2005 4Runner Rust Question

C

cygnus127

New member
I haven't been able to post in a long time, but came up with an issue I knew someone here could give me some guidance on.

My wife and I both have 4runners. Mine is a 2001 and she drives the 2005. Its an SR5 4X4 with the V6 with 140000 miles. It has been a great vehicle and got us through many snow storms. In any case this week her car was in for a Pennsylvania state inspection and they found some holes rusted through the frame.They are bad enough that they cannot be repaired. Since we only have the two cars and I work about an hour away from home she is stranded at home when I am working, without her car.

My question for people here is what are my best options?

I know Toyota won't be adding the 4Runner to the recall for the Tacoma and Tundra for the same issue anytime soon. It has never given us any issues and we have tried to keep it maintained. It is stock, other than a different set of running boards. The rest of the vehicle has a lot of life left, but is not legal in PA.

The options I see are:
- Check the trade in value with a dealer
It seems I won't get what its worth this way, but would be quicker than trying to sell it privately.
- Try a private sale
I would probably get more this way, but don't have the funds to get another car without the money from this sale.

Anyway, thanks for your time and advice.
 
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Altho I hate the fact that it's going to become someone else's problem, it'll be on them to research their purchase. If the rust is that bad, good luck with a private sale. Anyone who does their due diligence will walk away. Shooo, we all advise everyone to walk away from a rusted frame.

Seems like you're in a pinch for a quick replacement vehicle. Take the bullet with a dealership trade in. Or carmax.
 
ZebRuaj said:
Altho I hate the fact that it's going to become someone else's problem, it'll be on them to research their purchase. If the rust is that bad, good luck with a private sale. Anyone who does their due diligence will walk away. Shooo, we all advise everyone to walk away from a rusted frame.

Seems like you're in a pinch for a quick replacement vehicle. Take the bullet with a dealership trade in. Or carmax.
Click to expand...

Thats what it looks like I need to do. If I wasn't in a rush, I could part it out, but I don't have the time for that right now.
 
cygnus127 said:
Thats what it looks like I need to do. If I wasn't in a rush, I could part it out, but I don't have the time for that right now.
Click to expand...

That's really unfortunate, Time is really not on your side. I wonder what the cost would be for a fabricator to cut rusted parts of the frame off and weld the frame back together?
 
looks like the bow and i think that part is actually available...at least the lower radiator support 5102135071. i dont know how strict inspections are but could you just weld up the holes? weld in a new section? ive seen some pretty wrecked frames that are a lot harder to fix than that

maybe hold onto it till toyota includes 4r in recall
 
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I think you should just take it to a repair shop and have them fix that part, remove all the rust, patch it if possible and repainted. it would be better that way than getting another car with unknown history.

cygnus127 said:
I haven't been able to post in a long time, but came up with an issue I knew someone here could give me some guidance on.

My wife and I both have 4runners. Mine is a 2001 and she drives the 2005. Its an SR5 4X4 with the V6 with 140000 miles. It has been a great vehicle and got us through many snow storms. In any case this week her car was in for a Pennsylvania state inspection and they found some holes rusted through the frame.They are bad enough that they cannot be repaired. Since we only have the two cars and I work about an hour away from home she is stranded at home when I am working, without her car.

My question for people here is what are my best options?

I know Toyota won't be adding the 4Runner to the recall for the Tacoma and Tundra for the same issue anytime soon. It has never given us any issues and we have tried to keep it maintained. It is stock, other than a different set of running boards. The rest of the vehicle has a lot of life left, but is not legal in PA.

The options I see are:
- Check the trade in value with a dealer
It seems I won't get what its worth this way, but would be quicker than trying to sell it privately.
- Try a private sale
I would probably get more this way, but don't have the funds to get another car without the money from this sale.

Anyway, thanks for your time and advice.
Click to expand...
 
OP, there is currently an NHTSA investigation into all this rust stuff as well as a (lol) class action lawsuit that was filed last December timeframe by a firm out of Charleston. We will see how all that goes. I’m not one for handouts but I have a rusted 4runner I bought used and like a dipshit didn’t inspect well enough and now I’m stuck with it. Which is a shame as it’s spent all its life in Virginia so shouldn’t have had the issues it does. If Toyota starts giving out frames then it will get to live til the engine gives out.

sumday said:
x2 should be fixable
Click to expand...

The problem is finding someone reputable to fix it. When I was shopping around to get my frame patched with a SafeTCap I must’ve called 10 shops that declined the second I mentioned rust.

Ended up going through SafeTCap website of certified installers to find someone (which I should’ve done at the start)

OP might want to do the same as at least that gives some more options of shops that do in fact work with rust rather than run of the mill body shops who write it off.
 
All to common now and good luck with them replacing it on a 13 year old vehicle. Ford has some pretty bad frame rust issues on their trucks too but no recourse. Call around to see if anyone in the area will patch it up for you.

BTW, if you live in an area that gets roads salted the best thing you can do for your vehicle is oil the frame inside and out with something like Fluid Film.
 
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i filled out a NHTSA complaint a couple weeks ago. though its only been a couple months since the filing, im optimistic toyota will have to replace 4runner frames as well. wonder how long tundra and tacoma lawsuits took?

wow, i think safetcap sells an enitre cap for the frame!!!

best bet would be to get the front frame section chopped off from junkyard
 
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For a quick update:
The execution of our 4Runner has been delayed for now. I did some calling and found a hot rod shop about 15 miles away that does frame repairs. They said they could repair it but that because of its location I'm OK for this years inspection. So, if it fails next year, I can get it repaired there and be taken care of.

Of course, if I find another vehicle I like, I can get a better trade in value on this now without having to make a rushed decision.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice.
 
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