NHTSA Complaint #10278798 — 2001 TOYOTA TACOMA

THE FRAME ON MY 2001 TOYOTA TACOMA IS RUSTED THROUGH IN SEVERAL PLACES. TOYOTA HAS OFFERED TO REPLACE THE FRAME FOR FREE, BUT IS OFFERING OWNERS OF 1995 - 2000 TACOMAS TO BUY THEIR TRUCKS FROM THEM FOR 1.5 X THE KELLEY BLUE BOOK VALUE, AT THE "EXCELLENT CONDITION" RATE REGARDLESS OF THE VEHICLE'S CONDITION. SO THE OWNERS OF THE OLDER TRUCKS REAP A CASH BENEFIT OF OVER 50% OF THE TRUCK'S VALUE, WHILE WE OWNERS OF 01-04 TACOMAS END UP DRIVING REBUILT VEHICLES. A TOYOTA REP TOLD ME THAT THEY'RE BUYING THE OLDER ONES BACK BECAUSE THEY CAN NO LONGER GET REPLACEMENT FRAMES FOR THEM. IF THAT'S THE CASE, IN A COUPLE OF YEARS, OWNERS OF TRUCKS LIKE MINE WILL BE GETTING THE 150% BUYBACK AND THE REST OF US WILL BE DRIVING OUR ORIGINAL (REBUILT) TRUCKS WITH THE REPLACEMENT FRAMES. MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER INSPECTED MY FRAME YESTERDAY, TOLD ME IT FAILED, AND SENT ME ON MY WAY. THE VEHICLE CAN'T BE SAFE - IT WON'T PASS THE STATE INSPECTION WITH HOLES IN THE FRAME. I DRIVE ABOUT 12,000 MILES A YEAR. THE TRUCK HAS 134,000 MILES ON IT. UNLESS THEY'RE BUILDING THE REPLACEMENT FRAMES DIFFERENTLY, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE NEW FRAME WILL ROT OUT BEFORE THE TRUCK WEARS OUT OTHERWISE. FOR A COMPANY WHOSE REPUTATION IS BUILT ON RELIABILITY, YOU'D THINK THEY'D WANT TO TREAT ALL THE OWNERS OF THE DEFECTIVE VEHICLES THE SAME. *TR