Toyota Tundra Forum

grimmkt · #**201** (**permalink**) 04-26-2008, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OracleDBA

This thread seems a duplicate of sticky in Shadtree.

Anyway...

I purchased my truck last week. I found this forum so I checked my tailgate. Sure enough, no extra weld on the tail gate. It hasn't failed yet but I haven't loaded anything that would strain this joint. As msxjw noted, some flex can be seen if you put just your own weight on the corner of the tailgate.

I also noticed on zukIzzy's post that his failure occurred near the middle of the gate which would indicate that the entire length of this weld is weak.

What's the suggestion for taking action? I don't want this thing to break a few years down the road and then be out of warranty coverage. I also plan on installing a Line-X bed liner next week and don't want to pay for lining the tailgate twice. I think I'm going to call the dealership and ask if they've had customer complaints about this and see if I can take some preventative action.

The truck is a 2008 CrewMax 4X4. I believe it was manufactured in TX 04-08 accodring to the VIN plate inside the driver door.

Ditto for me. I don't want to do the Line-X twice on the tailgate.

Sandblaster · #**202** (**permalink**) 04-29-2008, 12:53 PM

My Tundra is an '08 that was made 11/07. It does not have the extra weld on it. This design is VERY weak! I can actually push on the corner with my hand and watch the seam sealer crack as the metal bends (No I'm not Superman). It doesn't seem right to make us wait until our gates break before they fix them. I might be out on a week long camping trip when it breaks and won't be able to load and unload my quad safely. What really baffles me is, this is not the first tailgate Toyota has ever made. They have had years of experience building trucks with great tailgates. Now if a company like Honda put out a tailgate like this I could understand because they are new to the truck world. But for a company like Toyota this is not acceptable. I'm not a rich man and I paid more for the Tundra than I wanted to, but I did this because I thought I was buying a truck that would last me a long long time. Hopefully Toyota will step up to the the plate and replace the tailgate with the real thing.

Budro · #**203** (**permalink**) 01-28-2009, 09:31 PM

I agree with zukIzzy that Toyota's attention to this is admirable, but I also have some misgivings about having to experience a failure in order to get the factory fix.

I have an 08 DC SR5 and do not have the welds on my tailgate. I don't routinely load much in the bed so that the gate sees any where near the load you guys with the ATVs put on yours. That said, it's a defect, right? It's just not failed yet because I haven't exercised that failure mode.

Actually, I don't know that Toyota won't come out with a voluntary action to repair this defect prior to a failure, so I probably shouldn't assume they won't.

I will look at my VIN and door sill label and the window sticker in the morning and attempt to decipher date and location of production then go post that info in the other thread.

tonylop33 · #**204** (**permalink**) 01-28-2009, 09:57 PM

Budro,
This looks like your first post...welcome to the site. Feel free to introduce yourself in the new members section.

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