Yes. They eventually agreed to send an inspector from TGB head office. He completed his vehicle inspection Monday.
Yesterday TGB head office advised that they will give me their decision within a week. No idea which way this is going yet.
Hilux early chassis fail: rust perforation after 7 years and just 44k miles of road use in U.K.
- Thread starter zambezi
- Start date
Yes. They eventually agreed to send an inspector from TGB head office. He completed his vehicle inspection Monday.
Yesterday TGB head office advised that they will give me their decision within a week. No idea which way this is going yet.
Been watching this thread and really feel for the OP - if I'd bought a new truck and it had this sort of corrosion on it after 7 years I'd be looking for answers too.
It really does not speak well of Toyota and their QC - the picture showing the difference between the structural chassis and the non structural body panel really tells the story imo.
I am hoping that he gets the response from TGB that he deserves and that they make good the damage, replace the vehicle or reimburse him.
Putting replacement galvanised chassis on 20-30+ year old Defenders is one thing but on a 7 year old Hilux it should not even be a consideration surely?
Just a thought... up to what age do Toyota dealers sell 'approved used' vehicles and would this pass their checks to qualify for that status??? - for Land Rover it is 6 years and both 'approved used' LR vehicles I have bought have been literally 'as new' despite only just falling within the 6 year limit.
My 13 year old 144k miles Land Rover Discovery, which has a chassis, went through its MOT test this week with not a single advisory and the chassis is 'sound as' - I bought it from a LR dealer on the south coast who had sold it new to a customer who lived on the south coast and where the car spent the first 5 and a half years of its life. In the 7 and a half years I have owned it I have driven it off road in mud and (fresh) water when picking up, shooting and stalking and it has done plenty of miles on salty roads too.
It really does not speak well of Toyota and their QC - the picture showing the difference between the structural chassis and the non structural body panel really tells the story imo.
I am hoping that he gets the response from TGB that he deserves and that they make good the damage, replace the vehicle or reimburse him.
Putting replacement galvanised chassis on 20-30+ year old Defenders is one thing but on a 7 year old Hilux it should not even be a consideration surely?
Just a thought... up to what age do Toyota dealers sell 'approved used' vehicles and would this pass their checks to qualify for that status??? - for Land Rover it is 6 years and both 'approved used' LR vehicles I have bought have been literally 'as new' despite only just falling within the 6 year limit.
My 13 year old 144k miles Land Rover Discovery, which has a chassis, went through its MOT test this week with not a single advisory and the chassis is 'sound as' - I bought it from a LR dealer on the south coast who had sold it new to a customer who lived on the south coast and where the car spent the first 5 and a half years of its life. In the 7 and a half years I have owned it I have driven it off road in mud and (fresh) water when picking up, shooting and stalking and it has done plenty of miles on salty roads too.
lincolnjefferies
Well-Known Member
We cling to the myth of the expectation of well engineered vehicles that last for ever. The notation of any vehicle being built to give years of good service is unrealistic. The engines and transmissions are still good on Hilux’s cus mechanical failures would affect the first customer that changes it every three years, which is where Toyotas profits are made. The Hilux is a commercial product engineered to being just good enough, on a budget by accountants. Being built to last will not figure in their business plan. Since about 1998 this has been the case, prior to that Toyota chassis never rotted. The person who buys a hilux, really looks after and keeps it for ten years, sadly is probably is only a very small part of their customer base. It’s part of a wider trend of short termism and unsustainable commercial business practices, that as consumers we have become forced to become accustomed to. Fair play to the original poster for kicking up a fuss, if everyone complained they would very likely mend their ways and use better materials and corrosion protection.
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Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
Pretty dismal performance both product-wise and customer-care thus far. I do hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction and I imagine there will be a few more similar cases coming along soon.
By co-incidence my jeep went through the MOT yesterday but in NI it is done in Government Testing Centres so it either passes or fails - we do not have “advisaries”. Because of Covid (remember it?) the vehicle inspector takes the car as soon as you arrive and you don’t see it again until the verdict is given, so much bating of breath - more like a maternity waiting room, in fact much, much worse!
Sooo out it comes, out he gets, shaking his head, then smiling - the swine! Result - it passed but he did say that a bit of chassis welding will be needed for next time - I live half a mile from the Irish Sea and the sainted Jimny is 18 years old, 122,000 on the clock and MOT preparation cost me exactly £80 plus 3 tyres. Bless.
By co-incidence my jeep went through the MOT yesterday but in NI it is done in Government Testing Centres so it either passes or fails - we do not have “advisaries”. Because of Covid (remember it?) the vehicle inspector takes the car as soon as you arrive and you don’t see it again until the verdict is given, so much bating of breath - more like a maternity waiting room, in fact much, much worse!
Sooo out it comes, out he gets, shaking his head, then smiling - the swine! Result - it passed but he did say that a bit of chassis welding will be needed for next time - I live half a mile from the Irish Sea and the sainted Jimny is 18 years old, 122,000 on the clock and MOT preparation cost me exactly £80 plus 3 tyres. Bless.
That sums it rather well.
The vehicle I sold in 2015 immediately prior to buying the 2016 Hilux new was my 20 year old Toyota Surf. That chassis remained unblemished in all those years...driven on the same roads that holed the 2016's chassis in just 7 years.
Sadly, that seems to be the case. And yet take a look at the Toyota website as at today: "10 year guarantee". There is clearly an awareness that consumers need reassurance in this area. I suspect they tacked too close to the short-termism threshold and it has now begun to bite them in the customer perception stakes.
But what does the small print say behind the pink box!
Bavarianbrit
Well-Known Member
Remember Vauxhall in the late 1950s?
Whitefront
Well-Known Member
I have had three Hilux pickups. All have been very reliable - which is why I keep buying them. I kept one for 150 k miles without problems (except some light misting of oil from rear diff, spotted at service and dealt with under warranty). Passed its MOTs with flying colours.
After reading this thread, I had a squint underneath my current Hilux, a base model twincab, bought new in Nov 2017, which now has 60k on the clock. After scraping away dust and mud in certain places for inspection, I found the the chassis looks almost pristine. Seems to have been powder coated, or painted black. I am nowhere near the coast, but our local roads are heavily salted in winter. I drive off-road several times a year, and on fairly rough farm/forestry tracks almost weekly. The vehicle is kept outside. The only bit of rust in the actual bodywork is near the bottom of a wheel-arch where I grounded on a rock a couple of years ago. The wheels are going a bit rusty and starting to look scruffy, but that's it. Provided you get the thing serviced at a Toyota dealer, the general warranty extends automatically (ie no cost) up to 10 years/100,00 miles. (Not sure about corrosion cover, though). It only had a five year warranty when I bought it, but it's now covered for 10 years/100, 00 miles.
I cannot explain how or why my Hilux seems to be so different from Zambezi's in terms of corrosion. For a chassis to rust through in just seven years is unacceptable.
After reading this thread, I had a squint underneath my current Hilux, a base model twincab, bought new in Nov 2017, which now has 60k on the clock. After scraping away dust and mud in certain places for inspection, I found the the chassis looks almost pristine. Seems to have been powder coated, or painted black. I am nowhere near the coast, but our local roads are heavily salted in winter. I drive off-road several times a year, and on fairly rough farm/forestry tracks almost weekly. The vehicle is kept outside. The only bit of rust in the actual bodywork is near the bottom of a wheel-arch where I grounded on a rock a couple of years ago. The wheels are going a bit rusty and starting to look scruffy, but that's it. Provided you get the thing serviced at a Toyota dealer, the general warranty extends automatically (ie no cost) up to 10 years/100,00 miles. (Not sure about corrosion cover, though). It only had a five year warranty when I bought it, but it's now covered for 10 years/100, 00 miles.
I cannot explain how or why my Hilux seems to be so different from Zambezi's in terms of corrosion. For a chassis to rust through in just seven years is unacceptable.
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Yup. I received an email from a Mr Jansie Martin at Toyota GB. He said they are evaluating the data their field guy collected. They will contact me in due course. Waiting game.
TGB's response will pretty much define my view of the Toyota brand going forward. [Things can go wrong. How corporations respond to failure is king]
TGB have not yet delivered their final decision, but via email indicated that I might consider a trade-in with dealership who supplied and serviced my Hilux.
By return email I explained that I had already brokered that idea and the dealership had declined to take my vehicle onto their books. Speaks volumes. Obviously they do not have confidence in this chassis.
No reply/update from TGB yet.
Get it plastered all across the ‘socials’ - I am advised by those many years younger than myself that anything tagged with # or @ & then the company name gets picked up automatically by their media teams - chuck in a few #rustychassis etc & you could soon be trending… maybe a short video of the issues (can be a series of still photos) uploaded to YouTube as well?! - am sure there is a youngster in the family that can advise and/or facilitate 
I shared here because I know many of us would have experience and it was an opportunity to garner a feel for how rare/common the problem is. Thus armed, I ignored TGB's first rebuff and thus gained the traction the issue deserved.
In the first instance, I will await TGB's response. If poor, I will definitely share my experience with a wider viewership.
Very poor. Generally speaking, Oriental vehicles tend to be very reliable mechanically but are prone to rust. However, looking at other's experiences and considering that this vehicle will be expected to work in muddy/wet/salty conditions, it's not good at all. Especially when other like vehicles (even Toyota Hiluxes) fare much better. Our cars/pickups are still generally the second most expensive things we buy in our lives and to have such a problem and to see Toyota hang you out to dry without even an offer to part fund a remedy is not good. Hope you have some success zambeze.
Fwiw.
Toyota have form for this type of thing. A precedent for repairing vehicles has been set, albeit in the U.S. They spent $3 Billion replacing Chassis on Pick Up Trucks and SUV. They even offered the corrosion warranty to vehicles up to 15 years old.
Loads of stuff on the net.
'Toyota, in 2016, settled a class-action suit by agreeing to spend $3 billion to repair millions of Tacomas, Tundras, and Sequioa SUV's with rusting frames.
Model years affected are from 2004 to 2008 (or 2010 in a few cases). This follows an earlier extended warranty affecting Toyota trucks from 1995-2003.
But there's one catch: the program expires 15 years after the date of manufacture'.
Is it worth complaining directly to the head people in Japan?
.
Toyota have form for this type of thing. A precedent for repairing vehicles has been set, albeit in the U.S. They spent $3 Billion replacing Chassis on Pick Up Trucks and SUV. They even offered the corrosion warranty to vehicles up to 15 years old.
Loads of stuff on the net.
'Toyota, in 2016, settled a class-action suit by agreeing to spend $3 billion to repair millions of Tacomas, Tundras, and Sequioa SUV's with rusting frames.
Model years affected are from 2004 to 2008 (or 2010 in a few cases). This follows an earlier extended warranty affecting Toyota trucks from 1995-2003.
But there's one catch: the program expires 15 years after the date of manufacture'.
Is it worth complaining directly to the head people in Japan?
.
Thanks Yorkie. I did find both North American case precedents some weeks back, and they formed part of my original submission to TGB.
In the US and Canadian cases Toyota offered (1) buy back at 1.5x market value or (2) 15 year extended warranty or (3) Chassis replacement. As you say, the payout was estimated to cost Toyota $3bn.
Not a bad shout. Once again, I will first let TGB make an offer. If poor, I will probably take this route first.
Anyone fancy a class action in the U.K.?
If they dont come good soon, there are ways to motivate them, heres an example
www.thesun.co.uk
Angry customers urge Nissan to recall 4x4s that 'snap in half'
NISSAN was urged to recall the UK’s best-selling 4 x 4 pick-up after it emerged that a major fault could see the trucks snap in half. Owners of Nissan Navaras — popular among builders and mums — h…
www.thesun.co.uk
ChesterP
Well-Known Member
In Japan, they don't salt their roads in winter AFAIK, and many vehicles made for overseas markets don't have much in the way of rust prevention added. My lexus chassis underneath (RX450h) was unpainted for the most part and I liberally coated in Lanoguard after reading accounts of premature rusting on some Japanese cars. Watching the experiences, particularly in Australia where Toyotas seem to be the mainstay pickup trucks, on Youtube, there was a series dedicated to "overlanders" and several episodes featured the prep stages of various off roaders where they swore by treating chassis members at least every three years to a coating of Lanoguard (made here in Blighty) as they found it one of the best rust preventatives which also served to keep things like UJ boots supple and was safe to plaster just about anywhere. Since doing that on mine. it remains in great condition 8 years on.
My last Lexus wasn't treated and 10 years in the front cross member holding the rad was all but eaten away. You would expect a dedicated off road vehicle to have all chassis members powder coated or otherwise surface protected, Seven years I'd say is unacceptable but also unlucky for the OP, as there seems to be loads of Toyota and other Japanese makes of pick up locally which have to be 20 years old and still going strong. I know that Suzuki Vitaras were renowned for chassis rot and returned one for a refund I bought from a dealer when on inspection it was eaten through and they'd clumsily tried to hide the fact under some underseal.
My last Lexus wasn't treated and 10 years in the front cross member holding the rad was all but eaten away. You would expect a dedicated off road vehicle to have all chassis members powder coated or otherwise surface protected, Seven years I'd say is unacceptable but also unlucky for the OP, as there seems to be loads of Toyota and other Japanese makes of pick up locally which have to be 20 years old and still going strong. I know that Suzuki Vitaras were renowned for chassis rot and returned one for a refund I bought from a dealer when on inspection it was eaten through and they'd clumsily tried to hide the fact under some underseal.
Thought I'd google it just to see, as I know Japan does get some pretty cold winters, and more than a few on here have commented about them not salting the roads.
Consensus is that (at least in some parts) they do!
ChesterP
Well-Known Member
Then that makes it even odder that many of their cars aren't that well protected underneath. Must admit, Lexus made in the last 10 years all seem to be fine, but it's odd that the Hilux doesn't seem better proected. We have a Honda too and that's perfect underneath at 8 years old.