general problems of the 2008 Toyota Tacoma

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the steering wheel failed to move as intended and the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact continued driving at a slow speed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the pinion steering gear failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion while driving 40 mph, there was an abnormal revving sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the engine was leaking oil and the entire braking system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

While moving at idle in a parking lot, looking for space to park, a/c compressor turned on. Ecu raised engine rpms the normal 200+- rpms. Immediately afterwards, engine went to full throttle. Stood up on brake pedal with both feet. Rear tires were spinning and smoking. Began to move faster than originally. Turned off ignition switch, put in park. Restarted and no problems since then. Believe something confused ecu when rpms were raised to compensate a/c compressor engaging.

I was at a stop light and the Tacoma truck started accelerating redlining the breaks held but felt mushy I turned car off. I turned on heater compressor button was on. I had it towed to Toyota fort worth where they said they could not replicate the problem. The car is not safe to drive as it started accelerating while braking.

Air bags did not deploy in frontal crash.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the engine erroneously began to race as the rpms increased without the contact depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that flames were also seen coming from under the front of the vehicle. The contact opened the hood and discovered that the engine was on fire. The contact used snow to extinguish the flames. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 85,000.

There are two separate issues which make a deadly combination. When I stop in traffic on the freeway then attempt to accelerate, the car will rev at a high rpm while failing to accelerate as it would under normal operations. Now this is where it is scary for me. When I let off of the gas pedal under these conditions, sometimes the rpm's will go down as you would expect but sometimes the rpm's will stay very high even after I take my foot off the gas pedal. At that point I step on the brake, turn on my emergency lights, put the car into park and turn off the engine then turn it on again. This is all too reminiscent of the problem with Toyota cars that accelerated without warning. Luckily, the first issue I mentioned, where the car doesn't accelerate properly after stopping, is stopping this car from accelerating at a high speed and causing injury to me and anyone in my path.

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 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.

While entering an on ramp the truck accelerated on its own going out of control, crashing sideways into a guard rail. . . Once it took off on its own it kept increasing speed on its own, applying the brake had no affect on getting it under control. . . Damage $8,000. 00. . . . Took to dealer next day to which they found no problem. . . We have found many instances as this one with this same truck and model on the internet.

I have a 2008 Toyota Tacoma. The way the brake and gas pedals are configured I frequently hit the gas pedal along with the brake pedal. The brake pedal when depressed goes almost to the floor. The pedals are so close together that the gas pedal is sometimes caught by the edge of my shoe while braking causing the engine to race. This especially happens when backing up and my body is contorted to see out the rear windshield. But it also happens occasionally when driving forward and attempting to stop. I do not feel safe in this vehicle and had numerous close calls almost running into cars or object in front of me. I have referred the problem to the dealer. They say they have no remedy for the problem. I was referred to Toyota corporate national headquarters phone # 1-800-331-4331 and had an investigation case open, case number 1307222061. After the inspection of my vehicle they said that my truck is operating as designed. I still feel that there is a potential for an accident. Another side note is that whenever I brought my truck in to the dealer just about this problem they wouldn¿t charge for the inspection or brake adjustments and so no paperwork was written up of my complaints which has happen two or three times. So you probably won¿t see much of any history about this issue. I don¿t know if this was by design to not have a paper record to avoid recalls or having customer complaints documented. I have also mentioned this to the service department on numerous occasions during routine service visits but it was never really written up. I have read on the internet that other Tacoma owners have had the same problem. The last incident that I had a month ago I almost went of a cliff because my foot caught on the gas pedal while braking. It's a poor design to have the brake pedal go below the level of the gas pedal at any time when they are so close to each other.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Tacoma. The throttle suddenly and unexpectedly went wide open while driving at an unknown speed. This caused the vehicle to accelerate unexpectedly. The contact managed to keep control of the vehicle and avoid any crashes. When the vehicle finally came to a complete stop, it was towed to the dealer. The dealer could not find any failures with the vehicle. The failure was diagnosed and no failure or codes showed up on the dealer's system. The current and failure mileages were 13,000.

2008 Toyota Tacoma, June 16, 2008 I took my truck to the dealers garage and told them that the pickup motor was engine speed would race when I was as a stop, with my foot on the brake, and that my fuel miles had drop 5 miles a gallon. Also that the transmission would slam in and out of low gear going up and down a hill. They claim they put it on the computer and it did not show any error. So that the truck is fine, they told me that it was probably from when my air conditioner was on I told them I don't run my air conditioner. But the told me to just watch it because they could not find anything wrong.

The truck will suddenly accelerate without any pressure on the gas pedal. It primarily occurs when slowing down or sitting still. Most of the time it is subtle (approximately 200-400 rpm) but has gone over 1200 rpm on occasion. I am now driving with one hand on the gear shift so I can shift into neutral when this occurs and avoid an accident. This is a recurring condition that Toyota says is not a problem but they have offered no help in resolving the issue.

2008 Toyota Tacoma. Consumer states vehicle experiences lack of return to idle in 4th and 5th gear. The consumer also stated the vehicle would accelerate on its own at random times. The consumer stated he was unable to get the vehicle to achieve a steady speed. He stated he was attempting to do the speed limit of 55 mph. However, the speed went to 56 mph instead. Updated 08/10/10. Updated 05/10/11.