Ball Joint problems of the 2002 Toyota Tundra

While traveling on a city road at about 25mph, the right front wheel came off. I was towed to my mechanic for repair. Both the tow driver and my mechanic told me they had seen this previously in Toyota Tundras. I later found that there was a recall (ssc 50 j) and, after email correspondence with Toyota and dealership approval of the workmanship performed by my mechanic, applied for a refund of my expenses. When I was denied the first time, the service manager at hollywood Toyota said that he would resubmit by fax, saying that he saw nothing more that the office could want and that he had submitted the Toyota service order for his inspection of my truck, a service order which the office claimed they did not have. The claim was denied again, this time because I had no records of maintenance on or inspection of the faulty ball joints. (there is no way to maintain the ball joints, and there is no way to inspect them, as they are inside a rubber boot. ) the denial also stated that my mechanic's invoice was missing detail, although did not state what detail was missing, even upon written request. Hollywood Toyota's service manager said the detail on my invoice was greater than Toyota itself provides and called someone up the line to find out what the issue was. He called more than once. No response. And, when there was no answer after two weeks, called again. Nothing. Note: if there is a way to attach, I would like to attach the full complaint I have written up and will be mailing to your offices.

Tl- the contact owns a 2002 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the front passenger's side tire became detached unexpectedly from the vehicle. There was a loss of steering control and the vehicle began to skid 35-40 feet before proceeding to stop. The vehicle then collapsed to the ground. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and an authorized dealer, in which both informed the contact that the brake lines and the frame was corroded. In addition, the front passenger's side ball joint was defective. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id numbers: 09v444000 (structure) and 05v225000 (suspension) however, the vehicle was not included in either. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 250,000. The VIN was unavailable. Kmj.

The drivers side front suspension ball joints gave way as I was driving at 75mph on interstate 40 west in texas at mile marker 14. The entire wheel, break, and axle assembly detatched at hi speed. The break line was severed. The assembly folded under the truck and I skidded on the wheel with little control until I could maneuver off of the interstate and maintain an upright position with the vehicle. The twisted tie rod kept the tire and wheel assembly from completely separating from the vehicle. The weather was light snow with a temperature of about 34 degrees. Time was appx 9. 50 am. The truck was repaired without comment by street Toyota of amarillo, texas at a cost of appx. $ 2,200. The dealer said there was an inordinate amount of wear on the front end steering components. The truck is in good condition with a good documented service record. The truck had been steering "loosely" and I had a mechanic examine the steering the previous week. He said it looked and drove ok, but he couldn't really tell. The truck has never been involoved in an accident or insurance claim.

While driving 70 mph, the transmission stalled. The vehicle was towed. Dealership repaired the problem. The driver heard and felt a loud bump in the rear of the vehicle. The engine continued to run but the vehicle would not move when the consumer applied the gas pedal. There was rear end grease leaking from the right side rear showing on the wheel and tire. The mechanic stated that there was no connection between the rear brake, rear end leaking grease, the drive shaft and the failure of the transmission. The brakes were a major problem, the cruise control never kept speed or smooth, the left lower front ball joint had a catastrophic failure that caused the entire wheel, brake line and all essential components on the left side of the vehicle to come loose. The consumer requested reimbursement. The brakes were a problem on the vehicle, and the drums were replaced.

While driving 60 mph the ball joints failed. It came completely from under the truck. There was no warning. There was no accidents. Consumer contacted the dealer. There were no recalls.

I have a 2002 Toyota Tundra with 39,000 miles on it. I was going 15-20 mph and aproaching a on ramp to the highway when my front drivers side ball joint snapped. I had my 4 month old son in the car with me. Luckily I was able to stop without getting into a accident but wonder what would have happened if we were on the highway. Toyota said I must have hit something in order for it to fail and refused to contact the NHTSA and refused to cover the expense of having it fixed. $1900.

While driving 25 mph without hitting anything, the front passenger tire collapsed under the vehicle without warning. The consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership. The dealership replaced the ball joints but blamed the driver hitting something to cause them to break. Pe04040_cat.