Toyota stepping up & FINALLY getting frame replaced!

PICS in post #18

Scroll down for latest update #4

UPDATE #1 (May) - 0/3 on Toyota dealerships. 2/3 denied me even though service managers stated it was “bad”. Pics in post #18. Last dealership had a gulf coast Toyota rep come look at it and he denied it. 2/3 dealerships told me the holes were created by the bolt on sliders that were previously on the truck. There is NO way holes were drilled into the frame and made to look like that ha!

UPDATE #2 (May) - Toyota corporate sent me an email response after I sent them an initial email with pictures of holes in the frame and stated their decision was final on no frame replacement. Looks like I’m dead in the water.

UPDATE #3 (late July) - Going to haul the truck up to St. Louis in August to go to a dealership who says they have plenty of experience replacing frames and a fellow TW member just got theirs done there. Hopefully they will not deny me! Hopefully since it’s a different region and it’s been 3 months since the other inspections, it will fail and a new frame will be on the way!

UPDATE #4 (Sept) - Dealer locally in TX (never could find time to haul truck to St. Louis like I wanted to) who we have bought several vehicles from was finally able to pull some strings or do something to convince Toyota to do the right thing! Said it could take 30-45 days between actually getting the frame and doing the work. After everything is said and done I’ve got to decide whether to keep her or sell her and go with my 2nd option I’ve bought in the meantime (98 Limited Xtracab 4x4). Nevertheless there will be a double cab with only 100k miles on the street again soon! So thankful!

ORIGINAL POST - I’ve read through the threads on here and have gained some great info.

The frame was undercoated previously as recommended by Toyota (by a previous owner). I have until October of 2018 to fail inspection and qualify for a replacement frame.

Thanks

 

it only gets replaced if there is a sizable "hole" in the frame, not just because you want it. make sure you have pictures and/or report of the hole. as an '03 are you within the 15 year from "purchase/in service date"?

fight is useless if you can't meet the requirements for the service bulletin (not recall)

 

I’m aware it’s not just because I want it. There is some significant rust in the rear as it spent most of its life in NJ. Not sure if there are any holes but I’ll look again.

Just to clarify, is it 15 years from the date of purchase or 15 years from the manufacture date?

The dealer claims to not even be able to find the bulletin. I informed them that it’s not a recall as well.

I say fight because I’m not optimistic a service center is going to just offer the service unless Toyota corporate instructs them. Especially being in the south where rust is not a normal issue.

 

15 years from in-service date. Toyota has a vin decoder. Plug your vin in and in-service date is one of the data elements that it spits out.

New Jersy is one of the "cold weather" states. So, your truck would have to have been inspected and sprayed by Toyota prior to 2011 (I can't remember the exact date, so you'll have to do some homework to figure that out). If it wasn't inspected and sprayed you are screwed. If it's outside the 15 years since in-service you're screwed.

Good luck and godspeed.

 

Most dealerships here in CA aren't going to be very familiar with the frame replacement warranty (not a recall, never call it a recall because it wasn't one and if they search for recalls it won't show up). Assuming that your truck falls within the parameters of the frame replacement (registered in a 'cold weather state', undercoated previously by Toyota, not past the 15 year in-service date, etc.) then I'd get corporate involved with your dealerships so that they know what to do; chances are they haven't had to do a frame replacement before, not like dealerships on the east coast that deal with them more regularly.

 

UPDATE: Called corporate and started a case. As mentioned earlier it was sprayed previous to 2011 by a previous owner and documented at a Toyota dealership, which extends the life to 15 years. This was verified on the phone just now by Toyota. My truck has until October of this year to be inspected and potentially replaced if deemed necessary. I have an appt for it to be inspected by a dealership I’ve dealt with a few times down in Houston, my home. Not gonna drive it out to SoCal yet, figure a dealership down south may have a bit more experience than anyone out West.

Thanks for the tips and help thus far. Customer service was great on the phone. Now I just hope the dealership sees the evidence and offers to do the right thing. I suppose if they deny me I can try another Toyota dealership?

 

it's good you got all the information correct. "in-service" date is basically the day it rolled off the lot to the owner.

it still has to fail and show a hole larger than 10mm (I think). even if there is rust on the frame that in and of itself won't fail if they can't show a noticeable hole.

 

Can you post some photos of the underside of your truck? Usually the rear leaf spring perches are the worst area. You can post you VIN number if you want as well.

 

Just hoping that Toyota comes through. Even if there isn’t a hole (and I’m not naive enough to think they won’t deny me), I would think they would correct a problem they know is a known issue. I know they are a biz and need to make money and I’m sure this is a big hit anytime they have to do a replacement. However, small price to pay for owner loyalty in my opinion.

I can post pics when I get home to TX next week. Just curious why you want me to post my VIN?

 

There is a Toyota site you can check to see ALL Toyota service done to your vehicle. It's just fun to see on someone else's truck.
Go to https://www.toyota.com/ click the "owners" drop down. Enter your VIN. You can get detailed notes from each repair. (depending on the mechanic notes) You can also start your own log for maint. (no one else can see your notes)

 

loyalty or not, it's not a small price to pay it's equivalent to half the price of a new car (not truck).

have the mechanic/inspector tap the frame everywhere with a mallet. you don't want to "cause" a hole by whacking it, you just want to reveal one if it's there. if they don't deem the "perforation" large enough it will pass the inspection, regardless if there is rust.

mine has surface rust but I treat it yearly with a bath of used oil (inside the frame as well). water will wash it away eventually but the only place I can see is above and behind the rear axle. forward is still covered with Toyota's spray and my oil.

 

If your frame isn't rotted away it's not a small price to pay so that your truck lasts 25 years. Toyota never intended to make a 'forever' truck.

 

I would get the frame inspected. Rust is not a criteria for replacement, deteriorated structural integrity is. The criteria Toyota used for that is "a hole". If there is a hole in one spot, the rest of the frame is probably weakened enough to not provide good support for the vehicle. Then it will be replaced.

On the other hand if there is a rust, but there is enough metal everywhere to provide the structural rigidity and support for a truck, the frame will passes the inspection - no need to replace it. You should be happy as well. Clean all the deep rust, protect the remaining metal from further corrosion and enjoy the truck. The most ignorant what some owners do is "do nothing and wait for the corrosion to eat the vehicle, and then complain". It's been 10-15 years since Toyota confirmed the problem, it's been all over the media, Internet and public know-how so everybody should know it by now - OK, everybody but Californian.

I just bathed my truck in fluid film for the second time since I moved it from California to "salty" Poland. Two winters here and the truck looks as clean as for the previous 21 years in California. 30 dollars worth of fluid film and 3 hours of my time is worth the result. As long as Toyota has OEM parts available I'm going to keep my Tacoma for next 20 years.

 

Here is a pic of the underside of my 03 which got the frame replaced less than 2 months ago. They showed me the ticket after they did it, almost 13000 bucks on their end. I’m in Kentucky. This truck passed Toyota’s inspection in 2010 and 2015 and failed in November 2017. Had to wait about 3 months for frame to arrive. Well worth it, had a bunch of other stuff done while they had it. Here is a pic that show what qualified me, hard to believe it passed 2 years prior. The warranty on this truck expires June 2018 .

 

NJ winter road conditions will surely take a toll on the frame. But, you have to have a perforation in any one of about twelve locations throughout the frame. The dealer will want to do the work because they get paid well by Toyota, but a regional, or corporate, rep will make the decision. They will follow the rules to the letter, otherwise we'd all be going to that dealer with our rusty frames.

Good luck, and let us know how it works out.

 

That looks a lot like my '97 TRD did when Toyota bought it back.

 

UPDATE - Crawled under there today again to take a closer look....I’ve had the truck for less than 2 weeks and have been out of town mostly. Looks like there are some rust holes. It’s near the mounting holes where the sliders were bolted on. Wonder if they will not fail the frame to do having an aftermarket part in the truck in that area? The later pics just show the rust towards the rear.

 

It's toast. Hope they do come through for ya, you're coming in under the wire and I bet Toyo. is wishing they had claimed 10 yrs. warranty now.

Man, the old saying was that in the nuclear future there will be 'cockroaches and Tacomas' but it's looking like there will be 'cockroaches and California Tacomas'.

 

Let me get this straight: It was registered in a cold weather state, it was undercoated previously by Toyota, the frame looks like swiss cheese and you have until October of this year.

You sir will be getting a new frame. No way any dealership can deny you, once they send those pics to Toyota Corp then they will be instructed to do a frame replacement. Once that happens, your new worry is going to be whether or not they do it in a timely manner, and whether or not they do it well. I've read of some nightmare stories on here where people get a half-assed frame replacement done that takes months, and then other stories where it took a few weeks and it's like a brand new truck. Hopefully it works out for you, be sure to stay on them about it and don't let them try and make you pay for things that you shouldn't have to pay for. Anything that's been compromised by the rust or the rusty frame should be covered by Toyota.

There probably will be some expenses on your part though, like if the shocks are too worn out to put back on or something like that. There's always something. But a new frame is a new frame