Toyota Dealership told me rust was normal and that all Tacomas have it

Hey all,

I am having an issue with rust, on a brand new Tacoma! The TRD Pro came off the factory line May 10th, 2018. I purchased it June 2nd. A week or so later I stuck my head under the dash trying to figure out some light wiring. Low and behold I find the top portion of the brake pedal is rusted.

I spoke to the general manager of the dealership and the service manager, both of them saying that ALL Tacoma's have this because of the way they were built. I went back to the dealership, looked underneath at the brake pedals of their Tacomas, yet didn't find any rust. Quite interesting considering the car wasn't even a month old when the rust bega.

They also said Toyota wouldn't cover it. I got beyond pissed. They wanted to make me happy though so they appealed to Toyota and got a go ahead to fix the rust...on just the brake pedal. I was already pretty hesitant to deal with this service department because I was also having an issue with the adaptive cruise control distance settings that I was talking to a master mechanic about - his reply was that there is no Toyotas that have the ability set the distance in adaptive cruise control. He claimed to have been working as a mechanic there for 18 years.

There were a bunch of other little things that make that dealership terrible, so I wanted to avoid entrusting them with a $52k truck. I went to two body shops and they both quoted a little under $2,000 to get rid of the rust, paint/clear coat so it doesn't come back. The majority of that price was removing the dash however. Both wanted over $1,000 in labor fees to remove and reassemble the dash, and I couldn't get a straightforward answer if that would void the warranty or not.

I relayed all of this to the dealership, and "as a courtesy to me" they will get rid of the rust and paint/clearcoat over where it was, but they will not remove the dash to do so. The only answer I got to as why, was because "it's stock from the factory and removing it and putting it back together perfectly is very difficult." So in two days I have an appointment to get this rust taken care of - they said they will take out all the parts that need to be worked on and repaint them outside of the vehicle.

I am pretty bummed that the dealership didn't just take care of it right away no questions asked, and that Toyota wouldn't cover rust on a vehicle they produced that was less than a month old at the time I found the rust. Maybe I'm just venting, but damn. Has anyone else run into this? You'd think Toyota & the dealership would be a little more willing to help out a customer who just bought a Tacoma off the showroom floor.

 

Don't know about the rust but all I have to ask is...a $52K truck?!!! Dang dude.

 

They go for over $60k here in So Cal

 

Read the last paragraph. Does your Tacoma have rust there?

 

3rd Gen problems

 

On that portion of the vehicle. Yeah it's normal

 

Sounds about right.

They sweet talk you and as soon as you Give them your hard earned greenbacks,
It’s time to grab your ankles.

 

Within a month of coming off the line?

 

Why don't folks just buy a plane ticket and purchase elsewhere?

Regardless of the price. The rust inside the vehicle sucks. I would WD40 it. It's indoors so it should stop.

I'll check mine and advise.

 

Yup

 

I tried that as well. Couldn't find a place with a better deal than this in this color. Mostly all dealerships have their own markup on the Pros

 

That's surprising, makes me feel a little bad for getting angry at the dudes there. That rust spreads quick though

 

So drive 4+ hours and get it at MSRP or lower. I don't understand how some dealerships can have such ridiculous markups but others never have markups.

 

It's THE PRINCIPAL of the thing!!

 

Try to find a black 18' TRD Pro within a thousand miles of LA that is actually selling it as MSRP. I looked everywhere. They're rare trucks to begin with..Colorado had one without any of these factory options on this one for high $40's..but all said and done taxes out the door would be around the same as 52k

 

*Cough* frame swaps *cough*

 

Spray a little rust check on it and call it a day. Rust in that area isn't going to hurt anything condensation forms on cold metal part under the dash and you can end up with some surface rust because the metals parts under the dash aren't painted. It just not a Toyota thing. Nobody paints metal body parts under the dash.

 

Jamesboy2233 if you spend over 50 thousand on a truck and you find rust inside of it a week later, how would you feel? Those parts/welds could have easily been primed, but they weren't. If they're going to be "sitting in a warehouse in a humid environment" then yes, they should be lubricated. Just like when you buy a gun. If you bought a gun, even the cheapest of guns, it would not be rusted out because it was just sitting in a humid environment on a shelf.

 

Dude. Fine...fry up some bacon and put some of the leftover grease on it. Maybe the smell would be better. The point is to lube it slightly to protect it.

@18TrdPro, I just checked mine and this is how it looks after 2 years. I'll probably put some leftover bacon grease since @Jamesboy2233 doesn't like WD40. I would be little pissed if it looked like the yours after month. Having said that...if they don't want to work with you. Take care of the problem yourself. Shouldn't be hard.

 

Spray some fluid film in a jar, spread it on lightly with an old toothbrush, look at it again in 10 years.

I would not be happy with it or with the dealer taking my dash apart.

And I agree with the principle of the thing comment.