2002 broke frame..need help!

Hey guys .

Bad news my 2002 tacomas frame broke today ...does anyone know if Toyota is still doing the buy back program for these years ...heard you get 1.5 times kbb vaule....has anyone done this or know any info on it ? Thanks ...tough day for a taco owner

 

Believe that is long gone but I could be wrong.

 

If your frame was inspected by Toyota before December 2010 and they had undercoated it then your truck should be covered by the 15 year extended frame warranty. The 2001-2004 Tacomas don't get bought back, they will actually replace your frame instead.

 

Not news I wanted but thanks

 

And my local dealer said frame recall is expired ...Toyota has got lots of unhappy customers cause of this ...sad

 

Did a quick search and found this:

Oh!... and edit the title of the thread. You'll get more replies. Just go to the top right of your first post and hit Thread Tools / Edit Title

2002 Frame Broke - Need Info!

Good Luck!

 

You should contact Toyota Corporate and get them to do a search of your VIN #, they can tell you if the frame was inspected and treated.
If it was treated then your warranty is still valid, you just may have to go above your dealers head and talk to someone higher up.
I had a hard time getting Toyota to confirm that my frame was covered by the warranty, but eventually they replaced it for me.
Before I even bought my 2001 Tacoma in 2012 I asked my local dealer if they could check the VIN to tell me if it was affected by the frame rust issue. My dealer told me it was not affected so I went ahead and bought the truck.
I checked the frame and it looked good, tapped on it with a hammer and seemed solid so I thought it was ok.
3 years later I decided to check the frame again since my 15 year warranty would be up by 2016.
First light swing with the hammer near the passenger leaf spring mount and it perforated the frame.
I contacted my dealer and arranged an inspection of the frame.
They inspected it and told me there was nothing wrong, I mentioned the perforation and they said that since they couldn't perforate the frame themselves that it was considered ok.
After several calls to Toyota Corporate it sounded like they weren't going to cover it anyway.
I persisted and said it shouldn't matter who made the hole, the fact is the metal was compromised and thin and needed replacement.
I found out from Toyota Corporate that the frame had been inspected and treated in 2009, even though my dealer had told me that the truck wasn't affected by the frame rust issue.
Finally they agreed to replace my frame because I was threatening to take them to court.
Just goes to show that the dealer is not always right.
If you can find out if your frame was inspected and treated before 2010 then don't take no for an answer, keep calling, threaten lawsuits, they will eventually do something for you, they just hope you will walk away but don't give in.

 

I will do that thanks

 

if you had full coverage on it, you may be able to just get your insurance to pay for it. or find a lawyer that's currently working on more of theses cases to try and get toyota to repair the frame with that lawyer

 

Yeah since youre an '02 depending on when it was bought off the lot you could still be covered like the guys said above! But it would have to of been inspected and treated!! Otherwise youre sol right there. If that dealer didnt even run your vin and just said the warranty has expired he was full of shit!! 15 years from the inservce date (the day it rolled off the lot). It would have also had to of been bought in a state that was covered by the warranty, not all states are covered!

FYI the buy backs were only for 95-00.

 

Thanks for the help

 

Just how long have you had this truck??

If you had no idea of the frame issues good chance it was never looked at.

Fix it or sell it as it sits or part it out

 

When you say "broke" do you mean the frame snapped completely? Or rusted through some part(s)?

 

@Helmj87

 

It ousted shackle mount up into frame ...called Toyota this morning was inspected in 09 has extended warranty ..going to dealer as they directed to see my options ...but not sure how long that warranty last anyone aware of this?

 

If the frame was inspected and coated in 09, you are warrantied 15 years from manufacture date. I just had my frame replaced on my 01 because the frame had perforation. Toyota replaced the frame, leaf springs, LCA's and some brake lines. They gave me rentals for the 3 months it was at the dealer. If you are under warranty still they will make it right.

 

Sad part is it wasn't coated ...was inspected but no rust found ...warranty was extended tho says toyota...but for how long is the question I'll find out shortly going to dealer in little bit

 

Sub'd for outcome.

 

Odd, generally if it was inspected and cleared, they would coat it. But if warranty was extended you should be okay.

 

It should be covered for 15 years from the date it was sold not the date it was manufactured.