The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Tacoma. The contact was driving 15 mph in a residential driveway when the ball joint fractured in half and the front passenger wheel completely fractured from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed then to a local repair facility where it was diagnosed that the ball joint was defective and would need replacing. The manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 110,000.

- Ben Lomond, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Tacoma. The contact was traveling 55 mph when the front passenger wheel came off. Right before the wheel came off, the vehicle started pulling to the right. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic who stated that the vehicle experienced failure in the lower ball joint. The contact spoke with the manufacturer and was told that the vehicle was not included in the recall campaign 05V225000, suspension. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 385000.

- Redding, CA, USA

This is a long shot in the dark but its worth a try. Toyota has a recall out for the 2004 Toyota Tacoma ball joint. The recall summary : on certain sport utility vehicles, due to manufacturing issue in the front suspension lower ball joint, there is a possibility that the surface of the ball joint may have been scratched. The ball joint may eventually experience excessive wear and looseness, resulting in increased steering effort. Consequence: The lower ball joint may separate from the knuckle causing loss of steering control and a crash could occur. Remedy: Dealer will replace the front suspension lower ball joints free of charge. The recall began on July 5, 2005. I own a 2004 Toyota Tacoma and I was coming home from los angeles my steering felt kind of funny felt like I had a flat tire so I pulled off the road and checked the tires but everything seemed to be fine I continued driving I came into town and turned onto vista chino off of the hwy 111 in palm springs all of a sudden the whole front of my truck collapsed and went sliding down the road not being able to stop thank god it didn't do that on the freeway or even in town someone could of lost a life I had it towed to the shell station at the corner I called Toyota and had it taken over to the dealer. I looked online to see if there were any recalls and sure enough there was. I called the recall number corporate Toyota they asked for my VIN# they said that my truck does not fall in under the recall. They had a tech fly out from the factory and said the same thing because my truck was manufactured on a different date. I have done some research and there a lot of consumers that are running into the same problem that I have been through with the VIN#. I could of lost my life or taken someone else's in this collision. Its obvious it is the same problem in the recall, tires just don't break at the ball joint while your driving tires should stay intact to your vehicle.

- Palm Springs, CA, USA

Feb 6,2010 as I was driving South on figueroa in highland park, the lower ball joint on right front tire completely broke causing my tire to fold under the truck. My vehicle is a 2004 Tacoma Toyota with101,560 miles. Since I was going about 20 mph, since it was raining at the time, there were no injuries, however if the failure had occurred on the freeway at much higher speeds, the failure could have resulted in my losing control and leading to a very serious accident, resulting in serious injury or even death. I had my truck towed to nearest repair shop and had the lower ball joint replaced. I went to the dealer where I originally purchased my truck, and I was dismissed, with service manager saying it was out of warranty, and the failure could happen any time. I did have two more contacts with this dealer (bob smith Toyota in la cresenta) but no help at all. I reported it to Toyota customer assistance in torrance, ca. And was told that this was not covered by any recall and there was nothing they could do (I spoke with dawn and the reference # is 10021153 of my call). I did more research and found that there was a recall on my model and year of my truck for the exact failure that occurred. The NHTSA campaign id# is 05V225000 and covers Toyota model Tacoma from 2001 to 2004. The NHTSA action # is EA04024. The description of the recall is the "component front control arm lower ball joint". neverthe less I was told twice that my truck was not covered by the recall. Since the recall is listed by NHTSA I don't understand why I was told my truck was not covered. I feel this is very dangerous defect that can result in serious accidents. Also, what other action can I take to have the other lower ball checked to be sure it is safe, or replaced if necessary. I am retired, and I need to use this truck daily but feel very nervous when ever I drive it.

- Tujunga, CA, USA