How concerned should I be - falling apart?

[Ray Dunakin]

I'm curious about how they were able to remove that skid plate to do the oil change, without it falling apart.

 

[Jivewalker]

I'm curious about how they were able to remove that skid plate to do the oil change, without it falling apart.

They just reached through it.

 

[Jetboy]

That's kinda remarkable for how short of time it's been out in the real world. I've noticed very similar things on my 4Runner. Some specific parts (mostly hardware like the bolts on the skids) has deteriorated at an extremely accelerated rate. I assume there must be a galvanic corrosion situation happening. Other parts show essentially zero rust even where exposed to the elements and paint is scratched off.

I think Toyota is making some parts from very substandard metals - and/or they are made from metals with unusually different anodic indexes. Mitsubishi was busted a few years ago for falsifying metal testing and I think Toyota was one of their customers. So it's possible that they were using cheap shit metal for these parts as a result of falsified supplier verification. OTOH I have not seen any major rust issues on the frames or any of the critical components on my own vehicle while the skid hardware has essentially just disintegrated.

Finally - aluminum skid would act as a sacrificial anode if well connected to the frame - and that's a good thing IMO. Same with your current skid if it's acting as an anode and being dissolved by rust while protecting the frame and other components.

 

[jrandom]

Yeah, I have also noticed strange hardware corrosion. I could see using a lower quality on non-crucial hardware BUT I had them replace the rear solid KDSS linkage at year 1.5. I removed the bottom cup holding the bushing when I installed the rear suspension, it was pitted to h3ll, so much so that it was embedded in the bushing, some pits 1-2mm deep. Really strange. While it would take a while to fully corrode through still unsettling.

Finally - aluminum skid would act as a sacrificial anode if well connected to the frame - and that's a good thing IMO. Same with your current skid if it's acting as an anode and being dissolved by rust while protecting the frame and other components.

now that makes me want to throw a couple of tack welds to blow through the powder coat on the steel cross member holding the transmission skid plate...

 

[Jetboy]

Yeah, I have also noticed strange hardware corrosion. I could see using a lower quality on non-crucial hardware BUT I had them replace the rear solid KDSS linkage at year 1.5. I removed the bottom cup holding the bushing when I installed the rear suspension, it was pitted to h3ll, so much so that it was embedded in the bushing, some pits 1-2mm deep. Really strange. While it would take a while to fully corrode through still unsettling.



now that makes me want to throw a couple of tack welds to blow through the powder coat on the steel cross member holding the transmission skid plate...

In theory the engine's aluminum block should be doing that as well as anything, and it's pretty well grounded to the frame already. But I can't really figure out why it's so hit or miss on other parts. Some bolts look like new. Others look like they were recently recovered from the Titanic.

I wish I knew more about this issue than a pretty high level understanding. And - toyota should understand it better than just about anyone and have considered it in engineering the product. I don't expect them to last forever. But I do expect them to last for at least 15-20 years without meaningful rust problems.

I've always thought this diagram is perfect as an example of how you get unexpected problems from something as simple as plugging in your boat at the same dock as someone with another boat that has a different material for the propeller. With all of the different metals in a modern car - I'm not sure how best to protect the metal from the corrosion problems that can be caused by all of the dissimilar metals.

I'm curious what Toyota tells the OP.