2016 Taco at Car Show with rust??

The good old conspiracy theory.

Mechanical items wear out. What would be the point of building an auto body that lasts for 50 ears or more when the drive train parts begin to die out after 20 years? There has to be a cost benefit someplace in the equation.

You can buy a $250,000 dollar super car with an all carbon body and frame that will never rust right now. In fact you can spend as much as $1MM dollars for a vehicle with no metal frame or body parts. Not sure how reliable they are or how much they cost to operate but Top Gear out of England often displays the vehicles frequently on their TV shows.

 

It's a pickup truck, not a newborn child. There are humans living in squalor with no hope. There are uneducated children without dreams. There are people being tortured because they won't conform to a sick idoligy.
Humble yourself. Count your blessings.
It's a pickup truck.

 

I just want to add that this isn't ''just'' a Tacoma issue, the Tundras frame looks like absolute hell in Michigan after 5 years unless one is extremely proactive. I've crawled under 5 year old Tundras that had frames with 2-3 times the corrosion my 1998 Sonoma had and that is used almost exclusively as a winter sacrificial ride.

If I were a Toyota dealer, you would NEVER see a used Toyota truck up on ramps as advertising, it exposes the undersides for the unmitigated rust disaster they really are. Now the undersides of the body itself........absolutely no issues from what I can see. It's always just the frame, attached bits and suspension parts.

I will give Toyota credit for replacing frames as needed but Toyota really needs to hand Katana's to those in charge of the frame department and development and suggest they take a long vacation because that area is a disgrace to Toyota's name. Modern frames should NOT rust to pieces in less then a decade. PERIOD.

 

What I don't understand s Toyota does no make the frames other suppliers do.

 

Yes, but they are built to the specs Toyota gives them. [and Toyota can be absolutely anal about specs when farming out part manufacturing]

Initially, Dana seemed to be the issue but I don't think that can be argued as the only reason any more. The FJC was 100% made in Japan but it too has horrid frame rust issues. Coincidence, I don't think so. Same steel composition most likely, same cruddy useless paint and same lack of rust protection.

You can laugh all you want but my 2000 Durango had less frame rust on it in 2014 when I sold it then my 2014 FJC did when I picked it up brand new. [and yes, it got LPS3 sprayed down every couple of years and touched up as needed]

I've owned Toyotas for almost 40 years, my first one was a 1972 FJ40 with factory PTO winch, they have come a long way in body treatments and rust prevention, frame wise............they are sitting back in the 50s sometime and that's being gracious.

 

It's all contracted out to contractors! This is not like when Ford first started making cars, raw material came in one end and a car came out the other end of the plant. Those days are gone, basicly the plant builds the shell/body and it's assembled together their on site. Air bags are a perfect example, a lot of manufacturers are purchasing them from one source. Guess what, allot of them are defective and all the manufacturers involved are having to replace them. Getting back to the frame rusting, these manufactures are trying to keep cost down. Now you have the environmentalists involve about using environmentally friendly paint!

 

Your opinion fair enough but given you don't know what the issues are, your conclusions are likely wrong. The paint on the frames and the steel would be sourced in the US. I doubt there is significant differences in the steel used by the auto dealers despite the marketing hype. I do agree there is no excuse for the frames to show excessive rust in a short period of time but the amount of rust is pretty subjective. I have never owned a vehicle domestic or foreign that did not have surface rust on the frame after a very short period of time. Salt or brine on winter roads played a part but so to did driving on gravel roads or sanded roads in town and on the highways in the winter. Rocks and sand hitting the undercarriage at speeds of 60 miles per hour are going to have an effect on rusting. As someone earlier said it is a truck not a new born baby.

 

We are talking about a thirty to forty thousand dollar item, if houses rotted apart in ten years due to shoddy materials you'd see people start lynching parties. I don't expect vehicles to last forever, frames rotting to pieces in less then ten years, yeah, that is totally not acceptable. It really does go back to poor specs and materials.

Lets see if I can post this pic of a 13 year old Dodge frame. That's 13 years, ran off road, in MICHIGAN. Still think Toyota is up to par?

Unless you are in your late 30s or older, I've owned Toyota's longer then you've been alive, I certainly don't have a bias against then since I've bought two new ones in as many years but I can accept that they are woefully behind the times where it comes to their frame construction, materials or alloy specs and coatings and that goes for the 3rd generation Tacomas and I'll lay money on that.



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Houses do.
Most production homes need repairs after 10-15 years.
Appliances are built to last 7-10 years.
HVAC equiptment have a 10 year lifespan.
If you get 10 years out of a "20 year roof" you are lucky.
Carpet. Pfffft. 5 years max.
Concrete flat work, it begins decay 30 days after its placed.

Now, you can build a home that will last a hundred years. But break out the check book.
Same with a truck. But there is no market for a 200 thousand dollar pickup truck.

We live in a Bic lighter world my friends. Very little will be passed on to the next generation.

 

More trolling on TacomaWorld than on ESPN.com.

 

"Oh...."the good old conspiracy" theory comment. We call it free enterprise. It takes no cost in material what so ever to increase body panel and frame longevity with respect to rust by five plus years. It does take additional engineering where one priority is made over another. This is just not done except to tepidly keep cars and trucks lasting the minimal mandated requirement. Next, you will be saying that stainless steel mufflers are put in cars because car makers were so benevolent and not the real reason......mandates for pollution related devices including exhaust system longevity.

While working on cars, we used to laugh at the hideous ways cars and trucks were designed before and still are today as far as rust is concerned. I take body shot people's advice and have never had a rust problem in ten to 15 year old Toyotas while living in the rust belt. I Take my drill out put in drain and access holes where they should be but aren't and inspect and treat my cars yearly. It's up to the owner.

 

Good post. It isn't just Toyota that "engineers" their cars and trucks for a limited life span, it's everyone. The only way a product will last longer is if we the consumer demand it by not buying a Toyota truck and telling them why. But, mean while, if you want there mechanical reliability, you the owner can easily do their job for them, and keep them from rusting.

 

I just could not let this one go... This statement is incorrect... It takes 3-4 weeks for concrete to achieve 90% of its strength alone...the rest is achieve through the following decades.... During the initial two-three days, it is critical for it to be hydrated... There is no decay... in fact, it can last from a hundred years to several thousand years...

The reinforcement used can be an issue...rusted rebars for example....but not the concrete.

 

The concrete used to construct the Hover Dam was designed to last a couple thousand years.
Your house. Not so much.

 

You guys have officially freaked me out. I'm about to take possession of my first Toyota on dec 14. I made the decision to go with the Tacoma based solely off its reputation and toyotas. Is this is widespread problem with all toyotas or just the third gen tacos.

 

How about stop freaking out by not reading this thread and forum (full of haters and trolls with their own agendas), turn off your computer, and go outside for a walk or something?

If you expect things to be perfect and to not ever fail, then you're setting yourself up for eternal disappointment. Just saying.

Just relax for 2 weeks or so, and then enjoy your new ride.

 

Why waste your time and mine replying if you don't even answer the question? Go outside.

 

Why would I waste my time answering your hypochondriacal question if the 3rd gen is so new that no one here can give you a definite answer? Go outside is correct, but last time I checked I'm NOT the one who's freaking out.

 

Relax, they are good trucks with very good residuals. Yes, they do have their weak spots, yes, keeping up on the frame and keeping the rust worms at bay in areas that use de-icing and snow melting chemicals is something you should plan for.

OTOH, how many new alternatives are there? The Chevy/GMC which is all new, seems to be quite nice but no one knows what the actual long term costs will be to include their residuals. [how much of their initial cost do they retain when it comes time to sell or trade them] Or, you have the Nissan Frontier and they just don't seem to have much of a market.

 

Did you even read the question?