How harmful is this and how do I fix it?

If you do choose to use one of the headlight restoration kits (like 3M), be sure to use a sealer as a final step.

Cheers

 

Work smarter, not harder.

 

For starters, let us clear up some incorrect statements made above:
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This is not a true statement. Good grief. Look at the freaking picture. That exhaust pipe pictured above is *not* stainless. Exhaust components on ordinary trucks like Tacomas are made of plain carbon steel. And there are many good reasons for this.

* Cost --> 304 and 316 stainless steel is very expensive due to the additives (Chromium, Nickel, Molybdenum, Manganese, Titanium, etc...) and the smelting procress required to prevent rust. Don't quote me on this, but I believe a typical Taco would cost at least $1000 more if equipped with stainless exaust. Maybe more.

* Weight --> Not a huge issue on a mid sized truck, but stainless is significantly heavier when used in bulk. It is used very judiciouscly on airplanes. Aluminum and titanium are often used instead.

* In the grand scheme of life, exhaust piping is easy and inexpensive to replace on a truck like a Tacoma. See above - so there is *no need* for stainless exhaust. And that is why it is not used for exhaust on Tacos. (If you buy a $200k Corvette ZR1X, your mileage may vary)
------------------------------------

This is also not true. This statement is just incorrect. Wrong. Ask any commercial fisherman with a steel hull or deckworks. Ask anyone who has ever worked offshore on a drilling rig. The yellow painted handrails on exterior stairways to the living quarters rust. The helicopter deck rusts. Not to mention all the process piping and components.

Your truck hood and quarter panels are no different. Ditto your frame --> which is NOT EVEN PAINTED IN THE FIRST PLACE

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So YES Frame corrosion is VERY REAL. I literally just Googled "2015 Tacoma frame corrosion and these pictures resulted.


This one is from .... drum roll.... Minneaapolis.


Supposedly from somewhere in Japan



Yeah, that frame snapped in half due to corrosion.
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Check out the sticky thread for rust proofing.

FLUID FILM, COSMOLINE, WOOLWAX. All petroleum based products that can be sprayed on your frame and undercarriage. Must be done before ROT ensues. Can and will extend the life of your frame. ~$500 per application depending on where you live and the level of existing rust. BEST if applied from Day 1 and re-applied annually.

 

That looks really good.

 

Thanks. Any personal favorites?

 

If you don't think there are frame rot issues you haven't read much on this forum or driven through the back lot of any Toyota dealer where there were piles of rusty frames they swapped.

15 second search results:

"Toyota has replaced frames on an estimated 225,000 trucks as part of a settlement related to rust issues. This settlement, involving a $3.4 billion agreement, also included inspections for approximately 1.5 million vehicles possibly affected by the defect."

 

That is ancient history.

 

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

 

I've had good results with 3m products for restoring headlight plastics and Meguiar makes a good clear coat that can be applied every six months to a year.

Cheers

 

Ancient history? Here's Toyota saying its still an issue for trucks from 2005 to 2017. All those models have the same frame with some minor protection added at the factory later on. There's tons of examples of issues with 2nd gen and we'll start to see those as 3rd gens age. It makes sense to spray the frame down if you're in the rust belt.

"Condition Toyota has received reports regarding frame corrosion perforation on 2011 – 2017 model year Tacoma vehicles. In these reports, customers have indicated that vehicles operated in specific cold climate areas with high road salt usage may exhibit more-than-normal corrosion to the vehicle’s frame. This condition is unrelated to and separate from normal surface rust which is commonly found on metallic surfaces after some years of usage and/or exposure to the environment."
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2017/MC-10152139-9999.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10169416-9999.pdf

 

Live in Canada and we use fluid film, corrosion 3000, wool wax, rust check, or krown. Not sure what you have available in your neck of the woods but any coating yearly applied before the winter will help, and then washing the salt off after the winter season helps.

 

A popular thing in the PNW is to get 1-2 year old trucks at auction from Canada. They end up at used car dealers and of course, sold to consumers in the states. Two things I’ve learned, Canadian vehicles rust like crazy so I can only assume our “rust belt” cars are similar. The other thing is some manufacturers don’t honor the factory warranty if the vehicle was originally a Canadian market one. No offense Canada but if it’s got a maple leaf on the VIN sticker in the door jam it’s a no go for me.

 

Non taken. I don’t even like buying used vehicles unless the previous owner sprayed it with oil and it doesn’t have a factory rubber coating.

This is a rust repair for a friend. He was mindful of the rust when he purchased the vehicle since he was planning on tubbing for bigger tires but this was a soccer moms Lexus that was never coated. Just driven on the road and never abused and what not….


all the patch work was mainly rusted and if you look close enough you can see the factory body mount on the body is rusted on the inside.

I will say though, rust is lighter then carbon fibre so we practically turn everything into race cars down here

 

Something not touched on here yet, what most still call "road salt" isn’t the same product that was used 40 years ago.

Conventional salt becomes less effective as the temperature drops, modern de-icing chemicals keep right on working well below zero.

In "the old days" when the temperature dropped, at night for example, the salt was doing less damage to your vehicle.

Modern chemicals continue to eat away at steel relentlessly without any slow down due to falling temperatures.

 

ive seen many. most of them toyotas.

 

I apply this product from Chemical Guys twice a year to try and protect the headlights from UV damage. They also sell it with a restoration compound. I've always had good luck with CG stuff

 

How does this product work on plastics? It appears to be for paint and glass surfaces.

Cheers

 

Jesus christ, a guy arguing that frames don't rust on a Tacoma forum, of all places.

And then a guy with a second gen chiming in to agree, who you know got a recall letter from Toyota about his frame rusting away because they fucked up.

This is far and away the biggest, most well-documented issue with these trucks, and a continued issue for those buying used or with aging trucks. Like a post a week (at least) on "how bad is this rust".

 

I know that based on the description it doesn't sound right but I haven't had any problems using it on the plastic lenses. It's listed under headlight restoration products on their site and I think I originally read about it here at TW.

 

Wire brush/ wire wheel and flat black Rustoleum spray can works great for me. Then before winter coat everything in Wool Wax or fluid film.