2003 tacoma frame recall

They could not have sold it before it was manufactured. So your "in service" date would be after 7/03.

By everything I understand to be correct regarding the extended frame warranty, you would be covered until 7/18, and probably beyond that date depending upon when it was sold to the original owner. You have the Toyota undercoating, which if it were not done before the deadline for Connecticut, would be a deal breaker. Find a dealer that has done replacements, and talk to the service manager. There is plenty of misinformation on the various frame programs Toyota has in place.

 

So then it would be after the manufacture date of 7/03? Where would I find the in service date or when it was driven off the lot

 

To find when the car was put in service, use the Toyota VIN decoder. Enter your VIN and they'll tell you all the specs, including when the car was first put in service.


I have a similar problem to the OP. I want to call Toyota about this, but I'm sure they'll do everything they can to say no. Does anyone have advice about what I can say to the Toyota dealership to get them to replace the badly rusted frame?

I'm totally new to this truck and this issue. Last month, my father-in-law bought an 04 Tacoma with a badly rusted frame. I'm trying to minimize his significant mistake by using the frame warranty. Otherwise, he must take a 10x loss and sell the truck for parts. Thanks for any help.

 

I knew a guy with an 03 who had his frame replaced here in Texas in 2016. This dealer always finds bullshit reasons not to do recall service, but they replaced his frame in over half a year and let him drive a 4runner around in the meantime. The same dealer that denied my request for a new dash on my Camry that had ~50% of the surface area melted. So if you're in the 15 years with undercoating from Toyota they should replace it.
Edit: Don't call frame replacement a recall. It is not classified as one.

 

Thanks. I have no idea if the frame was coated by Toyota. Will any dealership be able to look this up? Can any of you tell from these pictures if it was coated (in case the dealership claims it wasn't)?

 

She's in bad shape.

What is your location? Where has the truck resided all these years? It does not look to be undercoated, but that was only required in cold climate states. If it was required and was not done before the deadline, the prior owner will have voided the warranty. Get the history from your dealer, the Toyota owners website, or carfax. If your dealer knows anything about doing frame warranty work, they would want your truck to be covered. Toyota compensates them quite well.

 

Got an email response back from Toyota thanking me for owning multiple Toyota's and then apologizing for not covering the frame damage. Gave me a number to discuss the matter further if I feel that their decision is wrong. Toyota Customer Experience Center at (800)331-4331, they gave me a case number . That will be a complete waste of time. My date of first use is August 28,2003. I think I will still try my local dealer to see if I can get anywhere. The vehicle was purchased from Newburgh Toyota in New York, undercoated by them also. It seems like they pick and choose what they want to cover.

 

My local dealership said that if the truck was undercoated by Toyota before 7/31/14, it would still be under warranty and eligible for a frame recall. The undercoat must have been paid for by Toyota as part of their recall.

LuCarp, enter your VIN at the Toyota service history site to see if the undercoating was documented there. If not and you have the original invoice for the work, you still have a strong case that it's still under warranty.

Unfortunately, my 2004 Tacoma has been in NH for years and didn't get the undercoating before the 7/14 deadline. Now I'm trying to sell it for parts. Thanks ghs57 for all the info. I hope LuCarp's experience is better than mine.

 

Hey man, call the number, they will get back with you. I had the same experience with mine over the phone with the dealership. I call the Toyota number and they assured me I was covered and even called the dealership I had spoken with to make sure they understood. Turns out over the phone I got a guy that didn’t have a clue. All got settled and they are waiting for my frame to arrive after they did the inspection. The dealership has a head guy for the frame inspections, that is who I am working with.

 

Although your truck was coated by a Toyota dealer, who is actually not that far from where I am, was it done before the NY deadline? IIRC, that would have been 12/31/12. At the time, I had a 2001 Tacoma. There was some delay in NY setting up the undercoating program, so when I got the notice to bring it to the dealer, I didn't hesitate. I had already lost 2 Tacomas ('97 & '00) to the buy back program. The truck failed inspection during prep for the undercoating, and the frame was replaced in the fall of 2012.

Yours is the second recent case where Toyota denied coverage on a vehicle which seemed like it should have been covered. This is worrisome for owners like me who are sitting on the bubble waiting out our "assumed" warranty. I'd be fighting with them on this one. I don't see how they could change the warranty at this late stage, and in light of the recent settlement of the 2nd gen Tacoma class action lawsuit. There must be something else, or at least an explanation of the decision.

 

What was the 2nd generation lawsuit?

 

Don't deal with a dealership, call Toyota Corporate directly with your VIN and ask them about the frame recall for your truck. Dealerships are notoriously uninformed about it and will say what they want to even if it's incorrect. Toyota Corp will be straight with you, and if your truck is eligible they'll notify your dealership to take care of it.

Remember the frame replacement program doesn't apply to all 1st gens...there are some strict requirements in place as to which trucks qualify; not everyone with a rusty frame gets a new one but hopefully your dad's truck is one of the lucky ones

 

Same thing as what happened with the 1st gens...frames started rusting on some 2nd gens so they started a lawsuit which led to another replacement program for certain model years.

 

When I contacted Toyota’s national number and opened a case I was told that though my frame was eligible for the warranty because of the age at the time (last summer) it never received the undercoating in 2011 (before I owned the truck) so I was out of luck.

If I was you OP I’d fight it out with Toyota national. Beats doing what I did: buying a used frame from California and putting that in.

 

I just got mine last week. Is there any way for me to tell/find out if it has had the undercoating and when? I didn’t get it from owner who would have had it at that time

 

yup that's one of the requirements...there was a 2011 deadline where all 1st gens had to be inspected and undercoated by Toyota to be eligible for a replacement frame if they needed one in the future. Also the truck has to have been registered in one of the approved "cold weather states" to qualify (mostly east coast states).

 

Don't go back to the dealer yet. They are probably not the issue, since they want to do as many frame replacements as possible. They make a ton of money on the labor, they make money on the parts, and they even make money on the loaner vehicle they give you. From the research I've done and reading all the stories on this forum, usually the denials come from the regional office. Maybe they get a bonus for keeping down replacement costs. In my case, the dealer was ready to go and kept getting blocked by regional. I called the Toyota CEC and they called the dealer to confirm the rust, and there were no more issues or delays.

So call the 800 number - since you have a case number, you will be directed to a case manager on their special frame squad (or whatever they call it). These are the people that get stuff done. Before you call, plan what you want to say and keep it direct. Something like "I have a 2003 Tacoma frame with a 2 inch rust hole in it. It was coated by a Toyota dealer as per the terms set out in your extended warranty, and the truck is within the 15 year window as specified in your extended warranty program. What is your reason for not honoring the warranty?" Don't mention anything else unless they ask directly (lifts or other mods) but if they do ask, be upfront. And especially DO NOT mention lawyers or lawsuits, or you'll be transferred to another special group they have - one that probably won't be very helpful at all.

The case manager will either explain why it was denied, or tell you they will look into it and get back to you (which they will). Once you have the specific reason you can decide whether to fight it or accept it.

 

Go here:

https://www.toyota.com/owners/home

Sign up and enter your truck's info. Any work done by a Toyota service department, including the undercoating, will be in the service history.

 

That's almost correct. All trucks are covered, based on 15 years from date of first use. Those trucks that were registered in one of 20 "cold weather" states have the further requirement of having been inspected and coated. If your truck was not in one of those states it is still covered under the warranty and it doesn't need to have been inspected and sprayed.

The 20 "cold weather" states are (in alphabetical order): Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia. In addition, the District of Columbia is also included.

 

The Toyota Customer Experience Center told me that the program expired in December of 2012. The vehicle would have to have had the undercoating completed by a dealer prior to that date. There seems to be a lag of about 6 years for the service history on my vehicle from 2007 to 2013. I am trying to reach the original owner. Lets see what happens.