Tacoma Frame Rust/Toyota unethical practices?

Just found my 98 Tacoma frame rails completely rotted and leaf spring mount completely shoved up into frame rail....Did not know anything of a rust issue and I am the original one owner bought new in 98...called Toyota, they told me of a 15 year warranty/buyback program- GREAT...then oops, your truck is 40 days out of warranty, so sorry..... I NEVER GOT A LETTER FROM TOYOTA!... I filed case number with corporate, they told me they didn't mail letters to any owners in NC because they don't feel it is a "cold weather" state, We just got 13 inches snow last week in Maggy Valley!..roads are salted heavily in the winter here!.... I am appealing with executive's currently who work for Mr. Lentz and am optimistic that they will honor the warranty..... However, it is OBVIOUS that they had financial incentive for NOT mailing letters to owners in NC....

 

Hmm... thats shitty. They dont send letters to non "cold weather" states. Do they understand the concept of MOUNTAINS?

I caution you against getting too agitated and blast them in open forum until you give Toyota a chance at redemption. Good luck.

 

sink the teeth in, tell them you want a 2013 for the buy back of the one you have. they will cave eventually. they allways do.

 

REPOSTING ORIGINAL>>>>>Just found my 98 Tacoma frame rails completely rotted and leaf spring mount completely shoved up into frame rail....Did not know anything of a rust issue and I am the original one owner bought new in 98...called Toyota, they told me of a 15 year warranty/buyback program- GREAT...then oops, your truck is 40 days out of warranty, so sorry..... I NEVER GOT A LETTER FROM TOYOTA!... I filed case number with corporate, they told me they didn't mail letters to any owners in NC because they don't feel it is a "cold weather" state, We just got 13 inches snow last week in Maggy Valley!..roads are salted heavily in the winter here!.... I am appealing with executive's currently who work for Mr. Lentz and am optimistic that they will honor the warranty..... However, it is OBVIOUS that they had financial incentive for NOT mailing letters to owners in NC....

 

Why was this removed from your original post?

 

I just got an official answer from Toyota regarding the case/complaints.... they basically said "get lost and we will not help you"....40 days out of warranty and I had not gotten one letter alerting to the rust problem...I met another man last Thursday, one-owner of 98 Tacoma, he didn't get a letter either....After driving Toyota trucks since 1989, a lifetime of being a dedicated owner of their trucks, they just toss me away like yesterdays trash.........

 

Didnt want to blast them in open forum untill I got an answer from them.....Now that I got their official answer, I can tell all

 

Sorry about your luck. Now you know what it's like to own a domestic vehicle. They don't get any sympathy when vehicles rust, especially from 98. It wasn't a warranty program, it was a generosity gesture for the people in cold weather climates. Iowa isn't considered a cold weather state to them, so I don't get my frame coated like the northeast states.

 

On the brighter side of things....had your truck been a ford, chevy, or a dodge....you would've needed aother truck about 8 years ago....FWIW.

 

I heard some banging coming from the rear and I looked under the truck and it looked just like the picture from the OP. I called Toyota and they said I'm 60 days past the 15 year extended warranty.

 

No offence but your truck is nearly 20 years old. No manufacturer has warranty on a vehicle for that long.
Any other vehicle and you have nothing after 3 years.

 

HA!...yeah good luck with that one, you'll need it. They'll probably spit out their coffee and damn near choke from laughter when you suggest that! Ed

 

Not sure how anyone can go that long without looking under their truck and it would appear you have been a member here for almost 2 years in which time there has been lots of talk about the rust issue. Certainly Toyota is being a major bitch about the frame rust issue, even their solution just covers it up to get them past the extended warrantee, they should have done a full recall as this is very much a safety issue especially for a truck. As owner you have to take some responsibility for the care and maintenance of your vehicle and even if you had all the work done by a mechanic, what the hell was he doing not telling you about the rust, it didn't just show up magicly one day. Personally I will be driving my 98 into the ground and won't be buying another Toyota and advise everyone I know to keep away from them.

 

I don't understand why there isn't a Rust megathread sticky in this forum. It's probably the most important issue regarding these trucks

 

Also, while my mind is on this, I wonder if it would be legally possible to get a class action suit against Dana? They're the ones that made the frame poorly. Toyota sued them but I don't think they made nearly enough money off of it (I found the number somewhere but can't recall it exactly). Even though I don't live in a northern state, the frame rust issue is the biggest downer about owning this truck and putting more money into it. I'd like to think that I could take the truck with me wherever I move, but that isn't the case. My warranty will be up in less than 2 years.

 

Toyota only does what they have to when it comes to rust issues or any other issues for that matter.

Back in 1986, my 1984 Camry with 40,000KM's was one month over the 2 year rust warranty when I went back to them with rust issues in fender wells, hood, and trunk. They told me to get lost, even though this was my 3rd Toyota in a row bought new.

The frame issue is different, it is a liability issue so their lawyers told them it was cheaper to cover the rust under a warranty then risk a huge class action. Or worse, have a Toyota on TV after it collided head on with a school bus when a frame caved.

Just look at the free publicity they received from the gas pedal issue with both Toyota and Lexus? Just look at how they hide these issues and stonewall owners of Toyotas until they have free publicity caused by a safety issue. The fix and warranty came quickly when the publicity hit the fan, but not before.

Go to NHTSA with the expired 15 year frame issue, on the basis of no notification. Not sure if NHTSA was involved in the negotiations around the rusty frame or not, but if they were, they may have an interest in helping.

Don

 

It wasn't a recall, it was a voluntary warranty extension So gov agencies won't care.
Toyota found a problem and did try to help fix it. Most auto manufacturers wouldn't care at all. My ranger's frame was rotten but Ford didn't care. No fixes, no nothing.

 

It may have been "voluntary", I'd call it "preemptive". It went on for many model years and hundreds of thousands of frames were replaced, it would have been a big class action otherwise.

GM are doing the same thing now with ignition switches. I am not familiar with the Ranger frame issue.

Don

 

Of course it's possible. You can indict and sue a ham sandwich, but what do YOU gain? Answer - not a thing.

The only living organisms that benefit from "class-action" litigation are the "trial lawyers". Why do you think class-action suits take YEARS to go to trial, if ever. Answer...because lawyers are paid BY THE HOUR. Translation - they have no interest, whatsoever, in "solving" or "bringing someone to justice" expeditiously. In the end, the firms that handle class-action litigation typically charge 40-50% of the "award" and the leftover top-ramen money if split among the plaintiffs.

Remember, before you'll ever see "dime-one" from litigation, you have to be able to convince that you've been "damaged".

Ed

 

Exactly! I throw my class action law suit notices out because I dont wanna be a part of exactly what you just spelled out in your post.