Toyota Frame Rust

Updated July 22, 2008 at 3:24PM

Hello and welcome to ToyotaFrameRust.com.

This is a personal website in which we will share our experience with our dealer Bel-Air Lexus Toyota, Inc. in Ottawa, Ontario
and Toyota Canada, Inc. and our Toyota Rav4 1997 which has abnormal / premature rust on the frame ( pics / photos / images ).

UPDATE: we are working hard on producing a complete web site. You can see some of the work in progress here.
Please note that there may be errors while we work on it.

We have created a Forum to voice out your experiences for those of you that have had similar rust problems on any Toyota vehicle.
Any suggestions for the Forum are welcomed, you can contact us here.

Buyer beware.

Already unlucky with a rusted out frame on a Toyota our real bad luck is that this is not a Tacoma and not covered under the 15 year extension announced by Toyota on March 07, 2008, even though this is abnormal, premature and/or ' not considered normal wear ' by 3 independent mechanics.

Toyota Canada, Inc. and Bel-Air Lexus Toyota, Inc. do not acknowledge any responsibility and that this is normal ' It's a 10 year old car after all '.
You know what Toyota and Bel-Air? I totally disagree, frame components are what are supposed to be some of the strongest parts / components of your car / truck / van / suv / vehicle. So if your frame is rotted out with holes on a 10 year old Toyota ( ten, but let's be clear this rust didn't develop in the last 6 months ) wouldn't you at least expect your body to be in extremely bad condition? Funny thing is the body isn't that bad at all, sure that thin body metal as a few rust spots but no holes and definitely not 1 1/2" holes like the ones in the frame component. Since this component is part of the affected years of the Tacoma recall wouldn't you at least have a couple of looks at it. Do you also realize where your A/C ( air conditioning )drain is on a Rav4 1997? Right over where the rust is. It's ok if it's a mistake like some other manufacturers did, we all make mistakes but at least some fix them, see post #7 here.

“These vehicles may not have been properly treated in the plant with the undercoating that they use,” said Sam Butto, a Toyota spokesman.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/toyota-offers-to-buy-back-rusty-tacomas/

What's good for Tacoma owners is not necessarily good for other Toyota vehicle owners.

Our story in short ( more details coming soon ):

My mother (60+) buys a 1997 Toyota Rav4, 4 door, 2 wheel drive with A/C, cruise control, power windows, doors in 1998 from Bel-Air Lexus Toyota, Inc. She keeps the car until May 2008, which she still owns because of this long story. In those 10 years all the oil changes expect one or two on the vehicle are done at the dealership. In August 2007 she ask that an inspection on the vehicle be done to know if she should keep it for a few more years or buy a new car. The estimate enumerates a few standard maintenance components to be changed ( coolant drain and refill, transmission drain & refill, spark plugs, fuel injectors and .... pipe, exhaust, gasket, exhaust ) strange how they diagnose an exhaust problem. It seems they don't go under the vehicle to verify the exhaust, just by the sound they say the gasket, etc. must be changed ( at least that's what the service manager said because he couldn't explain how none of his certified Toyota mechanics had never seen the state of the K-frame even though they saw the vehicle 2.75 times/year for oil changes ), no mention of a major frame component ( K-frame, front crossmember ) problem on that inspection? Seriously, I mean when you go and get your oil changes done at the dealership and this case the original one that sold you the vehicle wouldn't you expect that when you ask for an inspection of your car truck van pick up or whatever that they would at least have a look at major components and that when you get an oil change they're under the vehicle and while it's draining have a look at the under body. The answer is yes and no. Yes they should, no they don't and Toyota major frame components shouldn't rust therefore why check it?

The minimum you expect when you go to your Toyota dealership for your oil changes is that when you take your Toyota car van SUV back home is that it's safe to drive.
Well unless you look under yourself you can't be sure of that.
Ours didn't pass the provincial inspection due to a rusted out frame a couple of weeks after the last oil change. 1" 1/2 holes don't appear overnight.
Don't expect them to look at other things than the drain plug even if it's on the lift.

This rust did not appear in the last 6 months...judge for yourself with the pics

This vehicle had Toyota E.C.P.( Toyota Extra Care Protection ) for $1207.75 ( including taxes ). In 1997, those were big dollars for peace of mind.
You would think they would pay at least as much attention to the overall condition as the manufacturer's original warranty.
Maybe a little more since you've paid for ' Extra Care ' ?

Since I verbally accepted to buy the car from her I can't go backwards and instantly lost half the vehicle's value. A Rav4 of that year/model/mileage goes anywhere from $4000 - $6000 and Bel-Air Lexus Toyota is asking for over $1700 in repairs. Even a penny is too much. This is not normal wear and I strongly stand by that statement as per the certified mechanics that have seen the vehicle and my and her personal experience.

She decides to buy a new car, yes another Toyota ( Matrix ) because at this point we aren't aware of this issue. She agrees to sell me her Rav4 and since I'm in another province we need to get it inspected to get it plated. Everything passes the inspection in very good order except the K-Frame with 3 holes ( around 1 1/2 inch ). If the vehicle would have been plated in Quebec it would have immediately been put off-road because it is unsafe by their standards. This wasn't a 2 hour inspection but 20 minutes and in 20 minutes the inspector has to go through the whole vehicle and still found the rust problem.

So this vehicle has been at the dealership at least 20 times in it's lifetime and no one from Bel-Air Lexus Toyota, Inc. has ever noticed this excessive rust?
You're right under there when you do an oil change.
How safe do you think YOU ARE in your Toyota?
Don't you expect the least bit of visual inspection from your Toyota dealer when you go in for an oil change? Wouldn't Toyota Canada want to know about such an abnormal rust problem on their K-frames, front crossmembers which holds your front suspension that could cause much more damage than just the rust?

Someone has to take responsibility. We aren't the specialists, you people/companies are.
It is not like we were negligent and never brought the vehicle in for you to have a look at and are coming back 10 years later saying ' hey, you sold me this car a while back and look at this rust, how come you didn't notice it in the first year? '

My neighbor has a 2dr 1997 Rav4 4x4 with no rust proofing either, his K-frame is fine. Toyota!! If rust proofing is not an option then don't list it as an option and put it on. We've never rust proofed any of our cars ( 2 Hondas, 1 Acuras, 3 Toyotas, 1 Dodge, 1 Buick, etc.. ) most have been kept around 10-15 years and none have had holes on the frame. To have the dealer and Toyota ask us ' did you rust proof it? ' and make us feel as the culprit just feels great. I feel like jumping in the air like the old Toyota commercials.

1982 Toyota Celica commercial / TV ad

Do you have a frame rust problem with your Toyota car / truck / SUV ?

Abnormal rust is not normal, warranty out or not.

We aren't talking here about surface rust but corrosion holes.
You can see some pictures / images / photos below.

An old old commercial of Toyota Tercel special edition 1986 ( in French )

It really sucks bad to have to go to this length to get our point across. We really would have wished Toyota Canada, Inc. and/or Bel-Air Lexus Toyota, Inc.
would have dealt with this in a responsible manner.