Kansas City Tacoma Crew - 816/913

Dang that sounds like it should have been replaced

 

Hopefully yours can be taken care with minimal investment.
Yeah my letter said I’m not in a salt belt and not eligible but they would inspect it. Such a joke. Bought the truck in SC, lived a few places with it. Obviously in KS now. It starts looking bad to me and I’ll get rid of it. Would love to drive it into the ground not if the frame becomes a safety issue.

 

X2

 

Y'all know about Fluid Film, right?

 

Yep

 

Then quit yer bitchin

 

Ha ha nope lol

 

Shouldn't be necessary to do

 

ya its my fav drink

 

That’s my feelings on it too

 

Steel Rusts. Don't like it..... Come up with something better.

 

I have a 45 year old truck with a body turning into Swiss cheese, yet there isn't a single hole in the frame and it has never been treated for winter.

Yes, steel rusts, but some in worse ways than others depending on the particular metallurgy. What makes the Tacoma's frame so special that it even requires a recall in the first place?

Other than extreme (more northern) climates, I've never heard of anyone regularly winter treating a vehicle that wasn't a Tacoma, and I've owned and been around some severely neglected and abused vehicles in my time. Bodies virtually always rotted out before frames, except on Tacomas.

 

X2. My one car is 22 years old. It needs work to keep it reliable and on the road. No frame issues or serious body ones. I’d like to think that Toyota would have figured it out and got this improved / stopped but it continues. I think they have improved it though.

 

I see quite a few newer F-150 with rusty cab corners for truck that are only a handful of years old. Kind of crazy when you consider all the work Ford has put into to improve in areas. Use of aluminum is one. I think mostly in the bed too.

 

All body panels have been aluminum since 2015. Seeing rust in 12th gen and older, probably?

 

Yeah I’d say most of them are that I’ve seen. Ford changes so often I can’t even track the gens that well anymore lol

 

It does seem to be an issue that plagues mid-size trucks, especially. Believe it or not though, Colorado's have more rust issues than Toyota's. The issue is Toyota is renowned for reliability so of course they take the heat. The taco also out sells the Colorado two to one, something Chevy will never want to admit but they have frame cracking issues and basically tell their customers to take a hike.

Unfortunately, from my research, all of this high strength steel has higher carbon content, which for reasons, Rusts more than older steel types. Technically, your 40-year-old Ford probably has a week or frame than a new taco, even though it doesn't rust or barely rusts by comparison.

Overall, I like what Toyota does engineering-wise on their approaches to things. But if I was anywhere in the company, literally one of the first things I would do is straighten out this frame issue. That's been a thing now for 25 plus years.

My guess is for the money it's not worth R&D a new frame type or new metal type or whatever and finding someone to make them. The American company. Dana makes Toyota frames along with Colorado's in several others, and essentially they're the ones to blame. However, Toyota is the largest car company in the world. They could either build their own I'm sure or hold this company accountable.

 

I can see that and get it. Wonder if trying to find a happy medium for the mid size truck market causes some quality issues to? Over built frame = more cost, gas mileage gets worse ect. I’d still take my taco all day long.

 

It’s going to unusually warmer today. Going to drag my hose out and wash my vehicles and underneath the Taco really well. High of 54 today. Hopefully it doesn’t take to long to warm up.

 

Makes sense about high-strength steel and carbon content. I'd also read about Dana's bankruptcy in 2006 and its possible affect on parts quality. Match that with the primary years of concern for the frame recall.

Yes, my '78 F-250 likely has a weaker frame than the Tacoma; c-channel vs box. My '93 YJ has a completely boxed frame from end-to-end. They've also been known to have frame concerns in more caustic environments, but again not anywhere in comparison to contemporary Toyota pickups and first gen Tacomas. I tend to not clean it well and it is a dedicated beater/winter vehicle, and I haven't found any significant frame deterioration. 2011 Tacoma stays parked until spring.

Friend of mine who is an engineer for Toyota has said pretty much the same thing about R&D on the frames. That part had been designed and paid for with the second gens, and it was more cost effective to pay out a replacement program than properly fix the issue. There is no long-term business in vehicles that don't wear out, they just need them to last through warranty. See also: GM sidesaddle fuel tanks and the Ford Pinto.