4Runner V6 Head Gaskets

Hey Greg,

If you reply to his post it may generate an email to him advising someone has added to the message thread. Might be worth a shot.

Cheers,

You might call Toyota Australia at 1800 356 554 and tell them what you are after. They will probably get your VIN number to determine of your engine is eligible for the replacement. The campaign is labeled by Toyota as "special service campaign V06"

You also may find this link of use for interpreting your VIN info. - I imagine it applies to Australian makes as well as US

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/faq/vin/

You may want to try calling Toyota USA 1-800-GO TOYOTA and see what they say. Don't tell them of your rejection from Toyota Australia at first, but ask if this service campaign is in effect worldwide. In other words, if you have a 4Runner, can you have it fixed and covered by Toyota regardless of which country you are in. They may reveal that what you were told by Toy Aus. is inaccurate.

Next step would be to call Toy Australia back, and request an official document that states that Toyota is no longer supporting the service campaign - have them mail it to you. If Toy USA told you otherwise on the service campaign, let them know about it.

If that doesn't work, I would send a letter to the Toyota corporation with a "cc" (carbon copy) posted to your lawyer on the bottom of the letter. Go into details about the fact that a faulty product deserves to be replaced by it's mfg. and you would like to know more of the legal details of why they are no longer honoring this service.

Lets be serious here we are talking about something that is nearly ten years old.How long will it take for people to accept responsibility and stop talking about lawyers involvment.I feel very sorry for you and the cost u may well bear but talk to ef el falcon owners about coolant leaks from the head.They got pretty much jack from Ford and they are 95-96 year models.If Toyota in the US is still doing the work it will probably be caused from bullying from lawyers.Do we also have to start putting up with the somone is always responsible rot and take on the chin and move on.$3000.00 to fix this problem, try some of the very good after market repairers.Gotta get out there. Debbie and Mike

The aftermarket ones proviede they are Monotorque or Permaseal will be of equal or better quality then Toyota.Lets face it if original was that much better why are u having this greef with Toyota.I do genuinely feel sorry for you and the cost you will probably bear.Please do not think i am a cold bastard but i see so much litigation happening today its just plain stupid.Look at the greif over public liability claims all caused by people involving lawyers.Gotta get out there. Debbie and Mike

to greg put a can of chem e weld in the water ,would be about 12 dollars well spent,not sure if my spelling is correct,buy at local servo,it works

to greg d ,last time i used chemiweld was still going strong after 9 months then sold vehicle,some mates have used it for 12 months plus,its good enough for car dealers to get cars thru warranty time ,thats a good recommendation,only problem with it could block up heater ,disconnect and clean it by itself,otherwise go for it

to greg d ,forgot to mention check your welch plugs ,they can let go in time,usually from rust ,not the chemiweld

"Lets be serious here..."

I am being serious.

"...we are talking about something that is nearly ten years old."

Agreed. You have a good point.

"...How long will it take for people to accept responsibility and stop talking about lawyers involvment."

Accept responsibility? for what? Someone else's mistake? I think not. I didn't suggest that Greg SUE Toyota in court. I merely suggested that he add a little name at the bottom of his letter to give it a little more backbone. Hell, I don't even have a lawyer, but I wouldn't hesitate to add "his" name to my letter if I thought it might make the recipient think twice about trying to feed me a bunch of hogwash. The bottom line is that one needs to be sure they have found the limit of what the company's responsibility is, and what the company is willing to do for the customer. If you back down at the first phone call, where someone is doing their job of trying to get rid of you easily, then that is your choice. I prefer to push a little more to see what their real limit is. There is a real limit and often times it is acceptable and reasonable. But I doubt you will find that limit after a single phone call. If you are content to part with your money so easily for someone else's shortcomings, that is up to you. I have had an experience with a Toyota dealer in which case they made a mistake and serviced my truck incorrectly. If I had quit after they told me to "get lost" the first time, I would have ended up with a faulty cooling system and a bad water pump, and who knows what kind of damage to the engine as a result. Should I just say "oh well" and pay for it? I had to do a little research, make phone calls, write letters, and present myself as a worthy case, not a pushover. In the end, Toyota corporate ordered the dealer to repair my truck correctly at no additional charge.

I love Toyota vehicles, and I applaud the engineers and craftsmen that create them. Many of them are works of art, and engineering marvels in my opinion. I am not out to cheat Toyota. They deserve prosperity and success for the brand they have made famous. But if there is a legitimate error that deserves a legitimate correction, it should be evaluated completely.

I am not trying to be a cold bastard either, and I apologize if it seems that way. Michael, I do appreciate your opinion and I agree with it in a lot of cases. There are way too many frivolous lawsuits wasting time and money for everyone. But this is a well established case of taking responsibility for a mistake. If there is a time limit on their policy, it should be equilaterally implemented across the globe, not just in Australia. If they are still fixing them in the USA, then they should still fix them in Australia. If they have an expiration date, then I would be willing to bet that is clearly stated on an established document for this service campaign, not just a "verbal" decision from an employee working at a customer call center.

Sorry for all of the typing! Have a great day everyone :o)

This message was just posted on a U.S. Toyota forum yesterday...

"Hi everybody, new member here, seems like a great site from what ive seen so far. I'd like to share a story with you guys about my recent experience with Toyota. Last week I bought a 93 4x4 extra cab with 108k miles on the 3.0 V6 from a small "rot lot" dealership here in San Diego. It appeared to be in excellent condition inside and out, and with relatively low miles for a Toyota I bought it without much worry or concern for around blue book retail. After putting only 125 miles on the truck I was driving home from work and it threw a rod about .5 miles from home. Imagine my shock and disappointment, not to mention embarassment in purchasing a vehicle in crap condition. After sulking for a few hours I checked this website and read about the Headgasket campaign through Toyota. I called the # provided on this site and they referred me to the local Toyota dealership to have the truck inspected. The dealership pretty much told me the motor was shot and I needed a new shortblock. The service manager told me he would contact me after getting notice from Toyota wether they would cover repairs or not. After 4 anxiety filled days he called and informed me that Toyota would provide a brand new short block, 2 new heads and the new head gasket for the truck! I also needed a new water pump and he recommended I have the oil pump and knock sensor replaced, which my limited warranty will cover. So all in all i'm going to pay 250$ for 4k worth of repairs. Talk about an awesome company that would step up and stand behind their product with such a large loss to them. BTW this is the 4th Toyota truck i have owned and have never had problems with them in the past. I just wanted to share this experience and show why I am loyal Toyota customer for life."