Rusty Frame offer: Anyone else get this card?

I got this mailing from Toyota a couple of days ago. While I think it's great that Toyota is keeping on top of this, my cynicism may be getting the better of me. What I'd really like is a new frame, and this offer sounds like giving me a great big bandaid which won't last nearly as long as a brand new frame. My mechanic just looked over the frame and told me that the rust he sees looks bad but is only cosmetic. I know we only have another year or so on the warranty, but I'm curious what everyone else is doing.

 

First, use the search feature and you'll find this one's been covered many, many times already. Second, just get it done. It's free, doesn't hurt anything, works much better than their previous programs and finally, gives you a full 12 year frame warranty. It's a no brainer.

 

I had the inspection done and the treatment performed. However, there are many threads and posts on this topic by very knowledgeable people on this forum - who might have differing opinions on what to do.

 

It will all depend on how well the tech has been trained and how cheap the dealership is.

I had it done on mine [wasn't needed] and I'd bet the amount of treatment they used on the entire frame wouldn't have used up a can of Fluid Film. The only upside to me is the extended perforation coverage which is worth it if you need to avail yourself of it.

 

Thank you. And I just did a search for this topic, and none that I found addressed this specific offer.

Can you or anyone suggest how I go about finding a dealer that actually wants to do this work and will do it well?

 

The guy that does all of our frame coating work is really good at it. Not sure where you're located, but I'd recommend West-Herr Toyota of Rochester, NY.

 

Well, if you are in an area like me, you probably don't have a huge selection of Toyota dealers to go to. Probably my biggest gripe against Toyota in general. Call, talk to them, ask them how many they have done, ask them the process and see if they can explain it to you in detail [they are supposed to clean and wash the frame and dry it before treatment, skip that step and it's worthless] and so on. I went to Wolverine in Dundee, meh, they are just a satellite of Lansing Toyota and owned by the same owner. Not real impressed with the one in Lansing [lousy customer service and poor salesmen] and about the same impression for the one in Dundee. I bought two Yota's in two years, the next year I bought a Honda pretty much because I had had enough of Toyota dealers and the PITA of actually bringing anything in to them. [Honda has a local dealership]

 

I have a dealer less than a mile away, so they're the obvious choice. It's part of a larger chain of dealers here in the Philly area, and I've never had to deal with them. I bought the truck off a friend. The mailer has a toll-free number, which suggests that only certain dealers are doing this job. I'm just hoping that they don't send me to New Jersey to get the work done!

 

Shouldn’t you be able to go to any dealer to have them check out your frame and fix it if it’s within the 15 year window?

 

When I bought my truck in 2013, I had it treated before it left the lot here in Vermont. I read countless threads on frame rust and saw my local dealer buy back lot filled to brim (2006 ish) - all the late 90s getting crushed then frame replacements after that.
Each year, it got treated and I did do the inspection then treatment to extend the warranty. The work done was good and accomplished in a timely manner plus loaner to get around.
I would love a new frame in the future because I am not buying anything new and love my truck. It hasn't giving me any trouble whatsoever in 115k.

 

UPDATE: I just got back from the dealer after getting the #KOD recall. I went to Sloane Toyota of Abington. I gotta say, when I looked underneath, I didn't see what I expected to see. I was told they'd give the underside a thorough cleaning -- which I assumed meant blasting off a good part of the rust -- and then giving the frame a good coat of [something they probably should have used in the first place].

When I took a look underneath, I had to look kind of hard to see exactly what they coated. It seems that the inside of the frame got a coating and spots of the exterior. Some of the coating was still dripping down when I got it home. (I live only about a mile away). I don't exactly feel happy about it, but then again, I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at.

in other news, this photo shows some of the new frames stacked up behind the dealer.

 

That wood is more valuable then the frames.

 

Got one of those too.
Doing nothing with it until the very end.

 

Well, that's because it will last longer.