Recall frame replacement for Toyota Tundra

Toyota will replace the frame on my 2000 Tundra with 135k on it. I’m most concerned about the condition of all that is reassembled after 10 years use. Is it worth it? What is the experience of others with a Tacoma or Tundra frame replacement?

I can’t imagine replacing the frame under the truck. This would involve removing the cab, bed, engine and drivetrain and then reassembling the vehicle. It seems to me that it would be cheaper on this recall for Toyota just to purchase your truck, calculating the price on the amount of service that Toyota would estimate that would be left in the truck.

Are you certain that they are replacing the frame or just reinforcing parts of the frame?

My experience: my Tacoma frame is just fine and doesn’t need replacing. If it did, I wouldn’t hesitate to have the work done. It might be a good opportunity to replace some of the other parts on the truck. Unless the mechanics forget to connect a ground wire, tighten some bolts, or something like that your truck will be better after the replacement.

It is a total frame replacement. The recall is for all Tundras 2000-2003. The Recall inspection determined full frame replacment.

Something about this does not sound right…Unless the number of frames actually replaced is very, very, small…Otherwise it would bankrupt the company. Replacing the frame on 8 to 10 year old trucks is going to take many hours of labor and many other new parts along with the frame…This has to be a rust issue and working on rust-buckets is NOT what dealership mechanics get paid to do.

Wasn’t it some older Tacomas that got recalled, then scrapped because of the frame-rot?

You don’t get a “New Frame”…You get your frame repaired…

Today, Toyota has recalled 110,000 1st generation Toyota Tundras due to frame rust concerns. Specifically, this recall requires dealers to inspect the rear cross member and rear brake line mounts on 2000-2003 Tundras for significant rust. If dealers find that the frame?s rear cross member or brake line mount has significant rust, the corroded parts will be replaced as soon as possible.

Toyota has been recalling and or scrapping frames from 94- . Their trucks are crap. Mostly they buy the truck and crush it to prevent the secondary parts from getting to the market. The toyota trucks are just not worth a repair. Just ask them for a refund check and buy a truck that does not use flypaper for frame rails.

Cannot remember when the last time I have seen a Toyota T100 Pickup on the road. Have they all been Junked?

Some years back, GM recalled Chevrolet and GMC pick-up trucks because the gasoline tank sat outside the frame rail instead of inside the rail. I think CBS news did a report on this, but rigged a truck so that it wsa sure to catch fire on impact. At any rate, my brother had a GMC pick-up truck that was in the recall. General Motors was giving an allowance toward a new truck for these trucks. My brother just kept his truck. He decided it was safer than the truck I had owned where the gasoline tank was in the cab behind the seat.
It would seem logical to me that Toyota would do what GM did rather than to replace entire frames.

What choice have you got? You get a full frame replacement for free. Or, you turn down the deal and drive an unsafe truck. Regardless of others experience you’ve got to take this deal. After the replacement you have a truck that could last another 10+ years. Right now you have a truck that has one tire in the recycling yard and then onto the crusher.

I would be interested in how TMC handles this deal for actual owners. Even with cut warranty labor rates, sharply cut warranty labor times, and warranty parts markup cut to the bone they’re still looking at a lot of money to change a full frame if that’s what it comes down to.
This would have to be one of the most expensive warranty repairs ever; unless they’re doing the per usual and coercing the mechanics into doing this job for starvation wages.

Any chance they’re repairing the ones that a crossmember or subframe, etc. may fix or are they talking the owners of badly rust eaten trucks into trading on a new one?

"There Are Three Basic Repair Scenarios: "

Here’s a link to an article.
http://trucks.about.com/od/carsafety/a/tundra-frame-recall.htm

AutoLemon.Com lists quite a few Tundra recalls.
http://www.lemonauto.com/complaints/toyota/toyota_tundra.htm

I wonder how all these problems are escaping Toyota. What are they doing when it comes to testing their vehicles ? Why has Toyota lost it ? I wouldn’t touch a Toyota with a ten foot pole.

CSA

Up in NH they do replace the frames as a whole. I drove by a Toyota dealer the other day and noticed a skid with stacked 10 high will full size truck frames.

It is a case by case basis and the dealer has performed full replacements.

GM never gave anyone a new Pontiac when they broke in half due to rust…2 years, 24,000 miles…After that, you were on your own…

It makes no sense for Toyota to do this…It would be MUCH cheaper for them if they just gave you coupon good for 2 or 3 grand off the price of a new truck. The coupons could be used by anyone, so they could be sold to someone for cash if you did not want a new truck…Or just buy the truck for double its book value. That would STILL be cheaper than replacing the frame…

What Would That Do To The Company’s Already Battered Reliability Image To Start Mailing Out Coupons To Make Up For Cars Or Trucks That Don’t Last ? I Think Some Owners Would Take A Coupon . . .

. . . if it could be used to buy a different make of car. Some of the owners won’t be coming back.

Cheaper or not, they’ve got to do something to try and ensure people that they’re not selling junk and then bailing out. I think that to make the vehicle that was purchased, whole again, is the right route whether it costs them a fortune or not. Any company putting out products like that finds the mistakes to be quite costly and rightly so. In this case, there seems to be no end to it.

CSA

Toyota is offering KBB ‘excellent’ retail value on all Tacomas and Tundras for the rusted frame recall. I had a '97 Tacoma with a rusted frame. Otherwise it could have gone another 10 yrs. Excellent truck that I drove back & forth from east to west coast and back again over 13 yrs.

They just gave me the offer last week, I signed it and now a rep will meet me at the dealership where I dropped off the truck. I’ll sign over the title & they cut me a check. The 3rd party handling the recalls told me they crush all the trucks.
If your frame isn’t rusted through, they may offer a repair - but mine had several holes in it.

Anyone know the time period between offer and actual check? I was told total time might take 30 days but may be shorter now that they’re coming to the end of this.
Class-action lawsuit or repurchase program - a no brainer for a company that large.

I had my 01 Tundra Frame replaced st Boch Toyota. What a horrible experience. Truck was dropped off in early April and once it didn’t pass, was kept for 3 weeks until the “what is Totyota going to do decision” occurred. I said at that time I did not want a frame replacement and if the gave me even Low KBB value for it, I’d take it. No dice.

They gave me a loaner for the entire time that they had the truck. At the end of May, they said I was getting a new frame. Again I pushed that I just wanted the truck gone and if the gave me a few thousand for it, I’d rather have that. It wasn’t their decision it was a corporate one. I was told the frame would take a few weeks to replace.

At the end of July I got the truck back. They did replace the frame with brand new one, but replaced bad corroded struts, springs, transfer case, etc. It now drives absolutely horrible. It vibrates like hell, has a shimmy on the road, sounds like a tank, and when stopped vibrates violently. When I got it back, the brakes were totally shot. The calipers were seized closed, probably from sitting around for 4 months of non use. They put them back on as is, but commented that the brakes needs replacement. They put on shocks that basically were beyond shot.

I had to get the brakes replaced, including both calipers, rotors, pads. I had to have the shocks replaced too. All-in-all $1100. Repair shop that did the brake/shock work was dumbfounded on why Toyota would do such a repair job (frame).

I am totally displeased with Toyota and have a letter in the Corporate Office about my experience. As it is now the truck can not be sold or even donated with good conscious. If they offer to replace your frame, do your best to make them not do this and “buy back” your truck, even if it is for a few grand.

It was junk before the frame replacement and it still is…Any shop mechanic knows that replacing frames in rusted-out 10 year old trucks is insanity…

Some states use to NOT allow a frame repair. I’ll bet that NH is one. So in order for the repair to be valid in NH they had to replace the frame. I’ll check with the guy who does my inspection…he’s a good mechanic and been inspecting cars in NH for 40 years.