How are 2009-2015 frames holding up? How are replacement frames holding up?

I'm wondering how frames are holding up on Tacomas that haven't been covered by the replacement program yet. The frame on my 2014, up until last fall, was looking reasonably good, although I could see some rust starting on the welds. They just started using calcium chloride on the roads here last winter, so I'm worried I'm going to start to see my frame rot away on me. I'm also interested in how the replacement frames are holding up, are they rotting away just like the original did, or are they holding up better? I'm thinking that maybe how the replacement frames are holding up, is probably a good indication of how the later model year frames should hold up.

 

Mines looks brand new, it’s been in rainy, damp and snowy regions - no salt used on the road thank goodness. I also spray fluid film by September every year and wash it during the cold months.

It’s parked outside all the time.

 

Your results will probably vary by geographic location. My 2011 (bought it new) is in the desert inland NW where we get some road salt and salt/molasses stuff but not like they do in the northeast, midwest, and Canada. Its frame still looks like new without any protection such as Fluid Film.

 

Southwest/colorado truck here, frame is starting to rust at all weld points. Will be swapping frame soon anyways to make a Frankenstein v6 single cab.

 

Frame and underside is good on my 2014 Tacoma but I have been spraying the underside with Fluid Film once a year since new.

 

I sprayed the underside of my truck with fluid film last fall, so I'm hoping that's going to help prevent some rust from forming, if it was going to start. All I've ever done in the past is clean the underside of the truck every time I washed it, and up until now haven't had any issue with the frame. The trailer hitch is another story, it's getting rediculously rusty after only four winters. Do you clean the underside of the truck in the winter? I wasn't sure whether or not I should, because I thought it might defeat the purpose of the fluid film by rinsing it off.

 

2013. Surface rust in some areas. I dont really care though as a wire wheel easily takes it off. Never applied fluid film.

 

The dealer applied the CRC to my 2010 frame but so far so good. I need to get it checked again this year before the extended warranty expires.

 

This is my fifth winter since buying mine new, all on salty roads and 5+ months of legit winter. They use Magnesium chrolride around here mostly. I got some rust on welds, some on my steel bumper (should have rinolined instead of powdercoat). I've whacked the frame with a ball pein hammer in a few spots and it doesn't feel like it's cancering out from the inside..theres still plenty of metal on it.

I don't need it to last forever, just another 20 years or so. Looks like I'll have no problem getting at least that much out of the frame.

 

My 2011 frame looks fine. I'll need to check her fully underneath though.

 

2013 Double Cab Frame - Frame and underside are spotless. The welds are just starting to get surface rust. I will start using a waxy oil next winter after touching up paint this summer

 

I had my 2014 Ziebart undercoated the day after I picked it up because they use a ton of road salt around here. Even with my yearly "free" re-sprays, I'm not impressed with either the corrosion resistance of the Toyota frame finish or the Ziebart system. As somebody else has mentioned, my trailer hitch looks like hell. (I even bought a takeoff hitch from a newer truck and am planning on swapping it in this spring.) Will it rust through before I sell the truck in a few years? I doubt it, but I am disappointed.

Truth be told though, I've seen a marked decrease in the corrosion resistance of most vehicles in the last few years though. I used to drive Ford F-150's and never really had any corrosion issues with them going back to the early 1990's. I'd keep them for 3-4 years and trade them in with maybe 60,000 miles on them. Then I bought a brand new 2005 and I was appalled at how quickly the truck rusted - even though I treated it the same as all the rest. The 2010 that followed it wasn't any better. My theory is that the manufacturers decided that vehicles that don't corrode are bad for business and they dialed back the finish specs a bit.

 

The replacements are the exact same frame. They are going to hold up the same as the original.

You shouldn’t worry about your frame rusting away, you just need to accept it as a fact.

I will do nothing to prevent rust on my 2013. I do not in any way want to delay myself from getting a new frame down the road.
I could use prevention but it may push the rusting out so far I’m no longer eligible for a new frame when I need it.
I’ll consider coating a new one if/when I get it.

All of these trucks will suffer from rust. If it bothers you that much you need to buy another truck.

 

I have a 2009 that's always been in TN- they only treat the roads a few days a year where I live as it almost never snows. And I wash the underside several times over the winter. While it doesn't have perforation, the frame has rust and looks terrible- like it's been in MI for 20 years. They really cheaped out on the paint on it and I hope the replacement and newer frames used better paint. But they had the same issue before 2006 and did nothing different with the next generation frames. And no, they should NOT rust this easily.

 

I guess only time will tell. I'm going to have this truck for quite a few years yet. Seems like most people aren't having any catastrophic rust issues yet, so that's comforting. On the bright side, they only use calcium chloride before a major snowfall here, and that doesn't happen all that often here, so that's in my favour.

 

Have a 2015 TRD off-road, and when I bought it new it had come from another dealer as they didn’t have what I wanted so my dealer got it from them. This other dealer had done rustproofing and added a few options to it that I didn’t have to pay for in my deal. In checking under it this summer I noticed that the frame only had a light black coating on it and it had come off most of the welds and rust was taking hold. The rest of the truck has a oily goop sprayed on it and there is no rust present. Dealer at the last service said that it should have had the goop sprayed on the frame not the black crap and they sprayed the welds with fluid film, free. Guess I will have to do this yearly now. They also had my old 2010 TRD in replacing the frame at the same time and the tech showed me the old one and it was Swiss cheese.

 

That's interesting, I think your truck is a good contrast to mine. They have always used very little salt on the roads here, and my frame was rust free when I checked it two falls ago. When I checked it in the following spring, after the first winter of calcium chloride use, I could see a little bit of rust starting on the welds. I'm curious to see how it looks this spring after a second year of calcium chloride use. Hopefully the fluid film I put on is doing its job.