So I just got my call from Toyota…………..in summary:
No program for Tundras
Investigation underway, they have no updates on this investigation all they do is take names and information in case something comes of this
Even if there is a program similar to the Tacoma it would only be offered to folks with actual holes through their frames….which is a little shady, so people just in the advanced stages of potential catastrophic frame failure at highway speeds would have to wait until it is actually an impending catastrophe vs. just a ticking time bomb.
I believe we are starting to see Toyota’s true colors here and they aren’t pretty…………
I let the initial handling of the design flaws in the 2000-2001 Tundras go with just a whimper……the known horrid manifold design, the known brake issues, etc. This however is beginning to become a trend and I believe I paid a premium for what turns out to be a good sized portion of BS about Toyota’s superior quality and I guess I’ll have to suck on that for a while.
In the next year I was considering replacing the Subaru with a RAV 4 V6 and possibly either a newer Tundra or Tacoma…….based on this bunch of horse-crap I’m not sure either will be purchased. Heck for $12K I could score a 2001 F-350 Diesel with 7.3L, get more interior room, better mileage and at least I know the issues they have won’t snap my truck in half on the highway killing me or someone else.
I’m pissed.
They called me back tonight. Same story: "as of right now we investigating it and their is nno program to offer anything to you". I reminded her before our "conversation" ended that my spare tire fell off while driving and it is only a matter of time before someone gets killed from a spare rusting off a Tundra.
I paid for the brakes at 37K miles, I paid for the manifolds the first time as both times I “was out of warranty” (the first time was the 37K mile brake warping……….it’s not like they weren’t warped the month before at 35,999 miles…..***-hats).
And don't forget the defective o2 sensors they agreed to replace once, but not the second or third time they went bad and sucked cash out of our wallets. I agree with you across the board, and my story is identical. I ponied up 8 years ago and paid more for what I believed was a superior product. I maintained the truck meticulously. I have invested thousands in preventative maintenance over the past couple of years with the hope of driving it for another 7 or 8 years and getting at least 200,000 miles out of it. I bragged like a proud parent about how much I loved the truck and recommended one to anyone who would listen to me. I talked about being a Toyota owner for life. Never again after this experience.
However, the fact that the NHTSA is now getting intimately involved in the case bodes well for us. If Toyota won't man up to their own problems, the NHTSA will force them to do so.
Well it sounds like a lot of us are in similar boats. Our trust is what Toyota was supposed to stand for found us ponying up and paying a premium for a slightly smaller, albeit a supposedly more solid truck within the first couple model years based on the success of the Tacoma, T100 and Toyota Pickup. It looks like 125-130K miles was all I was supposed to get from it, along with the couple grand I threw into the undersized warped brakes, the craptastic exhaust manifolds, etc. now the very heart of the truck may be rotting away underneath me....awesome. "Oh what a feeling!" Eff-me.
I'm still a little pissed here......
If they step up, great, I'll still have a very cautious eye towards their products and I would never pay a premium for a Toyota based on the "Toyota quality" argument.
It's sad that I used to have bragging rights over my Ford and Chevy friends, well my buddy with two 2000-2001 F-250 Diesels has put 400,000 miles on them combined, with no more issues than we have had........and his trucks are still sound from a structure standpoint.
Guess who is eating crow now?..........my sorry butt
I think there are some people out there with the early tundras that dont even know there are rust issues. Last week I was told about a 2001 tundra with the same miles as mine for sale at a used car place near me. I was going by one day and stoped to take a look at it, and sure enough above the drivers side rear wheel a big section of steel had been added to the frame. I looked over the rest of the underbody, it was bad! The outside was perfect, and the truck was sold within the week.
I think there are some people out there with the early tundras that dont even know there are rust issues. Last week I was told about a 2001 tundra with the same miles as mine for sale at a used car place near me. I was going by one day and stoped to take a look at it, and sure enough above the drivers side rear wheel a big section of steel had been added to the frame. I looked over the rest of the underbody, it was bad! The outside was perfect, and the truck was sold within the week.
I bet there are many folks that don't have a clue, even Toyota used car sales people. 4 months ago (when I was actively looking at used '06 DCs) I crawled under one for the heck of it. While the body looked great, the frame, suspension, and driveline looked reeeeely rusty. It was my first encounter with the issue until I started snooping around here and elsewhere on the Net. After seeing the issue was pretty widespread, I phoned the dealer and asked the salesman who showed me the truck. He had no idea there was anything going on with Toyotas and frame rust (even the Tacomas). The trucked, marked with the big "Toyota Certified" sold in a month or so.
The truck was from California, Pacifica to be exact. There is no "winter" here, but a lot of salt air from the Pacific Ocean. The truck didn't look like the frame was going to fail yet. But at 3 years old to look as advanced as it did, I could never buy it and park it outside a mile from the beach where I live without worrying it would rot out in the 7 or so years I hoped to keep the truck. I'm sure that just a badly rusted frame would not qualify for anything from Toyota, only trucks who's frame has structural problems.
With the media getting wind of this and Toyota seeing a potential big hit to their vaulted reputation, I would hope they see the benefit to getting in front of the problem and offering a generous program to fix their defective product. I would LOVE to hear that part of the program would to properly repaint all Tundra frames with a good quality rust inhibitive paint. Seems cheaper than waiting until they develop rot, not to mention the repairing of their reputation. Until they do, I have put my purchase on hold.
I own a '99 4Runner. My friends and family thought I spent more than I needed on a used SUV ($16K back in '04). I explaned to them "Well you see, it's a Toyota, and they're built better and are more reliable, so they're worth the extra money". I would look like a total moron if I spent $25K on a nice, low mile DC 4X4 and had to have the frame replaced in 5 years.
I'm going to pass the link to the NHTSA case to our local TV station's Consumer Action program director. The TV stations reporting on this will hopefully give some incentive for Toyota to get off their *** and take care of it. Their future may depend on it.
...I bragged like a proud parent about how much I loved the truck and recommended one to anyone who would listen to me. I talked about being a Toyota owner for life. Never again after this experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by darren_nh
....I reminded her before our "conversation" ended that my spare tire fell off while driving and it is only a matter of time before someone gets killed from a spare rusting off a Tundra.
Quote:
Originally Posted by totouchantler
..This is starting to feel a little personal. If Toyota does nothing about this.....if they strand me and leave me hanging....if I see too much more shoulder struggling......then that is it. I will never buy another Toyota product again. And i will convince and urge everyone I know to do the same. I will cite my case to them.....and I promosie to cite yours to them.....I will not stop untill I convince others that Toyota is not a company that stands buy their product. It is not a compnay that they want to do business with. I will convince them that they are better off going elsewhere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by River19
I believe we are starting to see Toyota’s true colors here and they aren’t pretty…………
I’m pissed.
All excellent comments on what can happen with the power of perception and goodwill in the marketplace. People are losing faith, and it is not going to bode well in the bigger pic for Toyota. I am a Toyota supporter as well, but, this case is troublesome. I posted before, I wonder why it is taking so long for Tundra to step to the plate and DO something. Maybe they will not do a buy back, but, DO something. Replace cross brackets or pieces if needed. Offer to clean and rust proof paint *assumes they are not totally rusted through* but DO something. If they wait long enough, the damage to their reputation will not get fixed with money. When people lose faith in a product or company, you do not get it back. Toyota had big dreams in the marketplace for the 1/2 ton segment. The 2nd Gen is a nice product, but, they are still #4 in total sales. Cases like this, will keep them there, IMO.
Good luck folks, and keep up the diligence. Safety should be a number 1 issue here.
__________________
John
The Toy: 2000 Tundra 4.7L TRD Limited 4x4 Red Pearl (23.0k Original Miles)
The mod list is long. Check some pics in my gallery for mod detail.
When people lose faith in a product or company, you do not get it back.
Just ask the Big Three American car companies. They started losing theirs in the 1970s and have never fully recovered. Does Toyota want to go down that road?
2000 & 2001 tundras are being investigated for severly rusted frames. It has nothing to do w/ how much you wash or don't wash your underbody in the winters. Some frames (mine included) are so badly rusted that they look like it's been sitting at the bottom of the ocean for 30 years. I've had huge flake chucks of metal come off my frame. The rust always starts at the rear above the wheels. Every year I cross my fingers & hope it passes inspection. For people who don't have a rusty fame consider yourself lucky. For the people who do have rust on their frames (even small amounts)file a complaint w/ NHTSA. We need all the owners on the same page to help owner like me who need help w/ our trucks (just like the Tacoma owners got).
I am in NE and have a 2001 Tundra and am now going to my mechanic to have the truck looked at. We have had so many problems already, cracked manifolds, leaking calipers, broken leaf springs and now this rusting issue. In 2005 the truck had a ton of problems so we sent a letter to Toyota, and they actually did call us and issue us a $500 credit to be used at the dealer, who we can't stand dealing with. But, it put new tires on and that was that.
I have rust, I can see it from behind, just not sure who much is under there. And I tow a horse trailer with this truck at times so I am concerned about safety of that if there are issues with the frame.
I don't want to go to our Toyota dealer here locally because they are really rude and difficult to deal with.
i went in the toyota dealer i used to work at today, and talked to the shop foreman and he said what he is being told is that on some year tundras they going to strip/sand blast the whole frame and re spray them with some other stuff that is supposed to be more though. as to what years there going to get im not 100% sure but sounds to me there going to try to prevent the frame from getting to bad, hope this works out for everyone. just and update of whats going on here in buffalo.
i went in the toyota dealer i used to work at today, and talked to the shop foreman and he said what he is being told is that on some year tundras they going to strip/sand blast the whole frame and re spray them with some other stuff that is supposed to be more though. as to what years there going to get im not 100% sure but sounds to me there going to try to prevent the frame from getting to bad, hope this works out for everyone. just and update of whats going on here in buffalo.
Now that sounds like the right way to deal with the problem. Now, how liberal they are at qualifying people's vehicles (Your truck isn't rusty enough yet. No soup for you!), and how long the turnaround time is, will determine Toyota's future image. A recall program is only as successful as its implementation. Sounds like a good start though.
Well, I hope the strip/sandblast info is incorrect. You cannot eliminate rust once it starts ... only slow it down -- which is what the strip/sandblast would do. Replacment frame, properly treated as it should have been in the first place, will be the only correct repair, IMHO.
Well, I hope the strip/sandblast info is incorrect. You cannot eliminate rust once it starts ... only slow it down -- which is what the strip/sandblast would do. Replacment frame, properly treated as it should have been in the first place, will be the only correct repair, IMHO.
Yeah, I guess you're right (unless they did a chemical dip). I'm wondering if the idea of a sacrifical zinc annode would have any success?
Since I began reading this thread, I started thinking about the reason this is happening in the first place. Is it that Toyota frames are so poorly painted, or is it deeper? Is there something about the particular steel alloy they're using that is more suseptable to rotting instead of a bad case of surface rust? I see old Army outbuildings and bunkers along the coast here in San Francisco whose steel parts are pretty badly rusted like the photos of some of the frame photos I've seen. The difference is they have been exposed to the salt air 24/7 for decades. Sure, they were originally painted with a red lead primer, then more lead-based paint. But places where the paint is long gone look similar to a 5 year old Toyota frame?
I've "read" that Dana manufactured the frames, and they were not properly treated when manufactured. No idea if that is true or not, and I doubt we'll ever know. Did Toyota just not spec the frame properly? Or did they spec properly, and not fully inspect the finished product before production? Who knows?
I sold my 2000 2 years ago, and even at that point, I was amazed at the advanced rot & decay of the undercarriage. Toyota will be forced to make the situation right, I feel. Hang in, everyone.
Re: Tundra frame rust recall???
Does Toyota want to go down that road?
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