Rusted engine shield
 

I have had a piece of the engine shield of my 2014 4runner trail fall off from rust(Toyota 51405-60210 4 Runner Engine Under Cover Protector OEM) . I think the rust is way beyond anything that should be seen on an eight year old truck. Toyota has offered to pay for 50% of the part and nothing for labor.

I live on Long Island NY. They salt the roads here, but it still is beyond anything I have seen on a vehicle of this age.

I'm not sure what part of the engine this part of the shield protects so I don't know whether I even need the shield replaced.

They're going to need to drill out any bolts holding the shield on and I'm sure that will add to the labor.

I've included photos of the rusted part, a diagram of the engine shield and a thumbnail of the engine shield part that came off.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Paul

Engine skids very commonly rust out in your neck of the woods. That sheet metal is not zinc coated prior to paint like frame members are and is quite thin.

10 years on salted roads is a decent run. I'm Surprised they offered to compensate you at all.

I would replace it and move on. You should be able to do it yourself if you are concerned about dealer labor costs. It's just a few bolts.

You might even be able to find someone giving one away since many here remove them and install aftermarket skids. I advertised a free set of factory skids just a couple weeks ago, but I live in Nevada and was looking for someone to pick up local. They went to a scrap yard.

I'm shocked that they offered to cover any of it. And as you're finding out, Toyota's are prone to rusting. But really anything is here in the Northeast.

When I bought my 2013 Trail, that front shield was missing. I drove around like that for a good year and a half before I replaced it with an aftermarket skid plate, and it was fine. The only reason why I replaced it was that I intended on doing some off-roading. If you don't plan on doing any off-roading, you really don't need it.

I'd also recommend, if you plan on keeping this 4Runner long-term, look into getting the undercarriage sprayed with some sort of a rust preventative like fluid film or wool wax. Not any of the black gooey rubberized things, they just make things worse.

You made out great.
I'm surprised the people at the dealer didn't fall down laughing at your request.

You could pay the 50% plus any labor, or remove it yourself and pick a used one up cheap or even free from the classifieds here.

Thanks for the replies. This is a great forum.

I know Toyota had a 3.4 Billion dollar settlement to replace rusted frames on some models. So rust has been an issue with their vehicles. I honestly have never in my sixty years seen any car or truck show this kind of rust after only eight years, and we get less snow now, so less salt.

I don't off road so maybe I can leave it alone for a while. I'm just not sure what the piece that fell off was supposed to protect.

Aside from the rust, it's a great truck!

I will look into getting the chassis coated and keep an eye out for a used shield.

Yeah, frame rust has been a serious problem since the 80's. I had to replace the frame on my '83 myself. Toyota didn't start owning up and doing something until the class action suit filed by Tacoma owners in the 2000's. Then 10 yrs later on Tundras.

There's a few in the 4Sale and Free sections of our classifieds now.

If you are referring to the cylindrical chunk of steel in your picture, that's an integrated, vertical support column, welded to and part of the skid plate (well, at least it was...), that makes up the gap between the skid plate and the frame cross member above. It is intended to be used as a jack point.

Thanks for the additional info. I'm gonna look through the Free and Classified sections.

I also found two on eBay that are reasonable.

I may just leave for a while it since the part that came off it's not essential.

You guys are great!

This is the kind of thread that motivates a quiet prayer of thanks every time I crawl under my 2007. Bought it in South Carolina in 2014 with 96K miles, been garage-kept in Georgia ever since and the frame and fasteners are still clean at 232K miles. This is my original engine skid when I had it off a year or so ago to touch up the paint:

https://i.imgur.com/oSNEJJTl.jpg


The 4th Gen tailgate rust bubble monster got me but I can't complain b/c my repairs and mitigation have maintained status quo for several years now.