RUSTY FRAMES BEING REPLACED BY TOYOTA

So I was looking into cleaning up my frame because its got some pretty serious rust in some areas, mainly next to the rear bumper. After searching the web, turns out that 95-2000 Tacoma frames are known to suffer from "excessive rust corrosion" which in some cases causes the frame to fail. Toyota issued a letter in 2008 saying that they would buy back Tacomas 95-2000, in a certain VIN category, which my truck is in. Im curious if anyone has done this. If so was it worth the time?

 

we`ve got an 01,they replaced the frame suspension and brakes and everything. Alot of people in my area have had tacomas bought back for pretty good money from toyota

 

Oops, I just re-read the letter. The extension is for 2001-2004 models only. I missed that the OP had 95-2000. post deleted. Ben's probably right....sol Sorry, Jay

 

Get it inspected if they are still doing it -- they bought back my 1998 with 90Kish miles for roughly $11.5K. It made a nice down payment on the 2010. Unfortunately, I had already spent $650 on my own to have a welder reinforce the frame. Other than the frame rust, I loved that truck and it would have lasted me many more years.

 

I apologize for the partial thread-jack, but does anyone have a copy of the 2001-2004 letter they can post? I never received one, and repeated checks of Toyota's "Safety Recalls/Service Campaigns" site always tell me "There are no open Special Service Campaigns or Safety Recalls on your vehicle."

 

Thanks for all the info. I will call the dealer on Monday just to see what they say.

 

Took my 2000 in last week to get it tested and they said the recall was over for 95-00

 

I stopped by the dealership in Tacoma. They didnt mention anything about the year range, they just told me to bring it in tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

 

i think they are filling you full of shit. my buddy has a 00, he took it in last thur and they failed it, so they are still doin the recall on 95-00. they are goin to give him a price this week. i had a 98 it got recalled a few yrs ago as well.

 

they are definitely still doin the recall. just talked to ramey toyota in WV and they told me to bring in my 2000 tomoro to have it checked.. hopefully it will fail

 

I called Toyota today and they are setting me up with a claims person to take a look at it. Hopefully it works out in my favor.

 

This is a little confusing. Toyota must have changed the rules. IIRC Washington was not one of the states specified as being eligible for the frame recall.

 

I have a '98 and it isn't technically a "recall" on the frames, but Toyota extended the frame warranty from 3 years to 15 years from date of purchase for '95-'04 Tacomas... You have 15 years, so I have til 2013 for my truck to be inspected.. The dealer isn't going to know crap about the extension of the warranty, I called mine and he asked for the VIN, then told me there were no recalls on that model.. I then called Toyota and they seemed to be clueless also.. I will post links to the letter that was originally sent to dealers, to owners, and the inspection process.. Good luck...

Dealer letter
http://www.showstop.org/images/truck/rust_warranty/dealer-communication.pdf

Warranty Policy Bulletin (shows what VINs are covered)
http://www.showstop.org/images/truck/rust_warranty/warranty-policy.pdf

Vehicle Inspection Procedure
http://www.showstop.org/images/truck/rust_warranty/vehicle-inspection.pdf

 

My inspection mechanic just found a perforation in my frame. This was the most helpful post of all relating to this. It sucks it happened to me on a friday as now I have to wait all weekend for the Toyota inspection. I just dropped like 7.5k on this truck 2 weeks ago and now it won't pass inspection, I hope this gets taken care of!

 

I'm short on time here, but wanted to add my $.02...

The letter that I received didn't give a cut-off date for the recall in general, but rather a 15-year window from the build date of the truck itself, which can be determined from the VIN.

My 15 year window closed in mid-February 2011 for my '96.
I had it inspected twice in the last year & passed both inspections.

 

98tacoma27 ur wrong.they still look at frames and buy them back but they have to be less then 15 years old.They also have to be rused throught enough to put a hammer throught it.

 

It was my understanding that the 15 yrs begins not when the truck is built, but when the truck actually goes into service (ie. sold and on the road)

cna anyone support or deny this?

 

I just gave up my 2000 prerunner with 159k miles today, due to the frame buy back. They gave me $10,995 for the truck after it failed. Can't turn that down. I plan to go Toyota again.