Frame rot? Not sure what to do.

[JustRon]

This happened in December of 2014. I took it to a dealer and asked them to contact Toyota and see if Toyota would help with the issue. It was long out of warranty.

Toyota has been doing 4th gen frame replacements on a case by case basis. It isn't clear how Toyota decides which frames to replace and which to deny.

The VT dealers I spoke to said it didn't even make sense to have it towed in. They said I needed to call Toyota cust care; when I asked Toyota about the case-by-case 4th gen frame replacements I was told there must have been some other factor involved, based on their VINs. She made it sound like there was no way a human was going to evaluate the situation and decide to replace my frame (which I didn't believe).

I would really like to be able to pay $2k and get a new frame... that would be great. Hearing M1911's story makes it seem possible. I just don't feel like it's going to happen for me.

Do you have a great relationship with your dealer? It seems like he did what none are willing to do for me.

 

[M1911]

I had never been to that dealer before. A friend mine knows one of the owners, but I don't think he took a direct role in the outcome.

I am the original owner. Perhaps that had something to do with Toyota's response.

I never spoke to Toyota -- the dealer did that.

 

[CookieRoe]

M1911 link on frame: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/180929-frame-rust.html

OP: check what [MENTION=6872]M1911[/MENTION] went through. Sorry you are going through this, but he managed to get his frame replaced as he previously mentioned, so it is possible. I saw something (I saw a link mentioned) that Toyota is looking into frame rot some owners are experiencing and are considering a recall (or at least looking into it). So, who knows. I'm not holding my breath. Anyway, No doubt your 4Runner was neglected with the previous owner (never bothered to clean it DURING the winter months). Northeast winters are MURDER on cars with the brine they use on the roads.

Personally, my frame looks like [MENTION=70260]YotaDriver[/MENTION] 's . I'm sure I (we) have plenty of service years left, but I am interested in looking into products to help preserve the frame and other suspension bits. I see POR15 is an excellent product, but I have no experience using it. I figure it can't hurt.

Let this be a wake up call for the rest of us to stay diligent on our frames during the winter months. As our rigs age, this is going to more of a problem, especially for those of us in the rust belt. For those of you who live in arid states, we hate you.









:biggrin1: JK

 

[JustRon]

M1911 link on frame: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/180929-frame-rust.html

Thanks for the link... sheds a bit of light on the situation. (I still don't feel good about my odds, but I'll see what happens.)

 

[Sungod]

Just curious, did you look underneath it before you bought it?

 

[TOY2G]

You have one other more extreme option. It's not ideal but should cost far less than a frame.. Solid axle the truck. fine an off road shop that does solid axle swaps in the area. pick up a dana44 axle, suspension components, steering kit and spring kit and knock it out. you will still spend 5k, but in the end far cheaper than a frame.

 

[Sporin]

That's really bad, I would think the seller had to know about it. Sorry, dude.

Agreed, this sucks and I'm sorry you got taken, there's now way the seller was unaware of this.

I live in mid-Vermont and my truck came from CT. It's got 160k miles on it and while it's got some surface rust, the frame is solid all around. Not quite as pretty as YotaDriver's, but not much worse.

That said, when I was shopping, I was appalled at the frames on some of the ones I looked at. In particular, that very front crossmember was fully or half rotted out on the majority of the trucks I looked at. One of them, I could have pulled the tow hook off in my hand it was so rusted. Luckily, that crossmember seems to not hold a lot up, but it's indicative of how bad it can get.

Toyota WILL replace 4Runner frames. We have a guy on the IH8MUD forum who is a tech at a Mass. dealership and he says they do a lot of them. Some dealerships just don't want to work their Toyota HQ channels to make it happen.

If I were you, I would....

A. Fire off a lawyer-written letter to the seller, if only for the minor-satisfaction of scaring the crap out of them for being shysters.

B. Start calling dealerships outside of VT. You have to keep trying until you get one willing to work with you. They get paid a LOT of money from Toyota for this. Dealerships were making a killing on the Tacoma frames, they have the process down pat, usually with 1 tech specializing in that job, and they do it in a fraction of the book time that Toyota pays them for. So you need to find a dealership that is of a mind to get that job.

If my frame started failing, I wouldn't stop until I got Toyota to pay for it. They have replaced frames from nearly every 4x4 of that era, there's no reason to NOT do the 4runners as well.

Good luck.

 

[JustRon]

Just curious, did you look underneath it before you bought it?

Yep, but just laid on the ground and didn't look too closely. The undercoating made it look decent, but since the body had zero rust, I wasn't looking too closely underneath.

My mom happens to have the exact same model 4R as me (even the same color, haha)- she's going to talk to her dealer and see what they suggest.

An ongoing problem is that it can't be driven... I can't afford to tow it from dealer to dealer, asking them to look at it. Plus, I don't think they want it sitting around for weeks, unmovable.

I'm out of the country right now, so I can't do much with the 4R until I get back.

 

[Sungod]

I would seriously look at getting a lawyer. Also check with the local shops that had serviced the vehicle to see if it had been in before they sold it. There is a good chance that someone looked at it and warned them of the potential danger. If you can get any info like that, they will undoubtedly have to give you your money back.

 

[M1911]

That said, when I was shopping, I was appalled at the frames on some of the ones I looked at. In particular, that very front crossmember was fully or half rotted out on the majority of the trucks I looked at. One of them, I could have pulled the tow hook off in my hand it was so rusted. Luckily, that crossmember seems to not hold a lot up, but it's indicative of how bad it can get.

That was also one of the areas my 4Runner frame was rusted.

Toyota WILL replace 4Runner frames. We have a guy on the IH8MUD forum who is a tech at a Mass. dealership and he says they do a lot of them. Some dealerships just don't want to work their Toyota HQ channels to make it happen.

Yup.

As you might expect, I thanked the assistant manager at the dealership that did my frame for going to bat for me with Toyota. He was happy to do it as it keeps their service department busy -- they make money on the repair and I'm happy with a new frame.

 

[toybox]

I have some rust on my frame that is about to rust through to a hole. After seeing M1911 got his frame replaced I brought it to my dealer. They said there is nothing that they can do and suggested I call Toyota myself. Nothing from them except they said they would help on a purchase of a new Toyota. If the 6th gen was out I would have taken them up on the offer. Right now I'm just hoping it lasts until they do in the fall of 2016. I have an '03 with 100k on it, I'm the original owner and it has always been garaged.

 

[M1911]

I have some rust on my frame that is about to rust through to a hole. After seeing M1911 got his frame replaced I brought it to my dealer. They said there is nothing that they can do and suggested I call Toyota myself. Nothing from them except they said they would help on a purchase of a new Toyota. If the 6th gen was out I would have taken them up on the offer. Right now I'm just hoping it lasts until they do in the fall of 2016. I have an '03 with 100k on it, I'm the original owner and it has always been garaged.

Ask them to call Toyota, or go to another dealer. If you call Toyota the answer will be "no". I had one dealership pull that crap on me (coincidentally it was the dealership from which I bought my 4Runner), so I took it to a different dealership.

 

[Metalmantr]

Sorry man

Sorry to thread jack, but I have an 06 that also came from the east coast and there is rust. I am kinda in the same boat. very low mileage, appeared to be in great shape, didn't even think about checking out the undercarriage. Potentially big mistake for me. I have asked a couple peoples opinions and they don't think it is too bad, but I am concerned. No major damage yet that I know of, but it is definitely in the back of my mind from time to time.

I have looked into possible solutions to keep it from getting worse, but no solid solutions seem to be available. Any suggestions on what I should do to keep it from getting worse or whom I should take it to that could inspect and maybe put my mind to ease? I don't currently have pics.

 

[geurillawarfare]

Sorry man

Sorry to thread jack, but I have an 06 that also came from the east coast and there is rust. I am kinda in the same boat. very low mileage, appeared to be in great shape, didn't even think about checking out the undercarriage. Potentially big mistake for me. I have asked a couple peoples opinions and they don't think it is too bad, but I am concerned. No major damage yet that I know of, but it is definitely in the back of my mind from time to time.

I have looked into possible solutions to keep it from getting worse, but no solid solutions seem to be available. Any suggestions on what I should do to keep it from getting worse or whom I should take it to that could inspect and maybe put my mind to ease? I don't currently have pics.

Just adding my two cents - 2005 SR5, 104k miles, body spotless (even underneath - only a few small rust spots even at the body mount points and at the vapor canister brackets), but holes in the frame. I hope Toyota does something about this. I'm taking detailed photos and welding it up, they had better help me out later if they do a recall. I have a 5 gallon bucket more than 1/3rd full of rust from the frame - It scares me that this little frame is missing that much metal. There is still lots more metal inside the frame that hasn't been pulled out. The flakes from the inside are >1mm thick. It's terrifying.

 

[CookieRoe]

Not minimizing the problem, but the majority of cars (at least here in the northeast) rust to oblivion if one doesn't pressure wash all the salt/grime off the chassis regularly DURING THE WINTER. Get the pressure washer INTO the holes of the frame and blast away. I wash the chassis more than the body during the winter.

Anybody know of any places where they "clean up the chassis" on our rigs and how much they charge?