Toyota Refuses To Replace My Frame

Hey Guys,

The truck was taken to Toyota dealer in different city two months ago and was undercoated. Recently the majority of the undercoat has peeled off and the rust has gotten worse. I called Toyota customer service to no avail, emailed them, and created a complaint against the head office via BBB. I received a call from work from somebody high up in the Toyota chain, they came off as very aggressive and aggravated at me over the phone while I remained calm. They bluntly told me that Toyota was going to do nothing for me and that it was my problem, he was almost yelling telling me that Toyota would do nothing. I was surprised that someone from Toyota called me while very pissed off, I must've created a headache for that guy idk. I would like to work with Toyota and not against Toyota.

I contacted two dealerships in my city (not original), left a message for both service managers and only heard back from one of the service managers. I have to take my hat off to Peter at Toyota-town, he has been a really level headed guy this whole ordeal and very kind to speak with. He agreed to make an appointment this Friday and take a second look at the frame. The problem is that Toyota really doesn't want to replace the frame, it's very annoying to deal with this that they will squirm out of frame replacement any ways they can.



From what I've inspected there are two small holes in what I believe is the motor mounts. There is a plate underneath the transmission that is also disintegrating like potato chips. Tons of rust on the frame but I haven't found penetrations elsewhere. I haven't really looked too hard elsewhere, I've been checking where the undercoat has been peeling. Not really sure what to do, I really cannot afford to dissemble the truck to sandblast the frame. Thank you very much guys for reading the thread.

 

What are the details of the truck?

 

What details? it's a 2008 Double Cab, 300,000km

 

Those details.

None of that was listed in the original listing.

 

I apologize, the year is only relevant when it comes to recall because it's based on years

 

I've found that the best use of the bottle jack that comes with the truck is to use two of those long straight extender arms together to whack on hard to reach places of the frame for penetrations

 

The vote is pointless and I refuse to participate in it.

As for the frame replacement, I believe that the qualification for a frame replacement is that you have a clear through hole within which fits a circle with a 10mm (about half inch) diameter. Basically, the size of a dime. I do see that you have a hole in your frame, but it isn't clear if its big enough to qualify. You might be able to massage it wider with a hammer and chisel.

 

It is listed in his profile though, which you can see if you look to the <-- of any of his posts.

 

Jeez, it’s probably in your favor at least that the undercoat is flaking off.

People complain that Toyota workers do crap job with the undercoat but I think sometimes it’s for the better, that way the frame fails on a beneficial time scale to the customer rather than past the replacement date.

 

Start beating on your frame with a hammer . That’s what I did and I could not find a hole . Local dealer passed frame inspection and set me up with an appointment for coating the frame like 2 months later . A week before that date I canceled the appointment and took it to a different dealer 90 miles away and they found a hole . Long story short ,I have a new frame !

 

The holes that I can see look rather small, borderline at best. They don't replace just for scale rust or delamination.

Why are you in such a hurry for a new frame? There is rust but nothing that looks unsafe or that meets the 10 mm size requirement. The longer you can ride on what you have, the more total years you're likely to get out of the truck. I was really hoping mine would last until closer to the end date of the replacement period without needing the replacement, personally. They aren't going to replace the frame again after this I think. So if the new frame lasts say 10 years then each year I can go with the existing frame is one more year I can use the truck.

Based on 2008, you've got a couple more years before the "extended frame warranty" ends. I can almost guarantee it will be rusted enough by next year, particularly if you don't rinse or wash the frame.

Of course not everybody intends to keep their truck until death does them part so I guess I can see where my way of thinking wouldn't apply to everybody. Were you trying to sell it? If so I can see your hurry.

I had a friend of mine suggest shoving a tube sock full of rock salt in the boxed portion of the frame for a few months. Maryland uses salt (or something like it) enough at the slightest smell of snow in the air that this was not necessary. Even trying to keep it from rusting I recently found quarter and larger sizes holes in mine.

Try some different dealers, Toyota corporate can't see your truck they have to rely on the dealer for that and the right inspection might make a difference.

I hope it works out for you,
Buggsy

 

Oh yea , after the hammer treatment I had a huge pile of rust flakes and reached my hand into the part of the frame where I could and pulled out piles of rusty metal .

 

Looks brittle enough to make it bigger by hand, don’t give up!

 

Speaking of piles of rust flakes... I recommend wearing safety glasses for this procedure.

 

I will try different dealers, Thank you. I am planning on keeping the truck for as long as I can with no plans on flipping it in sight. The rusted out frame really bothers me, I am trying to remove all the rust off the truck and clean it up

 

Lawyer time

 

Not yet. Not until (a) the truck actually qualifies, and (b) all other avenues have been attempted.

 

The frame looks absolutely horrible. How does it not qualify? I've seen users with frames no where near as bad get a new one.

 

For all pertinent facts in a thread, be sure to read the entire thread. In particular, qualifications are detailed in this post: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/toyota-refuses-to-replace-my-frame.581934/#post-19349688