Up to now, this has been a very dependable truck. However, when I went to get the oil changed about a year ago, the mechanic mentioned someone had a similar truck with a "brand new frame" because there was a recall on that year's Tacoma. I took my truck home and looked for rust spots and, sure enough, there were 3 of them that I could easily see.

I ended up taking the truck to a friend to have him cut out the rust spots and then scab some steel plate over them. As he began to look closer, he noticed that there was additional rusting on the inside of the frame. To get to those areas he removed the truck's bed and gas tank. The photo shows what he found. Of course, this is just one spot of many he found albeit the worst.

After he finished the repairs in the back of the frame he used his hammer to lightly tap the frame as close to the cab (from the bed end) as possible to see how the frame sounded in the areas underneath the cab and motor. While he couldn't see actual corrosion, he did note that the flakes of corroded metal was falling out of these [inaccessible] areas, so he couldn't fix them.

Here's my beef: I nursed this truck the whole time I had it, which was at least 15 years. It now has 222,000 miles but still runs great - even the air conditioner - on most of its stock parts (including the fan belts). BUT, I have to get rid of it now because it is unsafe to drive due to the grossly degraded frame (one area of the frame we believe was only intact because the bed was acting as a splint to keep it straight). Speaking of the bed, it only had a small rust spot in it. The frame should not literally rot out like this after only 18 years, but it did. Toyota was notified about my issue, both on 10/30/2018 and then again on 4/2/2019, and both times they refused to do anything more but to register my complaint in their database of all complaints.

BTW, I contacted the local Toyota dealer to see how much they would charge to replace the frame for me without Toyota's help. Their quote was (I kid you not) $20,000; they said the frame alone was over $6,000, that they had never replaced one before that a customer actually paid for, and that they expected to find other problems that would have to be addressed during the work.

A year ago I would have praised the Tacoma, but now that I am experiencing this gross rust issue, and finding out that others are seeing it in their vehicles, I can't say anything good about them. My mechanic said it best: the Tacoma is a great "running" truck, but it probably won't get you where you're going in 18 years because it will literally snap in half.

For some strange reason, Iowa is not in the heavy road chemical region with its long drawn out winters and it should be. I have a 2001 Tacoma with a rusted out frame and zero rust on the body. I take time to wash the underside and suspension of the vehicle at least once a week during the winter months.

Tell me why Toyota uses a box type frame as opposed to a "C" type frame. The "C" type frame is easy to clean versus the box frame(which traps chemicals and moisture). I have had a professional add strengthening plates to the frame. This pickup gets good fuel mileage, handles great, and at 226,000 miles, the pickup is on its third set of tires. I would keep it for a longer period of time if there was no problem with the suspension.