Did not expect to find this

Although I'd agree they messed up (big time) on the frames, I don't think it's fair to say they're "chronic" when it comes to problems. In fact folks who do not live in the rust belt swear by Tacomas and how long they last. I've driven Toyota products on and off since my very first new car in 1976. I find them to be reliable, easy to work on and a great value. I cant say the same thing for the Ford and Chrysler products I tried in between Toyotas over the years. And remember, Ford, GM and FCA have their fair share of turds along the way. The Ford 6.0 liter Powerstroke diesel comes to mind as just one flaming example.

 

It is simply an issue of chemistry, where the salt is reactive down to about -7F, but those regions are below freezing to flush out the salts for a longer time as you head farther north. The brine has magnesium in it which is more reactive than sodium. Surprisingly, soap will knock the ph down to mitigate, but it's tough to wash your truck when it's 15F.

 

I've long said it's one thing that a problem happens..not ideal but it's life. How it's handled and addressed is what really makes or breaks it.

My 2006 Colorado puked the head at 70K (which was a known issue and had a secret warranty, plus I was still in the powertrain warranty when it happened)..the dealers and corporate cheated me all around on the repair, plus making me wait months to get it addressed and leaving me stranded for 3 weeks. Toyota took mine right in, had a rental waiting for me, and fixed it free.

 

Agreed 100% Some folks say Toyota was forced to do something about the frames due to a lawsuit - which is correct. But by and large, Toyota dealerships did a pretty damn good job of taking care of folks who followed the procedure and got their frame swapped out. I know we bent a lot of rules at the dealership I worked at to keep people with completely trashed trucks happy. Some of the trash that went out the door sitting on a brand-new frame was very disappointing. I sometimes wonder what Ford, GM or FCA would do in a similar situation, but I know it wouldn't be anywhere near as good as what Toyota did.

 

Yes but when I asked to have it inspected no. At that time they told me it was just surface rust

 

What a petty! A great truck and then that!!!!

 

Looks like the Stealership pulled a fast one on you - STEALERSHIP for sure !

 

Exactly, my Chevy was well under warranty (x2 technically) and between trying to act like it didn't exist, telling me to pay in full, and each place saying the other one will take care of it but nobody can do it themselves....

Like I said to one GM corporate person, tell me what's more normal..a 13 year old truck in MA having rust issues or a 4 year old truck that's not worked at all and religiously maintained blowing the engine..and if you can honestly still say this is normal, it doesn't sound like you build a good product here while Toyota gave my wife $11k for her truck and a rental free of charge.

I figure that on paper they got killed reframing my 2010, all in all it would have cost about $17K and my truck isn't worth that even in the current market.

 

Has anyone had frame rust issues on the very last of the 2nd gens? (Like my 2015??) I live in the rust belt but my frame looks relatively new still (at 240k) All I do is apply fluid film before the snow flies every year ‍♂️

 

The Customer service is good when they own up to an issue….I guess what I find frustrating is that for a decade (or two)they were producing low quality frames that deteriorate at a faster than industry standard rate. It’s definitely nice that they’ll replace if you qualify but disappointing that they continued producing junky frames after knowing there was an issue. Must still be worth it for them cash-wise.

 

Technically speaking, your frame is the same. Get it inspected and coated at your Toyota dealer ASAP and you should be fine. Annual applications of Fluid Film (or similar products) won't hurt either.

 

Rust isn’t the only issue though, they love to crack and even bend also. There’s a whole 16 page thread on it on the 1st gen section. And how useful is a truck you can only drive in the desert and/o park it in winter?

The engines are reliable, if anemic, but otherwise they're just like any old truck really. Everything falls apart around it (ball joints, steering racks, leaf springs, bearings, etc.) and the frame issues just adds salt to the wound. Toyota is far from the only company to have poor-quality frames though, a lot of Jeeps also had really crappy frames.

IMO if you want a really tough Toyota truck get a Hilux or Land Cruiser. Tacomas are fun trucks but they seemed to build them cheap for the NA market for some reason.

 

This is what I don't understand: how they failed, or chose not to correct whatever manufacturing issues were causing the premature rot when it became obvious how widespread of a problem it was.

Changing the manufacturing process would've saved them a lot of money instead of continuing to patch and replace frames. I don't know why they didn't just use the same frames as the Hilux, or at least the same steel and/or milling and finishing techniques.

Whatever the specific cause, at the end of the day they knew those frames were junk and they refused to properly fix the issue.

 

I don't really fault them for this particular thing to a degree, since it took so long to first happen on the 1Gs. Even my 2010 was built sometime in Sept 2009 and I want to say they were using a different metal/process/supplier (one or more)..I heard the whole tale when my wife's 96 got bought back but don't recall it.

That said I can also agree the 2.5Gs still having an issue is a little puzzling

 

that anti-corrosive compound campaign pushed into 3rd gen trucks so puzzling to say the least.

 

FWIW, I have seen more then a few last gen Colorado's with rotted out frames just like the taco's of the era. Don't think GM ever did a thing about it either.

 

It seems like a lot of manufacturers had issues with frame rust in this era but Tacomas have the reputation for rotting the most aggressively for whatever reason.

I’m general the frames in Japanese made trucks seem to be of higher quality from what I’ve seen and researched, could be wrong there but just a conclusion I’ve come to.

 

You mean besides screwing the customer?