confirmed diagnosis. *js

Rear differential whines/roars at speeds 50-70 which indicates there is a failed component within. toyota issued technical service bulletin t-sb-0076-08 for problem. dealer, john royberts toyota of manchester, tn, attempted to repair but could not. now, says all tacomas have whine/howl, a normal condition. if this is true, then ever tacoma has a potential problem of differential lockup while driving which could cause deadly accidents.

Vibration during accelerations. feels like a drive line out of balance. have had it to wilsonville oregon dealer twice, and mention it to them every time i go in. they test drive every time and say there is no issue. also have one tire that always leaks down, dealer can't seem to fix. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota tacoma. while driving approximately 25 mph during icy conditions, the differential gear broke causing the vehicle to slide off the road. the vehicle crashed into a ditch and the windshield and turn signal were damaged. the contact did not report any injuries or if a police report was filed. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the differential gear was replaced under the warranty. the windshield and turn signal had not been repaired. the current and failure mileages were unknown.

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota tacoma. while driving 55 mph the rear differential locked and the vehicle veered to the left and crashed into a ditch. during the crash the left rear wheel came off along with the axle and brakes. the contact was dazed from the crash and passerby notified 911. the contact sustained injuries to the entire right side of his body and was taken to the hospital. the contact stated that the air bags did not deploy. the dealer was informed of the crash and advised the contact that a representative would inspect the vehicle to determine if the damage was covered by the warranty. the inspection has not determined if the vehicle was destroyed or not. the failure mileage was 16,700.

High idle, truck wanting to run on at a higher rpm when shifting. idle not dropping down between shifts. excessive high idle when in second gear going down an incline, when motor should be at idle speed. dangerous on snow/ice when you use the engine torque to slow the vehicle. seems to be a iac (idle air control) issue, computer controlled. having worked for a foreign car company for 16 years as a district service manager, i find this an odd problem, as the computer knows the car is warmed up, but continues to hold the iac valve open, causing a high idle. it appears to be a control (computer) issue. *tr

I previously filed odi complaint 10282779 to report to two instances where my tacoma accelerated on its own at a time when i had about 17,000 mi. on the vehicle. thereafter i tried to troubleshoot the problem. the only thing that changed prior to the onset of the spontaneous acceleration was that i acquired a blackberry curve to replace my previous cell phone. my old cell phone was smaller, so while driving i usually kept it in the slot next to my gear shifter. my blackberry was much bigger and didn't fit in the slot. therefore i put it in the cup holder underneath my dashboard. it was then that i started experiencing the acceleration problem. subsequently, i started carrying my blackberry either in my backpack on the passenger seat or in the slot where i used to keep my smaller cell phone and i no longer charge the blackberry using the charger that plugs into my lighter socket in my dashboard. with one exception (which i shall describe) this has solved the problem over the 9,000 mi. since it began. on 10/21/2009, i was driving my tacoma at a time when ...

My 2008 toyota tacoma accelerates on its own without warning when driving normal speeds. this happened twice in the last week. both times the accelerator pedal was not blocked or impeded. when i subsequently shifted to neutral, the first time the engine returned to normal, the second time the engine raced to redline so i turned off the ignition. thereafter, i started the engine and it raced to redline, so i shut it down. the second time i started it, the engine returned to normal. the first time the problem happened, i think that had been using cruise control earlier in the 45 minute drive. the second time, cruise control had never been turned on or engaged and the problem occurred in the first 2/10 of a mile into my drive. the pedal did not get stuck after i had pressed it all the way down. in both cases, i was driving a constant 35-45 mph when the truck took off on me. when i say it accelerated, i mean pedal to the metal acceleration - not gradual like when cruise control resumes. i took the ...

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota tacoma. while driving approximately 50 mph, the contact smelled a fuel odor. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel line needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. on another occasion, when the clutch was shifted, a burning odor emitted inside the vehicle without warning. in addition, the contact mentioned that the clutch failed to switch gears intermittently. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician stated that the vehicle operating as designed, but the failure recurred. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 140,000.

My 2008 toyota tacoma with automatic transmission, surges foreword sometimes. (not always with the a/c on). it vibrates sometimes when coming to a stop. when i took it to the dealer, they said that this was normal. this occurs regularly. *tr

I was traveling on the parkway, pittsburgh near pittsburgh international airport on march 8, 2009. where this problem occurred is 3 lanes. i accelerated to pass a slow moving vehicle in the middle lane, the throttle stuck wide open and i was speeding as fast as this vehicle could go, i tried braking with one foot, then 2 feet, nothing was slowing me down. i was concentrating on what was around me and not the speedometer or gauges. i noticed a gravel berm on the right side of the parkway and thought my only way of getting this truck stopped would be to try and get into the gravel but knew at the speed in which i was going that i would probably flip the vehicle. the vehicles ahead of me were getting closer and i knew that i had to get this vehicle stopped somehow. i put the vehicle in neutral and the engine was screaming - it sounded as if the engine would come through the hood of the truck. the speed at which i was traveling still propelled me up the gravel berm, when i came to a near stop, i shut the ignition off. i looked ...

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota tacoma. the contact stated that the vehicle has a 5-speed manual transmission. the vehicles rpm levels increased although the vehicle was not in gear. when the vehicle speed was 70 mph and the contact shifted into 5th gear, the vehicle accelerated to 95 mph without him pressing on the gas pedal. the failure mileage was 15. the current mileage was 26,000. updated 03/30/10 *bf the consumer stated the vehicle has an electrical problem and the vehicle doesn't go back to idle in between gears; especially between 4th and 5th gear. and a slight to moderate down hill the rpm's don't go to idle. updated 08/18/10