Toyota Seems To Admit First Generation Tundra’s Suffer From Frame Rust

Thanks man. I think they already know that it could be an issue but they’re hoping that the problem is so small that no one will notice.

Robert – Crazy story. As you say you’re lucky nothing really bad happened – just imagine if you made it another 1/2 mile down the road. Have you filed a NHTSA complaint and had your local Toyota dealer document the issue? Have you complained to Toyota? These are the best ways to get Toyota to act.

Be warned. This is still the line Toyota gave me two months ago, as well as several other owners. The dealer will charge you $95 for the frame examination. If you DO fail. I have heard from other owners that they will make you sign a document stating that they told you not to drive it anymore. So in effect, YOU will pay $95 to indemnify TOYOTA against a lawsuit if you continue to drive your truck and get hurt. So your visit will essentially take your vehicle off the road. I do recommend that you stop driving your vehicle if perforation is obviously dangerous. I contacted channel 5 and was interviewed, however, I had traded my truck in already for a newer Tundra. I received $6300 in trade for a 2000 Limited 4×4 with only 72K miles on it. It was parked side by side with my Wife’s 2003 Matrix which has 115K miles on it. The Matrix is still flawless underneath.

Jason understand alot of people don’t have other vehicles to just use for the time. Toyota needs to move on this. Personally I would let the truck sit but my lawsuit will rise each day it is sidelined. It’s not fair to the consumer to bear all the burden on this.

I agree Jason and I stated I would let it sit. I personally find it besides me that Toyota will drag their feet and it would cost the consumer more and I’m sure Toyota would rather they just quit and junk the truck.

Mark – Once you’ve got documentation of frame rust, report your problem to NHTSA immediately. http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/ If the body shop is prepared to provide a letter and/or report, that’s good enough. If Toyota’s rep isn’t willing to actually look at the truck before declaring that “water in the bed” is the source of the problem, she deserves a complaint be registered against both her and the dealership. Check out this post for a list of regional Toyota offices – http://www.tundraheadquarters......em-solved/

Mark – Have you reported this incident to NHTSA and Toyota?

Cars.com has just released the results of its semiannual survey of the top ten American Made cars and trucks. In its research, Cars.com examined every vehicle made in the U.S. and determined how much of their content came from domestic parts and how many were sold in the U.S.. Pickups make up four of the ten slots.

Ford’s F-150 remains on top as the #1 American made car or truck and General Motors’ Chevrolet Silverado 1500 retains its #3 rank.

The new Toyota Tundra made the biggest move. It jumped from tenth place to fourth, after big sales of the Texas built half-ton pushed it up the ladder.

Where you belong still behind the best!! 4TH The MADE IN AMERICA STICKER belongs to acouple and this is not one.

How the RUST ISSUES on the 2000-2002 and mybe later models??

Dan – Why you trolling here too? What is your problem – don’t you have anything better to do?

I am always amused when Toyota or someone backing Toyota states this type of issue is a “Warranty Enhancement”, when this is your typical “Warranty Recall”. Just like most “Recalls”, this may only impact a certain percentage of vehicles made between a particular time frame. Never heard anyone call the Ford CC switch recall on 10+yr old Crown Victoria’s an “Enhancement”, it was simply a “Recall” and a black eye to Ford. Guess Toyota hasn’t officially issued a “Recall”, as it’s still under investigation, but it is interesting how they like to side step this terminology for the sake of bad press. Too bad people can’t recognize the similarities.
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Also, who cares if you live in a dry area or the NE US/Canada. If you bought your truck used for example, which the dealer most likely purchased at an auction, how do you truly know where your truck was driven prior to your purchase. So I say inspect them all, unless you’re the original owner and have lived in one of these dry climate areas the entire time.
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I remember when they issued the original Tacoma Recall on frames a while back, there were already people lining up stating they had the same exact issue with their Tundra, but were turned away by Toyota and their dealers. Toyota is now partially accepting the fact the Tundra may have a problem, but this is supposedly good customer service, not bad publicity. But when we look back at the Ford CC switch recall, they did the exact same thing (replaced the switch on certain makes/models/years), but not all vehicles. Eventually they did replace most every vehicle with the faulty switch in it, but this was considered dragging their feet and bad customer service. Sounds like a double standard to me.
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I like the fact Toyota is doing the right thing here, just hate how a lot of the press and many sites have two different standards, one for domestics and one for imports. But I’m curious as to why they are only looking at the 00/01 models. Did they change their manufacturing procedures on the Tundra after ‘01? They ran the same body style until the ‘06 model year. Or are those the only models currently showing signs of aggressive rust or have been reported so far? Could it be you give the 02/03 models another year or two and they might also start to display the same symptoms?

My 01 Tundra started to bounce off the Vermont interstate after driving over a small coefficient strip on a I 89 bridge. I decided to check the shocks after getting back to my farm. The frame was cracked. The front steering stabilizer was hanging down. Most off the frame was missing. The rear differential is mush along with the power steering tube. This is my 7th Toyota and my third Toyota truck. The body is perfect as is the interior and engine. I brought it to my local Toyota dealer to replace the shocks. I was brought out to the repair shop as the Sales Manager is telling me the truck can’t be fixed. Plus, oh by the way we can’t help you, but we can sell you new truck. This is a five star dealer in Vermont. My truck is my lively hood. I need it daily for my farm. Now what. It won’t pass inspection. I have called Toyota directly and the NHTSA. Still no response from Toyota’s “Case Worker”

Dennis – Thanks for the updates. I hope Toyota does something.

TO ALL THE PEOPLE ON HERE. I WORK AT A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND I HAVE A TACOMA.THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR A FRAME INSPECTION,I SEE THEM IN HERE ALL THE TIME AND WE HAVE DONE ALOT OF FRAME REPLACEMENTS. DONT LET ANY DEALERSHIP CHARGE YOU FOR THE INSPECTION.IF THEY TRY TO, CALL TOYOTA.EVERYBODY HERE IS RIGHT,DONT DRIVE YOUR TRUCK IF THE FRAMES ARE BAD,ITS NOT SAFE FOR YOU OR YOUR FAMILIES.TOYOTA IS REPLACING FRAMES ON TACOMAS BUT WE DONT KNOW ALOT ABOUT THE TUNDRA FRAMES YET.

When I saw the 5 at 5 news last night I was like wow I am looking at my truck.

My child just got permit and I feel bad because the truck drives so bad that I get scared driving it but it is my only means of transportation.
My brother had his Tacoma pass the frame failure inspection LOL and they traded his truck for a check and he went out and bought a Harley. I just want them to fix my truck Free I can’t pay for all the problems I am now having with it but I do love the truck. In 9 years of owning it from new, this year is the first big money issues spent not too bad.

YOU CAN BET TOYOTA WOULD CALL IF WE OWED THEM$$$$$$ THEY GOT ARE $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ IS TOYOTA THINKING OF FORD OR GM HONDA GETTING ARE $$$$$$$$$$$$$ NEXT TIME???

I have 2002 Tundra which apparently isnt being investigated for this issue. I noticed this year there was alot of rust on the frame but i figured there wasnt much i can do and just ignored it. When i heard about the investigation on the 0 & 01’s i decided to really take a look and im not mechinaic but the picture’s posted look alot like my rust.

DOes anyone know who to really to determine what model a tundra is? I assumed that it’s the title of car. ALthough, i dont understand how bad the rust on my frame is when i only have 60K miles and i only drive it a couple times a week for few miles.

i am doing this for my father. My dad showed up the other day at my house and says i have to cut my spare tire off the undercarriage for safety reasons. i look at it swinging away and say oh my god!!! your complete frame is rotted out including the tire holder and fuel tank cross member.my dad is even worried to fill the gas tank in case it just falls through. he just had it at a toyota dealer about a year ago for the rack and pinion rotting out as well. so i go in the house and make neccessary phone calls and e-mails. i am hoping they do the right thing by loyal customers. he has a 2000 tundra. i called corporate which said go to a dealer i did that. the dealer says ill fill out a report. ok…. i file a complaint to nhtsa. ok….. what next?

I used to buy Toyotas because I bought all the hype and spin about them being good – and there is plenty of that everywhere. My parents had a 1982 Celica and it was a fun car that I took over in 1986, drove a couple of years and then parked it back at my folks place in MN because it had serious rust issues after just 6 years – with the only other serious problem being the typical defective Toyota cooling system – a Toyota trademark. Still, I bought a brand new Toy 4×4 pickup extended cab in 1988, the SR5 model (never knew what that was for though), in California at the “They all do that” Toyota of Marina Del Rey, primarily because I liked the looks, wanted a 4×4 truck, and had driven small Japanese pickups before and liked them. I still own this vehicle simply because it’s not worth anything to sell, but I don’t drive it except in the yard to haul wood, because it has to be repaired every ten minutes or so. There are numerous *defects* associated with the vehicle – among these are why it is currently not road worthy. Note that this vehicle was built in Japan except for the “American bed” that does appear to suffer from slightly more rust than the rest of the vehicle. Rust was not a major issue with this vehicle nor should it be in CA where there is no salt. Among the design defects are the starter wiring because Toyota saw fit to not use a relay switch. Not knowing this (no recall notices or ?? something?) after several repairs of the starter motor contacts, brushes, and other normal wear parts including professional rebuilds, I had to add a Ford relay switch myself to get the starter to work at all because only 6 volts were making it to the starter. Another MAJOR defect is the 22RE 4 cyl. sponge porus aluminum cylinder head which has to be weld-repaired periodically, about every 75K miles (coolant leaks into a given cylinder and if not repaired will lead to catastophic engine failure) – twice by me and needs it again now even after we welded shut all the drain holes next to cylinders on the second repair (holes that are sealed off by the head gasket). Cylinder heads are a major expensive repair needless to say but Toyota only saw fit to stand behind their V6 – most likely because they had no choice and the V6 had a much simpler cheaper “fix”. The reason I say “design defect” is mainly because the coolant passages in the head are too close to the cylinder head openings – oh what a feeling. Certain items on my pickup have been repaired 3 to 4 times and it only has 183K on it (starter, master cylinder clutch, every cooling system part except for heater core and I mean *every*). I don’t believe it will ever see 200K. The cooling system is defective, due to all the poor quality parts, which accelerates the cylinder head problem. I could go on and on about all the problems this truck has had, but let me just say that many problems appeared in the first year or two and then things got worse. For example the factory mirrors fell off within one year and the thermostat stuck repeatedly. Other things I later repaired include a cracked exhaust header, O2 sensor, fuel gauge sending unit, heater fan, switch, rheostat, spark plug wires, sticking throttle body (many times), horn, AC, ramp up switch, shifter handle and steering wheel handle fall apart, and many typical wear parts that are bragged about by Toyota enthusiasts as “lasting longer”. Most of these parts don’t last *as long* in my opinion. Some of the Toy people will undoutedly recognize and be familiar with many of these problems. Toyota never stood behind anything. I think they cover up problems unlike American manufacturers. In fact, I once paid a Toy dealer nearly $800 to repair the AC (for the second or third time) and do the coversion – the AC never worked at all after that. They expected me to keep bringing it back in over and over until finally the compressor failed and they did not accept any responsibility for the failure which would have cost major more $$$ to repair. For a vehicle that costs way more than a comparable American model and has since I can remember, I am simply very unimpressed with this brand. I have gone back to Chevrolet and not only have no regrets but I am thrilled to death to actually have a vehicle for once that I don’t have to work on all the time and pour $$$ into constantly. My Trailblazer, which I researched to find had a “world’s 10 best engines” before buying, an ‘05 with 81K on it now purchase brand new has had only 2 minor problems so far, has galvanized body panels except for the roof where it’s not needed. So much for any rust problems – what a great feeling! See ya Toyota! You will never get one more dime out of me as long as I live. I even had my Mom buy a Ford Fusion instead of a Camry like she wanted. I will continue to council people whenever they ask not to buy the hype from car reviewers who are biased for whatever reason against US manufacturers. If you drink their Koolaid and really, really believe Japanese cars are better because they cost more I would look at Nissan instead. The Toyota Indy race car uses an Infiniti engine in it. This is a Nissan engine – waaaaay better than Toyota who has some sort of fake “good reputation” in my opinion. It is totally undeserved unless it’s only their trucks that are junk because I can only speak for myself really. But I would not count on Toyota standing behind this problem either. They will probably try and cover it up like they did with the problems my vehicle had. I had heard recently about the sticking throttles in Toy cars that are killing people, but I never saw anything about the rust issue until I heard about it from someone and came here. If this was a Chevrolet model doing this it would have been front page news everywhere – don’t doubt it for a second. People are gradually catching on to your game Toyota! And they don’t like “the feeling” when they pay so much $$$ only to “move backward”.

To cj please pull your head out. Amazing quality. Tell that to your fellow toyota lackeys who have rotting frames on 35,000 dollar trucks. Your post is a perfect example of what Toyota wants. Stupid Americans who will buy their vehicles no matter what. Boycott japanese products. Their country has already boycotted american products. Look around and see how many asians drive american cars. They call it national pride. Their communities shun them if they buy anything american. We need to wake up and take our country back. Boycott Toyota and all products from Japan.

VIVI – The Tundra is built in San Antonio. According to the federal government, the Tundra has more domestic (a.k.a. Made in the USA) content than the Silverado or the Dodge Ram. Toyota invested $1.2 billion to build the truck plant in San Antonio. Buying a Tundra IS buying American.

Hi,

If you have rusted brake caliper problems, search the brake forum for “Freeing rusted caliper brake pins” and a post dated about Oct 10, 2009 for a proper procedure and tools. There is no need to replace calipers or drill them out which is the wrong thing to do, IMO. Splitting the pins is not necessary.

I read some of the cooling problems. Selecting an after market antifreeze is a nightmare; silicone, no silicone, silicates, don’t use silicates, organic acids, no organic acids, red, blue, orange, yellow-green, Japanese, European, American, GM, etc, etc, etc. If you care about the corrosion of your cooling system, you will buy the expensive red Toyota antifreeze. It is long lasting. At $25 a gallon, that’s $5 per year. Sure it’s more than auto stores or Walmart, but it is formulated for your Toyota’s actual metallic surface and combinations.

Putting the wrong type of antifreeze in your radiator can be the kiss of corrosion death. Sure your name brand will work for a few years. The postings make me wonder what antifreeze was used with all these different problems, how often it was changed, and if the system was flushed.

I don’t work for Toyota and I lost my reliable 43K miles Tacoma truck to a rusted frame.

Rusty Pin