Rocker - Surface rust

Hi Guys,

New to the forum (previous FJ owner). Noticed on Sunday (as I was F.Filiming) that at the rocker seam there is some surface rust and it looks to be bare metal in some areas (passenger & driver side). I was wondering if this is normal. The truck is a 19'SR that I've owned for about 4 weeks (less than 1k miles).

I took it in to the dealer today for them to take a look and of course it was wet out so it was hard for them to see. I've attached a photo.

 

That’s a new one. Door sill rust has been an issue as it was for me, looks like this creeped down from the inside. Only way to get at this would be to open it up which I am not sure they will do for warranty.

 

Less than 1K in miles and 4 week ownership is definitely warrantied. Get in touch with your dealer asap.

 

That’s a warranty repair...had a similar issue on the bed spot welds between the cab and the bed Toyota fixed it no problem. Cost was $1800 and five days to make the repair gave me another Tacoma for a rental too. It’s been almost a year since the work was done and so far no rust.

 

That needs to be addressed right away at no cost to you and It should fall under the defect in workmanship and\or materials warranty.

Please keep us posted.

Cheers

 

I spoke with the dealer. They had me send the photo over so they could contact corporate to see how to proceed.

I'm concerned about the turn around time on this seeing that change of seasons is here (I'm in Cincinnati). Anyone have a ballpark on this?

 

5 days for the work and up to 6 weeks for approval from Toyota.

 

Which dealer did you buy from?

 

Joseph Toyota in Colerain

 

Yikes. That could get ugly really quick in the rust belt states. I got my rusty drivers door rocker area repaired under warranty without issue.

 

Hi guys,

A Toyota rep wants to see the truck in person at the dealer. Trying to confirm a time to meet. Is there anything I should ask in particular when we meet?

thanks
Shawn

 

Not going to lie, it looks like the rocker was rubbed on something or it was ground down with a grinder. Looking to the far right side you can see where the paint is scuffed, but not down to bare metal.

 

Yeah ask him why there is no paint on it....here’s a photo of my 17’ same area it’s painted all the way down both sides truck has 45k on it been thru two winters with tons of road salt and still no rust because it’s painted.

 

Quick question, is the rocker seam supposed to be straight? Like clean line all the way from front to back? I’m on mobile now so I can’t upload a photo of mine.

 

Mine is nice and straight.

With only 1k miles the truck probably hasn't been on a lift yet, but it kind of looks like your truck may have been hoisted on the pinch weld instead of the frame, especially if the seam isn't straight.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I meet with the toyota rep on 12/9 at the dealer. I'll keep you all posted.

 

Agree, certainly looks like it was hit with a grinder

 

Hi Guys,

I met with the field tech and service manager on Monday. They couldn't determine what happened or where it happened. They kept the truck for 4 days, cleaned up the surface rust and painted the effected areas. They couldn't get the "wavy" look out as they didn't want to take off anymore metal. This was their only remedy to fix it.

Somewhere along the lines someone from Toyota was dishonest whether it was at the factory, in transport or at the dealer.

I'm not happy with the way it looks, the chance of premature rust, and possibly a hit on resale. This is not an ideal situation when buying a brand new truck.

I'm looking for some advise and input to move forward. The case manager will be calling me on Monday.

 

Pictures:

 

If Toyota doesn’t sort you out and it’s worst case scenario, If it was me I’d probably mask off and scuff up the entire length of pinch weld and coat it in black paint. Will blend in a lot better and not look like a sack of jagged shit