04 frame rust

I have an 04 with pretty significant frame rust directly under the driver door. I don’t want to pass a problem to someone else so what are my options?

It only has 108k miles and the interior is great so the rust is the only problem.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Post a pic of the problem

 

I had an 02 that was a dune rat, i was always at the beach. I had major rusting but the dealership ran test and said it was fine. Ended up trading it in for a 15'. I miss it lol.

 

@Zurovetz, contact a Toyota dealer immediately, and have your VIN ready.

There's a chance you can still qualify for the frame extended warranty frame replacement program. Don't call it a recall, they won't find it under recalls. It is an extended warranty.

The rust needs to be bad enough that, iirc, you have at least 1 dime sized hole. The first step is seeing if you are eligible, and get it inspected asap.

As long as your truck's in-service date is less than 15 years old (a 2004 it might still be), and the truck meets a few other requirements (mainly it has to have been seen by Toyota and had the frame treated), they should be able to replace it for you for free. Well, not entirely free, there are usually other things you'll want to replace like shocks, springs etc... while they're doing the swap, but to do a frame swap out of pocket is likely a $8k ordeal.

If your truck doesn't qualify for the replacement, it really depends on how bad the rust is. The main problem is whatever rust you see on the outside, it's 10x worse on the inside. If you don't treat and stop the rust on the inside, even if you weld a bunch of reinforcement plates on the outside, you're doomed to repeat the rust. Search around here, there are many many people who have adopted methods for treating and preserving the frames (i.e. fluid film).

Ideally, you need to get IN the frame to treat and remove the rust, which is kind of difficult for the boxed frame sections... You can cut them open, treat, and re-weld, but that's easily just as involved as your next option:

The other option is a DIY frame swap using a used frame, preferably from a rust free state like (non-coastal) CA or AZ. The work isn't that hard, technically, but it WILL be a project truck. If you need a daily driver, buy another vehicle while you're doing the swap.

 

Welcome to YodaWorld

 

Here is a pic

 

A new frame or a junkyard.

 

Thats beyond rust. Thats full blown disintegration.

 

Looks like it was CRC coated as required by Toyota to get 15 year extended warranty against frame rust perforation. Thats 15 years from the put in service date. You may still have time to get a new frame but hurry up and check your date.

 

are you the original owner?

if not, do you have records of its history dealing with this problem

 

this is full blown disintegration that was still on the roads here a few months ago
my state is not a cold climate winter state with problems per Toyota...

 

No I’m not the original owner, I had been looking for one for some time and my wife found and bought this one for me. I didn’t notice the severity of the rust problem either until last week. I’ve owned it almost 6 months but rarely drive it.

 

i was just interested if that is the 'official special coating' that was applied to frames that passed inspection or not, i have never personally seen what that stuff looks like

 

The most important thing you do today is start the recall process, if you are within the 15yr period and the vehicle was treated for rustproofing by Toyota (they have a record by VIN if it was) then you have won the lottery. Use this link to start the process, you will get a case number and call back number:
https://www.toyota.com/support/#!/app/ask

 

Toyota motor corporation needs to come clean with me and all this runaround BS they have been feeding to me
if that stuff pictured on post #6 is the coating that I did not receive when mine was inspected and passed in 2o11 (I already had it "winterized' undercoated when new.)
What a hassle that was to get the local dealer to check and inspect and they had NO CLUE there was such a problem existing out there, hassled me on many occasions when I asked to get it checked until they finally gave in after a few months of inquiry. iirc
they still have NO CLUE, it irritates me...

 

If they don't need the work, it behooves them for you to go away.

 

that irritates me even more for being their 'customer' for almost a 1/4 century now ... 25years!

i am sure they are getting PLENTY of warranty and recall work for those newish Tacomas i hear have a variety of problems, etc.

 

Jay, (my name also) are you talking about your '97? The line on those had always been to trade in. They fought if you tried to make them buy it outright.

 

I checked with Toyota, it had been treated but is 5 months past the 15 years. Should I get a frame reinforcing kit I’ve seen on Amazon? Or any other ideas...

 

Safe T Cap has the fix if you got the $$$$