Frame Welds Rusting Already

[1engineer]

Some of you guys really don't care if your frame has rust on it? It bugs the heck out of me, especially since it is on pretty much every weld under the 4runner. Sure it is fine now, but if i just leave it, it will just keep getting worse. If toyota would have just spent a few more bucks and put another coat on there or bothered completely covering it, we wouldn't be having so many frame rust issues. Nobody should be seeing rust on their 3 month old vehicle, and nobody should be ok with it, just accepting toyotas cheapness and lazyness.

I would say having a rusting frame after 3 months, in an environment that doesn't normally produce much rust, is a serious issue, and shouldn't be compared to that stupid sunvisor thread...

Jeez I didn't think you were serious! The rust on my frame does not cause me any concern. I have owned BOF vehicles for many years and every single one of them rusts. If you want no rust underneath then get a unibody vehicle. They are made with HSLA steel that inhibits rust. Our frames and suspension components are made with mild steel and will rust at the first nick. Is this your first BOF vehicle? They are heavy duty but will rust. You need to worry if you start getting deep pitting. That little bit in your pictures is no big deal. I had my SR5 two winters (lots of salt) and even though some of the components were rusted none were abnormally so. You could get it painted but you run the risk of the paint chipping or cracking, which will cause pockets and trap moisture causing it to rust worse. Toyota frames and suspension are no different than any other vehicle (Dodge, GM, Ford, Nissan and my 1984 4Runner) with respect to rust that I have owned. I am confident these vehicles will be fine 15 years from now in respect to rust on the frame. OCD can be treated.

 

[Canazes9]

Some of you guys really don't care if your frame has rust on it? It bugs the heck out of me, especially since it is on pretty much every weld under the 4runner. Sure it is fine now, but if i just leave it, it will just keep getting worse. If toyota would have just spent a few more bucks and put another coat on there or bothered completely covering it, we wouldn't be having so many frame rust issues. Nobody should be seeing rust on their 3 month old vehicle, and nobody should be ok with it, just accepting toyotas cheapness and lazyness.

I would say having a rusting frame after 3 months, in an environment that doesn't normally produce much rust, is a serious issue, and shouldn't be compared to that stupid sunvisor thread...

WW

#1) I find that some people look at minor problems w/ Toyota and Honda and scream bloody murder because the quality was talked up to them. As a result they seem to have the expectation that the vehicle will be perfect forever. If it's not, regardless of how much better than any other vehicle they've had it is, they scream bloody murder. Toyotas are supposed to be Perfect! Light rust on a new vehicle undercarriage is not uncommon at all, but some how Toyota is supposed to be perfect...


#2) I don't think your frame is rusting (yet). Please look at this picture of the door frame on my '12 Toyota Tacoma:




Notice the little spots of rust in the paint (sorry, I know its not the best picture). When I first started seeing these spots on my '07 Tacoma I got upset! WTF? The paint was rusting out already? Up high, away from the road? Then I realized it's not rusting through - it's dust sized speck of metal stuck in the paint. About 15min of work with a clay bar will completely remove it from the paint (I'm lazy and haven't clay barred my truck lately). I think this is what you are seeing in your frame paint.

So where are these metal specs coming from and why are they sticking in your paint?

Thank the EPA!

The EPA has put such stringent requirements on paint that all new car paints are noticeably thinner and softer than they used to be. As such specs of stuff stick in it a lot easier than paint that you may remember from even 20 years ago. There are lots sources of fine metal particulates, but one of the most common are the carbon metallic hybrid brake pads that are found on most automobiles today, driving in heavy traffic with everyone using their brakes over a long period of time theses little specs accumulate in the nooks and crannies of the paint on the welds. If you wanted to put the time in you could probably clay bar most of that rust out of the paint.

Now, that is NOT to say that running a season or two through bad winters and salted up roads isn't gonna put a coating of rust on your frame - it will. Again, Toyota is limited to the paint that they are allowed to use.

David

 

[philsey]

.... OCD can be treated.

Nailed it!!!!

 

[Whiplash Willy]

I have owned 3 Toyota BOF Vehicles.

1. 93 Toyota Pickup
When I owned it, it was close to 20 years old, and the frame was immaculate, the body actually ahd more rust on it then the frame. That must have been back when they used the good stuff.

2. 2001 4runner SR5
When I owned it, it was about 10 years old. It had mild rust around the welds and other parts of the frame, however it lived most of its life in Tacoma, which is by the coast and the rust was probley a result of 10 years of exposure to salty air. Hopefully my 5th gen will look like that in 10 years.

3. 2013 4runner

I know BOFs are prone to rusting, I just didn't think it would start so soon, especially where I live, where no salt is used the few times a year it snows. I am not by the coast, so it isn't exposed to salt air.

The parts of my frame that are rusting are the parts that the Chassis Coating didn't cover. I believe the rust came fro the exposure of those missed areas to the salty air during my 4nr's trip to the US, and maybe while it was sitting at the dock. There is a part of my frame that is missing paint, from the first and last time I let someone else put my 4nr on jack stands. That bare metal is clean.

I'm sorry, I just don't think it is too much to ask that Toyota coats the entire chassis when applying the chassis coat at the factory. If that makes me OCD, so be it.

I know this rust isn't from surface contamination that settled on the paint, and rusting on the surface. I am an amateur detailed and am pretty familiar with that.

 

[eddiebx]

I have owned 3 Toyota BOF Vehicles.

1. 93 Toyota Pickup
When I owned it, it was close to 20 years old, and the frame was immaculate, the body actually ahd more rust on it then the frame. That must have been back when they used the good stuff.

2. 2001 4runner SR5
When I owned it, it was about 10 years old. It had mild rust around the welds and other parts of the frame, however it lived most of its life in Tacoma, which is by the coast and the rust was probley a result of 10 years of exposure to salty air. Hopefully my 5th gen will look like that in 10 years.

3. 2013 4runner

I know BOFs are prone to rusting, I just didn't think it would start so soon, especially where I live, where no salt is used the few times a year it snows. I am not by the coast, so it isn't exposed to salt air.

The parts of my frame that are rusting are the parts that the Chassis Coating didn't cover. I believe the rust came fro the exposure of those missed areas to the salty air during my 4nr's trip to the US, and maybe while it was sitting at the dock. There is a part of my frame that is missing paint, from the first and last time I let someone else put my 4nr on jack stands. That bare metal is clean.

I'm sorry, I just don't think it is too much to ask that Toyota coats the entire chassis when applying the chassis coat at the factory. If that makes me OCD, so be it.

I know this rust isn't from surface contamination that settled on the paint, and rusting on the surface. I am an amateur detailed and am pretty familiar with that.

Maybe you should buy an american built truck so it doesn't have to sail across the ocean and endure all that rusting :bigok:

If it makes you feel any better I recall my welds looking pretty much how yours look when I was under there installing my sliders only a couple months after I picked up my 4runner from the dealer, which was fresh off the boat.

I'm pretty sure if the tiny chips of paint were not missing from the factory, you'd eventually chip it off yourself just by driving and having pebbles and other road debris bounce up.

Why worry about the uncontrollable? Why not just enjoy your vehicle and life and worry about it in 10-20 years, if/when it actually becomes an issue? There's more important things in life man :cheers:

 

[Warpedale]

New to the forum, but I'm also having rust issue on my 2010 Limited. On my last trip to the dealer in July they noted that I was having rust issues on the under body frame (see pictures below). They recommended I take it to a body shop down the road where they install Rhino liners. After the guy at the body shop took a look at it, he said the rust issue was really only on the areas of the frame where it was welded and bolted together and suspected that they neglected to treat those areas during the manufacturing process. He said I should contact Toyota corporate. I contacted them, they sent me back to dealer where the head of the service department took some pictures of the frame and later discussed it with the regional service head. They said there was nothing they could do about it and recommended I treat it with POR-15. I'm pretty pissed off that a truck under 3yrs old and 30K miles would develop this type of a rust issue. I'm going to keep after it with Toyota corporate but wonder if anyone can provide some insight/recommendations.

Thanks,

-Dale

 

[Narkhelek]

New to the forum, but I'm also having rust issue on my 2010 Limited. On my last trip to the dealer in July they noted that I was having rust issues on the under body frame (see pictures below). They recommended I take it to a body shop down the road where they install Rhino liners. After the guy at the body shop took a look at it, he said the rust issue was really only on the areas of the frame where it was welded and bolted together and suspected that they neglected to treat those areas during the manufacturing process. He said I should contact Toyota corporate. I contacted them, they sent me back to dealer where the head of the service department took some pictures of the frame and later discussed it with the regional service head. They said there was nothing they could do about it and recommended I treat it with POR-15. I'm pretty pissed off that a truck under 3yrs old and 30K miles would develop this type of a rust issue. I'm going to keep after it with Toyota corporate but wonder if anyone can provide some insight/recommendations.

Thanks,

-Dale

I recently painted most of the rusting frame welds on my 2010. Seems like a fairly easy and cheap fix. I may have to touch it up now and then but it should do the trick. However, the rusting I had was just along the weld lines and no where as bad as yours.

 

[eddiebx]

New to the forum, but I'm also having rust issue on my 2010 Limited. On my last trip to the dealer in July they noted that I was having rust issues on the under body frame (see pictures below). They recommended I take it to a body shop down the road where they install Rhino liners. After the guy at the body shop took a look at it, he said the rust issue was really only on the areas of the frame where it was welded and bolted together and suspected that they neglected to treat those areas during the manufacturing process. He said I should contact Toyota corporate. I contacted them, they sent me back to dealer where the head of the service department took some pictures of the frame and later discussed it with the regional service head. They said there was nothing they could do about it and recommended I treat it with POR-15. I'm pretty pissed off that a truck under 3yrs old and 30K miles would develop this type of a rust issue. I'm going to keep after it with Toyota corporate but wonder if anyone can provide some insight/recommendations.

Thanks,

-Dale

Out of curiosity, do you rinse off your under carriage as soon as practical, after driving in the snow with all that road salt? I know it's not always possible due to the weather, but i try to give the under carriage a good rinse after I've driven out on the salted roads.

 

[M1911]

Out of curiosity, do you rinse off your under carriage as soon as practical, after driving in the snow with all that road salt? I know it's not always possible due to the weather, but i try to give the under carriage a good rinse after I've driven out on the salted roads.

That's just not possible for me.

 

[chmura]

If I lived in a area where salt was being used in the winter and bought a new car. I would immediately put it on a lift and spray 4 bottles or so of 3M under coating under neath everything metal. Pretty easy to do when the car is new and has a clean under body.

I did this when I shipped a new car to Europe from the states.

 

[Orion*42]

Welcome to the joy and agony of owning a 4runner. Painting over the rust is like painting over cancer. I have a 2000 SR5 that I tried painting over the rust, and the frame just rusted from the inside out, and only has 120k on it. Oh what a feeling! I was hoping that this was going to be a 20+ year vehicle, instead I had to take it off the road, and now have to drive my 91 Suburban instead; go figure. It looks like Toyota Japan does not produce a superior product anymore, or feels that they have no obligation to their baka gaijin customers. Sorry to say this because I really liked my 4runner, but the best thing you can do is to sell yours since you are facing inevitable catastrophic frame failure.

 

[1engineer]

Great first post bro.

 

[gm4life]

This is a common issue. I went under my 4Runner when it was less than one week old. Just off the dealers lot and mine looked very similar. It was in June and hit the dealers lot a month or so before so no Iowa winters yet. I thought about worrying about it but have other things to worry about in my life. It is now getting a dandy of an Iowa winter and I have taken it through the touch free car wash three times and put another coat of wax on it. I will give it really good underbody wash as time allows plus the car wash does a fairly good job. Keep it clean by washing it and if it gets worse talk to the dealer about it. You can literally eat a steak dinner on the undercarriage of my Bonneville after 9 Iowa winters and all I did was wash it out well a few times every winter.

 

[gm4life]

Welcome to the joy and agony of owning a 4runner. Painting over the rust is like painting over cancer. I have a 2000 SR5 that I tried painting over the rust, and the frame just rusted from the inside out, and only has 120k on it. Oh what a feeling! I was hoping that this was going to be a 20+ year vehicle, instead I had to take it off the road, and now have to drive my 91 Suburban instead; go figure. It looks like Toyota Japan does not produce a superior product anymore, or feels that they have no obligation to their baka gaijin customers. Sorry to say this because I really liked my 4runner, but the best thing you can do is to sell yours since you are facing inevitable catastrophic frame failure.

Welcome to the real world... A 13 no 14 year old vehicle with frame rust unheard of! ound: Also to think that just painting over rust on frame rails is going to fix the problem is even more ridiculous... Frames have all sorts of holes and other areas and as mentioned and will rot from inside out because of it. Seriously it is a 14 year old truck that may or may not have been washed underneath or properly taken care of. Seems like par for the course to me.

Update... I spent today washing my 2013 SR5 and applying a coat of wax and after 2 months of lots of Iowa snow it looked fine underneath. Then again it has been through the touch free car wash three times in that time frame and I got on my knees and sprayed the under body as good as I could in my garage on a day with a high of 15 degrees above zero.

 

[Curt Sauve]

Welcome to the joy and agony of owning a 4runner. Painting over the rust is like painting over cancer. I have a 2000 SR5 that I tried painting over the rust, and the frame just rusted from the inside out, and only has 120k on it. Oh what a feeling! I was hoping that this was going to be a 20+ year vehicle, instead I had to take it off the road, and now have to drive my 91 Suburban instead; go figure. It looks like Toyota Japan does not produce a superior product anymore, or feels that they have no obligation to their baka gaijin customers. Sorry to say this because I really liked my 4runner, but the best thing you can do is to sell yours since you are facing inevitable catastrophic frame failure.

Has the frame on your 2000 failed? I've seen a lot of 2000 and older T4Rs still on the road in Iowa, and the conditions here are harsh. I traded off a 99'LE in 2007 that had 140K on it, the frame and suspension were rusty but there was no sign of failure, and I got top dollar for it as well on the trade. How many miles are on the 91' Sub? How many parts have been replaced? It's ok to be honest, I used to be a Chevy guy too.

 

[Curt Sauve]

Welcome to the joy and agony of owning a 4runner. Painting over the rust is like painting over cancer. I have a 2000 SR5 that I tried painting over the rust, and the frame just rusted from the inside out, and only has 120k on it. Oh what a feeling! I was hoping that this was going to be a 20+ year vehicle, instead I had to take it off the road, and now have to drive my 91 Suburban instead; go figure. It looks like Toyota Japan does not produce a superior product anymore, or feels that they have no obligation to their baka gaijin customers. Sorry to say this because I really liked my 4runner, but the best thing you can do is to sell yours since you are facing inevitable catastrophic frame failure.

Has the frame on your 2000 failed? I've seen a lot of 2000 and older T4Rs still on the road in Iowa, and the conditions here are harsh. I traded off a 99'LE in 2007 that had 140K on it, the frame and suspension were rusty but there was no sign of failure, and I got top dollar for it as well on the trade. How many miles are on the 91' Sub? How many parts have been replaced? It's ok to be honest, I used to be a Chevy guy too.

 

[Socalrugger]

Has the frame on your 2000 failed? I've seen a lot of 2000 and older T4Rs still on the road in Iowa, and the conditions here are harsh. I traded off a 99'LE in 2007 that had 140K on it, the frame and suspension were rusty but there was no sign of failure, and I got top dollar for it as well on the trade. How many miles are on the 91' Sub? How many parts have been replaced? It's ok to be honest, I used to be a Chevy guy too.

Used to have a Jade Green (I think it was named that) 2000 SR5 and when I sold it in 2006, it was flawless (granted it was 8 yrs ago).....totally regret trading it in, in hindsight .....as the saying goes, "if it ain't broke"....my wife also has a 2009 GMC Denali and man, we have replaced so many f'ing parts on that thing from parts of the engine down to the driver and passenger seat belt latch, that I count the days until she agrees to let go of it............

 

[derekp]

Coming from the Tacoma world, this sends shivers down my back. Look up "frame recall Tacoma" for the stories. Toyota has a history of frame failures in the recent past. I hope they have learned from that costly mistake, but you never know.

 

[gm4life]

Coming from the Tacoma world, this sends shivers down my back. Look up "frame recall Tacoma" for the stories. Toyota has a history of frame failures in the recent past. I hope they have learned from that costly mistake, but you never know.

I don't recall the 4Runners having any problems over the years... I think we will be okay if we wash the under-body out semi-regularly or as time allows during winter. I see tons of 3rd generation 4Runners in Iowa in really good shape this trend also seems to hold true into Wisconsin as well. By the way great minds must think alike I have a 2013 SR5 as well!

 

[Langzaiguy]

I am looking at buying a '14 TE, but this thread has me concerned. Are there preventative measures I can take? Some sort of undercoating I can have done when I buy it?