Tundra tailgate issues

[VetteZ06]

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/tundra/115701-tundra-tailgate-failures-i-am-club/

I'm sure some of you have heard about this by now, but this is a little bit surprising coming from Toyota. How could they overlook something as crucial as the tailgate?

[565]

I dunno, some minor damage to the tailgate after loading heavy objects onto it seem rather minor compared to roofs flying off of Corvettes while just driving along.

Every new product tends to have glitches.

[VetteZ06]

I dunno, some minor damage to the tailgate after loading heavy objects onto it seem rather minor compared to roofs flying off of Corvettes while just driving along.

Yeah, purely cosmetic.

[The Pirate]

In my experience tailgates always seem to be a weak point.  I can't tell you how many 5 year old trucks I've seen with tailgates that no longer function properly.  My Ranger's tailgate quit on me as well (to be fair, the truck was 13 years old at the time, and I did back into a telephone pole ).

I agree though, that is something that's inexcusable on a truck that new.  I'm interested to see how the Tundra holds up long term, in a commercial setting.  Around here, most guys who actually use their truck for work are still driving domestics.  Short of a couple of plumbers, most Tundras I've seen appear to be driven by people who don't actually use the truck for work.

[CJ]

I'm seeing Tundra's being used for construction companies, lawn care, and company trucks.  I see a LOT of Tundra's being used.

[VetteZ06]

The funny thing for me is that my 17-year-old Toyota SR5 pickup (love that thing to death, by the way) has taken quite a beating over the years, and the tailgate works just as well now as it ever did. I've loaded it beyond the manufacturer's suggested limit on numerous occasions, so it's not like I've babied it.

The Tundra is a big, bad monster of a truck, but skimping on the tailgate just doesn't cut it.

[The Pirate]

I do like those old 'Yota trucks.  Small size and limited towing capabilities notwithstanding, they seem to to be pretty stout.  I'm always keeping an eye out for one, but most of the ones I seem to find have been trashed or are overpriced.

[VetteZ06]

I've got the 4-cylinder, so it's not what you might call "fast," either.

My neighbor is the sales manager at the local Toyota dealership, and he always tells me that I could get a surprising amount of money for my truck if I decide to sell it privately. That's not going to happen, but it's interesting to hear nonetheless. I plan on getting some bodywork done to fix all of the dents, along with a paint job and some other odds and ends, to restore it back to original condition. It's got about 140,000 miles on it right now, but when I picked it up in 1993 the original owner had already put something like 40,000 miles on it in three years - to say the least, it hasn't been driven too much on a yearly basis in the past 14 years.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

I'm sure the tailgate failures are directly related to the "no Slam" lowering feature and one finger closing ability.

They probobly had to lighten the gate to make these features work. Doing this probobly removed a good deal of gates ability to withstand heavy loads(obviously).

[GoCougs]

Me - seems kinda basic too me - most any truck used for loading has tailgate damage to some extent. Really put a lot of weight or impact loading (the prototypical tailgate detroyer - chord wood) on a tailgate, and you'll get a lot of damage.

I've logged probably 300,000 miles or more on three different pickups. Two I bought well used; one tailgate was completely gone (no doubt having been beat to uselessness), and the other was beat 3x worse than that shown above. The truck I bought almost new ('97 Tacoma), I damaged the exterior side just by slamming it! Once I noticed this damage on my own truck, I saw "slam damage" on many, many trucks.

Regarding that picture above, you're certainly going beyond any reasonable loading if you're breaking welds and seams. Also look at the beating the bed has taken (portion not protected by the bed liner). That's a well-used truck despite being brand new.

Trucks are cool. Trucks are tough. Trucks however are not indestructable - use them hard, and they'll show it.

[VetteZ06]

Me - seems kinda basic too me...

Surprise.

Regarding that picture above, you're certainly going beyond any reasonable loading if you're breaking welds and seams. Also look at the beating the bed has taken (portion not protected by the bed liner). That's a well-used truck despite being brand new.

What qualifies as "beyond any reasonable loading" for the Tundra, in your estimation?

[GoCougs]

Oh, and I forgot this about the Tacoma. The tailgate had bowed to the extent that after a while it simply wouldn't shut. The bowing had caused the latch catches extend beyond the bed, so rather than taking the risk of trying to pound out an entire tailgate into alignment, I spent an afternoon grinding the latch mounts on the bed such that it'd close properly.

I would also consider the use of the Tacoma as extremely light; no chord wood, no ATVs, etc. I can virtually guarantee that the bowing came from me simply stepping on the tailgate during the rare occasions I used it for hauling (and I'm not a big guy at ~165 lbs).

[JYODER240]

Oh, and I forgot this about the Tacoma. The tailgate had bowed to the extent that after a while it simply wouldn't shut. The bowing had caused the latch catches extend beyond the bed, so rather than taking the risk of trying to pound out an entire tailgate into alignment, I spent an afternoon grinding the latch mounts on the bed such that it'd close properly.

I would also consider the use of the Tacoma as extremely light; no chord wood, no ATVs, etc. I can virtually guarantee that the bowing came from me simply stepping on the tailgate during the rare occasions I used it for hauling (and I'm not a big guy at ~165 lbs).

What are you trying to say, Toyota tailgates suck?

[the Teuton]

I remember seeing these on Toyota trucks all the time in the early 1990s.  Now I know why.

[SJ_GTI]

What are you trying to say, Toyota tailgates suck?

Haha, that was my read on it.

I worked for my uncles excavation company while in school, and we beat his trucks to shit. I never had a tailgate stop working, though certainly they were beat all to hell. The would be dented, scratched, etc...but I never saw the sheet metal seperate or the tailgate itself break.

[etypeJohn]

Yeah, purely cosmetic.

You should be able to buff that out.  

The seam doesn't look welded.  Looks like they stuck some adhesive in there and crimped the pieces together.

[Catman]

As I said before, I find the new Tundra incredibly cheap in many areas.  Stuff like this just backs up my suspicions.

[Onslaught]

The seam doesn't look welded.  Looks like they stuck some adhesive in there and crimped the pieces together.

That's actually common these days. But I believe that's just seam sealer that we see in this pic.
I've not had a new Tundra come in with a problem as of yet. But they are having problems with doors
on the Sienna vans.

[GoCougs]

Meh - I think the topic starter would get more mileage out of the 20 bad camshafts "disaster".

[S204STi]

I want to know what a "Toyota Zealist" is.

[Soup DeVille]

I want to know what a "Toyota Zealist" is.

Kind of like a zealot, but with -isms?

[etypeJohn]

That's actually common these days. But I believe that's just seam sealer that we see in this pic.
I've not had a new Tundra come in with a problem as of yet. But they are having problems with doors
on the Sienna vans.

I can see doors being assembled that way, but I would expect a tailgate, which is frequently used to carry part of the load, to be made of stouter stuff.  Of course it is cheaper not to weld it and I suspect these things are built to a price (as are most cars and trucks).

So what's happening to the Sienna doors?

[Onslaught]

I can see doors being assembled that way, but I would expect a tailgate, which is frequently used to carry part of the load, to be made of stouter stuff.  Of course it is cheaper not to weld it and I suspect these things are built to a price (as are most cars and trucks).

So what's happening to the Sienna doors?

On the driver side front door they didn't make the metal thick enough where the door check bolts at. When people sling the door open over and over again it eventually rips the whole area off the door. I would suppose that the passenger side door is the same but it's not used as much and we've not had one in yet that has torn.
At first the "fix" was for us to just weld the door back together. But we keep telling people that the metal is still too thin and that this won't fix anything. So now we've been putting new doors on them. But I can't see a difference in the new ones and old ones myself and feel that in a year or so they will be back in with the same problem. I say our shop puts about 5-8 doors on a month.

[sandertheshark]

Yeah, purely cosmetic.

"Truck guys'll tell ya, yer tailgate ain't s'posed ta fall apart like that."

[FordSVT]

Me - seems kinda basic too me - most any truck used for loading has tailgate damage to some extent. Really put a lot of weight or impact loading (the prototypical tailgate detroyer - chord wood) on a tailgate, and you'll get a lot of damage.

I've logged probably 300,000 miles or more on three different pickups. Two I bought well used; one tailgate was completely gone (no doubt having been beat to uselessness), and the other was beat 3x worse than that shown above. The truck I bought almost new ('97 Tacoma), I damaged the exterior side just by slamming it! Once I noticed this damage on my own truck, I saw "slam damage" on many, many trucks.

Regarding that picture above, you're certainly going beyond any reasonable loading if you're breaking welds and seams. Also look at the beating the bed has taken (portion not protected by the bed liner). That's a well-used truck despite being brand new.

Trucks are cool. Trucks are tough. Trucks however are not indestructable - use them hard, and they'll show it.

What a load of apologist shit. Cougs, you'd really defend any criticism of this truck until the end, wouldn't you.

[etypeJohn]

"Truck guys'll tell ya, yer tailgate ain't s'posed ta fall apart like that."

But if you go through the discussion on the  link provided at the start of this topic you'll note that the problem is confined to those who actually use their pickups for carrying things.  

So, chances are the vast majority of owners won't experience these problems.   

[etypeJohn]

Some of the posts from that link are very funny.  A selection:

AlaskaCub.....were there any dents in the bed?? I have the same drop-in liner, but haven't loaded my ATV yet. Those photos are scary, to say the least. I have a feeling all of the sheet metal on the truck shares the same strength as the tailgate...I have to be careful not to push the roof in while leaning on it every time I wash it. I doubt if Toyota will do any kind of recall on this problem....and I think they will blame it on owner abuse.

+++++

That sucks. I was real hesitant to get the TRD pkg, because you can't get an 8' bed if you have TRD. The sales girl talked me into it because if I needed to carry anything that is 8' (plywood, sheetrock, 2X12s etc), I could just keep my tailgate down and I'd have my 8". Now I'm afraid to load my truck with lumber if the tailgate is that flimsy.

+++++

This is unacceptable. It's things like this that have me second guessing my decision to purchase this truck. I to have loaded my 4 wheeler in an 95 T100 many times without problem and never gave it a second thought. Now hunting season is here and I don't know what I am going to do. I hope this truck is half the truck my T100 is. How embarassed I'll be when I hesitate in front of the guys to load my machine.

+++++

The 05+ Tacomas are the same way. Toyota has a TSB out for the tailgate fix on the Tacomas. I agree the tailgate feels flimsy. When I load my ATV back there, the rear tires are always sitting on the tailgate (Crewmax w/toobox) and I worry sometimes the weight on it will deform it.

+++++

You should see mine. I have DEEP dents where the wheels sit on the gate. I have a toolbox so I need to ride it like this. This is also how I rode it in my old tundra, my old tacoma, my father's old tundra and even my old z71 with no problems.

I have yet to check this corner though. I am scared.

+++++

Of all the features on the truck I am only really concerned about the thinness of the truck bed walls, gate, and floor. I can see them skimping on general body panels but not the bed! Cmon, this is supposed to be a tough truck! No wonder they didn't show a heavy load being dropped into the bed in the commercials... I wonder if any brochures or ads show an ATV or similar load being hauled...

+++++

Whats pretty obvious is that a 200 lb man standing on the tailgate would quickly realize just how poorly built the gate is. I weigh 180 lbs and I can feel it flex under my weight just standing on it (as a matter of fact I noticed it this morning on my way to work when I stopped to dump trash at the transfer site). I believe the reason that the one guys tailgate that fell off and damaged his taillights and the bumper cuz he drove with the gate down is because the tailgates are so lightweight (cheap) that it could easily bounce up with no effort, especially with that whole spring loaded jobby on the bottom. So yes I believe the chinsy tailgate is a big issue in more ways than one. I am leaning towards safety too. Someonme brought up a great point about the bed extender. Theres no way this gate could handle much more than groceries on it for any length of travels so the bed extender is basically useless.

+++++DUDE! I went to the Toyota dealership just a little while ago to ask them about my transmission and rough idle. Apparently the jerk into gear is normal and the rough idle is normal because of the skirtless pistons. SO anyway, while I was driving with the salesman he brings up that he wants to buy a Tundra. I told him it was a good truck and asked if he had an ATV. He said no, and I brought up this thread. He basically called me a liar haha. He didn't have any reasoning at all but he basically said to me, "No, that's not the case." He was a great guy though and bent over backwards to help me with my issues.

+++++

Wow i just bought a $30,000 pillow transporter. I can't wait for my brothers response when I say, "OOhh Nooo don't sit on my tailgate it might split" and "OOhh don't place anything on the dash it will leave a scratch and expose gray plastic" and "don't lean up against the truck the paint is really soft" and "OOhh my truck just sounds like diesel until it warms up".

[the Teuton]

Does this mean the GM people can finally have the last laugh when it comes to Toyota?

[sandertheshark]

Does this mean the GM people can finally have the last laugh when it comes to Toyota?

The truck guys can keep laughing, at least.

[GoCougs]

What a load of apologist shit. Cougs, you'd really defend any criticism of this truck until the end, wouldn't you.

Want me not to be an "apologist"?

Show me finite element analysis of the tailgate under load. Show me a dissected tailgate detailing construction and design. Heck, even show me a caliper reading of sheet metal thickness!

Just don't show me the ever tiresome sin du jour of teh Internets that is anecdote as data.