Rust on a 2016 Tacoma TRD. What's normal?

Hi all!

My husband bought a 2016 TRD last night & it seems to have a LOT of rust on it. The car came from NY (we're in Colorado). I was shocked to see this much rust on a relatively new car, everything else looks to be in tip top shape. He was aware of the rust problems on Tacoma's and said this was about normal (he'd looked at a few before purchasing this one). I've been reading the forums, but have yet to see a picture of a car this new, with this much rust. My questions are: Does this seem fairly normal, or is this an excessive amount for a 2016? If we take it to a mechanic/dealership, is there something they could/should do about it? Neither of us are particularly handy when it comes to cars. If you can't tell, I'm panicking a little bit! Thanks for your help!

 

They use a lot of salt on the roads in NY during the winter which is what probably caused the rust you see.

 

I’d say that’s excessive for a 2016, probably salted roads in NY and never got an undercoating or sprayed off with any frequency. My 2012, is not nearly that bad (granted it’s a SoCal desert climate)

A dealership probably won’t be much help, but a shop of some sorts may be able to apply a rust dissolving coating, and then a preventative coating if you wish to not do it yourself.

Others can probably give you better advice and opinions, as being from SoCal, any rust at all looks “bad” to me and I only have vague knowledge of what to do for it !

 

Looks worse than my 2012 that has been in NH it's whole life. With that being said it doesn't look terrible, though not great for a 3 year old truck...previous owner definitely didn't think to treat the frame for winter. In my limited knowledge as long as the rust hasn't caused any weaknesses you can try scraping down and rust inhibiting the frame (people love POR-15 on this site) and then just treating the frame yearly with an oil based undercoat product to prevent recurrence.

Again...this is all what I've heard anecdotally. I have treated my frame with NH Oil (an oil based undercoat from around here) the past couple years since I bought my truck and have noticed little to no additional rust development.

 

Here in NY thats pretty common. Our snow is much harder and wetter than yours' in Colorado , so guys with trucks often scrub the underbelly (my self included) on snow piles driving onto side roads and drive ways.

 

The rust can actually be mitigated but it depends on how much work you want to do or how much you want to pay to have it done. It basically involves getting the rust off, usually with light grinding of some sort and treating the area with a rust inhibitor. You can try places that perform undercoating and see what they say.

 

Yeah wire brush the rust areas to remove the loose material then hit with Por-15 that will keep from getting worse.

 

I live in NY, and that’s excessive. Especially for a 2016. Grind what you can down and fluid film all of it. It won’t fix what’s there, but will stop it from spreading and getting worse. I’ve live in NY all my life and after 4 years it should be THAT bad

 

That’s normal if you’re not cleaning it regularly, say, after a snow storm. You gotta get at it somehow. I’m in NY, and lots of vehicles look like that here after a few years. I put work in mine and hit it with mavcoat.

This is where I’m at.

 

That's excessive - my 2012 doesn't have nearly that much surface rust on it and its been in NJ and CT since new...55k miles and is driven year round. But holy cow what would possess you to buy ANY car from NY when you are in a beautiful, rust free state like CO?

That said, the rust is mostly limited to the welds, so I'd scuff and coat with POR 15 or get a fluid flim job professionally done.

 

The price was good & he got the dealer down more because of the rust. Used Tacoma's are hard to come by here & are often several 1000 over KBB.

 

Get some wire wheels or an angle grinder, clean up the frame, and re-paint the affected areas. It's not terrible, but it's not great either. Also, never use a rubberized undercoating...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXvl9nt57Kg

 

Thanks for all your help! Confirmed my suspicions, but also allayed some of my fears. Sounds like it should be manageable with the proper care.

 

Or por15.

 

Corroseal or another phosphoric acid based rust converter after a wire wheel. Two coats of that if it's bad then paint with por15 or rustoleum converter paint. Use fluid film before winter. You can clean that up.

 

So are you for por…

or against?

 

My 2004 4Runner I purchased looked just like this. For a vehicle that’s 10+ years old I’d expect this but not a 2016, regardless of where it has resided. This is plane and simple drive it til you sell it and don’t bother with rinsing or protecting the frame.

If you are within your dealer’s “return window” if they have one, I’d consider it if they have another’s option on the lot. If you plan on keeping it long haul. Otherwise I’d wire wheel all the rusted welds, paint, and then cover the entire frame in a rust protectant.

 

Has anyone suggested wire wheel and then rust paint and maybe fluid film or oil rust protector for the winter yet??

 

That's an unusual amount of rust and tells me the previous owner neglected it. If you don't do anything about it, I wouldn't plan to keep the truck long term.

 

Mine looked like that 9 years ago and still looks like that. Enjoy the truck and think about that brand spankin’ new battery you’ll be purchasing fairly soon. Good luck!