Toyota Tundras frames rusting, guess they need to made from real steel.

[HemiEd]

This happened on the T-100 also.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/inve...50/detail.html



Team 5 Discovers More Rusted-Out Frames On Toyotas
Owners Said Trucks Can't Be Repaired Or Resold
POSTED: 10:47 am EDT April 26, 2009
UPDATED: 8:24 am EDT April 27, 2009


BOSTON -- Toyota is hearing from truck owners about frames so badly rusted they can't be repaired nor replaced.

It's a problem Team 5 Investigates first uncovered last year with Tacomas. And now it appears to involve larger model Tundras as well.

Click To Comment | See A Slideshow Of Trucks

"The frame is cracked," said Tim Gatzke, owner of a 2000 Toyota Tundra. "And down in the back here, the leaf springs on this side are so corroded that they're broken."



Tim Gatzke

He said the frame on his truck is being eaten away by rust. Driven only 89,000 miles, it no longer holds power steering fluid.

"In order to fix it, you need a power steering rack," Gatzke said. "But the corrosion is so bad, there is nothing for it to get welded back onto the frame."

Watch Report

Gatzke has pretty much stopped driving his truck.



Bob Malone

"It's aggressive corrosion that essentially makes the truck unsafe," he said. "I mean, the power steering rack at 70 mph. --- if that were to let go, that could be a really bad accident."

Bob Malone is another Tundra owner with the same complaint.

"You can see the frame rail is just orange with rust," he said.

Malone's 2000 Tundra -- driven just 72,000 -- essentially fell apart going through the car wash.

"I could literally just hear the metal chips flying off," he said, holding a rusted sheet in his hand. "This is the biggest piece I found out of the pile."



Tim Gatzke

Team 5 Investigates discovered more than two dozen complaints about 2000 and 2001 Tundras filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Drivers wrote, "Metal shearing off in large sheets"; "The rot caused the frame to break in half.".... (and) "Poked my finger right through the cross member."

Frustrated Tundra owners told NHTSA: "My truck is undriveable and unfixable." ... "It will not pass the next inspection." ... (and) "I cannot drive my car or even sell it as is."

"What needs to happen is, Toyota needs to recall these trucks," said Sean Kane, a national safety expert who believes the rust problem with older Tundras may be the same one plaguing more than 800,000 Tacoma trucks built between 1995 and 2000. As Team 5 Investigates first reported last year, those model years did not have adequate corrosion protection, causing the frames to disintegrate from rust.



Bob Malone

Toyota agreed --- and offered buyback deals for one-and-a-half times the vehicle's Blue Book value.

"Toyota really does need to step up here and extend that warranty beyond the vehicles that they've already covered to include any vehicles of theirs that has this kind of problem," Kane said.

In a written statement, Toyota told Team 5 Investigates that they've had only a small number of complaints and are investigating each one. They said, "using the information obtained from the Tacoma, we pro-actively investigate other vehicles of similar design and production elements." The company added, it "takes great pride in the durability and quality of our products."

Toyota wouldn't disclose how many rusted Tundras they've heard about or what they're doing for the owners.

"I'm pretty incensed," Malone said. "If you call them up, they just ignore you and hope you'll go away. I don't know what it's going to take."

[wild1]

Originally Posted by Brock

Yeah, just because people don't want a car that's worth 25 percent less the minute they drive it off the lot, they're idjits. I wish I could seriously consider buying an american car, but let's face the facts. Hondas and Toyotas on average last longer, hold their value better, and perform better over the life of the vehicle than any american car. My 91 accord still has the original freon in it, for pete's sake. The saddest part of all of this is it doesn't have to be this way. There isn't anything magical about the way those companies operate. Detroits dollars per pound method of designing a car isn't and hasn't been working for quite some time.

Amen... you know there is a good chance that motor will still be turning 10 or 15 years from now. Is that worth a 10-15% premium? Looks like America thinks it is.

[Over-Head]

I always knew my Ford-150 was better

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Which car companies are going under again?? It aint Honda or Toyota.

Don't even go there, Japan has been subsidizing their industries, and more specifically car companies for many years.
The fact that they have been so profitable, selling this stuff over here, doesn't speak well for our consumers.

In fact, Toyota recently asked for Government bailouts from Japan.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Yes because no American cars ever rust.

Seriously? A frame rusting in 9 yrs is horrible. My 2001 Grand Prix is rust-free underneath. Toyota is using some seriously low-quality steel.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by LaChapelle

The import snobs don't care. If it says Toyota or Honda on it They'll pay out the nose for one of those brands even with 315,000+ miles. Just cause it says Toyota or Honda. People are idjits.

I'm not a snob. I wanted the absolute best gas mileage I could get, and there's no comparison to my Corolla. In fact, the newer Corolla's can't even get the MPG I get. It's got 125K miles on it in just over 3 years and I still get about 38 on the highway at 70.

[stevieray]

The frame on my 65 chevy Van isn't rusted..

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

The fact that they have been so profitable, selling this stuff over here, doesn't speak well for our consumers.

So now your calling out every American consumer who buys Japanese just because they want a better automobile?? You make no sense.

[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by stevieray

The frame on my 65 chevy Van isn't rusted..

Niether is the frame on my '60 CJ-5.
When hanging the new exhaust we found a crack in the frame right in the middle of the passenger side wheel arch but I'm pretty sure that's due to running a whole lot more motor than the designers intended.

[dilligaf]

I've been in the car business for 15 years and have never heard this before. Just called a couple of my buddies in the the business and they've haven't either. Sounds like propaganda to me.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

So now your calling out every American consumer who buys Japanese just because they want a better automobile?? You make no sense.

IMO that's largely a myth, over the past four years I've spent more on repairs on my wife's Camry than I did my Caravan, and it's five years newer. And don't even get me started on the Accord we used to have...

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

IMO that's largely a myth, over the past four years I've spent more on repairs on my wife's Camry than I did my Caravan, and it's five years newer. And don't even get me started on the Accord we used to have...

Perhaps somewhat, because i do believe American manufacturers have been forced to make better cars because of the dominance of foreign makers.

But the Foreign cars still have a far better resale value than American.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Perhaps somewhat, because i do believe American manufacturers have been forced to make better cars because of the dominance of foreign makers.

But the Foreign cars still have a far better resale value than American.

Yay. Seeing that I generally buy cars that are 5-6 years old, that only means I'll pay more for them. That, coupled with the fact that parts are friggin' outrageous for them, I don't really see what I'm gaining. Next time I'll buy the comparable Chevy for $2-3K less and take my chances.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

I've seen this issue many times. We send CRASH reports to the manufacturer on this and sometimes have subrogation rights against Toyota in some cases.

A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

Are there a lot of these kinds of accidents?

You wouldn't believe.

Which car company do you work for?

A major one.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

Are there a lot of these kinds of accidents?

You wouldn't believe.

Which car company do you work for?

A major one.

You are not your ****ing khakis!

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

IMO that's largely a myth, over the past four years I've spent more on repairs on my wife's Camry than I did my Caravan, and it's five years newer. And don't even get me started on the Accord we used to have...

I'll counter your myth with a truth of my own....

We bought my wife a new Dodge Grand Caravan in 1998 with only 12 miles on it. I purchased a new Toyota Camry with 5 miles on it in 1991.

We finally got rid of the POS Grand Caravan in 2002 after spending an ungodly amount of money trying to keep it roadworthy...with the main culprit being the electrical system. We traded it in for a 2000 Sienna XLE with 14k miles on it. The only problem we have had with it was the automatic door on the passenger side. We have put over 100K miles on it and spent less on repairs/upkeep in the almost 7 years we have owned it than we spent in the 4 years we owned that Grand Caravan.

But I will go you one better.....I owned that original 1991 till i traded it off in 2000 for a 2000 Camry...I spent nothing more than upkeep money (normal maintenance) in those 9 years and still couldn't come anywhere near to what I spent in what ungodly money keeping that POS Grand Caravan on the road.

Just thought I would offer my experience....

mmaddog
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