Toyota Tacoma frames part II

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toyota-settlement-idUSKBN1370PE

I have a 2010 that I bought new and had rust proofed and kept the annual inspections up to date. I have not noticed any rust yet, but I have not inspected the inside of the box sections, where they seem to be rusting. I had seen this come up on the truck forums with the 2005 and newer trucks. The prior generation (< 2005) Tacoma trucks had a frame rust debacle that resulted in frame replacements or buy backs. You would have though that would have been a learning experience for them, to the extent that a corporation can learn.

My truck just got back from it's first visit to the dealer for some recall work. Other than that it's been a great truck. I'll be keeping an eye on the frame for sure.

Let the Toyota hate rip!
 
Had frame replaced on my 06 Tacoma no blame from me on Toyota Dana Corp built the junk frames.
 
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Everybody makes lousy frames now,they know a rotted frame will scrap a truck and nobody will pay $3K to buy a new frame to save a truck.Planned replacement with new to get the old ones off the road.Try to find a New England truck older than 2005 without a trashed frame...
 
01 Tacoma 3.4L here, no frame rust, no treatment. But seen little or no salt, minimal liquid brine road pretreatment. Like real estate, about location, location, location.
 
Originally Posted By: dave123
Had frame replaced on my 06 Tacoma no blame from me on Toyota Dana Corp built the junk frames.


Car makers sample and monitor all parts they buy, so Toyota should have detected a low level of zinc, or decided on spec'ing a coating of some kind. Toyota doesn't blindly accept parts in whatever condition Dana put them out. Toyota failed to monitor quality, and/or failed to spec adequate corrosion protection.

The article stated its a $15k replacement per vehicle. Really that much? I'd guess $7k per vehicle ($3k parts and $4k labor), and only ones in northern areas.
 
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Toyota did spec what they wanted, but Dana Corp failed to deliver. Yes, Toyota probably should have been more diligent in inspecting frames built by a supplier. Toyota did win a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Dana Corp over the issue.

But that judgement was a drop in the bucket, compared to this class action suit.
 
What specifically did Dana fail to do? Was it lack of chromium, zinc, another coating, or what?
 
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Originally Posted By: 02SE
Toyota did spec what they wanted, but Dana Corp failed to deliver. Yes, Toyota probably should have been more diligent in inspecting frames built by a supplier. Toyota did win a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Dana Corp over the issue.

But that judgement was a drop in the bucket, compared to this class action suit.

Exactly and my understanding Dana knew they were out of specifications.
 
I've got a 2005 Tacoma and live in the rainy PNW. The frame shows no signs of rust anywhere that I can see while crawling underneath and looking everywhere with a good flashlight. Of course, they don't really salt the roads much if any around here, which I think salted roads is the major contributor of these frames rusting so badly in certain areas of the country.

I'm also wondering if the problem is also related to bad batches of frames being manufactured (not meeting Toyota's spec), so not all frames made have the same potential to rust out.
 
Wouldn't be the first time a supplier (here Dana) cheated a major car maker. I've heard of timing chains delivered to GM en masse without proper surface hardening (carbonitriding), resulting in another recall. I guess car makers sometimes just trust, with not enough verification, that a part is up to spec. Where are the watchdogs at Toyota or GM?

What did Dana fail to do in this case?
 
I just had a 06 Tacoma in my body shop. The dealer replaced the frame, leaf springs, lower control arms, and some other parts on the truck. I had to fix the rockers on the cab from I assume the dealer lifting the cab off the frame and smashing both rocker panels in.
 
At least Toyota issued a recall and offered to replace frames at no cost. I had a recall notice for a 2001 Toyota Tundra to being the truck to the dealer to inspect the rear cross-bracing where the spare tire resides and replace x-brace if rust is bad. The pile of old and pallets of new Tacoma frames in the back of the shop is a bit surprising. I live in a tropical area so the salt is in the air and vehicles still rust moderately bad here.
 
Rusted frames, run-away vehicles, sludged engines, Japan's narcissistic emperor Hirohito during WWII, attack on Pearl Harbor, gold standard brand for terrorists, etc, etc, etc:

It boggles my mind that Toyota's still hold excellent resale value at 5 and even 10 years and older vehicles even through all the negativity.
 
From what I recall, Dana sold, or Toyota changed frame suppliers to a Mexican company. Not sure what year that took place. My truck was built at the NUMMI plant in CA, which is now closed.
I think this is most prevalent in northern states where salt is used, no surprise there.
 
Originally Posted By: GenSan
Rusted frames, run-away vehicles, sludged engines, Japan's narcissistic emperor Hirohito during WWII, attack on Pearl Harbor, gold standard brand for terrorists, etc, etc, etc:

It boggles my mind that Toyota's still hold excellent resale value at 5 and even 10 years and older vehicles even through all the negativity.


If you associate a particular brand with events that their country or culture participated in decades ago, there wouldn't be any acceptable brands from which to choose today. Americans? Out. Europeans? Out. Asians? Out.

Maybe Holdens are okay?
 
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
I've got a 2005 Tacoma and live in the rainy PNW. The frame shows no signs of rust anywhere that I can see while crawling underneath and looking everywhere with a good flashlight. Of course, they don't really salt the roads much if any around here, which I think salted roads is the major contributor of these frames rusting so badly in certain areas of the country.

I'm also wondering if the problem is also related to bad batches of frames being manufactured (not meeting Toyota's spec), so not all frames made have the same potential to rust out.


Depending on where you are in the PNW, they don't salt the roads at all. I highly doubt it's a batch issue. I had a 2008 regular cab Taco then a 2009 extended cab. They both were absolutely pristine, until our first winter road trip with the 2009 to the midwest. After that, rust started showing up.

Excessive rainwater does a good job keeping the underside clean, and no salt will keep that stuff good forever.
 
You could probably use an untreated, bare-steel frame with no issues in Las Vegas. The problem was salt...I'd say that one Taco in three that I looked at either had a new frame, or a bad one!
 
Originally Posted By: Kibitoshin
At least Toyota issued a recall and offered to replace frames at no cost. I had a recall notice for a 2001 Toyota Tundra to being the truck to the dealer to inspect the rear cross-bracing where the spare tire resides and replace x-brace if rust is bad. The pile of old and pallets of new Tacoma frames in the back of the shop is a bit surprising. I live in a tropical area so the salt is in the air and vehicles still rust moderately bad here.


no, they just lost a 3.4 Billion Dollar lawsuit on their frames.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies...suit/ar-AAkfyfK

Also, I love how folks on here blame the supplier, Toyota provides the specs for the frame, coatings process etc.

They also certify the vendors process and perform internal audits at the vendors plant. Toyota would also have incoming material inspection in their assembly plants, anyone who worked in manufacturing would understand this. Obviously they have a huge pattern failure in that the frames are sub-standard and Toyota got burned yet again by rust. This one is on Toyota, another dent in their supposed quality!
 
Originally Posted By: VNTS
Also, I love how folks on here blame the supplier, Toyota provides the specs for the frame, coatings process etc.

They also certify the vendors process and perform internal audits at the vendors plant. Toyota would also have incoming material inspection in their assembly plants, anyone who worked in manufacturing would understand this. Obviously they have a huge pattern failure in that the frames are sub-standard and Toyota got burned yet again by rust. This one is on Toyota, another dent in their supposed quality!


Yep. Although I find audits to be something of a joke (audits should not be announced), Toyota should have been doing sample testing to make sure the supplier wasn't deviating from specification.

It's not like rust is something new to Toyota. It's almost as rustproofing suffers from a NIH issue. I wonder if the sentiment in the homeland has something to do with that (since owning old cars and driving to high miles is not something done "over there").
 
Originally Posted By: VNTS
Originally Posted By: Kibitoshin
At least Toyota issued a recall and offered to replace frames at no cost. I had a recall notice for a 2001 Toyota Tundra to being the truck to the dealer to inspect the rear cross-bracing where the spare tire resides and replace x-brace if rust is bad. The pile of old and pallets of new Tacoma frames in the back of the shop is a bit surprising. I live in a tropical area so the salt is in the air and vehicles still rust moderately bad here.


no, they just lost a 3.4 Billion Dollar lawsuit on their frames.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies...suit/ar-AAkfyfK

Also, I love how folks on here blame the supplier, Toyota provides the specs for the frame, coatings process etc.

They also certify the vendors process and perform internal audits at the vendors plant. Toyota would also have incoming material inspection in their assembly plants, anyone who worked in manufacturing would understand this. Obviously they have a huge pattern failure in that the frames are sub-standard and Toyota got burned yet again by rust. This one is on Toyota, another dent in their supposed quality!


You seem to have missed the fact that this thread exists because of the latest class-action suit. Furthermore, Toyota won a multi-million dollar suit against Dana Corp for their not producing the frames in a manner agreed to by both parties.

I have no dog in this fight, other than just getting the facts (devoid of emotion) out there.
 
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