2003 Tacoma- Frame Rust?

Hey guys so here is my deal- I bought my 03 Tacoma in June as a college graduation present to myself. I am the second owner, and the body and interior are in superb condition. I love this thing like a child, and am planning to do a lot of work here in the next few weeks (filters, plugs/wires, oil, man. trans fluid, all that good stuff).

HOWEVER- I took the truck to a small local mechanic to get the muffler replaced, as it had a few fairly large holes in it, and upon picking it up he said that there was a fairly good amount of rust on the underbody. I was looking up some rust treatment options, and stumbled across a frame recall for 03 tacomas due to the frame rust issue. I could be just being paranoid, but does anyone have any:

1) Suggestions for rust treatment
2) Any idea if toyota is addressing the rust issue still

Thanks fellas

 

They are supposed to honor the recall up to 15 years after the vehicle was made, so you should be good until 2018 to get it looked at. The recall depends on what state you live in, particularly the rust belt. If you live in Arizona, they wont do it, but if you live in say Minnesota or any other rust belt state, they are obligated to replace it. If you had a 1999 or older Tacoma, they just buy it back and crush it, but the 2000-2004 trucks are covered. Go to your dealer and have them run the VIN and they will tell you if there has been any prior rust treatment applied to the frame and if you can get a new one. Good luck! I myself am looking at the same problem with my 04, the frame isn't rusted through anywhere yet but has a lot of flaky surface rust on it that I worry about. I live in Montana so the recall would be a go for me if I can get them to do it. If not, I am just going to save up and have a custom made frame made for it.

 

there's been recent posts about people getting the recall done so its worth a shot. I'd take it to a dealer and see what they say before doing anything yourself.

 

I agree, do this first and see what happens. You might be surprised. Danny on here got his replaced in like 2 weeks and his truck has almost 300k on it so if they would do that I'm sure they would do it for yours if you pressured them enough.

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/350690-frame-recall-success.html
Check this thread out OP

 

No

 

My understanding is the truck has/had to have been registered in one of the recall states and had to have been inspected and treated (if necessary) by a dealer during a specific time frame, otherwise they are not obligated for the extended frame warranty. You can look up your VIN on the Toyota Owners site to see if it shows the inspection in the service records, I think in the 2010 timeframe.

 

Mine has been undercoated, looked it up online and I can see the undercoating on the frame but it was a crappy job and is peeling off in places and rust is showing through so I should be able to get it replaced if I want. Just waiting for the time to get it done, probably over the summer when I can drive my little car without having to worry about getting stuck.

 

Call this number for Toyota - 888.270.9371

Ed

 

I live out in NM so a Tacoma from out here probably wouldn't qualify. But what if I bought a Tacoma used from one of the qualifying states. Would I be able to get it covered?

 

Cool, let us know what they say.