Hilux early chassis fail: rust perforation after 7 years and just 44k miles of road use in U.K.

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Macazimbo said:
did you ever get anywhere with this
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Toyota GB eventually bought my 2016 Hilux back from me for market price + 26% as per thread entry #211 above.

That took a lot of pushing on my part and the means by which it was finally achieved was probably a combination of: Single dealership servicing for life of vehicle [they sold me the vehicle, verified low annual mileage, verified light road usage evident at every annual MOT] which meant the dealer went into bat for me. Plus, I obtained third-party assessment of chassis-fail and overall vehicle condition which supported the view that (a) chassis would fail in multiple areas inside two years and (b) absence of corrosion anywhere except chassis corroborrated my/dealership assertion of low on-road usage.

With those reports supporting my position, I researched and quoted the class actions in the USA and Canada, and also asked Toyota GB for the postal address of the Quality Assurance teams at both their European headquarters and also in Japan. In parallel I found a U.K. law firm that specialises in automotive lawsuits. They will take up consumer cases with proven merit for no up-front cost. However, they take 50% of any award. I was still prepared to go that route if TGB had continued to stonewall my reasonable petition for redress.

1.26x market value was a reasonable payout. Not brilliant. But ok. With hindsight, I wish I had really pushed for chassis replacement. The replacement 2023 Isuzu is a lovely drive but is ridden with nanny-state tech that simply does not work and cannot be disabled permanently.
 
I remember seeing a photo online of a large yard of Hilux submerged in Durban after a flood some while back. That’s where a lot of the European ones are made.
I wonder what they did with them ?
 
zambezi said:
Toyota GB eventually bought my 2016 Hilux back from me for market price + 26% as per thread entry #211 above.

That took a lot of pushing on my part and the means by which it was finally achieved was probably a combination of: Single dealership servicing for life of vehicle [they sold me the vehicle, verified low annual mileage, verified light road usage evident at every annual MOT] which meant the dealer went into bat for me. Plus, I obtained third-party assessment of chassis-fail and overall vehicle condition which supported the view that (a) chassis would fail in multiple areas inside two years and (b) absence of corrosion anywhere except chassis corroborrated my/dealership assertion of low on-road usage.

With those reports supporting my position, I researched and quoted the class actions in the USA and Canada, and also asked Toyota GB for the postal address of the Quality Assurance teams at both their European headquarters and also in Japan. In parallel I found a U.K. law firm that specialises in automotive lawsuits. They will take up consumer cases with proven merit for no up-front cost. However, they take 50% of any award. I was still prepared to go that route if TGB had continued to stonewall my reasonable petition for redress.

1.26x market value was a reasonable payout. Not brilliant. But ok. With hindsight, I wish I had really pushed for chassis replacement. The replacement 2023 Isuzu is a lovely drive but is ridden with nanny-state tech that simply does not work and cannot be disabled permanently.
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Hi there read all your thread .. my 2013 plate invincible just snapped in half today in the garage, have contacted main dealer in Inverness attached is photos.. what would you recommend as you have been through same thing.. thanks Andy
 
Just a quick update on my issue, which is very similar to @zambezi ... Toyota, "as a gesture of goodwill" have offered me a new chassis, but will not cover the labour and any other parts that may be required to fit it. Also said that it may take up to 5 months to get another chassis into the UK. So in effect have acknowledged there is a problem and this is not "normal wear and tear", but want me to stump up £3000+ to rectify the problem. What I can't understand is that, after doing a bit of googling and discovering that this is quite a common problem, not many customers in the UK seem to care and think it's quite normal to have to replace/ repair the chassis after 5+ years.
 
@Foxyboy43 brought this to my attention, I didn't read all the pages, I have been lucky with my Hilux, it was purchased from a Reading Toyota dealer in 2010, 4 years old, previously used on a country estate, it has never towed, but more importantly, NEVER been near the coast.
I believe the 2020 Hilux I was interested in down in Cornwall had been used on the beach, probably launching a boat, but even so, salt water can get blown in and not just affect the chassis, it can get under the panels. The chassis might look fine, but they rust from the inside out as well as showing surface rust.
Toyota really need to get on top of this problem, the engines are brilliant.
 
devon deer stalker said:
@Foxyboy43 brought this to my attention, I didn't read all the pages, I have been lucky with my Hilux, it was purchased from a Reading Toyota dealer in 2010, 4 years old, previously used on a country estate, it has never towed, but more importantly, NEVER been near the coast.
I believe the 2020 Hilux I was interested in down in Cornwall had been used on the beach, probably launching a boat, but even so, salt water can get blown in and not just affect the chassis, it can get under the panels. The chassis might look fine, but they rust from the inside out as well as showing surface rust.
Toyota really need to get on top of this problem, the engines are brilliant.
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Long standing thing in Japan has been they do not underseal as the norm in Japan , undersealing at arrival in the UK was a very bad idea tried back then but they just sealed in salt . Realistically all chassis should be hot dipped galvanised but today individuals and companies rarely but their vehicles they just lease them. As a result of commercial and private contract hire this has allowed new costs to raise over what most private buyers can spend from savings . This extends right into the used machines on the pitches !
The plan however looks like its changing though as manufacturers are just starting to build to customers available funds again . Bit by bit its changing again !
Frankly i dont want all the electronic junk they put in todays vehicles and i will only put seat covers over the fancy leather. Just put a dammed good engine and transmission in them and get that chassis done with galv.
 
zambezi said:
Amen to that. And it is only going to get worse: Breathalyser-dependent ignition is on the EU roadmap and in the USA Biden's mob have introduced a future requirement for a state-controlled "kill-switch" on private transport.
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It’s getting absolutely ridiculous….cant see the kill switch one working as the liability would be immense if someone was hit by a truck as they couldn’t move their vehicle!
 
gixer1 said:
cant see the kill switch one working
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US civil liberties groups are taking this up...


gixer1 said:
liability would be immense if someone was hit by a truck as they couldn’t move their vehicle!
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Agree that they would need to implement with care. A simple protocol I can imagine that would avoid liability due to immobilisation: "once the kill-switch is thrown, it only becomes effective after next natural shutdown of engine and all seat belts are uncoupled and no occupants detected for xx seconds".
 
zambezi said:
Amen to that. And it is only going to get worse: Breathalyser-dependent ignition is on the EU roadmap and in the USA Biden's mob have introduced a future requirement for a state-controlled "kill-switch" on private transport.
Click to expand...
Can certainly see where a kill switch would be handy but anything man makes can be got around . Breathalyser ignition ? Not a bad thing in itself but any such cut out is going to have faults . Bigger issue today of course would likely be drugs not booze i suspect !
 
I think its down to poor quality steel, as much as chassis protection. I have owned loads of hilux's. The leaf sprung ones hardly ever had any rot. The Mk4's and 5's were the first with endemic rot, you could clearly see the steel was inferior, whilst the MK6's and 7's rotted worse as the production run continued. Which is a shame as the transmission and engine is bullet proof. My 2010 mk6 had 295,000 miles under its belt on original engine and transmission when the rear chassis reached a point of no return..
 
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zambezi said:
Toyota GB eventually bought my 2016 Hilux back from me for market price + 26% as per thread entry #211 above.

That took a lot of pushing on my part and the means by which it was finally achieved was probably a combination of: Single dealership servicing for life of vehicle [they sold me the vehicle, verified low annual mileage, verified light road usage evident at every annual MOT] which meant the dealer went into bat for me. Plus, I obtained third-party assessment of chassis-fail and overall vehicle condition which supported the view that (a) chassis would fail in multiple areas inside two years and (b) absence of corrosion anywhere except chassis corroborrated my/dealership assertion of low on-road usage.

With those reports supporting my position, I researched and quoted the class actions in the USA and Canada, and also asked Toyota GB for the postal address of the Quality Assurance teams at both their European headquarters and also in Japan. In parallel I found a U.K. law firm that specialises in automotive lawsuits. They will take up consumer cases with proven merit for no up-front cost. However, they take 50% of any award. I was still prepared to go that route if TGB had continued to stonewall my reasonable petition for redress.

1.26x market value was a reasonable payout. Not brilliant. But ok. With hindsight, I wish I had really pushed for chassis replacement. The replacement 2023 Isuzu is a lovely drive but is ridden with nanny-state tech that simply does not work and cannot be disabled permanently.
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Fair play to you for doggedly calling them to account 👍
 
Sorry to resurrect this but has anyone been in touch with Toyota recently about chassis rot, apparently they are checking out all hilux under 12 years old.
 
I have a 2009 Hilux, which I've owned for the past 10 years. This year, it failed the MOT because of rust on the rear chassis. I use the truck off-road a lot and really wasn't surprised because of the age. The rest of the Hilux is in very good condition with 89,000 on the clock.
I had the rear chassis replaced, which, when revealed, was in a bad state. The new chassis was undersealed. The front chassis was perfect. The whole job cost around £1000, which I thought was very reasonable. Hopefully, it will go on for several more years.
 
old keeper said:
I have a 2009 Hilux, which I've owned for the past 10 years. This year, it failed the MOT because of rust on the rear chassis. I use the truck off-road a lot and really wasn't surprised because of the age. The rest of the Hilux is in very good condition with 89,000 on the clock.
I had the rear chassis replaced, which, when revealed, was in a bad state. The new chassis was undersealed. The front chassis was perfect. The whole job cost around £1000, which I thought was very reasonable. Hopefully, it will go on for several more years.
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Sounds cheap to pull rear tub off, new chassis and put it all back together, I would say you had a result there for a grand
 
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