2009 Toyota Tacoma Exterior Lighting Problems
- 102
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 102 stored complaint records:
- 0 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 16 indicate fire
What owners report
- running lights · 56 records
- daytime running · 50 records
- running light · 18 records
- turn signal · 18 records
- melted cracked · 16 records
- fire hazard · 14 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 30–60k mi | 58 |
| 60–100k mi | 15 |
| 1–30k mi | 12 |
| 100–150k mi | 4 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Exterior Lighting
Burning interior lens cover due to bulb placement to close to the lens. Remedy : changing to a shorter bulb with lower voltage ( less heat ) or led, which will be positioned away from the lens. I have been always loving toyota vehicles but i believe deeply it is a product defect toyota should replace free of charge for those owners. They should know and avoid bulb ( heat ) / plastic lens ( position ). *tr
ODI 10551430
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
My vehicle daytime running lights (drl), are burning through the lenses. The lens in front of the bulb is discolored and seems to be melting and cracking due to overheating. The plastic is dark and looks burned. Because of the defect there is concern for driver safety as there seems to be an obvious fire hazard that has not been addressed by toyota. This problem exists in both of my front headlights. *tr
ODI 10548255
Exterior Lighting
My 2009 toyota tacoma x-runner has approximately 34,000 miles and has dtrl (day time running lights) and the turn signals (which are used for the dtrl) have burned, melted and cracked. I am guessing this is because of the lights are running constantly and this is causing excessive heat on the plastic lenses. I will be showing a local toyota dealership this week, and if they will not replace the headlights (i am out…
ODI 10543636
Exterior Lighting
Upon noticing that the left front turn signal was not working, i inspected the turn signals, noting that both front turn signals/dtrl's are cracked and appear burned. I replaced the turn signal bulb, but the turn signal still does not work. *tr
ODI 10542672
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting · Unknown Or Other
Both left and right dtrl lenses are melted from heat from the bulb, i am worried about an electrical short, or fire. Dealer says it is cosmetic and does not want to replace headlight assemblies since vehicle is out of warranty. I believe this is a safety issue that toyota motor company should address with urgency. *tr
ODI 10567043
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Daytime running lights generated enough heat to melt. The interior colored lens on both headlight assemblies, i noticed discoloration and cracks in the colored lens within 1st 12 months. More recently the colored lens began to melt and run, looks as if they were exposed directly to flames. There is also noticeable heat damage to the clear exterior lens cover near the area of the drl. Toyota issued a service bulletin…
ODI 10541739
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Daytime running lights (drl) light bulbs along with outside temperatures generated enough heat to cause bubbling and cracked both headlight lenses. This may posed a fire hazard. *tr
ODI 10536212
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
My vehicles daytime running lights (drl), which are located in the headlight assembly, are burning through the lenses. The lens in front of the bulb is discolored and seems to be melting due to overheating. The plastic is dark and looks burned. Because of the defect there is concern for driver safety as there seems to be an obvious fire hazard that has not been addressed by toyota. This problem exists in both of my…
ODI 10532986
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Excessive heat from daylight running light bulbs cause my vehicle headlight lenses to slowly burn and crack. *tr
ODI 10532054
Exterior Lighting
The plastic housing/plastic lens covering the amber daytime running lights and the clear fog lights are burned, melted, cracked and broken. This is not due to any front end collision but due to the extreme heat generated by the original factory-installed light bulbs. The lights are generating so much heat that they are melting, burning and cracking the plastic housing which then breaks under driving stress.…
ODI 10524893
Exterior Lighting
Daylight headlight burned and broke in two parts. *tr
ODI 10615674
Exterior Lighting · Structure
Toyota technical service bulletin# t-sb-0129-11 toyota knew there is a melting/safety issue with drl yet i was not informed while vehicle was in warranty back in september 2011, when the tsb above was published by toyota. Toyota still wants me to pay at 31,000 miles 2009 tacoma almost $300 to fix it. Major safety issue since melting has dimmed the lighting output & poses a fire hazard as the melting has also reached…
ODI 10525823
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
The plastic housing/plastic lens covering the amber daytime running lights and the clear fog lights are burned, melted, cracked and broken. This is not due to any front end collision but due to the extreme heat generated by the original factory-installed light bulbs. The lights are generating so much heat that they are melting, burning and cracking the plastic housing which then breaks under driving stress.…
Fire reported
ODI 10522926
Exterior Lighting
2009 toyota tacoma. Last week i have to change the burnt light bulb for the turn/daytime running light and noticed that the lens inside the headlamp assembly was broken in half. By looking from the front side i can see that the plastic lens has been melted down. After a thorough inspection, i noticed that there is a trace of overheating on the socket. This issue can cause a fire on this vehicle. I hope toyota will…
ODI 10525576
Exterior Lighting · Structure
Both front amber daytime running lights (drl) are melting the plastic lens covers and it looks like there is risk of a fire. The original bulbs are in the truck. I am the original owner and have never opened or changed any of the lights on this truck. I don't know how long this has been like this, but i would guess that it has been over-heating for quite some time. The plastic is bubbling and is turning a burnt…
ODI 10547736
Exterior Lighting
When i took my tacoma pickup to the local dealer for its 35,000-mile oil change and tire rotation, they pointed out that the lenses on both daytime running lights are burned and distorted, apparently from the heat of the amber bulb. They said there is no solution other than replacing the entire headlight module on both sides. Parts and labor would be somewhere between $700 and $1,000. I'm past the three-year…
ODI 10509835
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Inside the front left and right headlight assembly is a combination turn signal indicator/ emergency flash indicator/daytime running light. *tr the lense for this combination indicator inside the headlight assembly has melted and affected the integrity of the component. I contacted my local dealership twice and toyota customer satisfaction by telephone. But they did not offer any additional information for…
ODI 10513237
Exterior Lighting
Running lights have melted, cracked and have brown color on plastic. Contacted toyota dealer (sun toyota) and they said it's not under warranty. Contacted toyota corp and they said that they haven't heard of this happening. I believe there is a potential of a fire happening. *tr
ODI 10488827
Exterior Lighting
The headlamp assembly: running lights build up excess heat and burns/cracks the lens. This has occurred on both passenger and drivers sides. On the drivers side the lens has broken and fallen out of place. *tr
ODI 10487260
Exterior Lighting
Daytime running lights are causing melting and cracking of the lens covering from the inside. I took my vehicle to a toyota dealership in tampa, florida. Vehicle was inspected. I called toyota customer service on november 28, 2012 and explained that this is a fire hazard and requested it be repaired. Toyota customer service called me back on november 28, 2012 and said that because the "original factory warranty" had…
ODI 10486330
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Daytime running light bulbs on both headlight assemblies have burned straight through the orange plastic covers, causing them both to bubble, and crack in half. This is now causing the entire headlight assembly to fog over! Bought truck brand new from dealer so these are the original, factory equipped headlamp assemblies. They have never been changed. *tr
ODI 10552221
Exterior Lighting
Daytime running lights are causing melting and cracking of the lens covering from the inside. I took my vehicle to a toyota dealership in superior wi. Vehicle was inspected. The service manager called toyota financial services, issuer of my platinum vehicle service agreement, and then called me a few hours later to say that my claim had been denied because "lamps" are not covered. I called toyota customer service on…
ODI 10485162
Exterior Lighting
Daytime running lights lens melted and cracked on both right and left light assemblies. *tr
ODI 10492335
Exterior Lighting
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota tacoma. The contact stated that the daytime running lights would cause the headlight lens to overheat, melting the plastic lenses. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that there was a bulletin from the manufacturer that stated if any headlight was defective they have to replace both headlights. The dealer will repair the failure of the parts free of charge, but the…
Fire reported
ODI 10483144
Exterior Lighting
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota tacoma. The contact stated that the headlight lenses became melted and cracked. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for inspection but they only took pictures of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified who stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was 37,383.
Fire reported
ODI 10482088
Catalog parts for this system
Catalog year/make/model rows for 2009 Toyota Tacoma.
Catalog fitment does not by itself prove OEM-equivalent compatibility.