Toto Flush lever complaint

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mrswohls

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Of the thousands of TOTO toilets I've sold, I rarely get calls for handles. But when I do, I can get them.

Seriously Terry? I have five in my house and 3 have broken exactly where the original poster explained and I'm sure it's only time for the other two!
 

M A Thomas

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Seriously Terry? I have five in my house and 3 have broken exactly where the original poster explained and I'm sure it's only time for the other two!

I have only one but it is failing exactly as described. No, neither my wife nor I flush with our feet. "Hey, not my problem, I subbed that out!" isn't an acceptable excuse. Yes, moving parts wear-- that's why they should be designed to resist wear, which this part wasn't. Six years to failure is fine if the part is cheap and easy to replace, which this part isn't. I make my living designing homes. No more Toto products in my specs; I can't trust the quality.

toto_thu068.jpg
 
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jeffreyt2000

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I have only one but it is failing exactly as described. No, neither my wife nor I flush with our feet. "Hey, not my problem, I subbed that out!" isn't an acceptable excuse. Yes, moving parts wear-- that's why they should be designed to resist wear, which this part wasn't. Six years to failure is fine if the part is cheap and easy to replace, which this part isn't. I make my living designing homes. No more Toto products in my specs; I can't trust the quality.

Thanks to this forum for ideas on fixing. Have the exact same issue with the handle (2 Toto toilets, same handle PN 9592) in the 18 months I have lived in my house both have now broken. And like Thomas, we don't flush with our feet.
 

WJcandee

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I have only one but it is failing exactly as described. No, neither my wife nor I flush with our feet. "Hey, not my problem, I subbed that out!" isn't an acceptable excuse. Yes, moving parts wear-- that's why they should be designed to resist wear, which this part wasn't. Six years to failure is fine if the part is cheap and easy to replace, which this part isn't. I make my living designing homes. No more Toto products in my specs; I can't trust the quality.

Well that's just dumb. And I'm sure you doing that will send a powerful message to Toto.
 

k9gardner

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I was pretty surprised to look inside my new Toto Drake and find this crappy flush rod. I didn't know these were all generic. It's kind of like buying a Mercedes and finding that the steering system is the same as on a Radio Flyer wagon. It it works flawlessly, I guess it's fine. But it begs the question; would it work better if it were better?
 

WJcandee

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I was pretty surprised to look inside my new Toto Drake and find this crappy flush rod

That flush rod is a hell of a lot nicer than the rod that you'll find in a lot of toilets.

We have several of them, never a problem. If people jam anything really hard, over time, it will break.

As to generic parts, the genius of your Toto is the design of the trapway, and the flawless execution of the hard stuff to make, like the firing of stuff made out of clay.

It is also a good thing that various parts will work in the toilet. For example, Toto uses a number of different fill valves. One they make, one they buy from the US company Korky, which also makes their universal replacement fill valve. I personally prefer the Korky valve. Similarly, most toilets in the US use a standard fill valve. Lots of manufacturers install the Fluidmaster 400A as their fill valve, which is a cheaper valve, made in Mexico, but which also does the job.

Although Toto makes a flapper for its toilets, there are other flappers out there that will fit and will work well. American Standard has a zillion owners of its Champion 4s who wish that American Standard had just used a standard flush valve in the toilet, because they have had to disassemble the toilet and replace their proprietary flush valves due to leaks. Indeed, Korky now has a replacement flush valve which uses a flapper; this product will fit in the Champion 4, installing essentially the system that Toto has always used.

In short, what you bought is a high-quality product that is exceptionally-well-designed, exceptionally-well-made, and will last for decades. In that time, you will likely have to replace some wear parts. The ones in your Toto will always be easy to find and inexpensive to buy.

Now go ahead and love your toilet.
 

Wallijonn

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I really can't believe that someone would decide not to buy a Toto because of the handle.

I bumped this thread because my second Drake has a little too much play in the handle before it engages. The ADA Drake lever/handle has no slop, so I'll be taking this non-ADA Drake's lever out and adding the JB Weld to it, in hopes of getting it "tight."
 

Spiderman

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A fix

Here is how I repaired this kind of lever: I cut 5mm off the end of a wire hanger from the closet (then put the hanger back), then heated up a pinch of polymorph plastic to 70C (with my lighter on a tin altoids lid) until it was clear, then moulded it by hand in to a ball and jammed it into the space above the damaged metal. Then at the now hot plastic filled gap I insted the bit of metal hanger. The plastic cools white, is strong and hard as nylon and the bit of hanger provides a metal wear point that is tougher than the original casting... better than new. I also reinforced the ABS bracket with the stuff since that can break too... 10 minute fix and I used <1% of my $10 bag of polymorph. (oh and I used some lighter fluid too)
View attachment 19321
I hate calling manufacturers...

SUPER HELPFUL TIP! THANK YOU

I usedsome of my kids melting beads and the 5mm of a coat hanger, old spoon on the stove to melt the beads and 3 min later it was fixed.
toto toilet handle repair
toto 9592 handle self repair fixed
TOTO THU068 self repair $0.10 FIX
don't get ripped off by TOTO for a new lever
 

Ruth S.J.

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SUPER HELPFUL TIP! THANK YOU

I usedsome of my kids melting beads and the 5mm of a coat hanger, old spoon on the stove to melt the beads and 3 min later it was fixed.
toto toilet handle repair
toto 9592 handle self repair fixed
TOTO THU068 self repair $0.10 FIX
don't get ripped off by TOTO for a new lever
 

Ruth S.J.

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I agree it is a total rip off that Toto uses a defective part like this. I have just taken apart two toilets and went online to find replacement parts. Ran into this forum, only to find many others have this exact problem with their Toto handles. Toto should be ashamed and I think they should respond to all of us consumers!
 

CountryBumkin

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SUPER HELPFUL TIP! THANK YOU

I usedsome of my kids melting beads and the 5mm of a coat hanger, old spoon on the stove to melt the beads and 3 min later it was fixed.
toto toilet handle repair
toto 9592 handle self repair fixed
TOTO THU068 self repair $0.10 FIX
don't get ripped off by TOTO for a new lever

Ha. Good one. I went over to my in-laws to do my bi-monthly repair trip (my wife calls it dinner).
I never know exactly what problems they have for me until I get there, but last time it was the broken flush handle. My father-law managed to keep it working until I got there with a piece of coat hanger and the elastic off his old underwear.
:)
 
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Kreemoweet

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I just had to get a new trip lever for a client's Toto toilet. It had the same crappy handle, and the same failure mode as
shown in previous posts in this thread. This was quite obviously a design/manufacture flaw, and not a "wear" issue at all.
Toto has been remiss in not making things right for its customers.

The replacement trip lever I got, Toto part #THU004, has a substantially heavier handle, with the weak socket part
deeper and reinforced - the way the original should have been made. The rod may be made out of actual brass, perhaps
unlike the original, which was entirely covered with white, fluffy corrosion.
 

Kate Hubbell

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We have a 6 month old toto drake eco in a third bathroom whose flush handle has failed. It has been flushed less than 100 times, mostly by me, and I have successfully maintained dodgy toilets of all kinds on 4 continents. Since I wash my hands after flushing, I feel no need to use my feet to flush...
The white plastic nut does not appear stripped, neither does the grey plastic receiving end where they screw together, but this appears to be the fail point. It appears there is less than 1/4 thread that the two have in common...perhaps these are incompatible parts?
We have 2 more toilets to replace. If Toto doesn't replace these flimsy mechanism without cost to us, they won't be Totos. But I'm not completely confident that if we fix this, we won't later get a fail on the part that this post is about, apparently a second weak/cheap point.
Happy to hear any suggestions.

BrokenTotoFlush.jpg
 

RocketMan

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Can I just replace the plastic socket piece (trip lever spud?)that attaches to the handle without buying the whole trip lever and handle assembly? Having a tough time locating that part?
 
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Rick Berard

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Hello, I used WaterWeld for the handle and bought a standard 5/8" x 18 nut with a 3/4" washer. The side mount handles use standard threads. Front mounts use reverse threads. Make the hardware is water safe. I bought zinc ones because I was at the local hardware store and that is what they had. I needed to go there to measure the nut and make sure I got the size correct. Don't over tighten size the metal nut will be much stronger than the plastic pieces and the plastic piece is screws onto is not a standard item. Break it and you will need to buy a new assembly.
While I had the WaterWeld out, I removed my other handles and braced the back side as well as filled in the groove that was most certainly being worn into the part. It is definitely a wear item and will fail eventually.
 

Tung80

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Pinging this thread to provide an update..... I experienced this failure on a ~10 year old unit that was subjected to moderate use. I ordered the replacement assembly (THU068#CP). I was pleased to find that Toto has improved the part. See the photo below - they've thickened the wall (circled) and added a stiffening rib (arrow). In the process of applying Steel JB Weld epoxy to handles on my other units to prevent similar failure, I also noticed that the handle on a unit I purchased and installed about a year ago also had this area similarly strengthened. So it appears that Toto did respond to the complaints.
Toto Flush Handle Assy THU068-CP.jpg
 

Koa

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IMG_0606.JPG


FYI... Home Depot (Hawaii) is closing out on these levers for less than $2.00. I tried it, it works. Nut is same thread and fits Toto lever. This lever isn't near as well built as Toto's newer one. But it will get you by.
 
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