2006 frame rust through

Just got back from my rust inspection. They had a specialist there and he said my truck was in great shape. I was happy to hear that as I love it and it would have really pissed me off to have two Tacoma's with this issue. My 99 was re-purchased by Toyota for a boatload of money. Living in Northern Ohio is not easy on these frames but come on already. Toyota needs to get this fixed.

 

I'm just bored and reading about these rusting issues and wanted to add that when I was searching for my next truck I looked at everything. I went to a used dealer and looked at a Dodge Dakota I can't remember the year but they wanted $10k for it, I looked under it and was mortified by the rust. The salesman said well check out this Silverado, I want to say it was about the same price $10-15k. I crawled under it and it was worse than the Durango. The guy told me hey buddy they're all like that. Which is BS, but I asked where these vehicles came from and he said northern VA. Obviously they all have issues and living in that environment does make it worse. Someone said they had like a 89 4runner that had less rust and was abused, so it seems like all manufactures are not building them like they used to, but we already know that. If you live in an area that is considered a bad environment definitely take precautions. As part of the deal when I got my '13 I had them throw in the undercoating. I will be monitoring the frame and rinsing it after sand/salt. From what I understand my '13 may have a different frame than the earlier 2nd gens, so maybe they've done something better. Good luck everyone!

 

Boy, was this an interesting thread to find!

I'm replacing my 1993 Mazda B2200, +514K kms on it. I've had it "Rustchecked" every year for $175 a pop, and the frame completely rusted out. Buildup of dirt and salt on top of and inside the frame, and the frame rusted from the inside out. For some reason they never thought it was important to treat the inside of the frame. We're signing the papers on the Tacoma tomorrow, so there are some things I need to find out.

First off, the dealership swears by these electronic units, but I've had some very good mechanics say they're complete garbage, mainly because the trucks aren't grounded so they don't work properly. Any thoughts?

I was planning on treating the truck anyway, and pressure washing every year to get rid of the crud. But if the electronic units do help, they'd get at the parts that never got treated on my Mazda.

Yes, I know 21 years for a truck is pretty good, but when my Toyota dies I don't want it to be from rust. Other ideas for extending the life of the frame are welcome.

 

Did they try to charge you anything?

 

I'm curious, how much is Toyota spending per vehicle to replace the frames?

 

I just received a letter on Monday from Toyota to get a free frame inspection and diagnosis, so I'll have to see what happens. It sure doesn't look bad to me.

But it sure was a sad day when my '02 got crushed for the same reason though...

 

The frame repair was 'free', but once the truck was apart they called up and said there were a bunch of parts (shock absorbers, some cross frame members,
spare tire carrier) not covered so did I want to pay for new ones to go back on. So I ended up paying about $500 for parts. The labor was not charged.

 

Folks
An update, we had purchased 2 Tacomas, a 2005 and a 2006. I wrote about my 2006 and its frame replacement. My son's wife was driving the 2005, and the gas tank fell down as the straps had rusted. When in for repair, the frame was found to be rusted through as well. Their dealer had the Toyota rep inspect, and Toyota will replace the frame.

So two Tacomas in Massachusetts, both had frames rust through, both Toyota agreed to replace.

 

Did they have the recall undercoat before that? Thanks