Frame rust recall

Yes I agree ,,,, however since Toyota has been pretty stand up on this for its customers, I call Corp anyway, just in case they are in a good mood. It will only take a few minutes time ...

 

I got my card in the mail and read over the long form. If I understand correctly I think right now the deadline is March 27, 2017 to exclude yourself from the class action or notify them you seek reimbursement. My truck passed the previous limited service campaign so I still have my original frame that is not CRC coated (not all states got CRC coating). So I think I want to do nothing at this point and remain in the class, get another inspection and warranty for frame perforation. That's either 1 year (2018) or 12 years from first service (2020), have to re-read to figure that out.

 

I lived in New England for 45 years, been here (NE Florida) for 26 now, so I have first hand experience with rust damage*--but every time I see photos I still cringe. My '09 DCSB "Florida car" with137k miles looks like new underneath...

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* - I bought a new '69 Charger Daytona. Two years later the rocker panels were so rusted out that when you jacked the car with the bumper jack you could not open the doors...

 

I never received a recall notice nor have I ever had my frame looked at. I cleaned and POR15 it 2 years ago because it's a mess. I received my class action notice yesterday. I think I'm screwed! I have a 2010 DCLB and live in NH. Not sure if I should call Toyota and say I never received a recall notice or not?

 

Per my reading of the settlement agreement terms your 2010 is eligible for inspection and either CRC or frame replacement (depending on the inspection's findings) until 2022. The fact that you applied a CRC coating yourself is not relevant to any terms of the agreement that I can find (had you had the frame replaced you would be eligible for reimbursement for that cost), and does not alter Toyota's obligation to inspect and coat or replace your frame under the settlement agreement.

For now just wait until final judgement is rendered, then schedule an inspection...

 

Here is one way to fix it.

 

That passes motor vehicle inspection???

 

If the lawsuit goes through, will this cover all trucks for the years mentioned? I got my 09 3 weeks ago so I never got the post card that you guys did. The frame looks pretty good, but would be nice to have another 5 years covered. Is there something I need to sign up for?

 

Unfortunately, unless you owned it on or before December 2, 2016 (the date of the Preliminary Approval Order) the answer is that you are not a class member; i.e. your vehicle is not covered.

From the Settlement Agreement, page 5 section II.8.:

“Class” means, for settlement purposes only, all persons, entities or organizations who, at any time as of the entry of the Preliminary Approval Order, own or owned, purchase(d) or lease(d) Subject Vehicles distributed for sale or lease in any of the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and all other United States territories and/or possessions. [emphasis added]

The Preliminary Approval Order was entered on December 2, 2016.

From the Long Form Notice, page 5 section B.6.:

You are part of the settlement if you are a person, entity or organization who, at any time as of or before December 2, 2016, own or owned, purchase(d), or lease(d) Subject Vehicles distributed for sale or lease in any of the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or any of the territories or possessions of the United States. This is called the “Class.” [emphasis in original]

The "own or owned" language is interesting. I believe it is intended to include those who had owned a covered vehicle and had paid for frame replacement, so that they might be eligible for reimbursement. However it could be asserted that the person from whom you bought your '09 is a class member and could seek remedy even though you now own it.

This (a cut-off date significantly ahead of a final order) is often done in broad product liability class action suits as a means of making it unprofitable to go about buying up covered products and making a windfall from the suit's remedy(s).

The good news is that if your frame looks good it has likely "weathered the storm" and will be good for another 5 years.

 

Well that sucks.

 

Yeah, but it could be worse--you could have a non-included vehicle with a rusted, perhaps badly rusted, frame.

What you might want to do is--but first I would call the suit administrator and make sure my interpretation is correct--exclude yourself from the class (fill out and submit this form). That way if you do have a problem down-the-road (no pun intended) you will be able to individually sue Toyota.

You have until March 27 to file the opt-out form.

Which BTW brings up a point I had not before considered. The 12/2/2016 cut-off date for being considered a class member pretty much destroys the current sale value of any '05 to '10 Tacoma (or '07-'08 Tundra or '05-'08 Sequoia) that has significant (you be the judge) frame rust, as if not owned by 12/2/2016 they are not included in the suit's remedies...

 

Thank your for the advice. Im going to look into this. Its going to the dealer on Friday for a new aux jack, so im going to have them look at it while its there. I did my best to get around and look under it, but must have missed this spot. I bought it from a Toyota dealer and they assured me that they would not sell a vehicle that had an issues.

This spot has me concerned.

 

Goodness, that is pretty bad--where are you located? I'd go to that dealer tomorrow and say something along the line of WFT!

Here's what a"Florida" '09 w/137k miles looks like:

 

Im in New York, on Long Island to be more specific.

 

What does he other side of the frame look like in that area? They are known to rot out on the inside frame rail next to the catelayic converter. What I see in yours isn't a lost cause, wire wheel that loose flakey rust off and fluid film it. You could also use a rust converter followed by por15, then fluid film.

Here is my 2004 that I had fixed, if this can be salvaged , yours is a piece of cake!

 

Not too sure, guess I'll have to crawl under ther and find out or ask them to put it on the lift tomorrow.

Thats pretty crazy man. What did it cost to fix that?

 

That is significant rust IMO. I'd be concerned about unseen corrosion inside the frame.

 

The other side from what I could tell looks pretty good. Couldnt fit under there to see, but looked from the other side and was running my hand on it and it felt smooth. From what I can see the rest of the frame looks decent. Being on Long Island with salt on the roads and a lot of people taking the trucks on the beach(this one was) I know I will never get a clean frame. Still im going to let the dealer know about this when I see them tomorrow. This truck was not cheap and only has 50,000 miles. Im also going to contact the lawsuit and see if theres something they can do. I understand about people trying to beat the system and cash in on it, but it seems stupid that it isnt even approved yet and there is a deadline for when the vehicle was purchased.

 

Just got the frame replaced very happy with it and drives a hell of a lot better

I was out a total of$413 but had them replace the belt, transmission mount and one brake caliber

 

As I stated earlier once these suits reach the point that they will be settled, or it's close to 99.44% certain they will be, it is very common for class membership to be closed--it sucks if you are on the tail-end, however it is necessary to prevent honorable claimants from getting screwed over by the assholes. There is also often a cap on how much the defendant must spend; if the a-holes flood the suit then and the money runs out, then many legitimate owners could end up screwed.

Moral of the story is research the crap out of any vehicle you buy, new or used. When I bought my '09 in October this lawsuit one of the first "hits" I got on Google when searching for "tacoma recalls lawsuits"...