1998 Toyota Tacoma

FRAME PERFORATION AKA RUST THROUGH PROBLEM FAILED PA INSPECTION THIS WEEK. GARAGE NOTIFIED ME OF KNOWN TACOMA FRAME RUST PROBLEMS. TOYOTA DEALER SAYS ITS TOO LATE BUT I WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS HAZARD THAT TOYOTA SEEMS TO BE WELL AWARE OF. BODY SHOP WILL NOT TOUCH THIS PROBLEM OF RUST THROUGH ABOVE SPRING LEAF MOUNTS DUE TO LIABILITY CONCERNS. THIS SEEMS LIKE TOYOTA'S PROBLEM TO SOLVE. PLEASE HELP!

THE FRAME OF THE 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA XTRACAB TRUCK WE OWN HAS SEVERE RUST ISSUES TO THE POINT THAT IT IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. I HAVE ATTACHED 4 PICTURES TOTAL WITH 2 OF THE PICTURES SHOWING THE DAMAGE TO THE CAB FROM MOVEMENT THERE ARE OTHER AREAS THAT ARE RUSTED WORSE, BUT CAN NOT GET GOOD PICS OF. WE LIVE MIDWEST, A AREA THAT SALT IS NOT A FACTOR. WE NOTCED THIS DAMAGE AFTER FEELING THAT THE BED WAS MOVING.

PURCHASED 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA 4WD TRUCK OCTOBER 2012. VEHICLE HAD BEEN RECALLED FOR FRAME RUST AND WAS SERVICED BY A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP 05/25/2011 AND FRAME AND UNDER CARRIAGE WAS INSPECTED, CLEANED, PREPARED AND COATED WITH UNDERCOATING. DEALERSHIP ADVISED THE PROBLEM WAS CORRECTED. MILEAGE AT TIME WAS 161,757. IN LATE 2012 RUST SPOTS DEVELOPED AGAIN AND CONTINUED TO WORSEN UNTIL THE FRAME COMPLETELY RUSTED THROUGH AND BROKE ABOVE THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL IN THE VICINITY OF THE SHOCK ABSORB-ER BRACKET WHICH ALSO WAS RUSTED THROUGH. THERE ARE VARIOUS OTHER RUST PROBLEM AREAS ON THE FRAME AND SUSPENSION PARTS AND ANOTHER FRAME RUST THROUGH IS EVIDENT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE ABOVE THE REAR TIRE AT THE SHOCK ABSORB-ERR BRACKET.. DECEMBER 2016, MILEAGE 211,927 THE VEHICLE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE UNSAFE FOR OPERATION AND TAKEN OFF THE PUBLIC ROADWAYS BY THE CURRENT OWNER AFTER THE FRAME BROKE INTO WHILE TURNING INTO THE DRIVEWAY. THE VEHICLE WAS PLACED OUT OF SERVICE DUE TO FEAR OF BEING HELD LIABLE FOR DEATH, INJURY OR DISMEMBERMENT TO SELF, PERSON OR PERSONS DUE TO KNOWINGLY CONTINUED OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE WOULD BE UNSAFE. AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH OF FRAME RUST THROUGH PROBLEMS, THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP THAT HANDLED THE RECALL IN 2011 WAS CONTACTED IN PERSON BY THE CURRENT OWNER ON FEBRUARY 21, 2017 AT 1:30 PM AND WAS ADVISED BY THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT THE ENHANCED WARRANTY WAS ONLY GOOD FOR 15 YEARS FROM THE DATE THE VEHICLE WAS FIRST PURCHASED NEW AND PLACED IN SERVICE WHICH WAS APRIL 1998 AND HAD EXPIRED IN APRIL 2013. AS THE CURRENT OWNER OF THE VEHICLE I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED BY TOYOTA THAT A WARRANTY HAD EVER EXISTED AND WOULD SOON EXPIRE AND NOR MYSELF OR THE PREVIOUS OWNER WAS EVER NOTIFIED TO HAVE THE VEHICLE REINSPECTED BY TOYOTA TO MAKE SURE THE PROBLEM HAD NOT REOCCURRED AND VEHICLE WAS SAFE FOR CONTINUED OPERATION.

MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN INSPECTED EACH YEAR AND PROPERLY MAINTAINED. INSPECTIONS AND OTHER MAINTENANCE HAVE FREQUENTLY OCCURRED AT TOYOTA DEALERS BY TOYOTA TECHNICIANS. MY VEHICLE WAS UNDERGOING ANNUAL INSPECTION DECEMBER 2016 AT A NON-TOYOTA GARAGE AND I WAS ADVISED OF A FAILED INSPECTION DUE TO STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY ISSUES CAUSED BY SEVERE RUSTING ON THE FRAME OF THE TRUCK. I WAS ALSO ADVISED TO CEASE DRIVING THE TRUCK AS IT IS NOW CONSIDERED A DANGER TO MYSELF AND, I ASSUME, TO OTHER MOTORISTS. THE TECHNICIAN SUGGESTED THAT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM. I CALLED TOYOTA SEVERAL TIMES AND WAS ULTIMATELY TOLD I HAD RUN OUT OF TIME. I PLEADED THAT I HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE FOR OVER TEN YEARS AND WOULD HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF ANY RECALLS HAD I RECEIVED ANY INFORMATION OF ONE, BUT NO ONE IS ABLE TO EXPLAIN TO ME WHY I WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. A PROBLEM LIKE THIS DOES NOT CROP UP WITHIN A YEAR AND HAVE THE ABILITY TO HIDE FROM HONEST TECHNICIANS CONCERNED WITH THE INTEGRITY OF THEIR INSPECTIONS/MAINTENANCE AND THE SAFETY OF MOTORISTS. THIS VEHICLE IS FREQUENTLY USED FOR TRAVEL OVER DISTANCES GREATER THAN 50 MILES, ONE WAY, AND TO FIND OUT THAT I HAVE BEEN OPERATING SUCH A DANGEROUS VEHICLE OVER SUCH LONG DISTANCES AND POSING SUCH A DANGER TO MYSELF AND COUNTLESS OTHER MOTORISTS BECAUSE OF THE SILENCE AND/OR NEGLIGENCE OF TOYOTA TECHNICIANS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND REPREHENSIBLE. MY VEHICLE IS OTHERWISE IN GREAT RUNNING CONDITION WITH MANY NEW PARTS THAT SHOW PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP. I MUST DEMAND THAT TOYOTA REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE FRAME ON MY VEHICLE TO RESTORE THE SAFETY AND PEACE OF MIND THAT MOTORISTS HAVE A RIGHT TO EXPECT WHEN THEY GET BEHIND THE WHEEL OF A CAR. *TR

THERE IS AN ACCELERATED AND ABNORMAL AMOUNT OF CORROSION AND RUST SHOWING UP ON UNDERCARRIAGE OF THE VEHICLE. REAR LEAF SPRINGS HAVE LOST RUBBER BUMPER DUE TO RUST, AND SUSPENSION/FRAME MAKE NOISES DUE TO STRESS ON FRAME WHICH IS THE RESULT OF RUST/CORROSION. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER TO THIS VEHICLE, HAVING PURCHASED IT NEW AND HAVING ALWAYS HAD IT IN COLORADO A MOSTLY DRY CLIMATE NOT CONDUCIVE TO RUST/CORROSION. I HAVE IT AT THE SAME DEALERSHIP I BOUGHT IT FROM MULTIPLE TIMES PER YEAR FOR SERVICE, AND IT IS STILL UNDER 150K ORIG MILES. I HAVE NEVER BEEN INFORMED BY THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP REPS. ABOUT CONCERNS WITH RUST/CORROSION ISSUES, NOR HAS ANY COMPANY STAFF EVER ACKNOWLEDGED ANY CONCERNS OVER THESE ISSUES, OR HAS THE COMPANY REACHED OUT TO INFORM ME OF POTENTIAL PROBLEMS. IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM HAS TOYOTA EVER ADVISED ME OF ANY RECALL, CONCERNS OR PROBLEMS. I HAVE LIVED AT MY CURRENT RESIDENCE AND HAD THE SAME PHONE NUMBERS FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS AND THIS HAS BEEN IN THE STEVENSON TOYOTA DEALERSHIP RECORDS THIS WHOLE TIME. THIS IS EXTREMELY CONCERNING DUE TO THE MOUNTAIN DRIVING CONDITIONS HERE IN COLORADO, AND SPEED AT WHICH THIS RUST/CORROSION IS EXPANDING AND MAKING THE VEHICLE WEAK AND UNSAFE TO OPERATE. APPARENTLY MORE OWNERS OF THIS VEHICLE AND MODEL YEAR ARE EXPERIENCING THE VERY SAME ISSUES AND HAVE NOT BEEN NOTIFIED BY TOYOTA. THIS APPEARS TO BE A PROLIFIC ISSUE THAT NEEDS IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA. UPON INSPECTING UNDER THE FRONT AND REAR PASSENGER SIDES OF THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THERE WAS RUST AND A HOLE. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE, BUT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS UNCERTAIN IF THE VEHICLE WOULD BE REPAIRED BY A DEALER OR AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED NO SOLUTION. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 261,000.

"1995 THROUGH 2000 MODEL YEAR TACOMA FRAME RUST CORROSION WARRANTY EXTENSION" RECEIVED A LETTER FROM TOYOTA ATTACHED. REQUESTED FRAME INSPECTION ATTACHED. REQUESTED ANOTHER FRAME INSPECTION ATTACHED. MY VEHICLE CASE WAS NOT HANDLED CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT OF TOYOTA'S PROGRAM NOR WAS I CONTACTED BY THEIR IMPARTIAL SERVICES GROUP (ISG). AS A RESULT THE SAFETY OF ME AND MY PASSENGERS HAS BEEN NEGLECTED BE NOT ALLOWING ME THE SAFETY BENEFITS OF THEIR WARRANTY OFFERINGS.