Rusted Seatbelt Brackets & Seat Brackets - Normal?

cruxofthebisquit · Nov 15, 2019

Agree with most everyone else. Rust isn't the problem. What caused it is.

A lot of people knew (know) to sell/trade a vehicle after water before problems.

waytolatetothegame · Dec 2, 2019

Same thing happened to me – my seats started to rust. I bought a 2016 used with 15K on it. There were no signs of flood damage. I tried to get the dealership to replace the seats but they wouldn't. I need to pull them out and clean them up now.

JC15Taco · Dec 2, 2019

Looks like a flood vehicle to me....definitely not typical.

GreyBaldTaco · Dec 2, 2019

waytolatetothegame said: ↑

Same thing happened to me – my seats started to rust. I bought a 2016 used with 15K on it. There were no signs of flood damage. I tried to get the dealership to replace the seats but they wouldn't. I need to pull them out and clean them up now.
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Have you pulled a carfax?

Grossomotto · Dec 2, 2019

Do you keep pool supplies or chemicals in your cab?

Kingdomdad333[OP] initial post: ↑

I wanted to post this to get your opinion of a matter. I bought a 2017 Tacoma TRD Off-Road a little over a month and a half ago. We have been very pleased with it so far. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that the front seat seatbelt buckle brackets were rusted. I thought that was not only strange but also potentially unsafe down the road. This truck was not used for 4wheeling nor overlanding by the previous owner and the rest of the interior is pristine.

We took our truck down to the local Toyota Dealership (Knoxville Toyota) because our truck was still under factory warranty. We had the Service Manager help us out. He also checked the seat brackets themselves and found that they were also rusting. I have pics of the seatbelt brackets and the seat brackets. He had to order certain parts, and he thought all this would be covered for sure. He had to send in some Corporate paperwork for approval as part of standard procedure because it was such a n odd issue. But he did not think it would be a problem at all. He said he would contact us the following week when the parts came in.

We waited and did not hear back from him for almost 2 weeks. He had to be the bearer of bad news that our issue would NOT be covered under our Toyota Warranty. Toyota not only denied it but proceeded to tell us that the rust is not a big deal and that there is a protective coating that makes it alright. We could tell that the Service Manager did not want to make this call to us, and that Toyota set him up to be in a bad situation. He told us that we should take this further and call Toyota Customer Service ourselves and push for a better resolution. I whole-heartedly agree and shall. Also we were sent a quote to fix this is for $2000.00! Wow!

So, having the brackets that hold your seats down and your seatbelts attached rusting is not a big deal, and they said that this is a normal characteristic of the product. WHAT?!? I would think that after the major issue they have had with Tacoma frames that they would not want to describe any rusting issues as “normal” or “Not a big deal”. It was not that big a deal that the issue happened initially, but I do think that this should definitely be covered and fixed under my warranty especially because it is Toyota. I feel that the adding insult to injury is when they try to tell us that this is “normal” and should not really be a concern. Actually, the true insult may have been looking at a $2000 quote to fix the issue! I think it’s far from normal for anything rusting like this in my interior especially when my truck is only two years old. I feel like they are trying to Jedi mind-trick us into believing that this doesn’t matter. I find it insults our intelligence and common sense. Plus, it just doesn’t seem safe and is cosmetically filthy.

I wanted to ask everyone that reads this post, if they believe this is normal. Any advice or comments about this customer service issue? Thanks in advance!

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JC15Taco · Dec 2, 2019

If not flooded... by salt water... it's been exposed to something. Maybe at the factory? Who knows...
My frame looks better than that.

waytolatetothegame · Dec 2, 2019

GreyBaldTaco said: ↑

Have you pulled a carfax?
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GreyBaldTaco - Dealer gave me one and I pulled my own. It had zero reports on it.

GreyBaldTaco · Dec 2, 2019

waytolatetothegame said: ↑

GreyBaldTaco - Dealer gave me one and I pulled my own. It had zero reports on it.
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Interesting.

JC15Taco · Dec 2, 2019

GreyBaldTaco said: ↑

Interesting.
Click to expand...

Transporting a meth lab might not show on Carfax though....

waytolatetothegame · Dec 2, 2019

JC15Taco said: ↑

Transporting a meth lab might not show on Carfax though....
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Very true

Kingdomdad333 · Jan 2, 2020

Thanks for all the responses!
UPDATE: Talked with Toyota Corp. They have now decided the pay for for almost all of the fix. I am happy with the outcome.

beetledude · Jan 2, 2020

i don't know what's the deal with toyota steel, but there are obviously rust issues. I have a one month old tacoma. this week I did some audio upgrades including installing sound deadining material. i was totally surprised to find rust.

interior of door

rear seat bracket

yeah I know it's only surface rust, and it cleaned up pretty well with oil and steel wool. still, I don't expect to find a one month old car rusting. and I live in california, not really a high humidity state.

waytolatetothegame · Jan 3, 2020

Kingdomdad333[OP] said: ↑

Thanks for all the responses!
UPDATE: Talked with Toyota Corp. They have now decided the pay for for almost all of the fix. I am happy with the outcome.
Click to expand...

What made them change their mind? I was told they wouldn't do anything for mine.

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