2021 Sport already starting to rust out? Is this a warranty issue?

Looks like a combo of the upper control arm install with a leaking battery. So this is going to be a tough one, while the battery caused the rust, the bending the metal for the UCA cracked the paint allowing the battery acid under to the bare metal.

If I were you, I would spray it all down, baking soda and water sponge it all down. Then using a wire brush on a dremel clean the area up, spray it with self etching primer, then spray it with a black tractor paint.

 

battery acid bro...toyota puts the shittiest battery available. Mine leaked too. Got rusty too. Had Toyota replace the leaky battery with one that don't leak.

They tried to balk but I told em' that their leaky ass battery caused corrosion. Then I simply demanded that they "try be pono"

ha ha ha ha ha ha!!

 

You always have the best body work advice.

 

Ouch. I’d probably contact the shop that did the mod then.. good luck!

 

How did your battery leak? Was it a lot of off roading or just normal wear and tear?

 

Plan for tomorrow is to remove the battery and tray so the full extent of whatever's going on is out in the open.

Then I guess it's time to assume the problem is battery acid so a baking soda scrub down is in order, and maybe ordering some UCA hardware replacements. It's just hard to imagine how the battery would've managed to spring a leak.

I'll give the battery the ole ocular patdown while it's out and post an update here.

Working on the street, I'm not sure the weather is gonna allow for a patch paint job up in there any time soon. So hopefully it holds up alright for a bit after cleaning.

 

If you saw this guy when you took the truck in for the lift, it would explain a lot



You can try the dealership but unless part of it is caused by a leaky battery I think they will claim it was caused by the UCA install (and they would probably be right).

 

Identify where the battery is leaking from based on stains. I've had brand new batteries leak from the vent holes just transporting them in the footwell driving 4 city blocks. Not much you can do to prevent it from happening again unless you change to a sealed battery. If the battery is leaking from somewhere else (like a seam), take it in for warranty.

After cleaning, if you don't plan to paint it for a while, spray down all the damaged paint areas with a thin film rust protectant like CRC Marine, Cosmoline, Fluid Film, or Crown.

 

One pic appears like someone spilled battery acid in there. Looked at my 2020 tacoma, and no rust or corrosion on the same places. At any rate i wouldn't allow it to get worse.

 

Can there really be two northern taco's in the same forum! .

 

Thunder dome!!! two northern tacos enter, one northern taco leaves. Everyone has a good chuckle.

 

That’s a lot of rust in so little time without any de-icer exposure. Almost certainly caused by battery leaking. All it takes is a little bit of leakage on a tiny scratch to start that.

 

I was here 61 months before the other one, respect your elders lol

 

How is the passenger side looking?

 

This is a good point, check the other side and see if its bent up also. Catch the rust before it becomes a issue.

 

I'll get in there this afternoon to try and scrub the discoloration/chemical off and will get more comprehensive photo coverage of the areas in question.

 

Sucks, I would do your best to fix it and then some sort of rust preventive yearly or bi yearly. 12 Taco's in always have yearly fluid filmed, never to hardly any rust and have lived in NJ and IL through a bunch of winters.

 

OP, pop the vent caps (carefully) on the battery clean things up a bit and check to see if maybe they are plugged. The shop would really have to wail on your battery to damage it. Looks like the leak though is coming from the top vent covers.

Maybe a PSA for everyone with an OEM Toyota battery that these are removable (with plastic pry tool) to check for electrolyte level. When I popped mine off, one of the sections was a little bit lower than others so I topped it off with distilled. Probably won't make a difference for longevity but worth checking out especially for those in extreme heat.