pictures of my rusty frame
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sigalution
New member
Completely dependent on the situation. What you use it for, your financial situation, sentimental value...
I know some posts I've read about just welding in patches as needed, but obviously that can be scary, not to mention cause balance issues.
There's also the possibility of a frame swap, but it just comes down to $$.
Since my runner is only used for shuttling to mountain bike trails I would keep it. But as a DD, I might look to cleaner pastures.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/70989-serious-frame-rust-questoin.html
That link should get you better info.
I know some posts I've read about just welding in patches as needed, but obviously that can be scary, not to mention cause balance issues.
There's also the possibility of a frame swap, but it just comes down to $$.
Since my runner is only used for shuttling to mountain bike trails I would keep it. But as a DD, I might look to cleaner pastures.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/70989-serious-frame-rust-questoin.html
That link should get you better info.
BlackWorksInc
New member
Yikes, That's about typical for what I have seen on other trucks and vehicles that come from the East Coast... But Toyota is known for having some rusting issues on their frames.
To be honest, while it looks seriously nasty; I'm not entirely sure how deep the rust goes and therefore how "bad" it is.
What year is it? I would send the pictures and everything to Toyota and make them aware of the problem, it may not end up doing anything; but I'd say its worth a shot at the very least they have another complaint to stack with others that may result in a campaign like the Tundras/Sequoias.
Edit-
[MENTION=92174]sigalution[/MENTION], thank you! I had completely forgotten about frame swapping as an option!
http://www.lkqcorp.com/us/en/search-inventory.aspx
We use this company at work for "JunkYard Parts" they're a professional salvage company and tend to be of better quality than your "Pick'n Pulls" (Not to say they aren't good, just these guys take greater care of the cars rather than stuff them on blocks in a lot)
A frame for a '03-'09 is about $2500 according to their inventory.
To be honest, while it looks seriously nasty; I'm not entirely sure how deep the rust goes and therefore how "bad" it is.
What year is it? I would send the pictures and everything to Toyota and make them aware of the problem, it may not end up doing anything; but I'd say its worth a shot at the very least they have another complaint to stack with others that may result in a campaign like the Tundras/Sequoias.
Edit-
[MENTION=92174]sigalution[/MENTION], thank you! I had completely forgotten about frame swapping as an option!
http://www.lkqcorp.com/us/en/search-inventory.aspx
We use this company at work for "JunkYard Parts" they're a professional salvage company and tend to be of better quality than your "Pick'n Pulls" (Not to say they aren't good, just these guys take greater care of the cars rather than stuff them on blocks in a lot)
A frame for a '03-'09 is about $2500 according to their inventory.
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The vehicle spent its whole life in New England. The rust has bad when I bought it 2 years ago, but nothing i was to concerned about. Since moving to Daytona Beach in March the rust has gotten ALOT worse. Im guessing the humidity along with the salt that was trapped in the metal. When i has up north I would take it to the self car wash every other week and wash the undercarriage. In the winter i would do it at least once a week, sometimes more. I sent a message to Toyota last night. Hopefully I will hear something tomorrow. I was going to buy a gallon or POR15 and go to town but after looking under it a few weeks ago its obviously to far gone.
4RunnerFan
New member
If it were mine I would seriously consider filing a report with the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). I've seen at least one other complaint for frame rust on 2008 and newer T4Rs. If enough reports are filed, it might just get the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration to take notice and get Toyota to 1) fix the bad frames, and 2) make the new ones better.
File ODI Report and Check Other's Complaints
Date Complaint Filed: 11/18/2012
Component(s): POWER TRAIN , SERVICE BRAKES , STRUCTURE , SUSPENSION , WHEELS
Date of Incident: 10/01/2012
NHTSA ID Number: 10485047
\Crash:No
Fire:No
Number of Injuries:0
Number of Deaths:0
Manufacturer: TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION
Vehicle Identification No. (VIN): JTEZU14R180...
SUMMARY:
THERE IS CORROSION IN THE FRAME AND DRIVE-TRAIN COMPONENTS. THERE IS PITTING, RUSTING THROUGHOUT THE FRAME UNDERCARRIAGE AND THE SUSPENSION AND DIFFERENTIAL COMPONENTS. THIS BARELY 4YR OLD VEHICLE IS A SOUTHERN VEHICLE. REGARDLESS, THIS CORROSION IS A SAFETY ISSUE IN ANY VEHICLE LET ALONE IN A 4RUNNER WITH A SERVICE INCEPTION DATE OF 11/30/2008 WITH 19K MILES. THIS IS TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE OF THE MANUFACTURER AND THEY CLAIM IT IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY. YES, IT (SHOULD BE) COVERED BY WARRANTY AND MORE IMPORTANTLY IT IS MANUFACTURER'S LIABILITY TO CORRECT SAFETY/QUALITY ISSUE. *TR
File ODI Report and Check Other's Complaints
Date Complaint Filed: 11/18/2012
Component(s): POWER TRAIN , SERVICE BRAKES , STRUCTURE , SUSPENSION , WHEELS
Date of Incident: 10/01/2012
NHTSA ID Number: 10485047
\Crash:No
Fire:No
Number of Injuries:0
Number of Deaths:0
Manufacturer: TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION
Vehicle Identification No. (VIN): JTEZU14R180...
SUMMARY:
THERE IS CORROSION IN THE FRAME AND DRIVE-TRAIN COMPONENTS. THERE IS PITTING, RUSTING THROUGHOUT THE FRAME UNDERCARRIAGE AND THE SUSPENSION AND DIFFERENTIAL COMPONENTS. THIS BARELY 4YR OLD VEHICLE IS A SOUTHERN VEHICLE. REGARDLESS, THIS CORROSION IS A SAFETY ISSUE IN ANY VEHICLE LET ALONE IN A 4RUNNER WITH A SERVICE INCEPTION DATE OF 11/30/2008 WITH 19K MILES. THIS IS TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE OF THE MANUFACTURER AND THEY CLAIM IT IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY. YES, IT (SHOULD BE) COVERED BY WARRANTY AND MORE IMPORTANTLY IT IS MANUFACTURER'S LIABILITY TO CORRECT SAFETY/QUALITY ISSUE. *TR
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Come on now. Not all the east coast is the same. That is common for New England, not south of the Mason Dixon line. :thumb3:
WXman
New member
Filing a report won't get anything done. My buddy has a 2006 Tacoma that's almost rusted through. He wrote to Toyota USA and they wrote back last week with a letter that basically said, "sorry bout your luck. You're out of warranty."
Mine looked almost exactly like yours when I got it. I spent a while roughing it up with a wire brush and spraying it with paint to slow down the rust. There are products on the market for neutralizing the rust and you might try those before painting or undercoating the frame.
I've lived in the snow zone for 35 years and I've seen lots of surface rust on other brands but I've never seen frames literally rust through like these Toyotas do. In the 1980s and 1990s the bodies would literally fall off the trucks. Now the bodies are perfect and the frames rust and fall apart. WTH?
I'd definitely take the time to work on that NOW though. Snow is just around the corner again.
Mine looked almost exactly like yours when I got it. I spent a while roughing it up with a wire brush and spraying it with paint to slow down the rust. There are products on the market for neutralizing the rust and you might try those before painting or undercoating the frame.
I've lived in the snow zone for 35 years and I've seen lots of surface rust on other brands but I've never seen frames literally rust through like these Toyotas do. In the 1980s and 1990s the bodies would literally fall off the trucks. Now the bodies are perfect and the frames rust and fall apart. WTH?
I'd definitely take the time to work on that NOW though. Snow is just around the corner again.
BigNuge
New member
That looks about on tap with mine. I found nothing all that serious, all surface rust with a couple of boogers. I gave a couple areas a good brushing/cleaning & painting (3 coats of rustoleum primer & 3 coats of rustoleum flat black). Looks good now!
I plan on doing more of the frame (and the rear axle) in due time...
Business as usual here in New England :washing:
I plan on doing more of the frame (and the rear axle) in due time...
Business as usual here in New England :washing:
zopperman
Moderator
From reddit...
03_4x4Runner
Senior Member
I am glad I live in Arizona. My 03 still looks brand new underneath after 11 years. Look for one out here.
This isn't endemic of this generation. That looks bad, but I wouldn't run to blame Toyota just yet. Everything I have seen shows these models pretty stout in terms of rust protection.
The very specific tacoma issue is no longer present. It was the fault of a US plant that is no longer involved in production, and never involved in 4runner production.
Nothing will stop rust, you can only delay or defend.
The very specific tacoma issue is no longer present. It was the fault of a US plant that is no longer involved in production, and never involved in 4runner production.
Nothing will stop rust, you can only delay or defend.
I dont blame Toyota. And I wouldnt not buy another one because of this. When I I stopped at the dealer today they said the Sequoias just got added to the recall list so he said it wouldnt be long before the 4Runners got added too. Whether this comes true or not Im not sure and Im not going to hold my breath. Im still waiting to hear back from Toyota though.
If you dont mind some elbow grease and a couple weekends you can do a lot to help this. You need to take a wirebrush, normal size and small one to remove the rust as much as you can. I would section the truck into 4 sections, front right, left, rear right and left. The reason for section7ng is it wont seem like such a huge task and you can do 1 section in a day. After rust is cleaned off brush on the POR15. POR15 doesnt really like to go over paint, but works great on bare metal and rust. If you dont wirebrush off some of the rust before applying the POR15 the rust will start to come back. When you are done a little touch up every couple years will take care of it. I did not use a wirebrush on mine due to lack of time, and there are places where the rust is coming back. Mine was never as bad as yours, but if you do this it will look really good and last a long time. If that is not your thing bite the bullet and trade it in.
WXman
New member
The problem is that around here and I'm sure in other states as well, they are now using Magnesium, Calcium Chloride, and various other chemicals to pre-treat the roads when snow is predicted so when the first of the precip. starts to melt you get this nasty brine solution spraying all over your vehicle. Then the snow finally starts to stick and the air gets colder and you can't wash your truck for a few days at best. So the crap ends up staying on your chassis, even if you're somebody that takes really good care of your truck.
A good undercoating really helps. My Ford trucks came with oil based undercoating and the salt couldn't get through. My Dodge trucks and Jeeps didn't have that undercoating on them but the frames were dipped and treated at the factory and it showed. After lots of salt and driving in winter weather they still were black in color and showed no rusting.
I think that this winter, I'll be under this Toyota washing it frequently as possible. I think that it's really good advice to knock off the surface rust with a wire brush NOW and coat everything you can with something. Paint, undercoating, something. Then when the snow starts flying try to wash the undercarriage whenever you can. You do not want that getting worse. Right now the frame looks to be solid but you don't want it getting worse.
A good undercoating really helps. My Ford trucks came with oil based undercoating and the salt couldn't get through. My Dodge trucks and Jeeps didn't have that undercoating on them but the frames were dipped and treated at the factory and it showed. After lots of salt and driving in winter weather they still were black in color and showed no rusting.
I think that this winter, I'll be under this Toyota washing it frequently as possible. I think that it's really good advice to knock off the surface rust with a wire brush NOW and coat everything you can with something. Paint, undercoating, something. Then when the snow starts flying try to wash the undercarriage whenever you can. You do not want that getting worse. Right now the frame looks to be solid but you don't want it getting worse.
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