A Second New Toyota Tacoma Recall - Was Consumer Reports Right About Poor Reliability?

A few months back, Consumer Reports (CR) named the current generation Tacoma one of the ten worst vehicles in America. We offered a spirited defense of the Tacoma in a counterpoint story explaining how Consumer Reports ignored its own survey results and its own methodology to arrive at such an outrageous claim about the truck with the top sales and top resale value in its segment. Now we are wondering if CR was right after all.

Consumer Reports Tacoma Concerns
Consumer Reports found the predicted reliability of the new generation Tacoma to be lower than past models. They won't say why, or what components or systems they have determined will not hold up. If they secretly worried the seals of the rear differential and corrosion inhibitor of the crankshaft timing rotor were worrisome they should have spoken up. These two items are now open recalls on the new Tacoma.

Tacoma Owners Tired of Recall Repair Delays
One forum member, Gary S. recently asked fellow Tacoma owners "Anyone else here affected by the recall for the differential leak? The dealer has had my 17 Tacoma for a month now and says it will 3 more weeks before it will be returned, was offered extended warranty as compensation." Diego I. had a similar concern, saying, "Although I love my 2016 Tacoma, it is a shame that the dealer has to hang on to my truck for weeks because of the rear differential recall. When you pay $36G for a car you'd expect things like this not to happen." Oscar C. wrote, "So I'm in for my 20k service on my 2016 Tacoma and they tell me my differential is leaking oil. Now they are putting me in a Corolla rental and holding my Tacoma hostage for a few days until Toyota tells my local dealership what to do to it."

New Tacoma Recall
The newest recall is due to excessive anti-corrosion material. It can cause the crank position sensor to malfunction which can then stall the truck. With two open recalls on a truck that has had its share of disgruntled customers over past frame rot and leaf spring issues, Toyota can't afford any more long-term recall issues.