So Toyota is buying back all 1995-2000 Tacoma's

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?threadid=772173

First found out about this by a car salesman who flagged me down as I drove by his dealership so I was pretty skeptical but it might be legit. It seems that the frames are rotting out on many of the Tacoma's from 1995-2000. You need to have it inspected at a dealership to see if you qualify. Here are some of the details and a couple links. It seems to be geared for New England folks:
*Toyota will repurchase your Tacoma at 1.5 times the Kelley Blue Book
Suggested Retail Value (excellent condition)
* Toyota is offering each customer a complimentary loaner vehicle
while you are considering alternative transportation options
* Toyota is offering a $1,000 owner loyalty rebate for customers who
purchase a replacement Tacoma or Tundra
* Toyota is offering a $500 owner loyalty rebate for customers who
purchase a replacement of any other new Toyota (Scion excluded) or Toyota Certified Used Vehicle
* Any applicable rebates, purchase incentives, and special financing
offers in effect would be in addition to the special offers listed above

http://blog.lexus.com/2008/03/living-up-to-ou.html

Living Up to Our Commitment

Rust, as they say, never sleeps. It certainly never sleeps in the states where road salt is in heavy use, and we’ve recently become aware of additional evidence of that fact.

We’ve received reports that on a small number of model-year 1995 to 2000 Tacomas, excessive corrosion of the frame has caused perforation of the metal. The reason for this, it appears, is that the frames of some of the 813,000 vehicles built during this time-frame may not have adequate corrosion protection. 1997tacoma2wdedited_5

As a result, when they’re exposed to severe environmental conditions, especially in states where salt is used for the de-icing of roads, these frames may develop corrosion that goes beyond the normal surface rust that’s commonly found on metal after years of exposure – and in this case, these trucks are from eight to 13 years old.

Because of our oft-stated commitment to standing behind our products, we’re extending the rust-perforation warranty covering these trucks for a period of 15 years from each vehicle’s original date of purchase, with no mileage limitation, for corrosion damage that results in perforation of the vehicle’s frame material. Owners of these Tacomas need not be the original owners. Even if you bought your Tacoma second- or third-hand, it’s covered by this extended warranty.

Here’s how this will work: Starting in the middle of March and continuing over a period of time, owners of 1995-2000 Tacomas will be sent letters informing them about this issue. If you find rust perforation on your vehicle's frame, have your truck inspected by a Toyota dealer.

If frame corrosion damage is confirmed by an inspection at a Toyota dealership, at Toyota's option, we will either repair the vehicle or repurchase it. No matter the vehicle’s actual condition, it will be valued as a vehicle in excellent condition. If the inspection reveals no rust perforation, the 15-year warranty will remain in force.

This is worth underscoring: This is not a recall. Rather, it’s an example of our commitment to the durability of our products and to our owners. These are older trucks and rust is a fact of life, especially where road salt is used, but that’s not what’s important. What’s important is that we take care of our owners. We just thought you should know that.

- Mike Michels, Corporate Communications

Its admirable that they're trying to do right by the customer.

Time to go buy the rustiest POS Tacoma you can find and have it inspected!

Its admirable that they're trying to do right by the customer.

you think they just offered this without any pressing from customers who's cars rusted from the inside out?

They're only doing this because they're losing ground to other automakers and they have the cash reserves to be able to afford it.

Time to go buy the rustiest POS Tacoma you can find and have it inspected!

I was thinking the same thing!

Time to go buy the rustiest POS Tacoma you can find and have it inspected!


Pretty sure I read that they were only honoring it if it was owned and registered by the owner at the start of this campaign. Think they are trying to avoid having this happen.

They're only doing this because they're losing ground to other automakers and they have the cash reserves to be able to afford it.

Perhaps, but they also honored the 3.0 V6 headgasket problems on the old trucks for a ridiculously long time. While GM totally ignored the intake manifold gasket problems that occurred on virtually every 3.4 v6.. I had to have that fixed on my wifes venture twice... and the headgaskets once.

I worked at a toyota dealer for a while, and was impressed at the integrity that this company has. The 3.0 V6 head gasket issue is what came to mind. I was there when 150k+ mile 4 runners were getting warrantied repairs. Good luck getting GM to do that for you. This commitment to their customers is why Toyota still manages to retain their reputation for superior reliability even though (at least in my opinion) the reliability of their vehicles after the mid/late 90s is nowhere near what it was prior to that.

Wow... 1.5 KBB dealer retail price... that's a hell of a trade in value. Probably 3 times what you'd normally get for your Tacoma at a dealer or twice private party value.

Time to go buy the rustiest POS Tacoma you can find and have it inspected!

Hahaha, QFT!

So they'll fix old Tacomas but they won't fix my 2005 car with 28,000ish miles on the clock?

Time to go buy the rustiest POS Tacoma you can find and have it inspected!

That was the first thought I had. :D

i thought this was one of those "we have a high demand for 2004 dakotas".

we get that crap in the mail all the time!

i thought this was one of those "we have a high demand for 2004 dakotas".

we get that crap in the mail all the time!

No, this is for real. There are many happy people on ttora.com who have already gotten a buyback price for their trucks. I have a 2001 and nothing other than surface rust on the frame. I am just hoping that either the problem was really fixed for 2001, or that mine gets added to the campaign at some point.

So they'll fix old Tacomas but they won't fix my 2005 car with 28,000ish miles on the clock?

Does your car suffer from a known and widespread case of frame rot?

OK, KBB says dealer retail for my '00 x-tra cab is $9,875. So, they'll give me $15K toward a new or certified Toy? That would be a new(ish) Corolla.

Hell, I only paid $9200 for it 5 years ago.

Sumpin' doesn't sound right to me.

Does your car suffer from a known and widespread case of frame rot?


No it suffers from the belt squealing upon acceleration and idling before the engine "warms up" and I've had it in 8+ times.

Nissan needs to be doing this too, Pathfinders and their earlier pickups are terrible for this. The weld quality of the frames is absouloutely rediculous. Every weld on the frames is that of a booger weld. I have seen several Nissan pickups with paper thin frames, and giant holes where welds rotted through. Looks like the frames were never even properly rust treated.

Yea, it would be nice if Nissan followed suit. My Pathfinder is pretty rusty. :(

OK, KBB says dealer retail for my '00 x-tra cab is $9,875. So, they'll give me $15K toward a new or certified Toy? That would be a new(ish) Corolla.

Hell, I only paid $92 for it 5 years ago.

Sumpin' doesn't sound right to me.

If you have frame rot... then yes, it is correct. Here is a good discussion on this going on at the ttora website

http://ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95993

Here are some links to the campaign info:

http://www.showstop.org/images/truck/rust_warranty/dealer-communication.pdf

http://www.showstop.org/images/truck/rust_warranty/warranty-policy.pdf

http://www.showstop.org/images/truck/rust_warranty/vehicle-inspection.pdf

Just back from a look see in the driveway. I found a spot on the driver's side where I can press my finger through.

It's go time.

I worked at a toyota dealer for a while, and was impressed at the integrity that this company has. The 3.0 V6 head gasket issue is what came to mind. I was there when 150k+ mile 4 runners were getting warrantied repairs. Good luck getting GM to do that for you. This commitment to their customers is why Toyota still manages to retain their reputation for superior reliability even though (at least in my opinion) the reliability of their vehicles after the mid/late 90s is nowhere near what it was prior to that.

The local Toyota dealer doesn't seem to have the integrity you speak of. A friend of mine has a 07 Tacoma that has been in the shop 11 times for the same problem ~ loud rattle noise when coasting above 55 mph. So far they have said "its normal", installed sound deadening to cover the noise, replaced rear end gears, replaced entire rear differential, replaced drive shaft, replaced throwout bearing, replaced the entire transmission and clutch. They screwed up the replacement transmission so bad he had to be towed back to the dealer because it stopped shifting gears 1/2 mile down the road.

he has been to 2 arbitrations and both times was told they would buy the truck back but keep backing out. Today he had to take the truck and get "An independent inspection" By independent, they mean go to a different Toyota dealer.

Toyota is now going to be in court and sued for $50,000 to cover the cost of truck, lawyer, missed work to get the truck to the dealer, cost of driving 40miles each way to the dealer, inconvenience and stress.

Oh, get this. Toyota tried to force him to sign papers saying he would never go to the press about it. Toyota is slipping big time and is trying to cover it up.

When I called my service guy this a.m., he tried to tell me that the campaign hadn't started yet. So, I printed off the PDFs and dropped them off to him, suggesting that he "study up" before I brought the '00 to him at 3.

This time, they happily greeted me and told me they would get right to it. 30 minutes later, with grave faces, they informed me that they had an '08 RAV AWD waiting for me. They found "perforation" which is what I found last night laying on the driveway, shining a flashlight. The service guy was really surprised, because he knows how anal I am about my truck. Still, I could tell they were taking no chances, calling it a "major safety issue."

So, I am awaiting the independent inspector that the factory sends out prior to settling up.

Both my kids, who learned to drive on the Taco, are majorly bummed at its apparent demise. I don't have the heart to tell them it will likely get crushed. I told them it would get "parted out" like organ donation.

I do wonder how Toyota is going to handle the buy back vehicles. Since not all of the 800 thousand (their estimate) of the Tacos will have rusty frames, wouldn't they do well to contact with a firm to part out the buy backs and resell the parts? Crushing them seems like such a drastic action.

Anyway, now I have to decide what to buy next. I'll keep you posted.

This commitment to their customers is why Toyota still manages to retain their reputation for superior reliability

And what of the massive engine sludge issue that they didn't want to resolve?

I'll give you GM. But Toyota isn't perfect in this regard either. There aren't any manufacturers who do the right thing by their customers 100% of the time.

Oh, get this. Toyota tried to force him to sign papers saying he would never go to the press about it. Toyota is slipping big time and is trying to cover it up.

Wow, I guess if you can't build a good car, then extort your customers to keep their mouth shut to keep the "reputation" alive. :lol:

Wow, I guess if you can't build a good car, then extort your customers to keep their mouth shut to keep the "reputation" alive. :lol:

Sounds like Microsoft with the 360. :p

I know this thread is a little old, and I started a similar one in the Auto News section, but I gotta tell ya...this is awesome for me personally :D The Chrysler dealership I run is in a small town of about 20,000 people, and word is spreading like wildfire around here, as the local Toyota dealer has about 30 Tacomas sitting on their property already that have been bought back, with several more waiting to be inspected. A lot of these customers are mad as hell, and aren't buying another Toyota...

Hence why this is awesome for me :D This isn't a scam...its legit. But while Toyota blames salt in the blog, salt isn't the issue...these frames are rusting from the inside out. There should be a full-blown recall on this...

Don't they give a few thousand dollars extra in addition to the buy-back if you buy another Toyota?

It'd be hard for me to turn that down. Combine the massive buy back amount with the extra rebate and a basic new Toyota truck with high future resale value and you have the ultimate financial win. Ignoring that rebate and going to buy, say, a Dodge, with not so great future resale value, isn't nearly as great of a deal financially speaking. Let's also not forget that while Dodge trucks haven't ever (to my knowledge) had questionable frame designs... their transmissions, motors, and electronics have not really been anything to brag about in the past.

I understand being mad about the crappy frame design but I'd actually be pretty happy about Toyota being so generous in the buy-back and probably forgive them, especially considering they'd be giving me nearly enough money on trade in and rebates to flat out trade in for a brand new truck.

I used to have a 98 Tacoma, best vehicle I ever owned :yes:

I have a $14985 check that Toyota gave me on Wednesday for a 2000 2wd Tacoma xtra cab. Contrary to Mr. E's assertion, I'm very pleased with Toyota's response to this matter. I'll be buying another vehicle (seriously considering another Toyota) and it sure won't be a Chrysler. If they had even 10 percent of Toyota's business sense (and customer service) they wouldn't be in the fix they are today. Chrysler has had numerous "opportunities" over the years to demonstrate their committment to their customers and FAILED!

Gloat all you want, but I'll bet that an analysis of the affected owners will show an overwhelming number of repeat Toyota customers. And you can bet that Toyota will be counting carefully.

PS: The loyality certificate is for $1000 on a Toyota truck and $500 on a new Toyota car or a certified used Toyota (Scion not included).

I have a $14985 check that Toyota gave me on Wednesday for a 2000 2wd Tacoma xtra cab. Contrary to Mr. E's assertion, I'm very pleased with Toyota's response to this matter. I'll be buying another vehicle (seriously considering another Toyota) and it sure won't be a Chrysler. If they had even 10 percent of Toyota's business sense (and customer service) they wouldn't be in the fix they are today. Chrysler has had numerous "opportunities" over the years to demonstrate their committment to their customers and FAILED!

Gloat all you want, but I'll bet that an analysis of the affected owners will show an overwhelming number of repeat Toyota customers. And you can bet that Toyota will be counting carefully.

PS: The loyality certificate is for $1000 on a Toyota truck and $500 on a new Toyota car or a certified used Toyota (Scion not included).

So you basically have 16,000 'cash' that you could apply to the purchase of a 2008.

What could you get a new 2008 Tacoma 2wd xtra cab with comparable options for? I'd bet after negotiations nothing over 20k... probably less... so you can basically get a zero mile new design truck, 8 years newer, for 4 grand, or an effective financial depreciation of 40 dollars a month. If that's not awesome I don't know what is.

I am not a Toyota nutswinger by any means, and I agree they have had hthere fair share of issues... Regardless, I have to hand it to them. The buy back seems very generous and atleast I read about it here before reading about it on CNN.com or hearing about it on the national news at 10:00...

:thumb:

Hence why this is awesome for me :D This isn't a scam...its legit. But while Toyota blames salt in the blog, salt isn't the issue...these frames are rusting from the inside out. There should be a full-blown recall on this...

Internal rust can indeed be related to salt - slush and salty road grime finds its way into the frame, sits there a lot longer than water ever would, and starts to rust the frame from the inside out. Happens all the time to sheetmetal, and a coworker just spent a lot of time fixing a Jeep CJ frame that had started rotting away due to the same problem.

Will you be informing your customers of Chrysler's crappy response to the strut tower corrosion issue on older minivans, or is that not part of your sales pitch?

Will you be informing your customers of Chrysler's crappy response to the strut tower corrosion issue on older minivans, or is that not part of your sales pitch?

Why don't you fill me in on it, rather than get smart about my "sales pitch"? I'm not sitting here praising Chrysler, either...I merely said it was good for me. And while everyone always seems to knock Chrysler (many times unfairly), its nice for me to see a ***** in Toyota's so called "legendary reliability." Believe me...I'm no Chrysler nuthugger, nor am I some a**hole slimy salesman either...ok? I've been a part of this board long enough that I think I'd get a little more respect than that, Eric...

RRRR,
I don't care if you buy a Chrysler. Aren't you the same goofball that was owned in another thread when you ran your mouth at me about salespeople? Toyota is not as infallible as everyone seems to think it is...that was my one and only point. What Chrysler has to do with this is beyond me. I don't even own a Chrysler myself!

Threxx,
While I will indeed grant you the resale item, consider that one of the reasons the resale is significantly lower remains the fact that the purchase price new is significantly lower. When you can get a Hemi Ram these days for less than a Tacoma sometimes, then obviously resale will be affected. With that said, the '02+ Rams have actually proved to be pretty damn reliable. Other than EGR valves, the engines never seem to give any issues, the newer 5 speed ATs never have had issues, and the electronics seem to be as good as any other domestic truck. I've seen a few blown PW motors and switches here and there, but overall they're honestly pretty good. Plus, some of the resale on these Toyota trucks is bound to be hurt by something as bad as this...and when I was doing some research on these frame issues online, I ran across a fair amount of people having significant quality issues with the newer design Tacomas as well. That can't help resale, either...

In summary, obviously the only people I see in my showroom are the ones who are NOT happy...I have no idea how many are keeping with Toyota. I will say one thing...if it was me, I wouldn't buy another one.


All I was insinuating by this was that there appears to be a lot of people willing to consider a domestic again that were blind Toyota loyalists for a longtime...something that could be of interest for people on a DOMESTIC enthusiast board :rolleyes: Again, it isn't like I praised Chrysler even once here...

RRRR,
I don't care if you buy a Chrysler. Aren't you the same goofball that was owned in another thread when you ran your mouth at me about salespeople? Toyota is not as infallible as everyone seems to think it is...that was my one and only point. What Chrysler has to do with this is beyond me. I don't even own a Chrysler myself.

"Owned" is your word, shooter. You came into this thread gloating (all these Toyota owners are pissed.").

You sell (pimp) Chryslers, but your don't own one.........................

'nuff said! :D

I'd ask what your point is, but based on our last convo, I know you don't have one. And yes, I can gloat all I want about Toyotas issues :D

And actually, I'm the GSM of the dealer, and make a pretty good living at it. Pimpin' ain't easy :cool:

BTW...I waited for your fax # last time, and never got it. Not to hijack this thread, but where'd ya go? A couple of us were wondering :D

I work with a guy with a 1999 Extended Cab 4x4 Taco. We climbed under it, and sure enough I was able to stick my finger through the side of the frame rail on both sides of the truck. Truck only had 79k on the clock.

He took a glance under my Avalanche (3 years newer, but I've racked up 30k more miles) and said my frame looked new in comparison, which I agree.

Hopefully he gets top dollar for his.

Why don't you fill me in on it, rather than get smart about my "sales pitch"? I'm not sitting here praising Chrysler, either...I merely said it was good for me. And while everyone always seems to knock Chrysler (many times unfairly), its nice for me to see a ***** in Toyota's so called "legendary reliability." Believe me...I'm no Chrysler nuthugger, nor am I some a**hole slimy salesman either...ok?


Nah, I know you're no Chrysler nuthugger... but you sure get your rocks off kicking Toyota in the nuts for dealing with a problem in a manner that undoubtedly leaves its customers very, very satisfied.

Compare this, if you will, with Chrysler's handling of strut tower corrosion on '96-'00 minivans. Since this is a unibody vehicle, the strut tower sheetmetal is structural - but Chrysler wouldn't cover any rust repairs outside of the normal warranty period, as it didn't fall under the "cosmetic" sheetmetal corrosion warranty. This became problematic when the strut tower cracks outside of the warranty period, because the customer was left footing the bill for expensive repairs. A TSB was finally issued for the problem, but that still didn't address the problem of customers who had to pay out-of-pocket to deal with a issue that never should have occurred.

An former roommate of mine got the exact same run-around on his '96 Eclipse, which had some significant structural rust in the strut towers when the car was only four years old.

So, pardon me if I'm not quite yet ready to condemn Toyota (for whom I've got little love, if you're willing to believe that) for dealing with customers' problems in a way that find rather impressive. Is the company trying to duck a recall? Maybe, but I gotta admit that this seems a damn bit preferable to the standard GM and Ford tactics of crossing their arms when presented with a particular problem (ABS problems on the GMT800, wheel bearing corrosion on the Focus, oil leaks on the L67) and waiting until the Feds intervene.


I've been a part of this board long enough that I think I'd get a little more respect than that, Eric...


And you should know better than to read in-between the lines and find an accusation of slimy sales tactics - but I'm not going to apologize if you happen to find some accusations of blind bias. You may want to tone down the schadenfreude a touch, lest you find yourself on the receiving end at some point in the future.

To be completely honest with you, before this post, I have never once heard of or seen a rusted-through strut tower on a Chrysler van. And believe me, I've taken in a slew of them. If they have 100k or less on them, we often resell them rather than wholesale because they're pretty cheap transportation. I'll have to ask our body shop manager what he's seen of these...if you say this has happened, I believe you...but its the first I've heard of it, and I've never seen one with my own 2 eyes after 2 years of working for the dealer.

As for whether or not this is being done in a more "appealing" manner than some of the domestic issues you mentioned, I will agree that to a certain extent, it appears rather generous. However, none of those problems you listed above (save for the issues with the Chrysler vans) leaves someone with a worthless vehicle...frame rot is a helluva lot worse than an ABS issue, and while very few L67s have had engine fires (which indeed is NOT a good thing), according to the local Toyota dealer nearly every single truck inspected has a rotted frame. Is that not a significantly larger problem than a few L67s catching fire? Not that I am trying to minimize the impact of that...I'm not!

You know what? You'd better believe I'm gloating. I've been in this industry for 8 years now, and to be honest, it sucks. I've been kicked in the teeth more times by customers proclaiming how reliable their imported car is, and how "I had a 1985 Minivan that blew a head gasket in 1989, and I'll NEVER buy another domestic car!" These people don't think reliability has changed in 20 years? I mean, gimme a break!!!! Its the ignorance of blind Toyota faith that irritates me. Our local Toyota service department is every bit as busy as my department full of "inferior" Chrysler products. Their stuff breaks, and so does mine. Its a given. Statistically, without a doubt a 10 year old Chrysler car has more issues than a 10 year old Toyota...I'm not debating that. But the big 3 have come a long, long way...and many refuse to notice based on blind bias...

So yeah, after 2 years of denying there was a frame issue to the NHTSA, and offering customers $2,000 to replace a $6,000 frame, you bet I'm gloating. Read Edmunds forums...this didn't happen overnight. There were several letters by angry owners to the NHTSA...don't believe otherwise.

As for the salesperson comment, if I took it wrong than so be it. But asking me about my "sales pitch" has a little bit of a derogatory slant to it, at least IMO. Maybe it comes from being a fairly educated person in a career that, admittedly, seems to have a fair amount of chimps in it...

After going to my local dealer this week to have my L67 inspected, I can safely say Toyota seems to have a better handle on this sort of problem.

I got a letter from our friends at GM warning me not to park my Grand Prix in any parking garages until they can recall and fix my car. Two problems with that. 1) I live on a college campus and work in a city where you either park in a garage, or don't park at all, and 2)When I took the car to the dealer, they had no idea what this issue was and had no clue as to how to inspect/fix the issue.

Normally, I'd love to gloat at Toyota's follies. It seems they are hardly the invincible company many claim them to be. But in light of my experience, it seems they still handle certain aspects of their business much better than GM.