Toyota is replacing the frame on my '05!!

As upset as owners get (rightfully so) about this whole frame problem Toyota is certainly being proactive about it. My brother in law's 05 failed NH inspection this month due to holes in the frame next to the cats on each side. The holes on his are about the size of a quarter. The dealer he bought it at (Irwins in Laconia, NH) took some pictures but deemed it OK to drive home. They sent the photos in to Toyota and he's waiting to hear back. But they told him they likely would be putting a new frame under it. 60k on that one...

 

Hope all works out, I hear about all these state safety inspection requirements and I'm torn on whether I'd be for or against them...seeing POS cars on the freeway makes me for but the nitpicking (like CA smog visual inspection) makes me against.

Hopefully the state saying it fails is enough for them to replace it.

 

Pardon what might be a silly-assed question but...back in the days of real bumpers they used to 'undercoat' frames and most everything else under there...when did this stop?

 

My 05 is right at the `120k mark. Doubt they will do anything about the frame on mine.

 

You mean the "dealer add-on" undercoating where they drilled holes all over the place and sprayed crap in all the body cavities? Some places still do it. And there are plenty of places to have yearly fluid film or waxoyl treatments done too. And those really do work. But drive a truck off the lot, drive it year round in the god-awful road salt and worse yet liquid salt brine they treat the roads with and uncoated steel is a goner. I coated my frame with KB coatings chassis saver and I'm waiting for eastwood internal frame coating to arrive to do the inside. But I'm still going to fluid film it too. My brother in law did nothing. He rarely washed it, drove it year round, and the first 4-5 years he had it he lived with us and parked it in my dirt driveway. That frame after 3 years was NASTY. But the rest of the truck looked great.



Doesn't look like the frame has holes in it does it? This was right after I buffed it for him a few months back.

 

Anything to back this up? If nothing definite comes down from toyota soon trading in for something else....


....im not holding my breath on a recall.

Sounds like you are in the minority i see more stories about frame replacement getting denied then fixed

 

The dealer happened to mention the recall when talking to my wife. I will be talking with him over the next couple of weeks so I will ask him what he knows about it. I'll post any info here or start another post about it. He seemed genuinely concerned and seems to be a nice guy.

It was easy for the manager to deny me at first because I was on the phone. I think having the owner on my side is the big reason it is getting done right now. Before I even knew it was going to get fixed, I sent the owner a thank you card for him being there and taking the time to make sure it got looked at thoroughly. I did appreciate that he took the time. Like I said, I have never even bought a car from this dealership. I did just buy my TRD exhaust from them a few months ago though. If this does get fixed like I hope it does, they have a loyal customer for life.

 

This is what mine looks like from the topside!!

 

Glad the OP is getting the frame replaced under warranty. It is very disappointing that Toyota Corp and Dana Corp can not produce a quality frame.

 

It's not under warranty.

 

No, I mean the thin tar-like compound that coated everything...except the drive shaft/s and mechanized components. It was sprayed on. Just the frame, floor pans, fender wells, underside of truck beds, trunk, etc.
Wasn't a dealer option, it was on all the cars.
I had a neighbor that rebuilt a '64 Ford Galaxy as a show car. Took him a week to scrape all that undercoating off the frame and under carriage with scrapers and putty knives so he could paint it.

 

But they are replacing it at no cost to you though. Right?

 

Its time Toyota experiments with some undercoating to prevent this from becoming a widespread problem or everyone can vote to be rid of the salting of the roads

 

+1

I complained about bottoming out the suspension and asked for the rear spring TSB on my truck and my dealer told me to pound sand. I told them it was a well documented issue and they said: "Well we don't see it bottoming out right now so therefore it's not a problem"

When someone had the nerve to call me about my experience I told them it was crappy and they got some manager on the line. I told him about what happened and his response was for me to go buy aftermarket parts if I wanted to address the issue

 

That frame looks horrible for 80k miles. But thats awesome Toyota is replacing it. My friend's 1st gen recall got him a new frame and brake lines. His truck looks mint now.

 

Dana didn't produce the frame for 2nd gens. 2nd gen frames (along with those for the 4R, FJ, Tundra, GX470...) are made by Hino.

It'll be interesting to see if the problem becomes widespread. Plenty of '05 owners with more miles than the OP.

 

Sweet man that's great to hear. After reading your first post about it I got nervous about mine which an o6. But that's awesome news and I'm glad to hear Toyota made good by you

 

Check the INSIDE of your 06 frame. Turn the wheel all the way to the right. Behind the driver front tire there is a oblong hole (Plugged on 09's and up)... look in there. You may very well see (about a 45 degree angle back) a nice big rust hole starting or worse. We have a few guys down here (including me) with various degrees of it. RuggedT just traded his in for an F150 after Toyota offered him $750 extra towards his trade. His had big holes and cracks. Bandit's it pretty bad too. Mine is just started... its a solid rust circle where I described as well as a few other spots.

 

OP... did you ever try any rust prevention products over the years?

 

That's my understanding.

I have heard that sometimes the dealers try to "upsell" new parts to put on the new frame. The way we have been treated, I don't think this will happen.

It goes in today. I'll keep you posted.

I should get it back in a couple of weeks.