Five Great Gift Ideas For Truck Owners

It’s that time of year again when every website tosses out a gift guide, and we’re going to add to the fray by offering up some gift ideas for Tundra owners and truck owners in general.

First, here’s a list of the coolest gifts you can get your favorite truck owner. This isn’t a list of cheap gifts for truck owners, and it’s not a list of the most popular accessories for the Tundra, but it IS a list of accessories a lot of pickup truck owners would love to have.

Tonneau covers are a very popular to add "trunk space" to your truck.

1) A Tonneau Cover. Most tonneaus cover and protect the contents of the truck bed while also streamlining the truck’s appearance. Since tonneau covers often come with a locking mechanism, they’re a decent way to add a whole lot of “trunk space” to a pickup truck. While there are too many tonneau options to list, some of the most popular tonneau covers include: Read more…

Amazon.com Portable GPS Black Friday DEALS

GPS deals from Amazon.com

Amazon.com is having a huge “Black Friday” sale on electronics of all kinds, including portable GPS units.

If you’re considering a portable GPS, be sure to check out our 2-part Portable GPS Buyer’s Guide…then head over to Amazon.com for a Black Friday deal.

Quick Tips:

1. Remember that a lot of traffic features aren’t available nationwide and that some of them cost money.

2. Get a portable GPS that talks – they’re much safer for driving and the feature isn’t that expensive.

3. You can get a nice GPS for $100-$150 – the Garmin Nuvi 260 is our top pick at $120 and shipping is free.

Toyota Tells NHTSA All First Generation Tundras Have Frame Rust Issues

UPDATE: As of May 2010, Toyota has extended the warranty on 2000-2003 Tundra frames. Please see Toyota Tundra Frame Replacement Program for more details.

We’ve obtained a copy of the defect information report from Toyota to NHTSA, which contains information about Toyota’s frame rust recall that, as far as we know, has not yet been disclosed to the mainstream media. What follows are snippets from this letter.

First and foremost, Toyota has acknowledged that ALL first generation Tundras may be subject to the same rust problems that are found on 00-03 Toyota Tundras currently under recall. Therefore, Toyota will be offering rustproofing to 2004-2006 Tundra owners in the near future.

…while Toyota has not determined a defect exists in 2004 through 2006 model year Tundras, Toyota plans on initiating a field action in the near future to prevent future corrosion on those vehicles…at no cost to the owner

Obviously, Toyota would not be offering to rust-proof 04-06 Tundras unless they believed these vehicles also have this issue. Read more…

Toyota Gets Accelerator Recall Right

When news first surfaced that Toyota was planning to shrink the accelerator pedals in many 2007-2010 Toyotas, we cried foul. While making the gas pedals smaller would likely help avoid a scenario where the accelerator would get stuck under the driver’s floormat, the fact is cutting down the pedal is only a half-measure – the only way to cure the problem is to reprogram the computer so that it includes a brake-to-idle failsafe.

Toyota's official recall includes new gas pedals for all and brake-to-idle failsafe upgrade for some.

For those who don’t know, “brake-to-idle failsafe” is a computer control that cancels accelerator inputs while the brakes are being depressed. Therefore, with brake-to-idle failsafe it’s impossible for a stuck accelerator to cause an accident, because one touch of the brakes tells the engine computer to ignore the gas pedal. It’s a simple and idiot-proof countermeasure the will overcome any stuck accelerator, and all it requires is a programming updated to a vehicles ECU (engine control unit).

When Toyota officially announced their plans to re-size accelerator pedals on many newer Toyota’s today, they also announced that they would be re-programing the Camry, Avalon, ES350, IS250, and IS350 to include the brake-idle failsafe system.

This is great news for Toyota owners and a great example of Toyota doing the right thing. Good work, Toyota! Read more…

Toyota Frame Rust Recall Only A Partial Fix

UPDATE: As of May 2010, Toyota has extended the warranty on 2000-2003 Tundra frames. Please see Toyota Tundra Frame Replacement Program for more details.

Today, Toyota has recalled 110,000 1st generation Toyota Tundras due to frame rust concerns. Specifically, this recall requires dealers to inspect the rear cross member and rear brake line mounts on 2000-2003 Tundras for significant rust. If dealers find that the frame’s rear cross member or brake line mount has significant rust, the corroded parts will be replaced as soon as possible.

Toyota has recalled 2000-2003 Tundras over frame rust concerns. Hopefully, this is just a first step.

Toyota’s recall is great news for owners of 2000-2003 Tundras with frame rust, but it is only a half measure. Toyota will need to do more than replace one piece of the frame to completely satisfy 1st generation Tundra owners.

Toyota’s official announcement states that: Read more…