Frame Rust With Toyota's Tundra More Widespread Than Originally Thought

Previously, Toyota has indicated that only 2000 or 2001 Tundras *might* have a frame rust issue. An investigative reporter in Boston broke the story about rust on Tundra frames a few weeks ago, and at that time it appeared that this rust issue was limited to 00 and 01's.

However, just last week a reader sent us photos of his 62k mile 2003 Toyota Tundra with frame rust so bad that it can no longer be aligned "because the frame has fused with those parts." Considering the sharp contrast between the frame rust and the almost complete lack of rust on the nearby body panels, the problem seems obvious.

If you'd like to see more pictures of rust, or if you have a 2000-2003 Tundra, visit our site to see what you can do.
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Camryman - 8/10/2009 11:11:19 AM

+3 Boost

I agree. I am a Toyota fan but this is inexcusable. I can't believe that a company built on its reliable vehicles would have issues like this. Especially with the truck that was built to do battle with the big boys (Ford F series, Chevy Silverado, Dodge Ram etc). Let's hope this isn't an issue on the newer trucks.

WorldofLuxury - 8/10/2009 11:31:41 AM

+2 Boost

how the heck did they manage to make that happen...

Agent009 - 8/10/2009 12:10:29 PM

+1 Boost

From what I understand Toyota used a third party to apply treat frames and this process was not correctly performed. Yet another instance where the design probably was fine, but the supply chain did not adhere to the requirements.

NannerPus - 8/10/2009 5:08:09 PM

+3 Boost

since it is well known that toylex makes quality product, this must be a high quality rusty frame

SP2Hybrid - 8/10/2009 7:06:07 PM

+1 Boost

Most parts in any vehicle are produced by outside suppliers. Applying inadequate quality control to parts coming in through the supply chain is squarely Toyota's failure; and failing to control the quality of something as basic/important as the frame is a pretty major screw-up if you ask me.

tundrahq - 8/10/2009 9:05:23 PM

+2 Boost

This is just a typical post from a Toyota fanboy site. All those guys over at TundraHeadquarters do is go on and on about how great the Tundra is...

inspirion7 - 8/10/2009 11:31:22 AM

0 Boost

Please, oh please don't say anything bout dis prah-duck. Nawh, dis ain't true. Liahs all liahs, and you speak de dehbul's business. - The Water Boy

rxh8me9000 - 8/10/2009 12:01:48 PM

+1 Boost

I mean I have seen things like this on cars before..............cars pre 1995. Unacceptable.

Joe_Limon - 8/10/2009 12:12:10 PM

+3 Boost

lol, I was trying to predict what Mitchell was going to say. This was by far more humorous then anything I came up with.

inspirion7 - 8/10/2009 12:22:37 PM

+3 Boost

This is probably why Ford has sold more F 150 in the months of May/ June than Toyota sold Tundra's all year. Yeah, the lines for the Tundra is forming now.

pennfootball - 8/10/2009 2:11:09 PM

+1 Boost

You obviously have no clue about new Ford quality in their pickup trucks...There is a reason why they are the market leader. Go to the truth about trucks to learn how they are really made. I am not a ford supporter in any way but what is right is right! They know how to build things...they are the shizzle for rizzle!

pennfootball - 8/10/2009 2:14:11 PM

+1 Boost

"easily be solved" you obviously know nothing about metallurgy...the frames in this bad a shape have to be replaced completely, or sandblasted to bare mettle on white, re-welded back together, and then galvanized and painted or powder coated. At that point its easier to replace said frame which costs considerably more then the vehicle is probably worth at this point in time. The insurance companies won't cover it either!

800over - 8/10/2009 1:57:26 PM

+4 Boost

Repost.....I love how a 2-3 month old story qualifies as a new story on Autospies.

tundrahq - 8/10/2009 9:03:14 PM

+2 Boost

Beg to differ. If you read the post (or the original post), you'll see that this is significant because both the Boston TV station, Toyota, and PickupTrucks.com (which picked up the story from us) all noted that 2000 and 2001 Tundras were effected. This is a 2003 - thanks for playing.

800over - 8/10/2009 1:58:29 PM

+2 Boost

For the record the story was April 27th....

inspirion7 - 8/10/2009 2:12:37 PM

0 Boost

Actually, if you really want to get specific, the article is derived from a thread posted August 10th of this year. Tundra Headquarters responded to an enquiry. http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/blog/2009/08/10/2003-toyota-tundra-frame-rust/

So this was relevant to the individuals posting the issue despite how old this is to you.

pennfootball - 8/10/2009 2:09:19 PM

+1 Boost

I guess they galvanized the body and not the frame rails...WTF is wrong with Toyota? My Jeep wrangler's rails are painted nice!

jimmyjump - 8/10/2009 3:19:32 PM

+2 Boost

As 009 said it is most likely the adherance by the supplier of the frames to the required spec. Toyota does not make these frames in-house but purchases them from one or two frame suppliers out there pre-coated and ready to assemble. That being said it is Toyota's frame no matter who makes it for them.

Hard to tell but it looks like the areas around the welds and/or those exposed to road debris/gravel are failing the worst in this pic. Could be a adhesion issue in the weld areas. Also underbody anti-corrosive paints dont always have UV protective capabilities...leave them out in the sun during transit/storage and they degrade and chalk after a while...

inspirion7 - 8/10/2009 3:57:02 PM

-1 Boost

— jimmyjump the logic is totally understood and your explanation is meaningful. The bottom line, the Tundra is a Billion dollar failure for Toyota that was going to fail against its competitors from the very start. Look at the sales figures. The Tundra, no matter how its packaged, will not ever gain marketshare against the domestic competition. This type of news doesn't help, as a matter of fact, its might be the nail in the coffin. What's worse, the Titan. Wow. Selling less than 2,000 trucks per month. The Ugly Truth.

tundrahq - 8/10/2009 9:04:39 PM

+2 Boost

I think that's a very good explanation as well. Do you think that's the issue with all the frame rust issues on the older Tundras and Tacomas?

Designer1 - 8/10/2009 5:52:11 PM

+1 Boost

Horrible!! This truck must've been sitting all the time in snow and salt for it to be this bad.

Toyota truly needs to go back to its quality tag name and fix all this bull shit that's out there.