05+ Official Perforated/Rusted Through Frames

Subaru - Rusting brake lines. Safety issue, you bet, but highly fixable and not nearly as expensive to fix.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/subaru-recalls-660k-vehicles-brake-line-rust-24409412

Ford - Subframe rust. ok, thats worse, but they're fixing that with some reinforcement brace. You can't do that with a whole frame.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/04/08/ford-recalls-nearly-435000-cars-for-rust-seats/

Nissan - Bad shit here. Gonna give ya this one

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/...-recalled-for-rust-and-steering-problems.html

 

There is more and always was. I'm not going to point out the obvious. I was in Sweden training for a while. All vehicles make and models would rust from the salt.

 

I'm not arguing that point, cause you're right. Salt is bad for cars. However, it appears that due to some manufacturing faults some vehicles are more prone to rust than others. What Dana did is inexcusable.

 

To Me, There is an expectation by the consumer to get an "industry standard" product. Just because you lean/ press on a door or window you do not expect it to damage/break. When the engine needs service you should not need to replace the vehicle. Expectations are for time element as well. Although you have a xx month and xx thousand mile warranty, you would expect the overall design of the car to last xx years and XX thousand miles with normal maintenance and care. Rotted old Chevy Vega fenders with fiberglass and chicken wire comes to mind here. (Nader and NTSB ..)

Regardless what the warrantee says - if the manufacturer can not make an "industry standard" vehicle, the consumer should be protected from poor design and shoddy manufacturing practices. Besides the fact that some of these issues being major safety issues for the occupants - and everyone else on the road, these kind of problems should not warrant excessive cost or loss to the consumer.

I expect to buy a new vehicle for a good price and have it be able to last, with reasonable care and maintenance, 10 + years and 200K miles. Having the frames rot out from under you in just a few years, while the rest of the car still just fine is just immoral and the right of the company to sell product should be rescinded or at the very least Limited.

If these cars/trucks/vehicles can not take the normal "Rust Belt" usage - they should not be allowed to be sold - at least in these areas and the consumer should be so notified of the "less than normal" capability of the vehicles.

IMHO

 

Did you guys even bother to read the service campaign bulletin? Toyota has admitted there is a problem with 05-08 2nd gens. period.

jeeprjames: the dealer you bought it from should stand behind the truck. read my frame rot ("cancer") thread -- we got a frame swap BEFORE the E0D campaign was issued.

 

Yes I DID read the Bulletin. I'm very concerned in how they handled this, how customers were handled and is it really fixed?? The thread does not say 05 tacos or before, it says 05 +. There are Mny users here talking about 08+ vehicles.

I also tried contacted Corporate multiple times to ask them what was fixed and when - and should I be worrying about my vehicle year. In not so many words the company denied any issues other than what they have already released info for (the bulletin you refer to) and would not give me any other information on my questions. They also eluded to any issues seen on blogs/web are not confirmed and valid and with a typical Public Relations wording .... could I please take my silly little questions down the hall.

 

i eluded to this in my letter to the PA Attorney Generals office. E0D is not "approved" in PA as of yet. I'm not aware of the specifics of how things like this are pushed through - whether its under debate, or just low in priority. Hopefully my letter will add some weight to the issue.

 

Reading through your thread now!

 

At least they are trying to fix it now before 13 people had to die I guess?

 

Just got an email from the salesman I dealt with at Toyota of North Charlotte saying they would like to buy my truck back from me at "120% of Black Book Value". What a joke!

 

Got my followup call from Toyota Customer Experience.

Essentially stated what i was expecting: that Toyota has a program in place that is limited and rolling out to vin ranges (of which, my vin is not included). She worded the official response to indicate be patient and wait for Toyota to contact owners when their vin is up for inspection/recall.

She wouldn't directly acknowledge campaign E0D, but essentially confirmed that this was the holdup (in my situation/state).

I asked if there were any ways that i could expedite the vin rollout, or if there were any other resources i should/could pursue. She reiterated that this was Toyota's official stance until (E0D) my vin range is selected for inspection/remediation.

Additionally, she stated that being that i have a hole in my frame, that if i choose to have it repaired prior to any official word from Toyota, to save any receipts so that i may be reimbursed "when" Toyota approves the recall.

 

How bad is this rusting? I sanded, rust reformed, and painted my frame from front tires back, but not to in the front where this is and wanted to know how bad this is. Thanks for your help guys

 

^^^^How does your frame look by the catalytic converters? That's where mine has a hole big enough to to put a beer can in.

 

Great storage space, but the beer would likely get hot and burst the can... I don't recommend putting a beer can in there...

 

^^^Well played sir

 

Metal rusts

Surface rust is ugly but not exactly bad

 

Would you say mine is just surface rust then? Most of it seems to me like it is, but I wasn't sure about all of it

 

When I bought my truck back in 2012 I had planned on having the frame sand blasted by a body shop shop and repainted within the first five years of ownership. The truck gets around thirty thousand miles year and I wanted to keep it for at least fifteen years. So knowing next to nothing about the the first gen recalls I started saving right away for the repainting with a dedicated savings account and monthly deposits. I figured the price of redoing the frame would be cheap insurance on a truck with reliability as good as the tacoma. I'd be right too if it keeps going the way mine has. It was also intended to be for major repairs and eventual down payment on a new vehicle.

I started seeing rust issue threads this winter, not something I researched on this forum before buying the truck. They probably wouldn't have made a difference though, just a slight change in plans. Fast forward to this spring when I installed skids. i had now seen threads about the rusting through frames by the cat's.

The transfer case skid required drilling a hole through the bottom part of the c-channel frame. The frame at this point is two pieces of sandwiched steel. On the drivers, where there is no cat on the I4, there was just paint where the two pieces of sandwiched steel were. i stopped numerous time and definitely saw where they met. I do things that compare to this for a living. On the passengers side there was a thin layer of rust there, maybe 1/16". I know this for a fact, and remember it because I was using a shitty old 12 volt drill with a 1/2" bit. Took forever to drill though the first side, driver's, and I had to stop and recharge the battery on the passenger side. I remember stopping occasionally and looking at the hole as the drill slowed down (shit how much longer is this going to take?) and seeing the rust and how long it took to get through the layer.

Long story short the sandwiched steel causes a problem that that can't be fixed with a wire wheel/brush/grinder and paint. The cat's exacerbate this problem as been shown in other threads where steel exposed to salt brine rust faster when exposed the warmth put off by the cat's. No amount of preventative maintenance would fix this. Oiling or coating the frame might slow it down as it inhibits salt getting between the sandwiched sections, but it would still be a problem. Should this be toyota's problem, I don't know, but they have accepted responsibility which now means it is.

My plans have changed for the truck. Now I will use it as long and as hard as I can. Hope the frame gets replaced in six or so years, on toyotas dime, and if it doesn't I'll pay cash for a new vehicle that I hope is a better tacoma. Love this truck and the use it has taken, but the frame design leaves a little to be desired.

 

IMHO what you posted is just surface rust. Would not be a problem if you attacked it with a wire wheel/brush or grinder and repainted.

The surface rust you can't see in between the sandwiched part of the frames is what will get your tuck though. If there is rust like that in the sandwiched parts nothing will save it now. This is the rust most people are falling victim to.

 

Some of those areas will be really rough to brush and paint... There were just a few parts that the welds seemed like they were flaking off.
Appreciate your help