Frame Replaced

Yesterday afternoon, in NW, Ohio, I recovered my 2004 Tacoma,4 WD, V6, Access cab, 137,000 miles, from a local Toyota dealer after the frame was replaced. It had broken completely in half at the arch centered above the right rear passenger side leaf spring. The failure resulted from extensive internal corrosion that spread to the outside. This frame was undercoated 6 times, starting when new, again in 2010 during the Toyota National Undercoating Campaign and four times after that along with a frame inspection each time. Once again at the dealer in 2014 and three more times at a professional undercoating company, the last time being December, 2015. On two occasions the frame had the undercoating scrapped off by hand so new undercoating would adhere better. The frame still failed. The truck has never been off road, has never been over loaded and has been in our family since new. The frame replacement has been a very interesting experience. Included paperwork lists labor for $6000.00 and parts for $6398.00. total: $12,398.00. All paid for by Toyota. An incredible investment in a 13 year old truck considering the dealer's trade-in offer, after frame replacement of $7000.00 toward a new ruck.I think for that I will just keep it and drive it for another few years. It does not even use any oil between the 3000 mile oil changes and every fluid in the vehicle has now been changed.

I have zero complaints, How could I not? I love the way the truck handles. It is quieter, has zero squeaks, rides smoother, steers better and is much nicer to drive. The frame came with a kit that included new rear springs, all new brake lines, brake line diverter tees and fittings, new fuel tank retaining straps, new antifreeze, new brake fluid, a front end alignment and a ton of new hardware. I opted to absorb the cost to replace the fuel tank skid plate, front skid plate, new emergency brake hardware and bell crank, plus new rear shocks, all at my expense. The body and interior are flawless and now I am considering replacing the original front struts to match the rear suspension in newness, the timing belt and the other two belts ,redo the brakes, and review the possibility of replacing the control arm bushings and the ball joints both of which do not appear to be worn, but so the entire front suspension will be as new as the rest of the chassis.

I am just amazed that Toyota approved the frame replacement but very, very, grateful as this clean truck would have been junk without Toyota. The frame alone listed for $3500.00.

 

i'm blown away that it was undercoated since new - it must have corroded between when it was new after first undercoat and 2010. i wonder if they sprayed inside the frame?

 

Wow, what this makes me wonder is : what undercoating material was used. Some will harden and allow more dirt to settle in cracks and rust worse. It makes me feel really good about Fluid film as it stays a gross, sticky crap which is good. After several years of fluid film treatment my frame has a nice thick coat of goo. I will be scraping some small sample off to verify that what I am saying is true........

 

The frames rot on a molecular level from the inside out. Nothing will stop it.

 

That's super optimistic.

 

My '04 DC just failed the dealer inspection, and will be getting a new frame. Much like yours, mine had been cleaned, painted, and sprayed with WD40 each year. Went through the coating process in the initial recall. I plan to try the fluid film regime with the new frame. Certainly is a big expense for Toyota. Glad I am very satisfied with my truck, and have it outfitted the way I want, as I look to be keeping it for years to come now!!

 

Seagull233,
My new frame and probably yours too, arrived fully coated inside and out with satin, or low gloss, black paint. Before it was inside the dealer's garage and still on it's shipping pallet, I painted the exterior and as much as I could of the interior, using three of the tall cans of Rustoleum Professional spray paint. Maybe 5 coats on the entire frame, around 10 minutes between each one. Just enough for it to set up. I too will do the inner frame fluid treatment before winter approaches. My old frame was internally paraffin coated and it still rusted, from the inside out. The frame was shipped with a kit that included new rear springs, new cross members, two new fuel tank suspension straps, new rear shocks, all new emergency brake cables and hardware, all new nuts and bolts, and every single brake or hydraulic line in the entire vehicle was replaced, including all those that attach to that module under the hood on the top of the right inner fender. When they transferred the coil over strut assemblies, which were still good, they used all new mounting hardware, a really nice thing if you opt to replace any parts. I did opt for a new front skid plate, new fuel tank stone shield, an emergency brake bell crank for the right side, and a couple of other small parts recommended for replacement. That cost me $1200.00 but was a good deal as the labor charge for that work was very low because they had to move them anyway even though the original's were total junk. The tech. will give the Service Writer his recommendation for any parts that he feels need to be replaced. You are not required to do this. It's only a recommendation. One thing to consider is asking the tech. to pull the front brake caliper pins, clean them, lubricate them and reinstall them. Takes only a few minutes and can make a significant difference if your's have never had that done. Sticking pins prevent the caliper from fully retracting and creates drag. One other item is they are supposed to do a complete front end alignment as part of the frame replacement. On my paper work it indicates this was done and the Service Writer told me it had been done. I decided to buy new tires as my were worn so I went with the Michelin Defender LTX tires and they are fabulous. Much quieter than the other tires which were Michelin Tours. The dealer had a hard time balancing them and in the end the tire dealer used a machine called a Force Balancer. You can Google this. It made a huge difference and they also checked the front end alignment and guess what? The toe-in was WAY out of adjustment on both sides explaining why the old tires were significantly more worn on the inner edges of both front tires. The quick answer here is that the dealer never did do the front end alignment. With the new tires, new frame, etc. the truck is now averaging 19.5 mpg for combined town and country driving including expressway driving. Long expressway trips at 70 mph now see 20.5-21.0 mpg. Never saw this before. Prior mpg average was 17.5. The new frame is so much stiffer than the old frame, which I honestly did not realize was so worn and thin, it was flexing. With the new frame the truck drives so much nicer I have decided to keep it for another 2-3 years. The combo of the new frame and new tires have made a huge difference. The tire people agreed with the dealer that the front end was tight and needed nothing. The only negative things I experienced were the left speakers had a ton of static and the cruise control was not working. But after 2-3 days the left speakers returned to normal and the cruise did too, except that it absolutely will not work, hot or cold weather, until the truck is driven about 2 miles or so and then it works perfectly. Amazing. So now it drive's like a new truck. I hope you have the same outcome. The day I dropped off the truck I told the dealer that not having it was going to cause a hardship for our family and I was given a brand new 2016 Corrolla, at no cost, for the entire time. I only had to pay for gas. I had to sign a form where it was stated the rental cost would be $35.00/day but they billed that directly to Toyota. Total for that benefit was $840.00. Total cost for the frame replacement was $12,380 plus the $840.00 for the rental car. Total: $13,180.00. Interestingly, I called the Regional Sales Manager before the frame was shipped and made him an offer: I said,"If you will give me $10,000 for my truck,which is pristine except for the frame, you will save Toyota at least $3000.00, you can sell the truck to a wrecking yard for parts for maybe $500.00 and I will use that $10,000 as a down payment to immediately buy a new Tundra at any one of your dealerships. He declined my offer and did not even counter offer. Fine with me. Spend the $13,000+ and I will be happy. I know I can drive this truck for another year and then sell this 137,000, V6, 4WD, extended cab with zero chrome or body rust for $13-14,000 and be happy. It has been a very, very, good outcome and I hope yours is every bit as good. The Toyota people have been very polite, considerate and easy to work with. Except for the tech. who was supposed to do the front end alignment, and not doing it, the entire experience was amazing and I am extremely grateful to Toyota and everyone I was able to meet for everything they did.

 

Move to the southwest and stay away from the ocean, works for me lol.

 

My '03 will be at the dealers' soon for its annual frame inspection. My "in service" date is 8/03, so have just a little over a year left on the extended warranty. The frame looks terrible, but passes the hammer test (theirs-so far-and mine this year).

This year I want the tech to do an overall assessment of the truck. Should the frame pass, I want to know what other issues should be addressed, and what the long term prognosis of the frame is. Then I'll decide if I want to keep the truck another year, and maybe beyond the warranty period. If the frame fails, and is replaced, there is no question: I will make any necessary repairs and they will bury me in the Tacoma.

 

It all sounds very good to me. Just last year, I went through my truck, and replaced all of the "wear" items. New shocks and struts, new calipers and rotors, timing belt and all other belts, full tune-up, got a warranty replacement for my Magnaflow stainless steel exhaust, had to replace the skid plate for the gas tank (about all that was left was six inches or so on each end), added a home made brushguard, LED driving lights and light bar up top, mounted on a new basket on the cap, added a ham radio. Really have it just the way I want it. Glad Toyota is going to replace the frame, as I should get many more years of use out of it. It only has 114,000 on it.

 

Sadly

 

I am glad to see and read some of your articles that Toyota is doing some frames but not others I guess only a few places out there that fight for the customer get this won I was told it was a northern recall only I live in GA bought truck in FL went to put a Reese hitch under to pull a trailer the frame was gone no where to bolt it up