Toyota Agrees to $3 Billion Tacoma Frame Rot Settlement

I have a 2000 Tacoma Truck, bought new that has a rusted frame. I think it was recalled and inspected in 2012 and was told it was OK. So do I have to foot the bill myself? We have purchased 4 different Toyotas. This truck only has 197500 miles on it and looks good. We may have to consider going with a different brand.

I own a Toyota 4runner I bout new in 1997, as I was replacing shocks this weekend I realized that the frame on the right side by the muffler has rusted through. The hole is approximately 18 inches long and you can stick you hand inside the frame. I do not know if this vehicle is covered on the settlement but this is unusual for a car I have pampered since I purchased it. Now I am afraid to drive it as it doesn't look safe. What should I do? Am I on my own or do I have a chance that Toyota will take responsibility? I did not have any plans to get rid of this car now I do not know what I should do. HELP.Thanks.

I have a 2001 Tacoma in beautiful shape, except yesterday the frame cracked just a foot or two in front of the rear axle. I had been hoping to drive this thing another 10 years.

Dealer tells me there is no recall or warranty extension on this.

Anyone have ideas on where to go from here?

I have got a 2004. Why the 2005 cutoff? This makes no sense. I am in a cold weather climate. No recall, no notice. Were the 2004 model years that different? Did they have some other kind of magic steel frame? Mine is rusted.......but i have not had it inspected. I called to toyota to check on this and they said it doesnt meat the criteria for recall. I bought this truck due to the reliability and hoped to drive it for another 10 years. Is there anything i can do or should i dump it and go find a different vehicle at this point? I would hate for it to crack and be out the resale it has now.

I have an 04 tacoma SR5 and was repairing a rear brake line and discovered my frame has huge holes in the frame. Under the cab on the driver side about 18 inches long and the width of the frame rail. And behind that right in front of the driver side shackle that attaches to the frame. It appears a previous owner patched that at some point. I bought this truck used it only has 169k on it and runs drives great! I love the truck but now I'm scared the frame is going to completely break on it. I did see on taco forums there was a recall previously for my year truck. Now that I've noticed this I am going to call the NTSB and the NHTSA and Monday I will be calling Toyota dealer. If they don't want to resolve the issue or try passing the buck I will hire an attorney and sue Toyota until this gets resolved. A recall is a recall and this truck at the time previous owner had it the frame may have been fine. But over time it obviously is not fine. As I said the drive train of this truck is perfect and I expect to put another 169k on it with regular maintenance. I love the truck I love the way it looks and handles. I just want them to fix it PERIOD

I have a 1996 Tacoma handed down from my father , severally rotted frame, I was told 15 years has passed and I can't claim the issue with Toyota is this true? 129,000 on the odometer and mint body. Any answers would be appreciated, I think the people that told me this want the truck to cash in on the recall themselves , I hope that's not the case.

Hello everyone I am here as well due to my issue with my 05 Tacoma. Not to long ago my truck started to act up. It was to the point I was no longer able to drive it. The issue is my Frame rush and tires (due two huge holes). Moment I saw this I was shock that I let my vehicle get destroy especially being a person who is always on top of the cars. I called the dealership to explain my issue. One thing they told me was to go on ToyotaFrameSettlement.com and write my issue. I went on the website and attempt to write a claim. As I was about to write a claim I had to put money down towards the issue then I was allowed to put a claim. Which honestly threw me off. Anyone here able to help me out or give me an advise on what I should do, since this is the first time I experience. I would appericate this.

I had a hole in the frame of my 07 Tacoma about the size of a golf ball. My local Toyota dealership replaced the frame, leaf springs, brake lines and some other small parts. I paid for a oil change and coolant flush while it was in for the frame replacement. Total cost to me was $440.
I am very happy with my truck and the way Toyota took care of this problem. My next vehicle purchase will be a Toyota or Lexus.

If they'd only take care of the frames not covered by the 2005-2011, we'd all be happy future Toyota owners. Anyone need a 2001 with a rusted out frame that Toyota won't stand behind?

i have a 2000 toyota truck with 89,000 miles that the frame is rusted out from within. today the spring shackles just broke free of the frame! (i am a machanic and have worked in a wrecking yard for over 25 years tearing apart cars and trucks) so when i tell you this ROTTING FRAME isssue toyota has is a DEFECT, you can take my word on it. go under any old old car or truck and try to shove a screwdriver through the frame.....ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!

i now have a 2000 toyota truck that i cant drive and cant sell and cant afford to fix. (TOYOTA HAS SCREWED US!!)

TOYOTA ETHER FIXES THESE RIGS ,or they are history.

i dont know were they get their steel or fames from, but they need to be FIRED!! this metal is CRAP!!!

that 3.2 billion settlement deal??? it would take 30 billion to cover these frames for the owners of these trucks. what is 3.2 going to get you?

figure 14,000 per truck .

the sad part is a ton of people do not know they are driveing DANGEROUS cars! someone will be killed.

where are our watch dog groups when you need them????

this is criminal!

MY 2005 TACOMA IS NOW SITTING AT A DEALERSHIP BECAUSE I CAN'T DRIVE IT BECAUSE OF THE FRAME HAVING 3 HOLES IN IT. IT HAS BEEN SITTING THERE FOR 3 MONTHS AND I AM IN A COROLLA THEY GAVE ME TO DRIVE. I HAVE TO GO IN ONCE A MONTH SO THEY CAN RENEW THE CONTRACT ON THE CAR. I HAVE TOLD THEM I NEED A 4 WHEEL DRIVE OR AN ALL WHEEL DRIVE BEFORE WINTER AND THEY SAID THEY ONLY HAVE 4 OR 5 AND THEY ALL ARE BEING DRIVEN BY OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAD TRUCKS. NOT MY FAULT. I DIDN'T ASK FOR MY TRUCK TO HAVE A FRAME THAT IS A PIECE OF CRAP. MY TRUCK HAS BEEN SITTING IN THE SAME SPOT FOR 3 MONTHS AND NOW I NOTICED THAT THE BACK TIRE IS ALMOST FLAT. I AM SO DISGUSTED WITH THIS WHOLE FRAME THING, BUT MY HANDS ARE TIED. I CAN'T SELL MY TRUCK OR DO ANYTHING WITH IT. IT IS A 2005 BUT IT LOOKS LIKE A NEW ONE AND IT ONLY HAS 119,000 MILES ON IT WHICH IS NOTHING FOR A TOYOTA. THEY TOLD ME AT THE DEALERS THAT IT MIGHT BE 9 MONTHS BEFORE I GET IT BACK OR LONGER. THIS IS MY 4TH TOYOTA AND I HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM LIKE THIS BEFORE...

hi Sandra, sorry to here about your truck as well. what many people do not take into account is (i am a machanic) is that to replace a truck frame is no easy task. you have to tear the ENTIRE truck apart. why is that important? well you can CAUSE many more PROBLEMS the brain can comprehend. its VERY problematic. whats worse is that a little known truth is that toyota may not cover those problems that crop up and it may be left to the owner to do so. many times toyota just "COATS" the frame. but seeings its ROTTING from the INSIDE out, that does NOTHING to fix the problem. (like a bandaid on a broken leg) this is a MUCH MUCH BIGGER deal then people think. if everyone that owned a toyota were to compair notes they would be HORRIFIDE!

ok, i would like to make something clear to many of you that do not know cars like i do.

the fact that these toyota truck frames are rusting out in CRIMINAL. (it has nothing to do with how you treated your car, nor does it have anything to do with road salt and water.) would you like me to PROVE MY POINT? ok, like i posted in one of my other posts i have worked in a wrecking yard for 25 years and can go under just about any car or truck in that wrecking yard and every frame under them is rock solid (now keep in mind that these cars and trucks are much much older!! some 40 or 50 years.) the point is the frames have surface rust but the strength and integrity is still rock solid!

so what does that tell you? it tells you that this frame rusting of these toyota's is very unusual and this is something that just does not happen. (think about all the old hot rod cars that are 40 and 50 years old that people restore. the frames are just sand blasted down and then repainted. they are THAT SOILID.

that begs the question...."why are toyota frames rotting so dam fast?" some say they never coated them with a anti rust coating. but i am also a knife maker and undrstand steels. there are good steels and bad. bad steel has contaminates and impurities in it and its pretty much worthless if you need good steel. (sure could not make a knife anyone would buy from it) did you know that china and places like tiwan haul in old ships that are salvaged, (just sitting around in the salt water rusting) then haul them in and cut them up and "resell" the steel??? now can you first imagine how crappy that steel would be or (and this is the improtant part) HOW INEXPENCIVE it would be to purchase..(meaning they could sell it to people such as automotive companies way cheeper them mined top quality steel) do you see were i am going with this???

think about how many people at this very moment are driving around on these sub par frames and how dangerous it is!! MOST DO NOT EVEN KNOW there truck could fold in half or there rear end of the truck could come shooting out from under it. (and thats a scarry thought at say 70 miles a hour!!!)

most do not even know there truck is just junk yet. (they have not looked under it or had a machanic see it yet. (but it is MASSIVE AND WIDE SPREAD!)

anyone reading this please look under your truck and check the frame! (these frames are rotting from the INSIDE OUT! so what ever rust you are seeing on the outside is 100 fold bad on the inside. it rots and flakes apart in layers!

i am not writing this to bad mouth toyota, (they will do what they do on this subject) but to try and SAVE someone from GETTING SERIOUSLY HURT OR KILLED!!!

so to recap, the rust is not from "how you did or did not take care of your truck."
nor is it about "were" you live. (cold areas with road salts)
these states have been using road salts for "MANY MANY YEARS" and other manufactures frames ARE NOT doing this.
you can go find any 20 or 30 year old car and crawl under it and hit the frame with a hammer if you do not believe me and see how solid it is. (most of the frames here in alaska have been here 30 to 50 years and are still solid.

this is a SUB PAR steel JUNK FRAME toyota desided to use. THIS IS ON THEM....NOT ON US!

I have a 2002 Tacoma with rusty frame issues also. Mechanics are nervous about putting it on a lift when I need other repairs. What can I do at this point? Will Toyota do anything, since these were bad frames to begin with?

My '09 waiting 3 + months for frame. Dealer wants to go over what needs to be replaced and paid for by me when they are doing the job. Are there anything things I should allow them/want them to replace while it is torn apart ?? As in preventive replacements.

I'll hold their feet to the fire on frame attachments etc. that they messup.

Thanks !

My 2003 Tacoma has a measly 121641 miles on the odometer, just another 2000 mile year of usage since the last inspection. Yesterday, 3/1, during an annual state inspection, I was informed I now have "holes in the frame", according to the mechanic where I bought the used truck in Dec 2012 with 1125xx miles recorded and verified by Carfax.
The 'service writer' at the Carbone dealership in Bennington VT says the truck was inspected and 'undercoated' (whatever that means) in 2010 when I did not own the truck, and not so 'politely' pointed out to me "that ship has sailed" in reference to having the frame repaired by Toyota. As others have pointed out in other posts, I would not have paid as much for a used truck as I did, had it not been a Toyota. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Toyota!!!???

I have a rust problem on my Toyota also. If Toyota won't do the right thing, then we must stop buying Toyota's. I am not buying another Toyota. They pulled a fast one on us with these defective frames. And remember a few years back, Toyota's had the gas pedals that stuck. I believe people were hurt or killed. Why buy vehicles from a company that won't do the right thing? Don't buy Toyota's anymore. Then they will learn the power of the consumer.....