2011+ frame rust query

I have asked this within a couple "frame rust" threads but thought I'd start a new thread so as to put it to the whole group.

The now ended Toyota recall and current class action (settlement pending) lawsuit pertained to '05 through '10 MY Tacomas, Does anyone know, or even heard, that Toyota changed anything in the '11+ models to correct the problem? Or are they just recalls and lawsuits waiting to happen?

Are there any 2011 or newer owners out there with beginning-to-be or badly rusted frames, or is this now just history?

 

AFAIK, the frame manufacturer got switched in 2009 or 2010, so.. you be the judge.

I don't know any 2012-2015 owner that is in the winter belt and isn't taking precautions against rust. I think we'll find out in 10 years.

 

Curious myself. Mine has the normal surface rust and my leafs look like shit. But time will tell

 

I am also curious of when they changed the supplier for frames. I have an 09 with little to no rust. But i dont live up north either. Seems to me like your frame is either solid or crumbling to a crisp

 

I have a 2012 and live in the Midwest. I noticed surface rust on the weldings. My leaf springs are fairly new cause they were changed last year due to vibration issue. With that being said I did spray it with liquid film last fall just in case and to be on the safe side. I guess time will tell.

 

Changing the frame supplier is interesting, however I am certain Toyota issues pretty damned complete specifications to its suppliers.

So either

a) the specs were bad or,
b) the specs were good and the supplier screwed over Toyota, and Toyota's QC didn't catch the poor quality parts--or did and said "fuck it".

If b) then hopefully Toyota has improved its QC; otherwise what is to prevent the new supplier from cutting corners?

 

The problem with "taking precautions against rust" is that that basically means some sort of "preventative" corrosion resistant coating (CRC); which if done correctly and periodically will accomplish something--probably just as much as it would have accomplished on the '05 to '10 models if done correctly and periodically--and before any significant corrosion had happened.

My uncle was a coast-to-coast owner/operator trucker, he once or twice a year would spray the undercarriage of his tractor with used motor oil, from the tractor engine. Never had a problem with rust--but I bet the EPA and any number of tree-huggers would have had a problem with his doing it...

 

Yes, and yes.

 

I had posted this back in 2013 where I had found 3 different part numbers for various year trucks. At the time, I had wondered if that's when an improved frame had been developed, although with the recalls that happened post-2013, I think I was wrong.

That being said, I can tell you that after looking at some of the newer trucks, they had just as much surface rust as the older trucks, assuming they were not treated. I went FF crazy with my 2013 and it was pretty much 100% rust free as of mid-2016 when it was totaled. Towards the end of 2016, I had helped someone install my old OEM bumper onto their 2012 truck and it did have a good deal of surface rust under the truck as it was untreated.

While I'd like to think Toyota learned their lesson, I'd be hard pressed to assume they have.

 

Toyota sued Dana. So I'm guessing it was the supplier who was mostly at fault

 

However when did Toyota determine they were bad--they sent them out the door for six years...

 

No idea

 

Don't know who's fault Toyota or the supplier but IMO a good quality paint on these frames before they are installed on the trucks would do the job. They have a really thin coat that looks like diluted 1000/1 with thinner.
I saw trucks brand new on dealers lots with surface rust on the weldings.

 

I just did some quickie research. Toyota got $25m from Dana from a suit regarding the 1995 to 2000 frames (Ford sued Dana as well for '99 to '03 Windstar subframes)--that was in 2011, 11 years after the last 2000 MY Tacoma left the factory, and the same year the last 2011 model was produced.

Given the date of that settlement it may well be that Dana made the '05 to '11 frames...

 

And yet Toyota law suit was 3.4 billion.
Dana is an American corp. and yet it is the only thing that made Tacomas looks bad. I knew it since the beginning that an American manufacturing was behind it.

 

I doubt they were actually made in the US...

 

They actually WERE made in the US, somewhere in California near the NUMMI plant. After Metalsa acquired the remains of Dana frame manufacturing, they moved manufacturing to Mexico, much closer to the San Antonio factory where Tacoma is now being made.

 

FYI: The lawsuit only pertains to 2008-2010, not 2011.

 

Thank you, my screw-up, even though I have read all those documents several time--that's what happens when you rely on 71-year-old memory. I corrected my previous posts...

 

What about '95 to '00 frames replaced under the factory recall, or any other replacement frame--how are they holding up?