Question about my frame rust

Just wondering what people's opinions are about my rusty frame. I'm trying to decide if I should take it in now to get checked out or wait until next spring.

My thought is if I take it in now and they apply the coating, then that is just putting a band aid on it. So I was thinking I should maybe wait until after this winter and let it get a little worse before I get it checked out. I didn't notice any holes from just glancing at it real quick. I did notice a lot of big, thick flakes coming off. Its a 2006 and I am in Michigan if that helps any.

If this was your truck would you wait or get it checked out now?










Edit: added year

 

I would assume it will make it another year safely...

The real question is why would you let it get so bad to begin with? If there was no recall you would be screwed. I just spent weeks sanding, priming, and coating my 08's frame so it will last as long as possible. Recall or not in my opinion it's the responsibility of the owner to maintain the vehicle.

 

I just bought the truck about a year ago. The guy before me looked like he tried to do something or just spray painted it. All his work came off after 1 winter.

 

me personally, i would do something now. it's only going to get worse and waiting will just make it harder to do. rust is a cancer and will spread quickly and with winter coming that will accelerate the problem.

i deal with tons of aircooled vw's (bugs), and rust is a big problem. i'm getting pretty good at fixing, stopping, repairing rust issues. fix it now or fix alot more later, that would be your options.

i don't think the truck will fall apart if you wait, it will just take more time and effort to fix. and remember you either have to remove ALL the rust, remove the scale and coat with rust converter (think por-15), AND seal the metal (with either sealer, paint, coatings). if you don't do this the rust will continue and your efforts will be wasted.

 

Sounds like guy you bought it from knew the frame was nasty and just put some lipstick on to help move it.

 

OP, I see you're from Michigan, a northern State, what year is your truck? If it's a 2005 - 2008 ask your dealer if it's included in the recall where they are spraying good frames and replacing perforated one.

I'm in Ontario, and we got the recall as well, my truck is set for a new frame sometime in the next 6 weeks.

 

Its a 2006. In the letter I received from Toyota, it said they would inspect it and if it passed inspection, they would apply a coating. Does this differ depending on dealer?

 

Take a hammer and give it a good whack right beside the driver's side cat. Just did this to mine and it blew a nice hole through it since it was rusting from inside the frame out. I don't know if the Toyota techs do this upon their inspections so it is now quite evident on mine

 

That's the inspect, hit lightly with a hammer

 

I would wait unless you are certain it will fail. If it passes, and they treat it, Toyota has no further obligation to do anything about the problem. I had an appt. and cancelled it . My frame has rust, but I know it would not fail yet, but another 18 months of NY salt and snow, and it might. I have treated mine also, since we bought it. I just scraped down the frame again and treated it with half a dozen cans of Fluid Film, I don't want the thing to rot out, but if it is bad I want Toyota to stand behind it at that point.

 

Take it in. If they treat it but it still rusts out in the future you should be covered.

They can probably blame you if you wait a year or two because you could have brought it in for preventative work which may have saved the frame. It's a risk I wouldn't run.

It pisses me off a bit. I upgraded from my 2006 to a 2013 because of rusty frame and concern about how long it would last. Now I see I could have saved 18 grand and waited for it to f*^*&&%* rust.

 

Good news, I think. I took the trusty hammer to my frame and tapped by the catalytic converter and sure enough, there is now a hole there. I'm going to try and get it checked out next week, along with the leaf springs.