Rust - warranty - '08 Tacoma

158,000 km on a 2008 Tacoma. Rust and bubbling all along the top of the windshield. Went in for the usual 2 hour wait at the dealership - no warranty coverage. Reason - caused by rock chips. How do I fix it? - Oh, they can't tell me because they don't have a body man on staff. My question - who determined it was rock chips if there is no body man on staff - ahhh - the Service Manager. There are no outward signs of chipping - all the rust and bubbling has started below the surface. Looking for advice on where to go from here. The service I have received on both my Sienna and Tacoma has guaranteed that I will never by a new Toyota again.

 

Welcome to TW.

The service from the dealer is not a reflection upon Toyota as a whole. Just on the dealership that you are going to. Try a different one?

 

id speak to the GM. then if it doesn't work out call toyota

 

these truck do get a lot of stone chips on the roof, from my experience seeing them come in my shop (and mine own truck). If you get them to paint under warranty then good for you, but its pretty easy to figure out that if the rust is in the middle of the panel the most likely reason would be some sort of chip out of the paint to expose the metal under to the elements.

If you do get it repainted, I can't stress how important it would be to get that clear stone guard on the front 10-14" it to stop it from repeating. Another option would be to lightly sand all the little areas and use some clear coat touch up to seal the paint, and you can always just vinyl wrap the roof black (or whatever) as a cheaper option. The vinyl will add some protection also. just my $0.02

 

Thanks for the input & feedback. Here's a couple pictures. The first is my main concern, but it is starting to look the same along the entire width of the windshield. The second picutre has a chip in the middle which is definitely from a rock. My untrained eye tells me the rest of the corrosion was not caused by rock chips. I'm going to try going up the ladder, but won't hold my breath. Love the truck - hate the service.

 

ya that sucks, mine was similar but had a few further back too. has the windshield been replaced? if its stock and the rust looks like its starting below the rubber you might have a case, but looks like most of it started (from the pics) at the edge of the bend. and if the windshield has been replace I guarantee that they will blame the windshield repair for scratching the paint off.

Roof repair sucks because to fix that properly you should really remove the windshield for it. As I said before if you do fix it, I can't stress how important it is to get that clear stone guard on it to protect if from happening again. good luck

 

call Toyota corporate tell them whats up and get a claim number. the dealer will help you better then.

 

Yeah I wonder about if his windshield got replaced.
Mine on my 95 did that from water getting into the seal.

 

I'd be willing to bet the windshield was replaced at some point and during the removal process the paint was scored, allowing moisture to penetrate the paint. Have seen that several times. Spray it with a good corrosion inhibitor and that should keep it from spreading.