Thoughts on getting the new taco undercoated

Please let me know if it’s worth it to get it undercoated since it’s only got 2k miles on it. I live on the coast of Va. I haven’t gotten a price yet but my friend manages the local linex and they do undercoatings as well so I know I’ll get a good price on it

 

I never had any of my vehicles undercoated (but I get swap vehicles out every 2-3 yrs). Planning to keep this Tacoma forever and if I live near the coast or places where it snows, I would definitely get an undercoating done. I used to work on Aircrafts and the damage rust can do in a small amount of time is crazy.

 

I think alot of people here use fluid film or similar stuff since you can see rust problems when they start and cant hide under the under coating for years until they get serious. I dont know much about it though since I live in georgia

 

I live in NY and as part of the deal when I bought my truck, it got the hard rubberized undercoating which is dual purpose sound deadening/rust prevention. They also used a local company Zeibart, to do a service where they spray a rust prevention solution in common rust prone parts of the vehicle. They maintain once a year for 10 years and it costs me nothing. I’ve gone through two winters with it and it looks fantastic underneath. Just had it up on a lift to verify last weekend when I was servicing the diffs last weekend.

I vote for undercoating, especially the hard rubberized undercoating. If the truck doesn’t already have rust forming, it’s worth every penny IMO.

 

Must be nice... must be nice. Lol

 

Hard pass



coated mine in fluid film like many others do.

 

Look into solvent based undercoating. It stays soft counters the, undercoating gets hard and cracks then traps water supposition.

 

Undercoating no, fluid film or some type of rust inhibitor yes. Undercoating will only accelerate the rust process and leave you blind to it as it eats away underneath the coating. Just fluid film, etc. every year.

 

That’s not a rubberized undercoating, and I’m pretty sure they don’t use this method anymore. Plus that usually happens when applied to a vehicle that is already rusty, not a new one.

 

I’m willing to bet everyone who says “undercoating no, fluid film yes“ has never actually used a proper rubberized undercoating. Many vehicles come with it from the factory and the stuff is bullet proof. It’s just bad advice compounded from bad advice. I worked as a mechanic in the rust belt for over a decade and a proper rubberized undercoating can’t just be scraped off with a screw driver, the stuff is similar in strength and consistency to structural adhesives.

 

Never had one done myself, but turned wrenches on a few that did have it done and wasnt a pretty sight, years into salt belt life. They are far from bulletproof, everyone will have their own opinion or experience with them.

 

Just got a notice from Toyota yesterday about replacing the frame if needed. Vin number and a list of states with bad weather and salty roads. I think the most southern state was Va. and DC.

G.

 

I asked the question about undercoating to the dealer and they discouraged it, only saying Toyota has done its job, and it was my responsibility to keep the undercarriage clean, and free of corrosive road salt. They told me that undercoating can get chipped by stones allowing rust to take hold in the chipped area. Likely better to use fluid film every year.

 

that’s kind of a weird thing for them to say. They said if a stone chips off the undercoating, it can rust in that spot.... ok well how about if it was never applied? Does that mean the whole thing rusts? That’s like saying “don’t use sunblock, because if you miss a spot or some water washes a little away, you’ll burn in that one spot”. That’s correct, and the rest of the area where it’s applied is not affected.

A proper rubberized sound deadening undercoating won’t get chipped off by a rock, you can hit it with a hammer and it won’t come off.

 

Big nope on rubberized undercoating; that video posted said it all. Fluid film is nice, except the dirt it attracts. Cavity wax is another option, 2020's have it in the boxed frame sections. It stays soft, but with a dry surface that won't hold dirt.

My 2020 had it's first winter. I spent a few hours under it last week with a wire brush and primer doing rust touch up. This week hit the primer with semi-gloss enamel; it looks factory. That's just normal vehicle chassis maintenance, just like a wash and wax for the paint. Toyota didn't clean the welds on the frame or suspension parts. They paint right over the weld scale. Just about every weld had rust starting to form where the scale had chipping off and exposed bare metal.

 

Fluid film would save you alot of time from having to climb under there and touch up, just saying My 15 and 17 went through some knarly NE winters and looked like new underneath.

 

@mullett757 - the undercoating in that video is garbage, they don’t even use this stuff anymore for that exact reason. I used to work on vehicles that had it applied and it was an oily goo that never fully dried, really weird stuff that you’d have to chisel off nuts and bolts to get a socket on them. Fluid film, Krown, Rust Check are all great stuff and they all work well. A proper rubberized undercoating dries to a firm finish, it feels similar to the seam sealer that the factory uses to keep rust from forming in between overlapping panels. Research what you want but don’t do anything yourself without talking to a professional first. If you apply fluid film, a rubberized undercoating will never properly adhere to vehicle. Ask to see samples. I’ll post a few pictures of the underside of my truck so you can see what I’m talking about, it’s clearly not the same stuff from that video.

 

Ziebart was and still is coal tar based. Modern polyurethane is better. But the problem remains for both of them, they need properly prepared surfaces. That just isn't gonna happen on the underside of an assembled vehicle. Not to mention properly masking electrical connectors and such, which nobody does. Lacking proper surface prep, even modern poly based coatings will delaminate and allow water under.

 

Spend $60 on Amazon for a case of 6 Fluid Film and do it yourself in under an hour.

 

They never told not to do anything, only that i wash the undercarriage periodically during the winter season, and to apply a rust inhibiter like fluid film in the fall. I did this to my 01 tundra after the 3rd year. The frame and components were still in good shape till i sold it this march.