| Issue ID | 705558 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10252752 |
| Manufacurer | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION |
| Brand | TOYOTA |
| Model | TUNDRA |
| Model Year | 2008 |
| File date | 24/12/08 |
| Component | POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | The transmission and transfer case on our 2008 tundra 4wd drive has failed, repeatedly this past week while operating the vehicle on a public street. In this "fail" condition, the transfer case makes a grinding nose, the transfer case alarm buzzer makes nose and irrespective of transmission position or transfer case selection (2wd, 4wd hi, 4wd lo) fails to engage in low or hi, and most troubling, the vehicle will roll in any gear, no gear will engage, and the car can roll forward or backwards out of control. I was almost hit a by a car today because i could not get the truck to engage in any gear, in any setting, inspite of attempts to roll the vehicle slightly down the hill to allow for the transfer case to engage, as suggested in the owner's manual. While i am not pleased with the (failed) condition of the drive train for this new truck, this is an issue i will address directly with toyota. In the fail condition of 4wd, the transfer case merely 'beeps' and refuses to engage transmission, resulting in a free-rolling, uncontrolled vehicle. Had this failure happened today as we attempted to enter the freeway, we would have likely been in a accident. This is unacceptable. I am most concerned that other tundra owners (and the similar sequoia) would have a loss of vehicle control and power, resulting in injury or death. How troubling toyota would put this vehicle on the road without addressing this issue. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 3000 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | MADISON, WI |
| VIN pattern | 5TFCV54118XXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 10 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |