Toyota Stops Sales of 2013, 2014 Tundra and Tacoma for Faulty Seat Heaters

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Toyota told its North American dealer network to stop selling 2013 and 2014 Tundra and Tacoma pickup trucks equipped with seat heaters. According to Automotive News, a seat fabric supplier was changed in August 2012 and a faulty component has been identified. The special notice went out to all Toyota dealers and retailers that the new fabric could catch fire because it does not meet current fire retardation standards.

The total number of vehicles affected could be as many as 36,000, and the safety problem is found in six other Toyota models. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been notified of the problem even though no reports of any accidents or fires have been reported, according to a Toyota spokesman. To date, there is no word as to whether a recall will be issued by the federal government. The issues were discovered by the Korean Automotive Test and Research Institute when testing the seat fabrics. Unsold vehicles that are in the pipeline to dealerships will be repaired in port or at other stages on the way to dealers.

To date, Toyota does not think a recall will be necessary, but ultimately that decision will be made by NHTSA. Concerned owners can call Toyota at 800-331-4331.


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aaaagghh! These seat heaters feel so nice in this cold weather,,, feels so good,,,, wait? "sniff-sniff" do you smell something burning?

Lets be clear about this.... The MATERIAL on the seat in question would allow fire (if it ever occured) to spread just a little faster than the material that it was spec'd to be..... Nothing to see here just ambulance chasing. there is NOTHING wrong with the vehicles that any person would ever need worry about. Toyota is changing this before its ever been brought up yet this site makes it look like a big deal. So just a couple links to share with everyone......

On the 2013 tundra shows
2 recalls which are affecting only SET (Southeast Toyota) vehicles. these are for a LABEL and an a sensor that could be out of spec. for an airbag.
7 over all complaints
4 service bulletins

Ford shows
0 recalls (but should have a major one for all EB engines from the .....
1 investigation
143 complaints
24 service bulletins

chevrolet shows;
2 recalls
17 complaints
23 service bulletins

Ram shows:
2 recalls
11 complaints

with proof of all links........ NEVER on this site do you see problems listed about Fords and by a landslide they are worse in everyway other than brushing problems under the rug so they dont show a recall....... Yet this stop sale IS NOT A RECALL so why hasnt PUTC posted articles on the 24 service bulletins and 143 complaints and an investigation about the f150??????



Ford, Chevy, and Dodge have been using heated seats for a long time without a problem then all of the sudden Toyota begins using heated seats in their trucks then they have a problem. That tells me Toyota is cutting production costs by using cheaper materials where Ford, Chevy, and Dodge is not.

@hemi lol.
You are wrong in many ways, but I do agree this is probably not a big deal. Even most recalls are not a big deal, but they are NEWS. If there is ever a recall or any news for other trucks you will USUALLY see it here. You don't see recalls for ford trucks lately because THERE HAVEN'T BEEN ANY. I am surprised though no mention of the chevy reaper trucks yet.
YES there is a problem with the seat heater. Why do you think the stop sale is ONLY for vehicles with seat heaters? It is because the fabric that is attached to the heating element in the SEAT HEATER does not have proper flame retardant specs.

@ hemi lol

Dude, all of those links read "Server Error" when I clicked on them...

@ beebe

The MATERIAL on the seat is the issue. the seat heaters work fine which means its NOT the seat heater that is faulty... how do you understand that to mean the seat heater is bad? other than thats how mark williams makes it sound? just curious.....

Sorry i dont know why the links wont work..... If you go to you can do a recall search and see the numbers i posted are accurate......

@ tom#3

Wow what an observation you made......... Yeah toyota is really cheapin out on parts.... thats why they are voted most reliable full size truck the 7 of 8 years........ yeah really poor quality lol. really man did you think of that all by yourself?

Where did Toyota get the material, a "fire sale"?

"Toyota spokesman John Hanson explained that the fabric to which the heating element is attached does not meet flame-retardant standards."

This is according to another article from Forbes entitled "Toyota Halts Sales Of Popular Models To Fix Seat Heaters." I guess you better go complain to Forbes how their title is wrong and that they are biased for reporting this. There's multiple other articles with similar titles, so hit them up while you're at it.

By the way, why are you so defensive about this???? Do you work building these trucks or something????? Calm down. It's going to be OK. I'm sure Toyota isn't going to take a hit in sales over this. Their fifth place sales ranking is probably safe for now.

That would be a PITA.

Where's the story about the GM recall?

It's right here
About a day or two before the nissan recall

Children! Calm the f@#$%k down! It's a VOLUNTARY action. Toyota is doing the right thing here. It's NOT A RECALL! It might me in the future, but it's not just yet. If we learned anything from Toyota in the past. They WILL take care of the problem/customers accordingly. I STILL DON'T BELIEVE THE ACCELERATION PROBLEM WAS REAL. US government forced it on Toyota. That's my belief. Take it as whatever you wish. Conveniently, it happened just around when US auto industry needed a MIRACLE.


Hemi LOL is a turdra salesmen. That is why he is so defensive. But to his defense, he has to be, with a truck that is setting people on fire it would be hard to make mortgage payments with the commission made off it's sales numbers, maybe I should say lack of sales numbers.

my comments are based on twisted journalism to make a headline. its pretty pathetic really. the seat material is the problem not the seat heaters. The reason journalists should not be allowed to publish headlines that way is easy to see just look at how much problem beebe has understanding it. I am irritated when i see blatant misrepresentation and clear bashing when its not merited.

@ turdra lol
Are you jealous or somethin? I'm perfectly comfortable with who i am and what i do. I sleep very well at night knowing how i conduct my business is to educated customers to purchase whats best for them and their family not pressure someone to just say yes. Its been very successful for me over the last 8 years thanks pointing that out! You see after treating people right (something clearly you must not understand) i have many repeat and referral customers. I'm sorry im not a rocket scientist such as yourself, your momma must be so proud of you!

@hemi lol,
Don't waste your time. You can't fix stupid. They have to have little brains to understand the 'complexity' of such stories.

This is a serious problem and Toyota is addressing it. I will give credit to Toyota for addressing this issue, but I give little credit to the opinion of someone who sells Toyotas for a living because they have a vested interest in the brand. I trust most car salespeople as much as I trust a politician.

As a former owner of a 2011 Toyota Tacoma I have first hand experience of "cheap materials and build quality" AND I read the blogs of owners of older Tacoma Owners who admit the newer Tacoma's are not as good. Where do I start? Rusted frames, leaking gas tanks, leaking axle seals, heater blower motors, alloy wheels pitted, manual trans clutch problems, 4 cyl major engine problems, interior moisture problems, plastic bed floors cracking in extreme cold. The Tacoma USED to be the best back in 2002-2004 but now they are one of the worst cause they went overboard to cheapen them up!

I agree with Hemi lol on this one, misleading and incorrect headline. But it doesn't surprise me really. I don't know if Mark Williams is a Ford Fanboi but it's clear he hates Toyota.

@ hemi lol .. my concern here isn't so much how story is reported BUT the basic Quality Control @ Toyota, or lack of. As the story was reported, Toyota switched parts vendor for seat covers. Now as with ANY parts you'd use, aren't there eng specs to follow? Yes. So then why didn't Toyota make sure in qualifying a new supplier didn't they make sure new seat fabric meet design specs? If all above is true then basic mfg quality control is a concern since it was an independant lab that raised the concern. If mfg controls not tight, what other issues could come up is my question.


your really special arent you? cracked beds? that material is so strong that exact composition of material makes up a significant portion of the frame structure of the Lexus LFA. BTW the tacoma is really pricey to build to be quite frank about it. thats why they dont cost what rangers did becuase they are made out of a lot better materials. Since your pointing fingers tho why is every pre runner and 4x4 tacoma built with 4 piston calipers up front when not one single diesel dually has them? i'll let ya in on a seccret they wont spend the money, Toyota will. next argument will be they use drum brakes, true but they also have a booster system to make them WAY stronger than gm's drums they are still using.....

If i started typing all the issues of the other trucks i would run out of characters.

@jeff s
Oh so the fact that i work for a company in sales BECAUSE i believe in their product makes me dumb and untrustworthy? how about you who is just a blind fanboi? i actually know what i'm talking about and i'll give it to you that theres a lot of salespeople that dont..... dont lump me in. its funny how you cant argue or disprove my comments nor logic so you attack my character instead in hopes of leading people to think im lying......

@ supercrew02

Toyotas quality control is 10 times tighter than ford gm and ram! they spend more time and money on R&D than any auto manufacturer in the world. it simply barely misses the mark on the test. this isnt a case of one material doesnt burn and the other goes up in flames like pine needles. the material would allow the fire to spread a little faster than the spec'd material should have.

BTW i hope you park your 02 supercrew outside those actually DO spontaneously catch on fire and suspose it might matter then. you ever heard of a tundra or tacoma just catching on fire??......... NOPE

hemi lol, you do realize a service bulletin is basically a memo on how to complete service in a specified way. It's not a recall. It's there to help the technician perform maintenance in a consistent way, saving everyone time and money. It's not even covered under warranty if the vehicle is out of warranty. By the way, there was a story on here about Ford being investigated for the EB. Stop being so paranoid and defensive.
Bottom line, good for Toyota for correcting the error.

@Hemi lol. I have nothing against Toyota. I actually worked at the TMMTX plant for 3 years. Was there for the equipment install and the very first builds.

For someone who says they have all the facts your acting like a fanboi. Plain and simple. The fact is a part on the seat heater assy is causing the issue. I applaud Toyota for stepping up and doing the right thing. You need to take a chill pill. Everybody on PUTC is not against Toyota. You may want to check up on the facts. See below from John Hanson

Hanson said Toyota has identified a fix.


@hemi lol ...
fyi I had my 02 serviced for a possible bad mc brake switch long ago, ALL SET. However.."you ever heard of a tundra or tacoma just catching on fire??......... NOPE" my spare tire NEVER at risk of dropping out of truck on highway.
I know I don't have steering issues.
nor does my rear end lock up.
oh and a Ram fire hazard..
I wanted to just talk about the subject posted but.. someone wanted to jump out of line. Being civil.

FYI Toyata hasn't "corrected" anything yet, just a stop sell order is place until resolved.

As far as toyota being on top of things, they paid record fines for delaying at least 2 recalls for unintended acceleration and defective steering rods. I'm not saying other manufacturers don't have recalls, they all do. Just calling out on something someone said. I'm tired of people thinking toyota is the greatest manufacturer in the world. They make appliances, nothing spectacular. Camry ✔. Prius ✔. Tundra ✔ etc...

Does it really matter if it is a part of the seat heater or the "fabric that is on it." The point is there is a problem with the tundra that is causing them to stop sales, and it involves the seat heater. I was just standing up for mark williams since his story mirrors every other story on this. I have nothing major against toyota. Reliable vehicles but they are mostly boring and overpriced. I would probably buy one if they weren't always overpriced, boring, and I just don't like the foreign look. And as I stated at the beginning, I don't think this is a big deal. I don't know why you guys get so worked up about this. Makes sense that Hemi lol is a toyota salesman. Funny how he belittles me and then talks about how he knows how to treat people well. Then there is Gregory J getting all worked up because he thinks we think this is a big deal, which apparently nobody really does. Calm down. It's going to be OK.

@gregory J
I understand the story perfectly well. What I said about it was mostly quoted indirectly from a toyota spokesman. And I wasn't referring to this as a recall. I was saying that this Isn't a big deal. And I was saying that recalls (which I know this is not YET a recall) are usually not a big deal. Did you miss that part??? Looks like you are the one having a hard time UNDERSTANDING. You are misinterpreting what I said, when I made it pretty clear.

My comments were made out of anger with Toyota, my New 2011 Tacoma was less than 1 year old with less than 4000 miles and ALL my warranty issues were rejected. First my alloy wheels became rusted and pitted, then my chrome bumper rusted, next my heater fan made a ticking noise, and the final straw was the bubble paint spots on the interior door. To add final insult a friend who bought a used 2010 Tacoma NOT from a Toyota dealer got brand new alloy wheels and a heater blower motor free under warranty. I got rid of it while it still had resale value cause I knew of the future problems. My new F-150 hauls and tows more PLUS gets better gas mileage! I love my Ford Dealer only because I hate my former Toyota Dealer more. Toyota will never rip me off again cause will never own another one!

@Mark Williams: The title of the article states that the faulty part was a seat heater, but the article states it is the fabric.

Why the difference?

@BeeBee: thanks for pointing out.

There is a cloth pad that is part of the construction of the seat heater that is the problem. This article makes it seem that the problem is the top fabric of the seat (like the part that you can actually see and touch and sit on). I read another article that points out that it is actually the fabric WITHIN the seat. There is a cloth pad that is integrated into the construction of the seat heater and covers the heating element. That is why they say this is a problem with the seat heater. I imagine if there is a recall they will replace the seat heater only and not the whole seat. If HEMI LOL would do some research before going on his rant he would have realized this.

Sounds like inspiration for a Midnight Oil song. How do we sit while the seats are burning?

@Hemi Lo--I just state it is good Toyota is proactive. You are a typical salesmen and have just proved my point. I am far from being a fan boy having owed about every vehicle under the sun. You are the fan boy who has come on this site pressing your agenda. Mark Williams is merely writing a story and does not have an agenda against Toyota. If I do buy a Toyota in the future it will not be from someone like you because of your attitude. I would like to know where you sell Toyotas so that when I decide to buy one I will not buy one from you. Lose your attitude and that huge chip on your shoulder.

This same article is on TTAC which says it is the cloth seats only with the heaters which covers Corollas, Camrys, and Avalons as well. From the TTAC article leather seats with heaters are not having this problem. I guess Hemi lo will have to get on TTAC as well and accuse them of false reporting. The lo in his name should have a w after it for "low". Seriously it appears that Toyota is taking care of this and it will no longer be an issue.

Seat heaters in a truck? Sheesh! I'm still giddy over having standard A/C, power steering and an AM/FM radio in mine.

@the real Mike, even the Hyundai Elantra has seat heaters now


Posted by: Gregory J. | Feb 1, 2014 10:08:30 PM

Ya, and Elvis is still alive. lol

Toyota to pay $32.4 million fine for recalls.


@jeff s

it funny that comment you made. I love how everyone on here knows so much. Toyota does not build a single vehicle with cloth seats and seat heaters. heated seats are only on leather, period. the material on the inside is the issue which i clearly pointed out earlier despide beebe's false claims of how i know nothing....... point is this article is bogus and aims to damage the perception of a company with false claims. being a fanboi and understanding how vehicles are constructed are two very different things. furthermore, pointing out these differences because i see them and you dont doesnt make me a fanboi with a chip on my shoulder it means in my line of work i'm more versed than you on the subject and whether you agree or not you pay attention to what im saying because you may just learn something. i may learn from you too btw, so dont get your panties in a bunch since i said you could learn from me. thats what this site is all about. BUT, false headlines misleading people is just crap!

@hemi lol, Toyota has been on a roll with huge recalls. One after another. Cover ups, congress hearings and huge fines.
I can honestly say Toyota's squeaky clean image are day's far behind.

I really like these kind of articles.

It really brings out the best in the bloggers (read fanboi's)

Hemi lol, you really don't need to defend Toyota. It doesn't matter the how or why so much as Toyota is fixing the problem for it's customers.

It's just lately Toyota has had quite a few fixer upperer's.

Sales will dip or sales will not be as strong as they could have been because of the last few years.

It will be hard to measure the 'what if's' regarding lost sales due to the quality control bloopers.

the truck that is changing it all. lol lol

If its trying to fix ugly it has failed miserably.

Toyotas next commercial should say hey we have big big brakes. They only finished 4th in stopping power behind gm ford and fiat but hey there big!

lol, Supercrew 02 should look at what he's driving, more Fords burn then any other brand. Lets see, Super Duties had steering recalls, ecoboost, the jury is still out...they might do a recall, if they knew the fix! How about the super duty recall, but only for ambulances? The people that bought non ambulances, no recall, maybe they aren't imporyanct enough for Ford?

They only have 7 recalls on the Escape in 30 months, the same people will deisign Phords new bucket of bolts 150.

Oh course, when you use the same trans since 2009 or so, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Low tech trans, and yeah, complete with slamming into 1st gear feature, when slowing.

Do you want to talk older super duties? Noting but issues.

This is funny, hemi lol gets wound up when they have to admitt their Toyotas aren't near as perfect as portrayed.

I wonder if he will keep pulling out his consumer retards magazine, to show to shoppers?

That and he will lie about Tundra mileage...

@Big Al--I agree with your statement. I guess Hemi lo or whatever his real name is doesn't like to read any negative comments about Toyota. After reading the comments on this site there are no brands immune from negative comments, so get use to it. This article and any negative comments about Toyota don't seem to be hurting sales of Toyotas.

@Hemi lo--Obviously you have not read the article on TTAC because it mentions non leather seats as having the problem. Sounds like you might have been sitting on one of those defective seats because your ass is hot and the heat from your ass is going to your head. You never told us where you sell Toyotas. I do happen to like the Tacoma but I would not buy anything from you since you are a pompous ass. As I have said before that Toyota will fix this as they have fixed the rusty frames on their trucks. My neighbor had the warranty on his Tacoma extended along with his frame cleaned and rust proofed at no cost to him.

@jeff s

Toyota sales for January are not so good, but Nissan's compact truck sales are WAY up. Hmmm.

@papa jim--Thanks for the information. I have always liked Nissan (Datsun) trucks and would like to see them get back in the truck game. Nissan made some great compact trucks for their time and the King cab was the first extended cab compact truck. At the same time I would like to see Toyota do well. I am anxious to see the new Colorado/Canyon and hope they give GM a needed boost. The next few years will be trying but exciting for the truck market.

Ok so here is the real skinny.........
The material on the seat heater assembly is what is in question. STILL this does NOT mean the seat heater assembly is defective or somehow could cause a problem. A petition has been filed as well as a non compliance because there is no reason for concern here.

As far as JEFF S is concerned the vehicles with cloth seats ARE NOT AFFECTED PER TOYOTA READ CAREFULLY. Why would you quote a joke company like ttac they are like the Star magazine of cars....... really man pick a more credible source. PS why would i want you to know who i work for? that way you can stalk me or cause a problem for me? really man why dont you tell everyone what you do and where you work?

To everyone else: The reason im defensive here is because anytime Toyota has anything they bring to the media that isnt positive it gets twisted and made into a "fish story" and it gets real old reading the ignorant bashing from people that have no clue of what they are talking about fueled by BS headlines like this one that would lead people to believe the seat heaters will cause a fire which couldnt be farther from the truth!

for the second yr in a row Toyota is the highest in recalls and the over all leader for 4 of the last 5 yrs.

toyota was 1st in recalls
fiat/Chrysler was second
Honda was third.

so much for foreign car quality ...!

oh what a feeling...recalled Toyota's.

@ hemi lol. Thanks for the info although you are a bit late to the party. I posted that info 2 days ago while you kept ranting on about the title of the article. Not everyone here is against Toyota. Your over aggressive attitude is what people are responding to.

I am not against Toyota because as a corporation they have been very proactive on these problems. Toyota has taken the initiative to do something on their own. I do take issue with Mr. Hemi lo who I see as a marketer and does more harm to the Toyota name. Hemi lo is a typical sales person that could be hawking anything and has an answer for everything. I will not call him directly a flimflam man but he comes very close to it. I will read what Toyota has to say on the issue and I will believe them because their reputation is at stake, but i give little thought to an opinion of a car salesmen which by their very nature are of questionable ethics, although I have meet a few honest ones. Hemi lo needs to go back to pushing Toyota metal, break time is over.

PS hemi lo--I would not bother to stalk you, I just don't want to buy anything from such a pompous ass as you. I prefer a salesperson who is respectful of their customers. As long as I know that you do not sell vehicles in N KY or Cincinnati I will be happly. I will probably at sometime buy a Toyota but I do not want you to earn a commission off of my money. I do not consciously buy from pompous asses.

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