Anyone participate in the Frame Recall while not living in a cold weather state?

Hi all,

I recently moved from DC to California and decided to take my truck into the dealership to have the frame inspected.

They confirmed that my frame did have all of the symptoms outlined in the recall but say that since I no longer live in DC that I am not eligible to have the frame coated or replaced due to California not being a cold weather state.

Seems like bullshit because the truck spent the major of it's life in DC and the damage is already done.

Am I out of luck here? Any advice you guys have would be greatly appreciated.

 

I would think corporate would like to know about this.

 

Corporate are the ones that told me no

 

All i seen was "dealership"

Well, i say two choices.....

Drive it till it snaps (make sure ur life insurance is up to date)
Or trade the thing in at the same dealership, because its obviously safe still, they should take it happily right?

 

You need to register your truck in a rust state.

 

I wish I could but the closest rust state is 2,000 miles away.

 

You're not the 1st person to move to California from a rust belt state and be denyed a new frame. The fact of the matter is that California dealers aren't familiar with rust of that severity and do not want to do frame swaps. Up here in Oregon, my local dealer has done several frame swaps. I've seen the frames stacked up outside the service dept. Oregon is not 1 of the cold weather states listed in the settlement. You don't want someone to do your frame swap that has never done one. I'm sure that if you talk to a dealer outside of California, you can get it approved. It will mean making 2 road trips though. You mentioned that Toyota Corporate told you no. Did you actually speak with Toyota Corporate, or are you taking the California dealers word for it? I'm 98% sure the settlement doesn't mention having to live in a rust belt state to get a free frame. I think living in a cold weather state is only a requirement to get the CRC coating.

 

You say the dealership told you no. Did you actually contact Toyota Motor Corporate? Call their regional office . If no success call their national office. This just doesn’t make sense.

• San Francisco Region (Northern CA) 925-830-8300

 

Call them back and get an employee I.D. number then tell them they’re going places

 

My truck is originally from PA, and while it hasn’t met the criteria yet to fail for a rusty frame, they said since it started in a cold weather state, it qualifies for frame replacement (once it has a rust hole big enough). Capitol Toyota in San Jose, CA was the dealership. They had just done a frame replacement and let me take pictures / see it. I also had talked to corporate to ensure it was getting a fair and thorough inspection, which they honored. Don’t know where you are, but the wording in the notice didn’t sound like it limits the work to only in cold weather states.

 

Additionally, what year is your truck? +12 years from the original operation / sale date is what they’re currently honoring, so basically anything pre 8/2007 is no longer honored.

 

My now-sold 2001 Tacoma qualified for the Gen1 program because it was *delivered* in a covered state (IL). It spent most of its life in a non-covered state (MO) but my dealer near my hometown (OH -- another state!) had no problem considering where it was delivered. Was your truck delivered into a state that's covered, by any chance? That could trump where it's now registered.

That truck didn't need a frame -- far from it -- so it got their undercoating/rust treatment program. I'm a bit negative on that treatment and kinda wish I hadn't done it, but the truck's moved on to a kid who loves it no matter what.

 

Do you know you have a hole? If yes, be ready to show them.

http://www.toyotaframesettlement.com/home/faqs/

Be aware, it’s a warranty enhancement, not a recall. Ask for recall and the answer will be no.

Give it a read, if you are eligible (based on in service date) and meet the 10mm hole criteria Toyota corporate will approve your truck frame replacement.

Mine is in CA, was from Iowa and had frame replacement out here. My truck was the only one my dealer did. In the end they did a good job but where not happy to tie up a bay for months while they waited for a frame.

Good luck, see a different dealer. But don’t wait. Every week someone laments that they just missed the in service deadline for their truck.

 

I've just completed a frame replacement on my 2007 Tacoma under warranty in the SF Bay Area.
My vehicle was originally from the East Coast and I had been battling with Toyota over the frame rust warranty for quite sometime.

The first dealership I had started the process with was not familiar with the warranty program and simply had no interest in pursuing the warranty work.

I can tell you first hand, finding the right dealership will help to get the ball rolling *IF* you have a legitimate warranty claim.
I had *GREAT* success working with Concord Toyota - wangamachang had suggested Capitol Toyota, but that dealership was a bit too far away from me.

Feel free to PM me for details.

 

Was not invited to the frame party, being in AZ the frame rust it has is the same as the day I bought it new.

 

Reviving an old thread here. My truck lived most of it's life in CT and VT. I registered it in VT in 2019. I got a letter saying it was eligible for a frame replacement until Jan 2023 so I figured I would wait to the end of that window to have it inspected. Then I moved to UT (somehow not a cold climate state, along with WY and CO - absolutely absurd) and the dealer here said that since it's no longer registered in VT they wouldn't replace it, and that since they're not a "cold climate dealership" they don't even do the service anyway. I got a Toyota corporate phone line from them where I'm going to try to argue my case.

Was your truck registered in IA when you had the replacement done? I might pay the 1/2 hour of labor for the inspection and if it qualifies and go from there. If they want to play the semantics game... registering the truck in MT where you don't need a primary residence to do so wouldn't be out of the question if it get's me a new frame.

 

My friend had her 06 frame replaced in NC, the truck was here in MA most of its life prior. I think she had to educate the NC dealer re the issues but I cannot remember.

 

I've seen frames replaced by my local Toyota here in Georgia. Georgia is by no means a cold weather state.

 

Good info, reason would have it that since it was registered in my name in VT, and I received the notice with my name on it, I should be able to have it replaced wherever. But since when have warranties ever been reasonable.

 

My friend had his frame replaced here, in Hawaii.