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Pickups Toyota Tacoma Toyota Tacoma 2004 and Earlier Frame Problem
925 messages, Last post on Nov 29, 2009 at 8:03 AM
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Replying to: oho71 (Jul 09, 2009 2:40 pm) |
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Replying to: thewease (Jul 10, 2009 10:34 am) Darryl
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Replying to: darcsound (Jul 10, 2009 5:29 pm) Chris
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Replying to: thewease (Jul 13, 2009 4:37 am) |
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We've owned a '98 Tacoma Xtra Cab 4x4 for over three years now and we love it. Second owners with 84K; interior immaculate, exterior very nice with only a couple tiny blisters on the rear quarters. Starts, runs, drives and performs like a champ. http://www.edgeradio1067.com/Pads/Padfoot1.JPG http://www.edgeradio1067.com/Pads/Padfoot_Speedo.JPG When I bought the truck, I spent a great deal of time wire brushing/sanding/priming and painting the frame rails/rockers to help protect against the salty NE Ohio winters. Everything looked rock solid then. I received the frame perforation information from Toyota about a year and a half ago and simply filed it away. I was wire brushing yesterday in preparation for another round of sanding/priming/painting when I pushed the brush through the bottom of the frame rail just behind the tire and cab mount. I couldn't believe it! I found similar perforation to the same area on the passenger rail. Using a penlight, I found what appear to be a number of tiny holes to the rails near the rear suspension mounts and bumper bracket. Incredible! http://www.edgeradio1067.com/Pads/Padfoot_driver1.JPG http://www.edgeradio1067.com/Pads/Padfoot_pass1.JPG The truck is scheduled in to the local Toyota dealer for and inspection/verification on Monday, 7/20. Based on the existing condition of the frame, and what I've read, it seems very likely they'll deem my '98 to be toast. To those who've had similar experiences, how long does it take for Toyota to decide to either repair or buy back? Is this an -on-the-spot sort of decision? Would I possibly be required to surrender the truck right then and there? I understand that the buy back can be rather lucrative, but there are a couple of items (2 month old stereo/speakers and alloys added in August '08) that I would want to remove from the truck before it's consigned to the crusher. Should I remove them prior to the inspection? I now have concerns about our '04 Tacoma Dbl Cab 4x4 with 95K; the frame is showing a fair amount of scale and some flaking already. Can anyone point me in the direction of any threads concerning '01-'04 Tacoma frame rust? Thanks much in advance.
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Replying to: wolfiekins (Jul 16, 2009 5:34 am) You will see that i have been posting in the last few weeks about my 99 taco. Look back for story. However, it is not an instant offer. Ya have to wait two weeks after the inspection for an infamous letter offer handled by a third party. For me two weeks is tomorrow, so i am still waiting. I understnad that i must sing the letter and sent it back, and then arrange to have my truck dropped off at the dealership where i pick up the check at the same time. In terms of the 01-04 tacos, i have had conversations on this forum questioning these dates and if toyota recognizes a problem with these...and i can say..i went to toyota myself and asked the question..and the answer is YES. They have rejected tacos in these years. But i understnad that because they still manufacturer the frames for these years...they replace the frame. For the 95-00 tacos..they do not anymore...which is why you will get an offer to buy back  1.5 X kBB. The Wease
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| I'm thinking of buying a tacoma that had a the bed swapped with a utility bed. Is this considered under the extended 15 year warranty, or does swapping the bed make the warranty invalid? Thanks | |
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Replying to: thewease (Jul 16, 2009 6:36 am) The Service Manager at the nearest Toyota dealer (Nassief) indicated that it would probably take 2 weeks for an offer letter to be generated. She didn't have much more to offer, other than to say that if the frame perforation is as I describe, our '98 is junk. I also called Toyota's customer service line, and the fellow (Jason) confirmed the 2 week wait for an offer (to give a field rep time to inspect the truck and crunch numbers). Once I receive the offer letter, I sign/return it, and await a call, at which point I take the title down to the dealer and pick up a check. Jason indicated that the buy-back process can take up to 30 days. So, we'll see. I'm a little annoyed by the whole process at this point, despite the fact that if Toyota does buy our '98 back, we'll do pretty well. KBB Retail Excellent factors out to be anywhere from $7200 to $7400, so 1.5 times those figures comes out to $10.800 to $11,100. That's cool, but it chaps my ass that I spent money on new brakes, a couple lines and new exhaust last year. This spring I nearly spent $800 for a body shop to repair the small rust areas to both rear wheel wells on the bed... We intended to drive this truck for many years; we'd previously owned a '95 T100 4x4 Xtra Cab V6 for 11 years; we put 198,000 miles on it, and never had a problem. We sold it when the sheet metal rust got way out of hand. I still see it around town. I don't buy Toyota's crap concerning 'bad metal' and 'inadequate application of corrosion inhibitors' to these '95 to '00 Tacoma frames; total nonsense. To me, it's a clear design flaw: there's either inadequate or non-existent paths for water that enters the boxed to drain out. So when the coating of the interior of the frame begins to flake and falls, it clogs the so-called weep holes and prevents the water/debris from getting out. Things go downhill from there: factor in this mysterious 'bad metal' coupled with road salts, and bingo! Scads of junk trucks. It's very clear that the frame on our '98 rusted from the inside outward. The bottom surface of the frame rail looked solid, only being held together by the remaining factory coating and layers of paint/undercoat that I'd added over the years. There was at least 3/4" of rusted, decomposed metal and rust debris that fell out of the frame after I punctured the 'skin' of coatings. Here's a shot of the frame rail just behind the front passenger wheel; note the factory barcode still firmly attached just 6 inches from the failure area, as well a a glimpse of the rust inside the boxed area: http://www.edgeradio1067.com/Padfoot_barcode.JPG No surprise that '01 thru '04 Tacomas are showing the same frame issues; the design of the newer frame is essentially the same, although they appear to have added small drain holes to the bottom of the boxed areas. That'll work until something falls off the inside of the frame and clogs it. Here's our '04 95K miles, which sure as hell looks to be well along the way to becoming premature junk: http://www.edgeradio1067.com/Moony.JPG I'd call this excessive corrosion on a 5 year old frame: http://www.edgeradio1067.com/Moony_frame5.JPG Note how the weep hole is almost completely clogged. And why is there water on the frame? It rained last night. But the truck wasn't driven in it. Looking at that, I'd say within another year or two, we'll have failure. Total krap, as the rest of the truck is pristine. More scary stuff from our '04 Double Cab: http://www.edgeradio1067.com/Moony_frame1.JPG http://www.edgeradio1067.com/Moony_frame2.JPG http://www.edgeradio1067.com/Moony_frame3.JPG http://www.edgeradio1067.com/Moony_frame4.JPG Nice, innit? When I asked Jason about what to do concerning '01-'04 frame rust, he said not to worry about it, as they've had no issues with those models as the frames were manufactured by a different vendor and hold up as they should. He changed his tune when I mentioned that I owned an '04 with excessive rust showing on the frame. Jason then indicated that I should have a Toyota dealer inspect it. He indicated that it was normal for metal to rust once exposed to weather, and not to worry. He didn't know if the dealer would be able to "spray" the frame, as that is Toyota's procedure for newer trucks. He also said that if there were any problem areas, that Toyota MIGHT repair them. He didn't know exactly how a rusty frame might be 'repaired', I asked about the frame replacements I'd read about online, and Jason responded that Toyota wasn't doing that. Right. Spraying the exterior of the frame with some undercoating isn't going to protect the inside of the box, especially when corrosion is already present. Looks like I'll be calling Toyota again. I always thought it odd that I didn't see many older Tacomas on the road here; now I know why.
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Replying to: wolfiekins (Jul 18, 2009 4:21 am) Good Luck.... I empathize with you feeling burned about the money you put into the vehicle with it only to be taken away...i drive my tacos into the ground too. Luckily this year...before i decided to invest in some minor repairs...brakes..bad leaf spring, fluids, belts, hoses, and plugs, i thought it smart to get the inspection...so i have avoided it. Chris
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Replying to: thewease (Jul 20, 2009 6:33 am) Sometimes I 'think smart' too, but not often enough... Took our truck down to the dealership yesterday for the inspection. Service Manager was really cool about it. The tech guy who performed the inspection said our frame was one of the worst he'd seen. So I'm in a rental for the duration of the process. We'll do okay in regards to our '98; it was all mostly stock and not tricked out like many were. I took some photos of our '04's frame with me and showed them to the service manager, who indicated that I should schedule it in for an inspection, but not until after the '98 is disposed of. Her words: "One disaster at a time." Great. Hopefully your buyback is progressing... |
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