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Pickups Toyota Tacoma Toyota Tacoma 2004 and Earlier Frame Problem
928 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2009 at 4:34 AM
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The cooling fan recently started making a racket on my son's 05 Tacoma 4x4 so he took it to the dealer where they told him there was nothing they could do as the frame was cracked at the engine mount! The body shop they sent us to says the frame is too flimsy to be repaired and they recommended totalling the truck, but insurance says NO, they must disassemble the body and install a complete new frame. Toyota is so far refusing to honor any kind of warrantee on the frame as it has 85k miles. My son unloaded this turkey yesterday, but at a big loss - the dealer gave him $7000 toward a new F150 (joint Ford/Toyota dealer). He's done with Toyota!
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Replying to: txoilman (Jan 01, 2009 5:01 pm) toyota has to warranty the frame.. thats bullshit.. |
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This is the first I have heard of the rusted frame issue. I own a 2001 Toyota Tacoma that has 155k miles. The body and engine are still in great shape but the frame is badly rusted. How do I find out if it is eligible for a buy back?
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Replying to: pokienoze (Jan 03, 2009 12:41 am) they will fail it and start the paper work.. only thing that is bad for you is toyota has decided to do a frame replacement on 2001 - 2004 instead of the buy back program. |
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My 2001 went in for normal service on 12/23 and I was told that it was not safe to drive because of the rust problem. The dealer said that there was to be some type of corporate program to address this that was different than the pre-2001 program, but they had not gotten details from corporate. I contacted corporate and on 12/24 spoke with a rep who said the program is as outlined in other threads. They will be replacing the entire frame for free (gee thanks) and that I would be getting a loaner car in the interim. The type of vehicle is up to the local dealer I was told so you may not get a like replacement. The corp rep said that was as good as it was, meaning there was no corp plan to provide a loaner truck or even a 4WD - it's up to the dealer. On 12/26 I spoke at length with the service manager and luckily was able to get a RAV4 loaner. While not a truck at least it is 4WD. The bad news is the dealer still has no formal notification from Toyota on the program, they have no parts to do the frame replacement, they do not know when they will get them, they have never done this (and the manager did not think any dealer has done this yet), and corp is shut down until next week. He 'guessed' they might have parts in 2-3 weeks and then could begin the work. Since it would be the first one he believed corp would be sending a couple engineers to assist and other dealers might have service tech's there to observe. Needless to say I am not a happy camper as I have no other alternative, will be w/o my truck for likely 4+ weeks, and am the guinea pig for this. I would much rather have the same option as pre-2001 owners but that is not available. I have yet to receive any notice from Toyota on this. My advice is to take it to your dealer and request a like replacement and complain loudly to the corp folks about the program.
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Replying to: pokienoze (Jan 03, 2009 12:41 am) |
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Replying to: devilfan (Jan 03, 2009 9:33 am) but yes, they are doing a frame swap. Not a good idea however, I heard that the frame is not coming bare. It should be coming with suspension components and other new parts as well.. I guess thats better than an entire part to part swap out. |
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I've been reading this thread and thought I would share my experience thus far. I just found out the frame on my 01 was shot on Friday (after dumping $1,000 into it to pass state inspection). Now Toyota has my truck in the dealership impound lot. So far, the dealership has been very kind. They put me in an '08 Highlander with no questions asked and all they ask is that I put the gas in and carry insurance. They told me they would put me in a pickup as soon as a rental became available. So now I've got a case with Toyota and was told I should hear back in about 7 days. SO far so good. I got to admit I'm a little gun shy about the frame replacement that Toyota seems to want to do. I don't like hearing ASE mechanics saying it's a horrible idea and I have my own reservations, but I seem to be picking up on the fact that there is no other option. I did ask the service manager and he said Toyota was giving the NEW frame a 15 year warranty. I am unsure at this point just what that warranty covers... I mean, I get the impression that it covers the frame only and doesn't take any abnormal wear and tear caused by a frame swap into consideration. The service manager even mentioned how they "come with new nuts and bolts and fasteners to replace all the rusty and corroded ones that will break and snap off in the removal process". That makes me feel a LOT better. (Insert sarcasm here). I guess I have a hard time believing a couple dudes from small town Maine can pull off the same quality job that an army of robots did on the assembly line in Japan. Maybe I'm being paranoid. I do have a couple questions I hope y'all might be able to help answer though. Is the frame swap REALLY a bad idea? If that's what Toyota is offering to do, is that my only option or should I fight it? If my frame is swapped out, will I be able to sell it or trade it in in the future for a fair price? I'm confused and bummed out and a little disillusioned by all that I've read here and hope between all of us that we can get some straight answers and a fair resolution. I love my truck, but I bought it for reliability and dependability and high resale value. If I don't have all of those things, why should I continue to drive them? |
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Replying to: Sambone5769 (Jan 04, 2009 3:51 pm) it will not be the same.. you can almost guarantee new squeaks and rattles along with intermittent electrical problems.. The odds of you getting a tech that has actually done a job like this are slim to none. Im not saying it cant be done nor am i saying no one is capable, what im saying is, in the environment that they are going to do it in is going to lead to these problems. Techs get paid flat rate so its in thier best interest to get the job done right.. so for example, if toyota decided to pay 60 hours for this job and the tech can get it done in 40 hours he still gets paid the 60. The frames will come with new fasteners and some suspension parts from what I understand. You can fight back and I would if I were you.. try to get into the buy back program. Who cares if they give a 15 year warranty on the frame if the swap out is going to cause other problems.
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Replying to: Sambone5769 (Jan 04, 2009 3:51 pm)
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