Rust Recall: I'm Getting My Frame Replaced

Spoke to mine Harrisburg pa dealer this week.
Had my truck inspected & failed in November.
Was just told trucks inspected in October do not even have their frames in the dealer yet.
6 months & waiting.

 

I find it incredible that Toyota would not offer a portion of the cost of the frame replacement toward a new Tacoma. I was told the cost is $11,000. My truck is worth about $9000. Does this make any sense? Plus I am driving a Camry for 3-4 months when I really need a truck! I can't believe more isn't being made of this on the Internet… I would appreciate any links you can provide as I try to persuade my dealer to 1) make me a deal on a new Tacoma and 2) get me a Tacoma loaner.

 

1)trade in your old taco. The dealer will accept the truck as a trade in without the frame being replaced first.
2)tell the dealer you need a 4wd truck. You may get a taco, but I doubt it. Most of the rentals seem to be Chevy or ford. At least it's a truck.
Good luck.

 

What is the newest year Tacoma affected by the frame recall?

 

I had to take it in to a dealership. I specifically asked them to check for the rust mentioned in the service campaign. They told me I would have to take it back to New Jersey (where my truck lived out it's life so far 67k miles) or to the closest state the was in the service campaign. Luckily I know the service Manager at a dealership in SLC. He said for me to call Toyota Corp. They got me to a Special Projects agent and now they are transferring my VIN to a service campaign that will allow the SLC dealership do the swap. Unfortunately, it will take about 5 - 6 months to get the frame here, and they said it will take another 3 weeks for them to do the work. I have some very bad holes in frame though. Some big enough to fit my clod-hopper of a hand into. So I am taking it easy on the truck until it is fixed.

Good Luck.

 

Hi guys! I have a 2003 Tacoma access cab with 170,000 that just failed inspection due to several large holes in areas of the frame. I took it to dealer a few yrs ago when I first got the frame recall notice. There were no holes at the time and they undercoated it with something and sent me on my way. By taking it in for that, I was entitled to an additional 15yr unlimited miles warrenty on the frame, which is saving my butt now cause there putting a new frame on at no cost to me. They said it takes 2 days to install frame, but there so backordered that it will take 4 months to get one. They told me im lucky cause trucks a few yrs newer than mine may have to wait up to one year for a frame. They are paying for a rental for me but will not give me another truck. Im driving a Rav4 which im lucky cause they wanted to give me a corolla which I would not fit in. Toyota customers affected by this recall are irate with the situation mainly due to the wait time to get a frame to the dealer. I live in PA where a lot of tacomas are being recalled. I would like to give a shoutout to Hallmans Superior Toyota in Erie, PA who is handling my situation. There customer service is less than satisfactory and there rental dept is worse than that! Do u guys think its unacceptable when ur vechicle is recalled for this and Toyota sends you out in rental with less than a quarter tank of fuel in it? I DO! Its not the owners fault we are in this situation in the first place. Each month I have to take the rental back in to renew the contract which more time I have to spend at the dealer which cause high blood pressure and each time there has been a customer there expressing there opnion on how upset there are being affected by a frame recall. Toyota needs to continue to put there customers first and keep there quality a top priority or risk loosing us dedicated Toyota owners and watching there profitability go through the floor. My family is an all Toyota family but I will never do business with the stated dealership ever again due to the handling of this situation and previous issues.

 

I live a horror story with my frame replacement, toyota give my truck to a little contractor body shop to do the frame replacement. 5 months after i left my truck to this shop, it's the horror...my truck got lost of prestone, oil, grease, cardan boot got hole, broke my lock gas cap, lost my little cap for my auto transmission shifter, lost prestone on cooler transmission. When i start, the truck shake like hell. my brake pedal go to the floor, no power, my cardan boot explose and splash grease all around my wheels. my transmission shifter make a clocking sound when i take a bump.. and he scratch my front bumper. the stearing high pressure ose spill too. no alignement made too what can i do against toyota. my truck is a f(*& piece of crap now..

 

i lost 5 hour of job for this incovenient to.. the shop guy call me 2 time on different day to tell me my truck is ready, and the 2 time my truck spill oil ... and is not ready. i need help please....

 

Hate hearing the horror stories, sure hope they resolved this on newer models. Kind of makes me question not getting the extra rust warranty, but my thoughts are there should never be a question of a frame outlasting the rest of the vehicle! Geez!

 

These are frames that have failed ... those look like passers from here .. Visible stickers and black front cab mounts , something is wrong with this picture .. (toyota tech btw)

 

Frames are made in Mexico now. Previously they were made in Ohio. The U.S. Company in Ohio sold out to Mexican Company. They shorted material in frame to Toyota and are paying for the second generation recall.
My 2006 developed a hole in the frame in May 2015. Took it to dealer same day May 1. I was told 2-3 months for frame replacement. Date has since changed to 6 months and before end of year...hopefully she said! I did not take the rental in May since I have other vehicles but need a truck for the months of September thru Novemeber. Dealer gave me a sweet 2015 Tacoma loaner at the end of August! I'm pretty attached to my own truck since it has custom paint and was a gift to my husband for his 50th birthday...he passed away 3 years ago. I'm looking forward to it being back home and driving it again safely.

 

Wrangler,are u sure these are not new frames?
They are sitting on pallets designed for shipping.
I was looking at new frames made in Mexico,sitting outside in pa,that we're starting to rust.
Sunshine,be patient,and don't rush them too much.
I had my '07 inspected in November '14,and did not get it done until 2 weeks ago.
I kept calling in July hounding the dealership until they got me in.
Problem is,2 techs did my truck in just over 1 day,battery is dead & 4wd does not work.

 

You are making the erroneous assumption that Toyota is footing the bill. Fact is that this is being paid for out of a combination of settlement with the frame manufacturer (Dana), and insurance if the across the board repair costs exceed the settlement. And THAT means properly accounting for the money being put into it.

On top of that, Toyota has to be conscious of the impact there would be as a result of an excess supply of older trucks. They can't offer a discount on a new truck as an option, because that sets a legal precedent, which means that *everybody* will be entitled to it.

Their only alternative to repair is buyback, and the terms of the settlement would require that the vehicles bought back be crushed. You may think that splitting the difference or being handed the full $11k would be worth your while, but remember that there is more to consider than the simple value of the vehicle. There are storage, transportation, tracking, and disposal costs associated with it. Remember from the Simpsons, "its 20 bucks worth of steel". They aren't going to recover a whole lot from the recycling. And in addition, there is even more bad press from it when you have to redirect most vehicles in a range to the crushers prematurely. That never works out well.

Now if you want to negotiate a trade-in with your dealer on a new truck, that is between you and your dealer. I'm sure they would be happy to offer you half of the trucks post-repaired value for it against a new one.


Now as far as your choice of loaner... you could probably argue yourself into a more suitable vehicle if you can demonstrate a concrete need for a pickup rather than it being purely a luxury item. That generally means that you incur a financial burden as a result of the vehicle. I'll warn you though, it doesn't mean that you get a Tacoma as a rental. Definitely doesn't mean 4x4. Might not even mean a Toyota, if they don't have access to a Toyota truck as a loaner. You could end up driving a Fiat.

 

I think you have a few of your facts mixed up. The "made in mexico" vs "made in ohio" didn't change as a function of the transfer. The plant (building, land) where the frames were being manufactured was transferred to Metalsa, which is a mexican company. This was done in 2010. The frames under recall were made in the plant under Dana ownership. Not Metalsa. FWIW: That plant was in Stockton CA (for feeding the Nummi plant in Fremont). Not Ohio, not Mexico.

Indication is that Toyota Tacoma frame manufacturing was transferred to Apodaca Mexico (Monterrey) in 2011 for feeding TMMTX in San Antonio TX. Again though, this was well after Dana (the problem) was out of the picture.

http://www.omegamorgan.com/pressrelease/omega-morgan-earns-preferred-supplier-status/


Also check out this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKkXTJdjhSM
Uploaded Mar 3, 2011, probably just after it was recorded.
The omega morgan link says 6 weeks for the move. So May/June 2011 is when the first frames started coming off the line in Mexico.

 

my damn steering pump or high pressure ose lose oil, and toyota won,t repair it, i gonna go screaming a little bit tommorow.

 

It's my understanding toy techs remove PS fluid & lines during the swap process.
Call the service manager @ the dealer.
They should fix this with no issue.

 

All issue is fixed, I had to go in another garage. the guy found a lot of problem. My truck run like new now. the guy who do aligment put the bolt on wrong side... the big bearing in the middle of the driving shaft is on the wrong side too. the hose of my steering not screwed on the frame too and the leak on the ose is ok .. HOoooooooo god ,after all that problem, i'm now happy!

 

Glad to see Motorcars was good to you, that's where I go for service. I need to get my 2006 Tacoma in for an inspection. The service rep told me that they generally spray and not replace. I have hope for a replacement then, my frame is very rusty. Was the actual hole near the cat on the passenger rail?

 

Was wondering about how long it takes to get frame replaced. On 2-13-2015 the dealer showed me holes in my frame and said it would be about 5 weeks and today 10-11-15 they havent contacted me, but I have contacted them 3 times and all they said we will let you know. And last month Toyota sent me another recall on the leaf springs saying they need repaired also and they were working on a solution and it would be around the first of the year for that repair. I love my Tacoma and Im starting to hate Toyota! Any responces on this matter would be appreciated since Toyota cant make up their minds what to do and when to do it.

 

It all depends....... My dealership said they had ordered a shitload of new frames back in January and they finally took delivery in early September. At that point, they began scheduling appointments and have been knocking them out ever since. I got lucky....someone cancelled and my appointment was moved up about 4 weeks (that was about 2 weeks ago).

It depends on your dealership and when they ordered frames and how much of a backlog there is in getting them - with a gazillion dealerships and lots of frames to produce.

Same with the leaf springs.... Everyone who is getting a new frame, is also getting new leaf springs - so again, a backlog in needed parts.