2021 Tacoma Extensive Frame Rust All around on Welding Spots

thanks, and makes all sense. Toyota will for sure get back to me by Monday next week on this warranty question. Locally here in Utah, in the Salt Lake City area, Toyota has a Toyota body shop. I want to roll in my truck there and step on the problem now and for good so the truck will last me. BTW, I saw the undercarriage care when I was laying under my truck yesterday. Pretty nice stuff and everything is perfect down there, no rust whatsoever... except for the frame. Frame replacement by the way is a $10,000 dollar job, major. My white 2020 Taco got rear ended in March 2020 and as a consequence the insurance ruled for frame replacement - that should have been done at the Toyota Body Shop in Draper UT (Karl Malone Toyota Body Shop). But luckily, not that I cheer on Covid-19 events and memories, the Covid shutdown consequences hit us fast and they weren't able to get the frame from Japan and so I ended up with a new truck in 2021, this one here. And so it goes. Thanks for your comment!

 

Sorry man, but your first post sure sounds like it. When I lived in the salt belt, I just got some cosmoline and sprayed it every fall, regardless. Salt is hard on everything. Shock shafts, ball joints, even diffs and all bolts. Lot more than the frame under there.

 

For anyone in a rust belt. Do not use the rustoleum rust reform spray can don't waste your time. That shit is garbage.

 

UPDATE:

Toyota Brand Engagement already called me back. "Toyota gives a 60 months (regardless of miles) warranty against "significant corrosion perforation". And the definition is loosely to be interpreted at the discretion of each dealership service department. The truck has to be inspected by them for any further suggestions, determinations, etc... It is advised if warranty is intended to be maintained to have the dealership take care of it." ... whatever that means, that too is to be determined at the dealership's discretion.

Now, the Tacoma community here, I feel totally understands the dilemma. The rust is in general not so bad "YET" as to being untreatable for the most part. Some areas will have to be treated - dealt with more thoroughly. Will we get it all? There is no way around having to pay the $85 bucks for inspection, and they will most likely suggest some under carriage treatment obviously for which they will want to charge me. I could do nothing, if I treat it myself, it will void warranty anyway, and doing nothing is of course for sure going to make it get worse - how long will it take to get to the stage of "significant perforation"? Doing something will maybe solve the problem permanently you would hope so. But it will also void the warranty should the rust come back, or it could come back untimely too late missing the warranty deadline. Doing nothing could lead to more significant perforation, but who knows if it is going to lead to a warranty coverage, and how extensive will that be then? Replacement of the frame? Do I even want that? A frame replacement is basically 'rebuilding' the entire damn truck. This can cost upward $10K, maybe $12-$13K ~.

Forget warranty, screw it, do it all myself, fix it, paint it, have a professional shop apply treatment and undercarriage protection, and then just sell the damn truck and learn from it... I am leaning towards the latter. Usually, if a dealership deserves it, I am letting them have the car, after all they deserve it. So, these are thoughts. I am hoping you can help me think this through, if you like. If you don't have anything constructive to say, please just don't say anything.

thanks
best wishes
TacoFranz.

 

This is the answer

 

Maybe you are right. I am just saying, my replacement frame for my 2020 white Taco that was rear-ended and sustained a bent frame, was coming from Japan. It was supposed to come from Japan according to the Toyota Corporation that needed to allocate it and couldn't. April 2020. The answer I received was, "we have to total your truck because they don't have any extra frames in the US and the plant in Japan has closed down. It will be at least 6 months before they may know more...". And that is why the insurance company decided to total my truck.

 

Don’t do anything that Toyota could say caused more damage and makes them not responsible. Grinding and repainting yourself could fit into that category. Spraying with fluid film is probably fine as it just washes off eventually. The welds are not the areas to be concerned about. Crawl under and look at the areas where there are multiple layers of thin frame material sandwiched together. That’s where things will get ugly. I would plan on trading in or replacing the frame eventually.

 

I was just reading up on the Toyota 60 months - no miles - Rust Warranty. They are not referring to the frame anywhere that I was able to see. They are talking about sheet metal perforation. Essentially, the frame layered up together in various areas is also a sheet metal, just thicker panels than the body sheet metal panels. I think you are right "Don't paint, don't sand or grind."... etc. Treat with invisible rust inhibitor liquid.. maybe. My question is, do I even bother going to Toyota? If they officially inspect it for under carriage rust, then it's documented and it might diminish a trade-in-value.... damn, treating and fixing and painting over myself... and selling the truck? Really I hate to be in this position. But it certainly teaches me "A LESSON". Which lesson? - LOL - that is yet to be determined.

Thanks for your comment.

 

I don’t think you need to go to Toyota yet. Wait a couple more years until it gets worse. If Utah is one of the states in their frame replacement campaign then you will get a letter in the mail about getting the frame inspected and treated. If Utah isn’t one of the states then they will do nothing.

 

I'm reading all this in utter disbelief over a little bit of rusting on the welds. Toyota is going to laugh their ass off when it gets taken in for this "problem"

 

Take care of your mental health and the rest will follow

 

The Tacoma Rust Panic is real. It's all over Reddit, including pictures of very clean undercarriages with little to no rust.

 

that is so funny and so true.

 

True. It is all perception. To you my Tacoma undercarriage is very clean with little to no rust. To me it is like "I am selling my truck". I take $38,500 as seen. You want it?

 

The Toyota response to the rust warranty is pretty solid: your truck (and all of ours) are warrantied against premature frame failure due to rust. Toyota defines this as 60 months.

This has been stated a little, but I can't help myself: Your frame has not failed, don't know why you would try and get non-existent damage covered by warranty. Anyone will say that is superficial surface rust and to be expected in this environment.

The problem with putting all the onus on Toyota is that if nothing is done, the frame will rust out at some point after the 60 months (in fact many failures will occur on the car if routine care and maintenance is not performed). Warranties take care of manufacturing defects, and unfortunately this is a manufacturing norm.

You've already learned what to do on here, but honestly this kind of superfluous complaint probably encourages the dealers to charge diagnostic fees for so-called warranty issues.

 

Your posts are so full of shit. You are making up a problem you don't have. Fluid film won't void the warranty and will protect your truck from the salt in the winter. It will eventually was off in about 8 months and you redo it yearly for a rust free underside. Do it in October of every year and 20 years later you have no rust. Or, trade it for a RAV4 or something mindless.

 

Seems like a fair price for a perfectly good, reliable, problem-free truck.

 

Well I wouldn't go so far as having no rust if you fluid flim your chassis every year. I used fluid flim every fall on my tundra. After 19 years it still had a lot of surface rust. I did a one shot deal with cosmoline on my tacoma 3 years ago, and it's still perfect..no rust to be seen. My tundra after the same amount of time using fluid flim looked very much like the op's frame. Having to reapply fluid flim every fall got to be a royal pita, so I looked for a better option with RP-342 cosmoline.

 

This stuff works by chemically changing the rust. Been using it for years with great results.