2002 Tacoma ball joint failures

[raredirt]

I have a 2002 Tacoma which collapsed the right front wheel at low speed on a local sidestreet. The lower ball joint separated from the control arm and the wheel tried to go back under the truck. Undrivable, obviously. I have searched NHTSA for recalls on this type failure and have found many complaints of exactly the same failure. Recall #50J addresses it, but seems to be only for 4WD vehicles. The dealership (Bend, OR) says there is no recall for my VIN. I have spoken with a master tech at another Toyota dealership and he said he thought it would be covered.

This kind of common failure is clearly life threatening and is not the result of abuse or even wear. It is a fracture of the lower ball joint from the spindle. Photos available.

Do any of you members know how to gain satisfaction on this matter? From what I have read on many sites, Toyota does not respond well to warranty claims such as this.

 

[tbplus10]

We'll first off a 12 year old truck has no warranty left. No matter what mileage it has.
The recall you reference had a mileage limit on it, dont remember the mileage though.
It was also a limited recall, only a small number of ball joints had the part number that was suspect, it didnt cover every 4x4 Tacoma.
Toyota does respond well to warranty and recall claims, the issue you have here, while your finding other claims, has not been as wide spread as you feel. Look at the number of trucks sold vs the number of instances.
There is a maintenance requirement for ball joints and there fasteners, I cant quote it verbatim but if you look at the truck maint schedule it shows up.
Simply put parts arent made to last forever, they wear, some trucks/parts wear faster than others, but eventually they all wear.
Unfortunately due to age I dont really believe you have a viable claim with Toyota.

 

[raredirt]

As I pointed out in my question, this was not a wear issue, it broke in exactly the same manner as have many others. It is a design or material issue and a serious safety matter. The service bulletin did not specify an end date. I have heard of no other vehicles where the front suspension collapsed and made the vehicle uncontrollable when simply driving at moderate speed. Many other reported failures of this model happened in a like manner, but not all and some caused crashes.