1st Gen Tacoma Frame Recall

Hello all,

Yes I understand there have been a thousand posts on this forum regarding the frame recall issue.

I just bought my first Tacoma today, I inspected the frame & it was in good shape. I'm already looking out for the future of this truck. The service records indicate the frame was inspected on 03/24/2010 & sprayed with undercoating that same day on 03/24/2010. This was all done by the Toyota dealership.

That said, what does this mean? If I brought it in to get inspected could I get a new frame or another undercoat? Please advise.

 

nope: You have 15 years from the time the frame was sprayed for it to be replaced due to rot.

edited for foot-in-mouth disorder. responsibility taken.

 

Also, welcome! Especially from Wisconsin.

 

I've been reading mixed reviews about this...... Some people say 15 years from date of manufacture & some say when the undercoating was sprayed... Which one is it?

 

Go Pack Go What part of WI?

 

It's 15 years from the "in service date", not the spray date. The undercoating was required to keep the extended warranty on the frame in force.

 

I see you are driving a 2001 Tacoma. Depending on the date your vehicle left the original dealer to the first owner, your extended warranty may very near the end. Have your dealer check it out right away.

 

Is that so? My impression was that a spray started the clock at 15 years. But, I am not Toyota, so I will certainly accept if I am wrong.

If it were 15 from production why would Toyota not have waited until that time frame ran out for spraying? Not necessarily for you to answer, just asking the universe. Since last first round inspections ended early this year.

OP, may wanna keep reading. My truck wasn't resprayed so, I'm out of luck no matter what.

 

Yup, Left the dealer 05/2001 The frame still in great shape but nonetheless If I did get it inspected Toyota won't do anything ehh?

 

I hope that's the case

 

Sorry Pheding, on more research i will eat my humble-pie and accept that i may have mis-spoken.

i'm in Milwaukee, to answer your other question - i'm very certain about that.

 

There is some good news to come out of this. Also in Milwaukee Eastside specifically.

 

Why did Toyota require the undercoating? Lots of speculation here. By doing so they ended the warranty for everyone that did not have the undercoating applied before the deadline. It also gave then a roster of the vehicles which retained the warranty, and a definite limit on their possible liability for replacements. The undercoating did not provide any real protection to the frame, and quickly began to flake off after application.

 

Ic Ic, that would make sense......

I wonder what was the criteria for getting a new frame even after getting it undercoated?

 

That makes a lot of sense. I've heard similar reports about the quality of the coating.

OP - if looking to augment the factory coating people have good things to say about a Fluid Film application yearly. I have used it on my father's FJ and have been impressed so far. Want to POR15 my frame this fall before I fluid film my truck.

 

I was just gonna ask.... My next step was to decide to go with Fluid Film or that POF 15 stuff. What can you tell me about fluid film?

 

Sure, POR-15 is a paint/roll on application that would be considered permanent. POR stands for "Paint Over Rust", but you need to clean off scale-y rust, no chipping or flaking. There are some great threads on thorough jobs applying this. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/frame-restoration-did-it-myself.368199/

Fluid Film is a spray on product that requires no specific prep, but is recommended for yearly application - definitely not a one-time thing.

Fluid Film sells a "wand" that is basically a long spray tube allowing you to pull it through the inside of the frame, spraying as you go (you may be able to find 3rd party too, haven't looked though). Our frames can rust from the inside out just as easily as starting from the outside, and any factory applied coating was likely only on the outside.

since my frame was never coated i'll be needle-scaling my frame and applying POR-15 as a base, then fluid film-ing every year. ...and hoping for the best.

 

There any auto body shops in the greater Milwaukee area that apply fluid film?

 

Rust perforation of the frame in any one of about 12 key locations. In 2012, my '01 failed the inspection when it went in for the undercoating, and the frame was replaced. My '03 was undercoated in 2011 and is covered by the extended warranty until 2018. It goes in for inspection every year, and so far has passed every time. Once the warranty ends, I will begin to use fluid film or the like to preserve the frame, and I will probably do this even if the frame is replaced. It couldn't hurt when you live in the the road salt belt.

 

you could probably find someone to do it, but it's nearly impossible to mess up. basically just spray a single coat on....like if it looks wet during application, you're good. You can buy it by the rattle-can on Amazon. I found that a single can coated the FJ. So, probably a full can for a Tacoma. you can't put too much on, it will just start to drip off.