Anyone else get screwed with faulty TRD tails?
03-05-2011, 08:02 PM
#1
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Anyone else get screwed with faulty TRD tails?
In spite of all the negative press and damage control Toyota is undergoing due to their faulty brakes, you would think that they would be eager to clean up any more potential wrongdoing regarding the sale of parts that don't meet either safety or consumer standards.
Well I just went over to the dealership I bought my 2009 Scion xB from to complain about a set of TRD taillights I purchased a short while after my car and request an out-of-warranty repair on them. As soon as I said that word, the manager cut me off mid sentence with an assertive "NO," citing how all their "good will" money has gone to the recall. Instead I'm expected to pay $360 for a new set.
The TRD taillights I purchased were both professionally installed and working for over a year. Then, out of nowhere, one of the lights began malfunctioning: half the LEDs stopped working, a quarter of them were dimmer than normal, and the rest were OK.
LEDs are, theoretically, never supposed to "burn out." It's obviously something wrong with the circuit board underneath the lights, but that doesn't matter; they're sold at a premium price so I expect a high quality product. I would expect to sell my car after 5 years of driving it with the same lights in place.
I've been a loyal Toyota motorist since I first got my license, and the treatment I received from the service manager and company today makes me think twice about ever going with their cars again. Especially since Kia and Hyundai offer way better warranties.
But not to digress. Has anyone else had similar problems with these? What did you end up doing?
Well I just went over to the dealership I bought my 2009 Scion xB from to complain about a set of TRD taillights I purchased a short while after my car and request an out-of-warranty repair on them. As soon as I said that word, the manager cut me off mid sentence with an assertive "NO," citing how all their "good will" money has gone to the recall. Instead I'm expected to pay $360 for a new set.
The TRD taillights I purchased were both professionally installed and working for over a year. Then, out of nowhere, one of the lights began malfunctioning: half the LEDs stopped working, a quarter of them were dimmer than normal, and the rest were OK.
LEDs are, theoretically, never supposed to "burn out." It's obviously something wrong with the circuit board underneath the lights, but that doesn't matter; they're sold at a premium price so I expect a high quality product. I would expect to sell my car after 5 years of driving it with the same lights in place.
I've been a loyal Toyota motorist since I first got my license, and the treatment I received from the service manager and company today makes me think twice about ever going with their cars again. Especially since Kia and Hyundai offer way better warranties.
But not to digress. Has anyone else had similar problems with these? What did you end up doing?
03-05-2011, 08:30 PM
#2
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Scikotics
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Just so you know TRD does not make "TRD Tail lights" so thats why the dealer might not want to replace them. you might have to contact the manufacturer of the tail lights.
are these it?
http://www.trdsparks.com/displaypart...&parts_id=3248
are these it?
http://www.trdsparks.com/displaypart...&parts_id=3248
03-05-2011, 09:09 PM
#3
In spite of all the negative press and damage control Toyota is undergoing due to their faulty brakes, you would think that they would be eager to clean up any more potential wrongdoing regarding the sale of parts that don't meet either safety or consumer standards.
Well I just went over to the dealership I bought my 2009 Scion xB from to complain about a set of TRD taillights I purchased a short while after my car and request an out-of-warranty repair on them. As soon as I said that word, the manager cut me off mid sentence with an assertive "NO," citing how all their "good will" money has gone to the recall. Instead I'm expected to pay $360 for a new set.
The TRD taillights I purchased were both professionally installed and working for over a year. Then, out of nowhere, one of the lights began malfunctioning: half the LEDs stopped working, a quarter of them were dimmer than normal, and the rest were OK.
LEDs are, theoretically, never supposed to "burn out." It's obviously something wrong with the circuit board underneath the lights, but that doesn't matter; they're sold at a premium price so I expect a high quality product. I would expect to sell my car after 5 years of driving it with the same lights in place.
I've been a loyal Toyota motorist since I first got my license, and the treatment I received from the service manager and company today makes me think twice about ever going with their cars again. Especially since Kia and Hyundai offer way better warranties.
But not to digress. Has anyone else had similar problems with these? What did you end up doing?
Well I just went over to the dealership I bought my 2009 Scion xB from to complain about a set of TRD taillights I purchased a short while after my car and request an out-of-warranty repair on them. As soon as I said that word, the manager cut me off mid sentence with an assertive "NO," citing how all their "good will" money has gone to the recall. Instead I'm expected to pay $360 for a new set.
The TRD taillights I purchased were both professionally installed and working for over a year. Then, out of nowhere, one of the lights began malfunctioning: half the LEDs stopped working, a quarter of them were dimmer than normal, and the rest were OK.
LEDs are, theoretically, never supposed to "burn out." It's obviously something wrong with the circuit board underneath the lights, but that doesn't matter; they're sold at a premium price so I expect a high quality product. I would expect to sell my car after 5 years of driving it with the same lights in place.
I've been a loyal Toyota motorist since I first got my license, and the treatment I received from the service manager and company today makes me think twice about ever going with their cars again. Especially since Kia and Hyundai offer way better warranties.
But not to digress. Has anyone else had similar problems with these? What did you end up doing?
1) Toyota's heavily publicized problem was associated with what was termed "unintended acceleration", not faulty brakes. Far less heavily publicized was an "issue" with the Prius bakes. However, the problem was more seeming than real -- it was a question of the software handling of friction brakes and recharge loading of the wheels, emphasis being placed on recharge over friction. Result was the brake action felt different than pure friction braking cars and so a bunch of people got antsy.
2) LEDs most definitely do fail, and individual LED quality varies widely.
3) Yes, people have been reporting longevity problems with those LED taillights for years.
03-05-2011, 10:06 PM
#4
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MeatRocket:
I called the Toyota parts dealer who I bought them from and they referred me to a Toyota corporate 800-number. They in turn told me that since the car's out of warranty that I should go to my dealer to inquire about an out-of-warranty repair, and that it would be at their discretion. And yes, those are the correct tails.
TrevorS:
I didn't do any research into this on my own outside of what the headlines have been describing, but my point is that I purchased a set of lights which anyone would reasonably expect to use throughout the lifetime of the car. Regarding the LEDs failing, I'm going by what an electrical engineer taught me during a class on electronics.
Whether it was cheap LEDs, a ____ty circuit board, or whatever, I'm not accepting that I'm expected to pay to replace them for the kind of money I originally shelled out while using them under normal operating conditions; neither should anyone else.
I called the Toyota parts dealer who I bought them from and they referred me to a Toyota corporate 800-number. They in turn told me that since the car's out of warranty that I should go to my dealer to inquire about an out-of-warranty repair, and that it would be at their discretion. And yes, those are the correct tails.
TrevorS:
I didn't do any research into this on my own outside of what the headlines have been describing, but my point is that I purchased a set of lights which anyone would reasonably expect to use throughout the lifetime of the car. Regarding the LEDs failing, I'm going by what an electrical engineer taught me during a class on electronics.
Whether it was cheap LEDs, a ____ty circuit board, or whatever, I'm not accepting that I'm expected to pay to replace them for the kind of money I originally shelled out while using them under normal operating conditions; neither should anyone else.
03-05-2011, 10:17 PM
#5
Unfortunately it is a common problem with these particular lights and no everyone I know who has tried to get an out of warrenty swap for them has been denied.
Instead of buying another set you might want to see if there is someone who had them go out and got a new set or swapped to something else and still has theirs. They may have had to opposite one go out and you can get their's cheaply.
Instead of buying another set you might want to see if there is someone who had them go out and got a new set or swapped to something else and still has theirs. They may have had to opposite one go out and you can get their's cheaply.
03-05-2011, 11:00 PM
#6
Unfortunately it is a common problem with these particular lights and no everyone I know who has tried to get an out of warranty swap for them has been denied.
Instead of buying another set you might want to see if there is someone who had them go out and got a new set or swapped to something else and still has theirs. They may have had to opposite one go out and you can get their's cheaply.
Instead of buying another set you might want to see if there is someone who had them go out and got a new set or swapped to something else and still has theirs. They may have had to opposite one go out and you can get their's cheaply.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/08-09...item4cf596c4d4
There are also other LED tails now that go for less than half the price of the TYC's you bought:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/08-09...item4cf596c4d4
I make no claims to their quality; caveat emptor with eBay.
03-06-2011, 03:03 PM
#7
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There have been numerous problems with the TYC tails, and that's the reason I didn't buy them because I would have been upset if they did die on me.
But here's the deal: TYC's limited manufacturer warranty only guarantees it for a year. So if it breaks in 367 days, they're not obligated to do anything. Which sucks. But it is what it is. I mean, would you buy anything that didn't have at least a year's warranty? I wouldn't. But then they lowball you with that fact that you're only covered for just a year, and the coverage has extreme limitations, because it's a free, limited warranty. You need to switch to different LED tails.
I bought my Longo tails for less money, and this comes with a (correct me if I'm wrong) 2-year warranty.
Might want to consider switching to Longo tails from Longo Toyota.
But here's the deal: TYC's limited manufacturer warranty only guarantees it for a year. So if it breaks in 367 days, they're not obligated to do anything. Which sucks. But it is what it is. I mean, would you buy anything that didn't have at least a year's warranty? I wouldn't. But then they lowball you with that fact that you're only covered for just a year, and the coverage has extreme limitations, because it's a free, limited warranty. You need to switch to different LED tails.
I bought my Longo tails for less money, and this comes with a (correct me if I'm wrong) 2-year warranty.
Might want to consider switching to Longo tails from Longo Toyota.
03-06-2011, 11:37 PM
#8
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BULLSHlT.
Wow man can't believe there's no class action lawsuit against Toyota over this. Especially since it seems that this is a common problem with the lights.
I just bought a replacement light off eBay for $37.00. I might send a photocopy of the purchase to the service manager letting him know that they just lost a loyal Toyota customer over a discrepancy of something this lame.
03-06-2011, 11:49 PM
#9
Just because a dealership sells an accessory part doesn't mean you should be mad at them when it fails. When I worked for Acura, we sold a boat load of after-market stuff for the cars, but Acura wasn't responsible for anything that wasn't a genuine Acura (Honda) manufactured part. All the items had their own manufacturers warranty, and if anything failed you had to deal with that individual manufacturer.
I understand you're angry, but the direction of your anger is misguided. TYC is not Toyota, so vow to never buy another TYC product, but quit bashing Toyota... they didn't manufacture the tail lights and they didn't force you to buy them. There are plenty of crappy after-market parts out there, and Toyota had no way of knowing that these would have as many problems as they did. Get over it and move on with life.
I understand you're angry, but the direction of your anger is misguided. TYC is not Toyota, so vow to never buy another TYC product, but quit bashing Toyota... they didn't manufacture the tail lights and they didn't force you to buy them. There are plenty of crappy after-market parts out there, and Toyota had no way of knowing that these would have as many problems as they did. Get over it and move on with life.
Last edited by CIONIDE; 03-07-2011 at 03:34 PM.
03-07-2011, 09:40 PM
#11
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CIONIDE,
I purchased the lights from Sullivan Brothers Toyota. They came in a box with both the Toyota and Scion emblems printed on it. When I purchased the xB, the dealer showed me the accessories I could purchase with the car, and the same lights were illustrated. And when I went to the dealership, they were quick to sell me a new set for the full amount.
I think it's pretty safe to say that even if they were manufactured by one of Toyota's partners, they were advertised to me as "Genuine Toyota Parts" and were sold at a "Genuine Toyota Price," hence my disappointment at the company.
I purchased the lights from Sullivan Brothers Toyota. They came in a box with both the Toyota and Scion emblems printed on it. When I purchased the xB, the dealer showed me the accessories I could purchase with the car, and the same lights were illustrated. And when I went to the dealership, they were quick to sell me a new set for the full amount.
I think it's pretty safe to say that even if they were manufactured by one of Toyota's partners, they were advertised to me as "Genuine Toyota Parts" and were sold at a "Genuine Toyota Price," hence my disappointment at the company.
03-07-2011, 10:43 PM
#12
CIONIDE,
I purchased the lights from Sullivan Brothers Toyota. They came in a box with both the Toyota and Scion emblems printed on it. When I purchased the xB, the dealer showed me the accessories I could purchase with the car, and the same lights were illustrated. And when I went to the dealership, they were quick to sell me a new set for the full amount.
I think it's pretty safe to say that even if they were manufactured by one of Toyota's partners, they were advertised to me as "Genuine Toyota Parts" and were sold at a "Genuine Toyota Price," hence my disappointment at the company.
I purchased the lights from Sullivan Brothers Toyota. They came in a box with both the Toyota and Scion emblems printed on it. When I purchased the xB, the dealer showed me the accessories I could purchase with the car, and the same lights were illustrated. And when I went to the dealership, they were quick to sell me a new set for the full amount.
I think it's pretty safe to say that even if they were manufactured by one of Toyota's partners, they were advertised to me as "Genuine Toyota Parts" and were sold at a "Genuine Toyota Price," hence my disappointment at the company.
You may now resume your full level of anger.
03-07-2011, 10:44 PM
#13
maybe if you did some research before hand you would know that the "TYC" tail lights are pieces of s*** that fail on everyone. Guess what, I'm on my third set but i don't blame toyota
03-07-2011, 11:04 PM
#14
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actually this is why toyota/scion has been getting very conservative with their accessories. they're using made by a third party manufacturer, and if there is a problem with it, it creates customer satisfaction problems between customers and toyota, instead of toyota and their manufacturer.
03-07-2011, 11:05 PM
#15
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i still wouldn't place full blame on Toyota since they were not the ones who manufactured it. They are accessories labeled by Toyota and advertised as accessories. Yes, it sucks you're having problems with them... however still misdirected.
fyi, dealerships mess up all the time.
fyi, dealerships mess up all the time.
07-08-2011, 12:52 AM
#17
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So after 4 years my driver side TYC tail decided to finally bite the dust. Looking to sell the passenger tail to anyone that needs one to complete the set. PM me for pics and offers.
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