Truck Recall Question – Input Requested

I got a letter from Toyota saying there was a recall on the frame of my ’99 Tacoma. The recall was for inadequate corrossion prevention and they wanted to perform an inspection to see if my truck had the issue. If there was any perforation through the frame Toyota would buy the vehicle back at 1.5X Kelly Blue Book value. If there was only surface corrossion they would remove it and apply another underbody coat of corrosion resistant compound (CRC).

This morning they did the inspection and found perforation. Toyota is sending me the paperwork. I’m actually thinking about keeping the truck. Its in excellent condition (except for the corrosion which is in the rear of the vechicle) and more importantly its paid for.

I kinda feel like this is a scam to get me to buy a new vehicle and not really about vehicle safety. The service guy said that Toyota won’t repair the frame, and that they take the vehicle and crush it…but I didn’t really believe him.

What do you think…

thanks
Jason

Eleven years ago, my wife & I bought a 2000 Toyota Tacoma for $20,000 brand new.

We got the same recall notice back in May this year. They condemned the vehicle upon inspection. Two weeks later, they offered us $10,620.00 for the vehicle.

We said yes faster than a fart going down wind.

It’s not a scam and where else can you possibly get 150% of the blue book value? No where that I know of.

Yes, we did buy another Toyota. But regardless of what you use the money for, I seriously doubt that you can get a better value for that vehicle anywhere else.

Boog

I have a friend that had the same issue. They replaced the frame in his truck! Yes, they stripped the truck down and replaced the whole frame. The dealership gave him a rental for the week that it took them to do this. At the time I think he said that 1-out of 100 trucks were bad enough to replace the frame. He was lucky enough to be the 1 in a 100.

I guess they figured out 1.5% of blue book is cheaper than doing the whole frame at 50 labor hours per truck.

If you get 1.5x blue book, why wouldn’t you get a different used truck and either upgrade tor pocket the difference?

I think you could take it to a body shop and have them repair the holes and apply a new CRC, going to cost quite a bit.. but its better than having your frame crack going down the road. If you dont want to sell the truck that is.

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I think you could take it to a body shop and have them repair the holes and apply a new CRC, going to cost quite a bit.. but its better than having your frame crack going down the road. If you dont want to sell the truck that is.

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Yeah, but then it’s his dollar, not Toyota’s. I’d take the 1.5 x KBB pricing and be happy with it.

I can understand not wanting to change if its paid for and running well but my gut says take the money and run. Its a frame issue and you trailer a lot. Good luck.

If you are happy with the brand of truck, why not upgrade and cut a few miles off the rig for no cost. I know if given the opportunity to cut 50,000 miles off my truck, I would do it in a heartbeat

Look at possible repair bills on your older truck compared to payments on a newer one. I was always under the belief that 10 year sis the cut off on a vehicle. At that point the potential repair bills will be more than vehicle payments.

Maybe Toyota might have some good incentives for you. Also try looking at Enterprise rental in Spring lake park or on line. They can have some fantastic deal on vehicles. We did well on our last one purchased from them.

Jason, a lot of people fell in the same lot. I wouldn’t try to keep the vehicle because I’ve seen pictures of the recalled vehicles where you could slide a soda can right in the side of the frame. I’ve seen some really aggressive corrosion on a 4runner also that was basically not safe to drive and it was a 96 or so.

I really wanted a taco but couldn’t figure a way around the rust issue. They won’t buy back salvage titles. Otherwise though, the buy back has cranked the price of older tacos up kind of high. I think 2000 or 2001 they will replace the frame instead of buy back but the $ gap is hard to swallow.

I ended up getting a t100 to get around the whole corrosion thing. It has the same 3.4 and purrs like a kitten with 200k on it. There is a big thread about the recall at yotatech.

what they do to test the frame is hit it with a hammer and if it brakes through the frame its recalled so there is almost nothning holding it togeather. I have heard the only way they fix it is replace the frame and rear suspension, never hear any thing about giving you a check for 150% of kbb so i would go and talk to a manager at that shop and if that dosent get you any where call a diffrent toyota dealership and explan what is going on and that the other shop is not fixxing there recall.
If they dont replace your frame, dont yell at them and just tell them you are disspleased with there costomer service.

you could also send a email and letter to toyota corperation and say what is going on and the why you want to keep the truck you have now

good luck and hope it works out for you

If they found perforation-dump it. It’s not going to get any better and there is no fixing it. The guy from Toyota who cut me a check for my truck (in 2008) said that to his knowledge Toyota was not going to repair a single truck because the liability was to high. I doubt it is a scam (you’re not obligated to buy another Toyota, are you?) but rather a liability issue.

I guess the deal was that certain frames had manufacturing issues, and either you got a good one or a bad one. The Toyota rep I meet with said that they were having this problem all over, not just in the salt belt.

My case was an extreme issue, my truck was practically nonoperational. Just by chance I took it to my shop for an oil change (I almost all ways do them myself). My mechanic came out and told me I had to see something. He showed me holes in parts of my frame between the cab and bed that you could fit a hand through. As he lowered the truck back down you could see the frame flex. He also showed me where the topper was banging against the cab when I went over bumps. I parked it for a couple months while I tried to figure out what I was going to do with it, and then a letter (like yours) arrived from Toyota. The dealer towed it to town, and it was the worst they had ever seen.

In my case, I wound up getting more than I had paid for the vehicle in 2005. I wish I could get “scammed” like that more often.

That is about a $4000 truck, give or take…. I’d put the $6000 in my pocket and start shopping. I don’t think this is a NHTSA recall, but rather, a voluntary recall that Toyota is doing on their own… I don’t believe they are mandated to do anything… anybody know for sure ? I googled it, but found nothing, but people on forums

From what I was told during my transaction is that it was voluntary, not mandated, and I was corrected when I called it a recall. The guy I talked to called it an “extension of the frame warranty” and said that it was “Toyota standing behind their product”, which may have been a part of it, but smelled more like corporate bullchit to me. I am thinking that they were more likely trying to avoid liability. The high buy back price was Toyota’s effort to get as many rotten vehicles off the road before they came apart at the seams. All it would take is a hand full of accidents/deaths and you have a multimillion dollar lawsuit-especially if the company knew about the problem and did nothing (think Ford explorer and the Firestone tires). I basically had less than 2″ of rotten frame holding my driver’s side rail together-the rest was gone.

One thing to remember is that the buy back price is 1.5X Kelly Blue Book for your truck in excellent condition, regardless of actual condition. Don’t forget to strip the vehicle if you turn it over (battery, tires, hitch receiver, topper…).

Ha, if you could buy one for 4k, I’d have one.

no chit sherlock… I’d buy all I could find too for $4000 and turn em into Toyota for $6000…. it’s the game that’s been played. check KBB (which they go by), I did…. They are only gonna go up as they keep taking them rust buckets off the road…

I cannot think of why anyone would want one, other than to make 50% on your money…?? Why do you want one so bad ???

I’d love to have another Tacoma, just one with a good frame. In my opinion, it is the most bullet proof midsize truck made in the last 20 years.

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In my opinion, it is the most bullet proof midsize truck made in the last 20 years.

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Unless, of course, the frame collapses.

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In my opinion, it is the most bullet proof midsize truck made in the last 20 years.

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Unless, of course, the frame collapses.

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Thank you for making my day

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I’d love to have another Tacoma, just one with a good frame. In my opinion, it is the most bullet proof midsize truck made in the last 20 years.

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I’d love to have a Leprechaun and a Unicorn too…..

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I’d love to have another Tacoma, just one with a good frame. In my opinion, it is the most bullet proof midsize truck made in the last 20 years.

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I’d love to have a Leprechaun and a Unicorn too…..

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And that 20lb Walleye….

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In my opinion, it is the most bullet proof midsize truck made in the last 20 years.

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Unless, of course, the frame collapses.

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Which mine was about too. Just the same, I couldn’t agree more with the original statement.

On the other hand, which other car/truck manufacturer would offer this kind deal for any of their vehicles well after the warranty had run out?
Toyota – they definitely stand behind their products! Hats off to them for that.

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Toyota – they definitely stand behind their products! Hats off to them for that.

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Other than maybe a gas peddle sticking, killing people and them the associated cover up.

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On the other hand, which other car/truck manufacturer would offer this kind deal for any of their vehicles well after the warranty had run out?

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Nissan and Ford to name two that I currently know of…

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On the other hand, which other car/truck manufacturer would offer this kind deal for any of their vehicles well after the warranty had run out?

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Nissan and Ford to name two that I currently know of…

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Somedays, we do more out of warranty goodwill, than customer pay Can’t “recall” any recent floormat issues… or frames built out of old soup cans having fun with ya

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I’d love to have a Leprechaun and a Unicorn too…..

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And that 20lb Walleye….

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how ’bout a busty deaf mute nympho who likes to fillet fish

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On the other hand, which other car/truck manufacturer would offer this kind deal for any of their vehicles well after the warranty had run out?

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Nissan and Ford to name two that I currently know of…

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Somedays, we do more out of warranty goodwill, than customer pay Can’t “recall” any recent floormat issues… or frames built out of old soup cans having fun with ya

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Its all in good fun

BTW, didn’t Mopar recently get bailed out with tax payer money, and GM stock was recently worth zero?

Toyota… largest producer of automobiles in 2010. I would guess that they are doing something right.

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On the other hand, which other car/truck manufacturer would offer this kind deal for any of their vehicles well after the warranty had run out?

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Nissan and Ford to name two that I currently know of…

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These guys offered to pay 150% of the KBB price for a mistake they made? Not saying it didn’t happen, I missed hearing about that one.

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Toyota – they definitely stand behind their products! Hats off to them for that.

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Other than maybe a gas peddle sticking, killing people and them the associated cover up.

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Talk about an issue that was totally blown out of proportion!
Not saying they didn’t have a problem that needed fixing but I think half the politicians in this country wanted to expose that issue for as long as possible in the hopes that it would benefit, so called, American built vehicles.

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On the other hand, which other car/truck manufacturer would offer this kind deal for any of their vehicles well after the warranty had run out?

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Nissan and Ford to name two that I currently know of…

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Somedays, we do more out of warranty goodwill, than customer pay Can’t “recall” any recent floormat issues… or frames built out of old soup cans having fun with ya

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Its all in good fun

BTW, didn’t Mopar recently get bailed out with tax payer money, and GM stock was recently worth zero?

Toyota… largest producer of automobiles in 2010. I would guess that they are doing something right.

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Chrysler, not MOPAR has paid back the US government bailout money… with interest, years ahead of schedule Toyota lover good fun