all toyota tacomas being recalled from 1995 present. toyota is buyin them back because the frames are rotting through and buckling. this is off another site.
Ok...so i work at A-Reliable, we were bought out last year by LKQ which is world wide and well known in the automotive market. We were contacted by Toyota about a week ago and they are paying us 49.9 million dollars to do this for them, they are buying us all sorts of new equipment and supplies to get them this done as soon as possible and as fast and quietly as possible. I just had to share!
Toyota has chosen our company to do the procedures, Toyota has recalled every Tacoma produced from 1995 til present date, they are buying back the trucks from dealers, private owners, auto rebuilders, etc and destroying all of them. They are trying to keep this as quiet as possible, we will be receiving over 125,000 of these truck which will be spread over the entire US to all of the other LKQ yards and our included, we started getting a few in today, there are expected to be about 10,000 coming to our yard and we have 24 hours of the drop of date, to photograph them, drain them, crush them and photograph them again.
They are all being recalled, 4x2's 4x4's, extended cabs, regular cabs, all engine sizes, etc...the frame are rusting out completely on all of them, you can contact you local dealer about having
Toyota buy your truck back for what we have heard is a very decent fair market value for helping in getting them off the road.
Our yard manager picked the first one up to place it in the crusher and it buckled under its own weight...to show you guys who own these or know people still driving them what happens to them and why they are recalling them:
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March 07, 2008
Living Up to Our Committment
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.
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, 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