Toyota Frame Settlement Postcard

Cliff,

Thanks for the excellent summary.

Is it true that for the proposed settlement after Corrosion Resistant Coating (CRC) is applied, that fulfills (is the end of) Toyota's obligation to the vehicle owner regarding frame repairs?

 

Does anyone else find the irony in a member w/the screen name 'cliff' summarizing something in nice tidy notes for people digest in a single sitting? ;-)

 

Yes per my interpretation...

 

You are not the first to make this connection...

 

Not to beat a dead horse but, I had the frame inspected about a year and a half ago but no significant perforation was found so nothing was done. Am I correct in assuming that if this does go through that I would be eligible for another inspection and an undercoating assuming my frame isn't too badly corroded.

 

I'm in the affected group but the previous owner had the truck Ziebarted through the dealer when they bought it. I wonder how that'll affect me now.

 

If the frame continues to be sound I would consider opting-out of the agreement rather than having it inspected under the terms of the judgement, once final. I say this because as I read the proposed agreement it's a "one shot" deal--i.e. continuing as a class member, having it inspected under the settlement agreement, and found not corroded or found corroded only enough for a CRC treatment means you will be barred from any future action against Toyota.

I could be wrong about this, you may want to call the law firm handling the suit...

 

If the frame looks good I would consider opting-out of the class action suit. As I stated above if you remain a class member by not explicitly opting-out you waive your right to pursue Toyota re: frame issues in the future.

This is the sucky thing about class action lawsuits; someone you don't know, who doesn't know you decided that you are an aggrieved party, and unless you specifically (usually there's a form) exclude your self from the class you waive any future rights re: the issuesvpresented in the suit. This waiver may not be enforcable, but it will complicate things if you later file a suit for the same issue...

 

Ive got an 05 trd off road sr5 tacoma. i bought it june of this year with 80 k miles on it. the dead line to have the frame inspected was march of this year, the previous owner never got the frame inspected before march of 2016. this new settlement says up to 12 years from first service... my truck was purchased on 02-30-05 the first service was done on 04-30-05.....do you think i qualify this go around ? or did i miss the dead line by a few days again?

 

Read my "Cliff's Notes" post above--it answers your question...

 

So, lets say your frame is free of perforations but potentially going downhill fast, it's inspected and no perforations are found, and the crc is applied... Will this extend a warranty until 'twelve years from first service', during which time your frame could be inspected again and replaced if it had further degraded to the point of perforating? I vaguely recall that's how it worked with the first gen recall

 

I do it.. I clean the frame out after it's been driven to the beach, in snow, and just when it looks dusty..

 

Believe your assumptions may not be correct - see posts #42 & #44 this thread. Cliff appears to have studied many of the numerous pages that are involved in order to understand details of the proposed settlement as it stands today. I have found no mention in the material describing this proposed settlement of any subsequent action from Toyota once CRC is applied. Not that my read has been exhaustive. IMHO appears you are on your own once CRC is applied.

 

Sub'd.........

 

As I indicated in my "notes" above the agreement provides that a class member MUST: "Have the frame of your vehicle inspected by an authorised Toyota dealer the longer of either (a) twelve (12) years from the date the vehicle was originally sold or leased; or (b) one (1) year from the date of entry of the Final Order and Judgment."

The language "the longer of" is important. For the following examples I will assume final judgement is entered on June 26, 2017 as suggested on the website.

So,

For early purchase 2005 MY Tacomas, for example purchased on July 15, 2004, 12 years would be July 15, 2016--however because of the alternative "one year from date of final judgement or" you would have until June 26, 2018 to have the inspection done;

For a 2005 MY purchased on May 15 of 2005 12 years would be May 15, 2017--however again because of the alternative "one year or" you would have until June 26, 2018 to have the inspection done;

Twelve years prior to June 26, 2018 was June 26, 2006--so any Tacoma purchased on or before June 26, 2006 would have to be inspected before June 26, 2018--except for the "...longer of 12 years from sold/leased..." language.

Trucks purchased after June 26, 2006 have 12 years from the date of purchase (the longer of 12 years or one year after final judgement):

I.e.

A Tacoma purchased on June 26, 2007 has until June 26, 2019;
Purchased on June 26, 2008 has until June 26, 2020;
Purchased on June 26, 2009 has until June 26, 2021;
For a 2010 MY purchased as a "left-over" on January 15 of 2011 the "must inspect by" will be January 15, 2023;
...​

The above has for me proven to be a useful exercise, causing me to rethink my opting-out of the class action as my '09 was originally purchased July 24, 2009. This means my frame, though now like new as it has been a "Florida car" its whole life, will be covered under the settlement until July 24, 2021.

All this said, my interpretation of the settlement is that these are "one shot" remedies--I.e. if your vehicle is serviced under terms of the settlement agreement (new frame or CRC application) that's it. No new clock starts ticking.

Which leads me to one other suggestion. Calculate the last inspection date for your vehicle (as described above) and if your frame is not so bad that something must be done immediately or in the near future, then wait until closer to your "must inspect by" date; that way you will still be eligible for inspection, and perhaps a new frame or CRC, years from now...

 

That is my understanding as well, if this is a concern to anyone a call to the attorneys would be the best way to clear it up...

 

Maybe there is some cash value for diminished value or something like that?

 

The last 6-digits of any North America market VIN are a sequential number assigned to a particular vehicle. The postcards are showing the last 4 to allow the recipient to link it to their particular truck.

The settlement agreement references only model years as included vehicles--2005 through 2010 for Tacomas--i.e. all '05 to '10 Tacos are covered by the settlement...

 

I had an 08 that I traded on my 2015, so I guess I qualify for nothing?

 

Curious as to why you traded? I just (early November) bought an '09 with 135k miles, and it will likely be my last "car".

My wife and I are big Toyota fans, she has the record with an '89 Celica GT that was traded in at 408k miles for a '00 RAV 4 (with 75k), that was traded in at 235k miles for an '03 Highlander (with 90k) we still own (at 210k). I had a 1985 Corolla (my last new car, the last of the RWD Corollas) that I traded in 2001 for a 1998 Corolla wagon--it had 385k miles.

Keep the fluids fresh and clean, and perform routine maintenance, and these sucka's will run for a LONG time...