Rust on Bed Spotwelds

I would say calling Toyota Headquarters USA. The case# should pop on any dealership system.

 

Bro, just spray a little Corrosion X or Fluid film on it and call it a day haha

 

This X100. Try a claybar, it will come off. Then wax it and watch it.

 

Please don't call me racist. The dealer used that word when I tried to purchase a Texas made Tacoma in California. I wound up getting a "Texas truck" in California. (Not an easy thing to do, by the way.) But, I'm hearing a lot of bad press about the Tacoma's in general. I would like to see the breakdown with these issues in California vs. Tijuana trucks. I wanted a Texas truck to keep Americans working. I have 35000 miles on my truck and I use it like a truck. This is my 3rd new Tacoma and my 6th new Toyota. I've never been broke down in a Toyota product. Toyota has taken over in reliability. Sad to see so many problems with the Tacoma's. Is this a Tijuana truck or Texas truck?

 

The prevailing opinion is there is no detachable difference in quality between the two plants. Some have argued, credibly, that the Mexican trucks are of a slightly higher level of fit and finish.

I think you need to keep in mind the new Tacoma is the most popular truck Toyota has ever produced, and it arrives in the age of the internet forum. Your are bound to be exposed to some complaining based on numbers alone.

Also, when you’re at the top, you’re a target.

 

I would have thought the paint would be better on a truck made in Tijuana due to the EPA regulations. The new gen Toyota Tacoma's are rated lower than all the other small trucks in most usually reliable publications like Consumer Reports. I have been an automotive technician for 30 years. There is no way the Colorado will be a good bet over the long term. I think the new Ridgeline will be comparable in reliability, but it's not a real truck. (Front wheel drive configuration) oops.

 

I think the post from stocklocker is an opinion that is worthy of some thought. After thinking about it I began to wonder why the PRO is strictly a Texas truck. Does anyone know why that is?

 

It may have to do with how auto parts cross borders, as there are different parts vendors on the Pro (Rigid / Fox). Likely they just chose to build them all in one plant and chose Texas.

Borders play a role in Taco production. The Canadian-sold trucks are all built is Texas due to cross-border auto agreements, including of course the Canada-only model (Access Cab / OR / MT)

 

Makes sense.

 

No doubt the “made in USA” adds cache to their top-of-the line Taco so I’m sure there is marketing involved as well.

I guess my point is, from what I understand, is the Mexicans are not making crappy trucks with bad paint jobs. There’s a lot of smart and skilled people in Mexico and I’m sure a job for Toyota would attract good people.

 

I would still like to see problems broke down in individual plants to get a better sense of what is really going on.

 

Well.....they are just assembly plants. The quality difference will be in assembly of the various components. The argument for the Mexican trucks being better in fit and finish is there is more hand-fitting in the Baja plant.

The engines are made in the states, a portion of the drivetrain gear is made by Borg Warner (US?), I believe the transmissions are made in Japan (?) by Aisin.

My truck has the following things I’ve discovered:

-Truck: made in USA/Texas
-Wheels: My TRD Pro 4Runner wheels made in Thailand
-Wheels: My Stock OR wheels made in Mexico
-Toyota OEM running boards: Made in Canada
-TRD Pro skidplate: Made in Canada
-All of the lamps/bulbs on my truck: Made in Japan
-Composite bed: made in Mexico

 

Global economics.

 

Start with the dealer as they are your first contact with Toyota...show them the evidence to back up your claim. If they say no it’s not a covered repair under warranty. Request through the dealer to have a Toyota regional rep look at the vehicle for his written recommendation. The regional rep is usually only available once a week and is the authorized agent of Toyota to grant or deny the repair under warranty. Keep in mind the warranty is a performance contract between the owner of the vehicle and Toyota. The dealer is the authorized agent to perform such work. In other words, put the dealer to work for you since they don’t have unilateral authority to deny you the benefit of your bargain the very contract thought to “raise” and “limit” your actions.

 

Claybar will not remove that rust on top of the paint/clear.

 

i think if you get in there and scrub it, it will come off.

con$umer report$

 

Mine's made in Mexico.

 

Rust won't come off. It's coming directly from the metal and corroding through the paint, which is why it's visible. The spots are directly correlated to the spot welds, which means that the spot welds were not completely treated. In my experience, as a former sheetmetal worker, there may have been a bit of contaminants or small metal burns that didn't get fully covered by protective primer, which eventually started to corrode. Also, judging by the fact that it's only on one side of the truck, while the other side is perfect, it's solely due to the automated painting system that may or may not have sprayed that small area enough.

I'll be taking it in this Saturday.

 

UPDATE:

The dealership initially took photos of my truck and let me go. Now the Regional Toyota Rep wants to see the truck for himself. They want me to bring it in and leave it for a few days so they can decide how to go about it. Good news is that I get a Tacoma Limited as a loaner.

Will update later when I find out what they want to do.

 

UPDATE:

Toyota Rep is convinced that it is rail dust, and not actual rust. So they used some kind of compound provided by Toyota to try and remove the rust. I got the truck back yesterday. Looks like they removed it but I still see deeper rust spots surrounding the spot welds. The service rep told me that he's surprised the rust actually came off. He also said that if the rust shows up again, they will get the Toyota Rep to look at it again, since it will at that point be a recurring issue.

Personally, to me it looks like actual rust. After working it with the compound this long, they still couldn't get deep enough under the clear coat to clean out the rust. But fingers crossed! Hope it doesn't come back!

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On a separate note, I got to drive a 2019 SR5 Taco for the weekend! Great truck, but I like my OR better