Tacoma frame rust recall

[TyzToyz]

Brought my truck to the dealership today just to inquire about the frame recall. To my surprise, they asked when I could leave it with them and I said, how about now? So she said that they will phone me tomorrow to let me know the status.
I guess I'll find out whether I get free undercoating or if they're gonna buy it back.
Anyone else on here have their rig checked out?

Tye

[RiceFarmer]

Is the frame rusty?

[Doc McCoy]

I know Paul from Red Deer did and he got the free undercoating. I was supposed to go in and get the check done ... but I'm lazy.

[canadian bum]

Paul's undercoating sucks, he isn't very impressed with it. Its flaking off and he is going to go back in and see if they can redo it because his was one of the first ones they coated and they might have done it wrong.

[mudrunner]

What year of tacomas are affected ?

[Brazenhead]

first gen if i'm not mistaken. I think it went up to the 2000 model year.

[Winch]

Yes, it is certain 1st gen trucks that are affected from 1996 - 2004. '96-'00 - they will buy the truck back at 1.5 times the book vallue if affected, and the '01-'04 models they will replace the frame for free.
http://www.tacomaterritory.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95993

[gptoy]

Any updates on your truck?

I haven't been on in a while so missed this one.

I had my 98 bought back, it will be 2 years at the end of May. Can't say enough good for how Toyota handled the whole deal. I was the first buy back at my dealer, had about 4 more shortly after get bought up and a couple more over time. Maybe 6 to 8 Taco's since the whole thing started.

Sad to see those Taco's head to the crusher but what good is a truck with no frame I guess.

[TyzToyz]

They did indeed undercoat my frame, however, I don't beleive they did a very good job cleaning the inside of the frame out. This truck is new to me, so I never had a chance to take it off road or even on a dirt road for that matter. They put down on the sheet that they weren't shure how effective the coating would be due to mud caked in the frame (from PO).
I wish I had of waited awhile so I could have taken the time to clean inside the frame properly. Now it is just a congealed mess inside there which will be impossible to remove now.
Oh well, it was free and the ouside looks good!
I just hope that if the frame does break, they will still stand behind their warranty.

Tye

[90 Runner]

Hey is it just the Tacoma's or are Runners included to.

[Sprockett]

Runners don't have frames! :)

[Doc McCoy]

Runners may not but 4Runners do.

4runners > Cherokees

Frames FTW.

To answer your question though ... I have no idea. Something to look into.

[90 Runner]

Damm Taco's always hating the 4Runners.

4runners Rule lol
http://blog.niot.net/blog-images/trial-by-fire-toyota-to-run-nearly-stock-2010-4runner-in-score.jpg

[gptoy]

No, 4Runner's aren't included. They're built in Japan.

Problem Taco's are from California.

[Rider Eh!]

How do I get the coating done on my 03? Just bought it, and checked for recalls on the truck and none show up. Checked US and Canadian recalls (imported from the US) and nothing shows. I was told by a guy whose truck I was going to buy that he had it done on his 04.

[freeze]

Hey Rider... don't forget to introduce yourself in the new members section before posting. Welcome to the site!

[Winch]

How do I get the coating done on my 03? Just bought it, and checked for recalls on the truck and none show up. Checked US and Canadian recalls (imported from the US) and nothing shows. I was told by a guy whose truck I was going to buy that he had it done on his 04.

Yeah, the frame issue is not a recall per se, but rather a TSB. Just call your favourite dealer (I think most recommend Henninger) and book it in for a check.

[Rider Eh!]

So should the spray cost me anything? I thought TSB's costed money if your vehicle was no longer under warranty.

[Winch]

So should the spray cost me anything? I thought TSB's costed money if your vehicle was no longer under warranty.

No, won't cost you a thing until 2018 (2003 + 15 year free extended warrantee) is my understanding. What they do is to inspect the frame, and if it's rusted, they will install a new one for free, but if it's fine, they will give it a free rust guard treatment.

[Rider Eh!]

Well I contacted Heninger today on this. It seems since there is no recall on my truck on this they won't do either. They had to look through the US, and there is no recall there. One may come up 5 years from now though, who knows.

[gptoy]

Well I contacted Heninger today on this. It seems since there is no recall on my truck on this they won't do either. They had to look through the US, and there is no recall there. One may come up 5 years from now though, who knows.

This issue won't show up as a recall, it's a warranty extension as Winch mentioned. 15 years from the original in service date. And you should get one inspection per year free for them to look at it.

Once a year you should be able to drive it in and they should inspect it for rust/damage for free. If all looks good they should be coating it. Try another dealer maybe? I'm not familiar with Calgary's dealers...

[Winch]

Well I contacted Heninger today on this. It seems since there is no recall on my truck on this they won't do either. They had to look through the US, and there is no recall there. One may come up 5 years from now though, who knows.

Yes, my understanding is that not all VIN numbers were affected by the poor quality frame finish, so I presume that if your VIN number falls outside the identified ranges, it won't affect you. They may have published the affected VIN range, but not sure.

[gptoy]

Yes, my understanding is that not all VIN numbers were affected by the poor quality frame finish, so I presume that if your VIN number falls outside the identified ranges, it won't affect you. They may have published the affected VIN range, but not sure.

Good call, I forgot that only certain VIN's were affected.

[Dante's Taco]

And you should get one inspection per year free for them to look at it.

Once a year you should be able to drive it in and they should inspect it for rust/damage for free. If all looks good they should be coating it..

Hmmm. So, this annual free inspection + undercoat - is this only for 1st gens? Did it only start after X number of years in service? I've never heard of anything like this for our 2005+ Tacos.

And my 2006 is starting to show some spotty frame rust. I am looking at coating solutions currently - hope to do that this year.

Thanks

G

[Rider Eh!]

Went into CHT today, and they said if it's a US vehicle I'd have to do it in the US, as they won't deal with US service bulletins. I specificly said it was a warranty extension and they didn't care. Luckily it's not that bad, but I may check it out there when I go there this summer.

[Winch]

Went into CHT today, and they said if it's a US vehicle I'd have to do it in the US, as they won't deal with US service bulletins. I specificly said it was a warranty extension and they didn't care. Luckily it's not that bad, but I may check it out there when I go there this summer.

Ummmm, that's strange. As far as I know it affects both US and Canadian models. I suggest calling some of the other dealers too.

[gptoy]

Hmmm. So, this annual free inspection + undercoat - is this only for 1st gens? Did it only start after X number of years in service? I've never heard of anything like this for our 2005+ Tacos.

And my 2006 is starting to show some spotty frame rust. I am looking at coating solutions currently - hope to do that this year.

Thanks

G

For the applicable VIN's, the yearly inspection should be covered as long as its' within the 15 year extension. The undercoat should be a one time deal as long as it passed, I assume could still get inspected still every year just in case also.

At first was just the 95.5-00's, for those it was either pass or fail. Fail meant buyback, pass would now mean undercoat (at first weren't undercoating). They added the 01-04's after, fail meant new frame, pass again was undercoat. It doesn't take much to fail either, the hole I had on my Taco was about the size of a thumb tip, passenger side, inside frame near front and it failed.

You got to wonder if/when the 2nd gens are going to have to deal with this also. It's only been 2 years since they started dealing with this, so in theory the problem could exist till models in early 2008. My 05 seems pretty rusy compared to my 04 Runner, although could be the mileage difference (Runner has way less) but still seems to be a bit excessive.

[Rider Eh!]

So how do I find out if mine is an applicable VIN? And how do I explain this to the people at the dealership? No one seems to want to bother with my imported truck.

[Winch]

So how do I find out if mine is an applicable VIN? And how do I explain this to the people at the dealership? No one seems to want to bother with my imported truck.

Looks like they have the list here in post #3: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/8024-toyota-tacoma-frame-rust.html

[Rider Eh!]

Yeah I've seen that before, but it only covers up to the 2000 model year.

[Rider Eh!]

So I was able to get the inspection done in Seattle, they knew about it and helped out. They passed it and did no under body coating (though they say they had never done one). From now on, I'm hoping to do it here every year or two.

[SteveO]

I had my 98 bought back, it will be 2 years at the end of May. Can't say enough good for how Toyota handled the whole deal..

Do you mind if I ask what they paid for it and the details on the truck? I'm booking mine in for the inspection and depending on the amount they're paying, I'm not sure if I want it to pass or if I would prefer it to sell. :)

I just put mine up for sale but am going to have it checked out before I let it go, just in case. Thanks. ....Steve

[Winch]

Do you mind if I ask what they paid for it and the details on the truck? I'm booking mine in for the inspection and depending on the amount they're paying, I'm not sure if I want it to pass or if I would prefer it to sell. :)

I just put mine up for sale but am going to have it checked out before I let it go, just in case. Thanks. ....Steve

Last time I heard, they pay 1.5 times the blackbook vallue.

[SteveO]

Last time I heard, they pay 1.5 times the blackbook vallue.

Hey Gary, any idea how bad the rust needs to be? Mine's in pretty solid condition with just some surface rust and a little flaking in some spots. It's pretty low KM for a 99 (150K) so it probably hasn't had the exposure needed to fail but I wanted to make sure before I sold it. Sounds like a pretty decent buy back for an older truck. ...Steve

[Chaos]

I don't know what the "guidelines" are but my buddy had a 99 and the put a hole into the frame with a sledge hammer, they gave him 18,500$ for the truck.............and it had 400,000 kms on it, so he bought a 2003 they had for sale for 19,000.00

[SteveO]

I don't know what the "guidelines" are but my buddy had a 99 and the put a hole into the frame with a sledge hammer, they gave him 18,500$ for the truck.............and it had 400,000 kms on it, so he bought a 2003 they had for sale for 19,000.00

Wow, I kind of hope mine fails. Mine's a 99 with 152000 km and I'd like to sell for $13K. :)

[Doc McCoy]

I was getting some work done at Country Hills Toyota and the service guy that I dealt with at the time knew about the problem and was going to get me in to do an underspray of the frame.

I was getting a lot of work done to the truck at the same time somewhere else (the Forrest Toyota Hospital) and decided against it.

[gptoy]

Do you mind if I ask what they paid for it and the details on the truck? I'm booking mine in for the inspection and depending on the amount they're paying, I'm not sure if I want it to pass or if I would prefer it to sell. :)

I just put mine up for sale but am going to have it checked out before I let it go, just in case. Thanks. ....Steve

Sorry man. I've been pretty slack here lately, hopefully this still helps you out.

The 1.5x blue book is right, based on retail (not trade in) value and only thing that effects the price is the kms.

My 98 had about 225K's (10 years old at the time), I had one body mount broken which they didn't care about. What failed my truck was a hole about the size of a almond on the right side frame near the front tire. They gave me $20,805 for it. Just plain silly really when you think about it. I had bought it the year before straight off a trade as a work/4x4 truck, it wasn't in the best of shape but wasn't beat up either.

As if that wasn't good enough, before I handed the keys over they let me take it home and strip it. I took my cap, wheels/tires, stereo, grill emblem, even floor mats, and drove it back to the shop on trailer tires. Was nice not having to worry about putting things back together or pull things apart gently not to wreck anything. Hopefully the pics work, a before/after stripping view.

After I got the cheque, I bought the certified pre-owned 04 T4R which only cost me $120 out of pocket after taxes as I bought it at the peak of gas prices and v8 SUV's were a harder sell at the time.

I hope the pics work, it looks pretty goofy after, felt even goofier driving it back!

[Winch]

Hey Gary, any idea how bad the rust needs to be?

Hey Steve, sorry just got back from Cali last night. As far as I know, if it has a hole or they can punch a hole into the frame anywhere, it would fail.