Rustproof or not??

It looks like it held up well, I would wager the Midwest is a lot easier on vehicles than the north east coast of Canada or even the north east coast of the USA. Our climate is so up and down and road salt starts October and ends in April (being applied) -30 one day +15 the next.

 

i spent many winters at the wand wash hosing what i could reach in the numbing cold, but i was mostly concerned with the body panels keeping it all clean as i could
these are some pics i got from the local salvage yard from a truck a month older than mine (03/97) and 100k more miles
it was always registered in same town (per carfax) until it met its demise on the roads earlier this year with a police sticker to 'please remove vehicle from the road'

Toyota does not put my area on the cold climate list and we have NO problems! nothing to worry about

 

Looks new, is there some rust on it?

 

This thing was still on the road!?

Im gonna have to use this next time I see a 3d gen guy in AZ complaining about a little bit of surface rust on the rear diff....

 

It’s the carbon steel circle of life.

 

as far as i know it was abandoned on the road here
police notice in the back window
no evidence of a collision, just a collapsed frame and suspension

 

That's scary and also shows the inferiority of a Toyota frame!

You can tell the frame metal is junk, I mean look at the pictures, even the heat shields are not rusted, those studs the hold them on rust Quickly up here

My 2004 had huge holes in the frame and all body panels, even the rockers, were like new. That should tell them something

 

this one apparently missed the buyback and crushing under warranty (or some other reason who knows)
it had 3 owners that probably did not know anything about the issues going on 10 years ago
i certainly did not!
and never received a notice to get mine inspected, the Toyota service departments here really have no clue about this issue

 

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I don't mind brushing or sanding away at rust spots and spraying something over. I need to remove my hangers anyway, and that'll require grinding. I've never heard of Eastwood, though. Figured some rustoleum or something would do the trick.

 

Now I know why I got that Toyota mailer yesterday regarding the warranty being extended to 12 years on the frame for cold weather states.

 

I live in Western NY, I fluid filmed the crap out of mine before the first snow fall. I'll update in the spring. Also didnt feel like taking down the spare.. lazy me

 

I have no clue haha! You never touched it since it was sprayed?

 

not directly under the floor pan, under the bed or behind the rockers, there may be some scattered gravel or rock chips & cracks but didn't seem to be real bad under there after a quick look
those bare silver spots on the floor pan are ricochet from the blaster gun cleaning the frame down to bare metal, I just sprayed some FF on those spots until i figure out what to do about it, touch it up or redo it with new stuff because the old coating seems very brittle.

in the wheel well the coating had worn off over the years from the power wand sprayer at the wash
the halogen light really brightens the bad spots starting to pop up

 

For what it is worth when I went to get my new 19 off roads first fluid film application today the two vehicles in line before me were also tacos.... Worst case I am out 500 bucks over the next few years... Best case I avoid rust which is a pain to fix. Seems like a reasonably low risk bet to me but you do what you feel comfortable with. I wouldn't pay more than about 250 (and that's high but the local shops first year price... Drops to 150 for subsequent years). Some shops tried to get 500+ for it and I am glad I kept looking.

 

Doesnt take more than a few minutes to get the spare down. Then you can get the cross members, spare tire hanger, and the rim of the spare itself

 

What is the #1 reason (in the North) Vehicles are taken off the Road ?

 

ice

 

Story changes. What did you expect???

 

Not sure. I meant to ask yesterday. I'll ask and report back.

 

No problem. Everyone's mileage varies. I can see the potential problem if water makes it through the undercoating. I guess the key is keeping an eye on it and addressing as necessary.

Time will tell if the factory rustproofing and undercoating is worth it. They use a clear rustproofing on the body panels. Black undercoating on the undercarriage and underside. Selling point for me was the lifetime warranty. They'll inspect every 2 years and touch up as needed. I'll be keeping a closer eye on it and if I see any issues it'll be going back sooner. Can't see Toyota offering a lifetime warranty if the stuff is garbage.

The factory applied rustproofing and undercoating worked well on my 2001 and 2008 Rav4s. Both were done at the dealer. Both were purchased used. Both were 10 years old when I got rid of them and only minor rust underneath. I drive about 30 000 km a year. The 2001 was touched up after I was rear ended. Other than that they weren't touched.