Toyota charging me $$$ for frame replacement.

I have been dealing with Toyota on a rusted frame replacement issue for over 2 years now. They say my truck is finally done but they are sticking me a $5000 bill for excess parts!
What are my options?

I first contacted their Customer Experience Center in August 2017 to ask about the recalled spare tire carrier and an excessively rusted frame on my 2003 Tacoma. The 15 year extended frame warranty was about to expire in December 31 of that year. This started a long, ugly, annoying battle with Toyota to get them to honor their obligation to replace my frame. It took 6 months for them to finally "agree" to do the work... nearly 5 months later still driving my truck around with the recalled spare tire carrier, and failed frame, my muffler rusted off and dragged down the road. I told them it was a liability and safety hazard to be driving around and in July 2018 they put me in a rental car and parked my truck at the back of their lot for another 6 months or so while they "waited on parts".

I had many conversations with the dealership asking why they were wasting so much money on a rental car and that maybe they could just cut me a check for my truck and be done with it all. I asked for a parts list and details on the work and I have never been presented anything in writing about the warranty, work agreement, timeline, parts etc etc. They needed to outsource the frame replacement because not many shops have the needed experience here, but my truck sat at the new shop for months and they refused to start the job until Toyota agreed to full compensation or clarified who was paying for the work should it go over their Toyotas tight budget. The dealer started talking about how I may end up covering the excess parts which could end up a few thousand dollars but he still couldnt give me any clear answers or anything in writing. At that point, it had been several more months and I told him I just wanted my truck back without the replacement. I was going to sell it as is to someone who wanted to deal with it and cut my losses. For whatever reason he didnt want me to do that. The shop refused to take the job eventually and the truck was shipped to another shop in a nearby city where they struggled with Toyota over ordering the parts needed and it took them another 6 months to do the work. The dealer has been telling me now that I'm gonna be on the hook for over $5,000! They never gave me any options for which parts I wanted to upgrade or replace that weren't part of their warranty coverage. I told him my truck would never be worth that much in resale value and Im still making payment on the original used car loan... that much plus the price I originally paid I could have bought a truck 10 years newer!

I still havent seen any paperwork. My truck was transferred back to the dealership, but apparently had some wiring and alternator issues and they needed to keep it longer still to fix all that onsite. Ive tried talking to a couple lawyers about what I can do but havent found one that covers this kind of issue. To me all of this is fucking ridiculous. Owning this truck and dealing with Toyota has been a giant nightmare. I dont think I should have to pay $5000 to cover excess parts that crumbled when they removed them because of the cancerous rust that spread from the frame to everything it touched. The body, engine, and interior of the truck was pristine... it was their faulty frame that rusted out and spread to the rest of the underside components.

Supposedly Im gonna get the final call to come pick up my truck from the dealership this next week (not holding my breath on that one). I dont know what my options are at this point between pay whatever price they throw at me or forfeit my truck.

Has anyone heard of any cases like this? Did Toyota make you pay after the frame replacement? Can I even negotiate? Know a good lawyer that wont cost me more than what I supposedly owe Toyota?

 

Holy molee! - I hope everything works out in your favor

 

Sounds like the dealership has been giving you the runaround from the beginning. Do you have a case with Toyota Corp? I would be only dealing with them at this point, not the dealership.

 

You need to talk ONLY to TOYOTA CORP, not the Stealership!

Open a case with TOYOTA's corporate offices. When you are eligible for frame replacement, Toyota gives YOU the option to pay for non-included new replacement parts. They do not (or are not supposed to) arbitrarily install NEW parts that the then charge you for; that's illegal!

Don't give them a PENNY; open a case with Toyota corporate, and stick to your guns! They will cave; just give em time. Call this number and tell them about it:
Toyota
800-331-4331

 

You're not required to pay a penny in CA if there's no work order given and your signature is not present for approval.

 

2 Toyota Tacoma's, no frame switched over.... Cut a check for buyout. 30 day free car rental.

Perhaps file a dealership complaint with Attorney General in your state....?

If the big suits at Toyota Corporation give you more grief, put your foot down!!

 

I originally had a case number with the Toyota Customer Experience Center which is the phone number suggested above. I called them so many times during the initial push to get them to take responsibility for the frame, but it became obvious they are just secretaries/messengers to screen calls for the people who actually make the decisions in corporate which is a completely different division. The Toyota Regional Office is where the corporate field reps work but they do not take customer calls or visits. They only communicate with the dealerships and CEC call center. However, I guess it cant hurt to open a new complaint through them about the excess parts issue and see if it moves anything. Ill call them tomorrow.

I just filed an online complaint through the Oregon Department of Justice- Consumer Protection. We'll see if they respond.

Im getting nervous about how its gonna go when Toyota Mcminnville calls me in to pick up my truck and presents me with an outrageous bill to sign.

 

Well damn

 

Something is for sure wrong here .

Just what person decided to install these new parts?? Because the clueless techs had no idea how to deal with rusted hardware and parts and broke everything taking it apart .

Be like dropping your truck off for a oil change and they break the nipple off in the oil filter then charge you $2000.00 to pull the engine to repair it.

Just a guess someone at the dealer screwed installed all these parts thinking Toyota would cover them all when they did not now they are in full CYA mode

Having a dealer doing a frame replacement with no clue this is understandable

 

This whole things just sucks and dont kill the messanger...

having dealt with lots of attorneys, the first thing that an attorney will tell you is you "have not been damaged" meaning you are out nothing at this point in time. In order to have a case you will have to actually pay* and then seek reimbursement. Unfortunatly the balance of power is with Toyota... they deal with this everyday, you, once in your lifetime. Toyota is doing what they need to do to cover their liability and that is it, nothing more. As far as not being liable because you didnt sign a W/O, maybe, but I doubt it... they will just lien sale the truck for repairs performed and you will be stuck with payments for a truck you dont own but are financially liable for. The $5k bill is probably still in the range of small claims court in your state but if you do choose this route, Toyota will probably attempt to transfer this to a higher court where an attorney is required, which they know you cant afford...

If you are a homeowner and you bundle home and auto insurance, ask you homeowners insurance rep for advise.

your options as I see it as they come to mind and in no particular order:

1. take possession of the truck, pay the bill then pursue legal action for "damages".
2. take possession of the truck, pay the bill, take it to a different Toyota dealer and see what they will give you for trade in value, in writing**
3. take possession, pay the bill and sell the truck.
4. take possession, pay the bill and drive the truck.
5. do nothing and see what happens.

laws vary from state to state and if you do not pay the bill and take possession of the truck the dealer can start a mechanics lein after 30 days of non payment.

*another tactic that has pitfalls is to pay for this using a Credit Card then deny the charges. The problems with this are that the CC company can deny your "claim" and now you have the bill but at 25% interest on the unpaid balance. If they do accept your claim now you have one person on your side. If you choose to not pay the CC bill, now your credit rating is damaged.

**this has the possibility of adding to the damages claim if they say, "Oh, we see that the frame has been replaced, it has less of a trade in value because of this."

 

You have a Hell of alot more patience than I, put comprehensive on it, wait a month or two and have a electrical fire. The value of that truck is still quite high.

 

Patience is easy to come by as long as the manufacturer is paying for the rental.
I waited 4 months for Ford to process the buyback paperwork in my 2019 f250 that had a bad motor. They gave me a 2019 F250 crew cab powerstroke diesel to drive for 126 days. I put 15k miles on the rental truck. I didnt mind waiting for my check at all.

 

any pictures of your truck?

 

Is some of that 5K labor charges for the replacement parts because that seems to be a LOT of parts.

The labor, if the old part was attached to the frame, should be free.

 

A detailed invoice listing all of the parts would be needed to determine what they have actually replaced and labor for each item if they broke any of it out. It should also show the amount paid by the warranty.

 

What an ordeal, it sucks you've had to deal with all of that. I had a frame replaced two weeks ago by Oxmoor Toyota here in Louisville and process was very smooth. Got approved for the replacement September 3rd and the new frame was ready a month later. They did the frame swap in 10 days, I had a loaner 2020 Corolla while they did the work.

On the invoice for the frame replacement job, my dealership billed Toyota corporate about $6400 in parts and $6900 in labor (60 hrs). However the work log says the tech only worked 43 hours, so I suspect my dealer is able to make some money on these frame replacements. It sounds like the dealer you're working through doesn't handle these very often.

It's not clear what parts they are trying to charge you for, I would demand that first off.The frame replacement from Toyota comes with a frame kit that includes the rear leaf springs, lower control arms, bushings, hard brake lines, etc. The frame itself is like a $5300 part. Toyota corporate should be paying for that though. I agree with the calls to work with Toyota corporate, you may need to find a dealer that has done a few more of these. You're outside the 15 year period at this point, but if you were promised a replacement they should follow through on their promise.

 

And this is why I take priority to the frame before any of this happens. I'm also out of the timeframe so its on me to take care of it in order for me to keep it on the road.

 

As a Toyota tech who’s done numerous frames, my own 04 included, it sounds like you are getting the shaft. Whenever I fail a frame, I tell the service writer to explain that their are some components that Toyota will not cover, and to be prepared to spend some money, but we won’t do ANYTHING without customer approval. I have no clue how they racked up $5000. The only components that could’ve been damaged that aren’t covered are the steering rack, upper control arms, front shocks, cab mounts, trans mount, and gas tank straps. I replaced all those listed components except the front shocks and control arms and resealed the engine and replaced a couple of things I broke and I spent $1300. Unless the truck was an absolute rusted shitbox, it sounds like the tech broke some shit and started throwing parts at it and realized his mistake when it was too late. Stick to your guns, ask to see what additional parts and labor were added, and remind the service manager that you NEVER approved any of these repairs and that you were never notified that any additional repairs were requested

 

im with him.. sounds like the dealers trying to screw you over, They're suppose to get ahold of you if anything extra is needed, they CANNOT throw parts on it without your approval. unless you signed something and didnt read.

we've done tons of frames at work and its never cost someone 5k unless they ASKED for the extra parts. and only one person went that route out of many. typically the frames are done at no cost... even the excessively rotted out ones