Anyone have a 2011-2015 Tacoma that’s qualified for a frame replacement?

I read somewhere that (so far) none of the later 2nd gens had managed to qualify but wonder if that wasn’t yesterday’s news. Anyone have a truck between those years that has qualified?

 

Where did you read that?

 

That’s false

 

I’m not sure of the source - when I went back to find it I had trouble.

 

The frames for those years is properly treated right?

 

I bought my 2015 used a few years ago. It had hard blackish coating on the frame from toyota. Last year I had the CRC treatment done where the plug the factory frame holes and coat the inside of the frame.

 

Not sure when or if Toyota ever figured that out surprisingly. My 2013 has a bit of rust (mostly on the welds) but I’m guessing very normal for living in MA.

 

Same here - definitely have surface rust though.

 

Can you site some examples? Not saying you’re wrong, just curious.

 

The inspection and CRC treatment had not been performed when I bought my 2014 last summer. I took it in and they cleaned and inspected it, installed the plugs, applied the compound and declared the frame "good". I did an inspection of my own before taking it in and found the rust to be isolated mostly to the welds along the frame. Very minor spots elsewhere. I did not apply anything to the frame before taking it in for the inspection. Over the summer I painted all of the welds, including the rear end and pumpkin, the front suspension components (weld rust) and the hitch. The hitch and the front end cross piece (with the tow hooks) had the worst rust on the truck but I think I caught it before it got out of hand, just some bubbling and minor flaking. Inspect and pay attention to the hitch if you have one . I intend to clean and paint it every year until it has several coats on it. I hand-applied that red sticky chassis grease to all of the hitch and bumper bolts. I then sprayed the entire frame and everything I had painted with Fluid Film. Time will tell, but I think the various cheap sheet-metal brackets holding things all over and under the truck (fuel and brake lines, hoses, wiring and connections, etc) will rot away long before anything else on the truck. Most of them are already a mess on my truck. Make sure you coat the inside of your metal rear bumper.

 

One of the better plans I've read. Good for you in taking action rather than waiting!

 

I’m torn between taking this kind of approach and waiting out the warranty period to see if a new frame is in the cards. I’ve got rust at the welds, some flaking in a couple spots……had the Toyota frame treatment done last month on my 2013 (put into service in 2014) so it looks like I’ve got until early 2026 to see what direction it takes.

 

Hey Joe, that’s a bummer. I think the warranty extended to 12 years (after the truck was put in service) if you had the frame treatment done but you needed to have a second inspection done before that time elapsed to potentially qualify for a replacement.

It’s a shame they didn’t do a mileage limit instead. In the quest to find my truck I saw a bunch of pre-2011 trucks with low miles and frames that were completely covered in rust and a few that had been patched because they missed the warranty deadlines and were rotting away. Hopefully there’s something that can be done to keep yours on the road. It’s a beaut.

On an unrelated note - do those side steps keep you from getting door dings? Just grabbed some off of eBay myself but I can’t judge if they’re gonna stick out far enough to help when I have to park in tight spots in the city.

 

Thanks Chris and no the step don't protect the sides.