Frame recall approved in NJ and denied in CA?

Hey all,

My brother has a 2011 DCSB Tacoma and is in a pickle.

He had a dealer in NJ (where he was living at the time) inspect his frame and he was approved to have the recall done and get a new frame. He was moving to CA soon - and the dealer in NJ said it wouldn’t be an issue to get it replaced in CA.

Fast forward - he’s in CA, went to the dealer, dropped the truck off, they gave him a loaner and now a few days in the dealer turns around and said “sorry, we can’t do this, you need to go to a dealer out of California to get this done”.

Fast forward to today, after a call with Toyota customer care and they told him the nearest dealer that will do the work is Indiana.



2,328 miles and 34 hours driving nonstop isn’t exactly realistic. Has anyone west of the Sierra Nevadas had their frame recall done and completed?
If so, is there any chance you could send my way the dealer info, receipts with your info blacked out, or anything that could better leverage the ability to get this done locally or at the very least closer? If so, thank you in advance!

 

Wouldn’t it make more sense to have it done under warranty in the salt belt than out west? That may be the problem.

 

I would think so, have a dealer whose done many do it - but he was more concerned about having his truck accessible while prepping for his move. He also thought he was in the clear as the dealer there told him it would be no problem to have it done on this coast.

Was a stressful time as it was rushed due to poor work environment and he wanted to get out of there. Room and board was also a part of his compensation which made it so when he put in his notice he had a set deadline.

 

That dealer may have told him that just so they wouldn’t have to do it, maybe.

 

Slimy but 1000% possible. And from what it sounds like - accurate.

 

Correct me if im wrong, but the recall was only issued to a handful of cold weather states.

Michigan, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia; also, Washington D.C.

 

You are 100% correct, CA does not fall under the recall. Cold Weather States

 

^^ thank you for this. That is likely why he’s running into trouble.

 

Which if the NJ dealer doing inspection properly documented, should not be a problem.

It's not the owners fault he had to relocate prior to approved repairs being done.

Now, if NJ was lip service and no documentation, that may be a problem

 

What a bunch of BS. Truck should be covered across the nation. If you work in one state/province, and commute to another that has salted roads, you should be covered. I was actually called by my dealer to come in. It may have been country wide in Canada. FFS, can Toyota stop resting on their laurels and just create steel that doesn't rust? My Ford Ranger, 4 years older and driven in the same conditions, exhibited nowhere near the rust my Tacoma has.

 

Ship the truck via car carrier..the easiest and cheapest..probably then fly to pick it up or ship it back..all worth the cost for a new frame..Toyota may help or have a discount on shipping..

 

Agreed. Frame is probably 10k without labor and all the brackets/clips and assorted shit.
Like it was said above, try to get documentation.. if that doesn't work, financially 100% worth it to jump through hoops to get a new frame under the truck.

 

If the frame was properly checked at the dealer in NJ, Op's brother would have been given paperwork (reciept) from the service dept stating it failed and is eligible for a frame replacement. I had to was 8 months for mine to come in, but that was a few years back.

 

^^
I’ll need to find out with him how that went down. See if he can start working on getting a paper trail set up.

I am concerned he doesn’t have the proper documentation.

 

Note that there is a 12 year expiry for the recall (in Canada anyway)...what is the build date of your truck? This is critical, and could be a problem if there is no paper trail.

 

This is probably spot on. CA dealers basically never do that. Means their techs don’t have the process down and they would take longer than the approved hours for the job. Means dealer loses money on the job rather than skim a few off the top. Also risky because the inexperienced and rushed techs might fuck up a lot of things!

whoever said the recall doesn’t affect CA is wrong. Toyota just didn’t do the CRC treatment unless you’re in a Cold Weather state.

Going by memory local TW member @bobsuruncle got his frame replacement here in WA. See? Already cut your brothers road trip in half and the destination is a helluva lot better than Indiana haha

 

I would sell it back to a Toyota dealer.

 

I'm thinking that trying to seek out the approval documentation is the first step, unless the CA dealer already acknowledges it won't matter. Another approach is to have the NJ dealer try and speak with the CA, if that will make any difference. I mean, that seems like a main reason why it was put off in the first place, that your brother could get it done in CA.

Other approaches could be just calling other CA dealers to see if they handle it any differently. How about another neighboring state? It would still be out of the way, but not as far as Indiana. Calling around would probably be the best approach as to not waste time.

In the end, he may be only left with that one option, of driving or shipping his truck. In that case, have him make the best of it and take a short vacation. Having a frame replacement is a pretty big deal and, to me, worth the effort regardless.

Best of luck to you guys and hope it gets figured out.

 

OP, good luck. I had my truck’s (from Iowa) frame replaced in CA. The dealer shop did a good job but was clearly unhappy with tying up their bay for the work. I’m sure they would not agree to do another. The new frame and lots of new parts is fantastic (mine was done in 2018). Don’t pass this up. Get it done in Indiana if you have to.

 

The vehicle frame corrosion perforation Customer Support Program ZKA, as far as I know, applies to vehicles all Tacoma trucks from 2011-2017. That includes all states. If the truck is operated in one of the specified cold climate states it is further eligible for Limited Service Campaign K0D, the Corrosion Resistant Compound (CRC) application.

I'm guessing the dealer doesn't want to deal with it. Find another one or hold that dealer to the letter of Toyota's program?


PS: As we note often on here the frame program is not a recall. That's a specific process with regulatory imperatives. Toyota did this as a "customer support program".