Posted: 5/22/2008 12:16:22 PM EDT
| I own an 'O4 Tacoma, and have just learned that the '95 to '00 models are being bought back by Toyota due to extreme frame rust. I did a little research and it seems the rust is so bad the vehicles are unsafe, some even collapsing. Crawled under mine and the rust does not seem bad, but did get a chunk of rusty weld to fall off where the rear bumper attaches. Does anyone have a post '00 Tacoma with frame rust issues? Just want to know if I'm in for the same ordeal in a few years, as I had planned to give the truck to my daughter. |
From what I've read this is a very severe frame rust problem, to the point where Toyota is buying the affected trucks back at 1 1/2 times excellent blue book value. I'm sure where you live has something to do with the severity, and as i live in NJ, where they salt the roads for flurries..... |
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Friend of mine had a 98 or 99 that had extensive rust damage to the frame. Put him in contact with another friend of mine thats a welder at work. He hit the frame with a hammer to find something solid to weld too and it was like paper. Completely fooked. He ended up pulling the rear end out from under it and mocking up the shape of the frame rails with cardboard, cutting pieces of 1/4" steel about 3 feet long, and welding them to the inside of the frame. Sold it shortly after. There may be more rust than you think. Try lightly tapping it with a hammer and see if it sounds solid. If not, I know a welder that can hook you up.  Good luck! |
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I was invited to a shop where my friend worked one time. They had one that they tried to raise on a frame hoist that had snapped in the middle when they started to lift it. The truck was only 5-6 years old and the frame had corroded from underneath it. They don't like road salt and washing them regularly helps a bit. They are probably fine in environments where salt isn't used on roads during winter. I won't say what I think of them other than to say that I still haven't seen a domestic truck that new fall apart while being hoisted. Toyota makes a lot of stuff that the kool-aid drinkers love. They also make a lot of stuff that is highly overrated. |
Yeah, I hit it with a hammer, seems solid. Just wondering if anyone has any recent vintage '01 to '04 Tacomas with the problem. You're friend should contact Toyota, from what I read, there is a process for reimbursing people who had to junk or sell their trucks from this problem, if they can prove it....just a thought |
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What I don't understand is that you can buy a truck with all these fking options out the ass, but you can't get a factory undercoat, before the exhaust and all the electrical shit is put on. I don't see why they don't undercoat (ie Line-X, Rhino-line) the complete underneath of vehicles as well as even the interior floor. It can't be that much more expensive. The only reasoning is that they want their cars to fall apart in X number of years and keep selling more shit. |