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

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Very similar sitiation with Mercedes as well. A lot of their C, E and S Class vehicles from 2010-2022 suffer from subframe corrosion. They rust from the inside out due to insufficient protection from the factory. In most cases Mercedes will replace the subframes under their 20 year corrosion warranty, but the dealership will charge for any bolts or suspension arms etc that need to be replaced and also the labour to replace them. Even if the removal of the component is necessary during subframe replacement.

Toyotas have always had corrosion issues, even from decades ago. It's the one thing that has stopped me from buying any Toyota over the years. It's a shame because as others have said they are otherwise good vehicles. That being said, the Nissan Navara takes the lead where chassis corrosion is concerned, with chassis' snapping for fun at sometimes very low mileage.
 
triggertrix said:
there's a trick to this. From early October just let the mud gather and create a barrier, wash it off again in the spring

:p
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Absolutely, I completely agree, I never wash the underneath of my vehicle until the roads have stopped being salted. I figured that the nice thick salt resistant clay mud of Cambridgeshire would protect the chassis far better than some strange carwash soap. The last time I used the drive through car wash I drove off quickly to avoid looks from the other drivers waiting to use the carwash . The floor of the carwash was covered in a thick film of slippery clay with big clumps of clay mud, id no idea where it all came from and didn’t want them to blame me for it. :-|
I had a 14 plate Hilux invincible from new, I sold it in 2017 though and replaced it with an earlier model 07 plate as I preferred the style of the older model and it was just such a bargain I couldn’t resist it, plus it had leather seats which my 2014 one didn’t. It was 9 years old , one owner ( car garage workshop owners personal vehicle who had died) full service history 70 k miles and looked like new, and I paid £8,500 for it . I’ve used it daily since buying it , lots of off road hunting and forrest work, and it towes a 3.5 t ifor trailer with a two tonne front loader regularly. Ive towed my front loader between cambridge and Niedersachsen in Germany countless times. I’ve done 120k miles on top of the 70 it had done when I bought it ( I’m about to do the cam belt and filters and breaks and oil etc this weekend as it’s coming up to its 200k anniversary) and I’ve only had to do servicing and replaced the radiator and air con pump once a couple of years back since owning it. It’s a great work truck .
More to the point though, the rust underneath it is less than what the 2014 plate Hilux had when I sold it aged two years old. Maybe the older Hilux’s were made of better stuff? Most of the chassis paint is still on it too. The paints only visible after it’s first and usually last wash of the year. I will take some pictures of the chassis of my 18 year old truck later on and post them.
Kindest regards, Olaf
 
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Malxwal said:
So, they can say you qualify for a new chassis, but try to discourage people by insisting on £000's of other mandatory work ?
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My mate is getting a new chassis on his Hilux, they have told him he has to spend £500 on bearings to qualify but they’re giving him a new Hilux as courtesy car whilst his is being repaired
 
Isn't this the model that Top Gear tried to destroy a few years ago? Left it submerged in the sea, dropped it from a crane etc., and always managed to start it?
Taliban used them for machine gun carriers.....

D.
 
Demetrius said:
Isn't this the model that Top Gear tried to destroy a few years ago? Left it submerged in the sea, dropped it from a crane etc., and always managed to start it?
Taliban used them for machine gun carriers.....

D.
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That‘s exactly the point!
The Hilux is primarily meant for markets where it never snows, thus no salt and little rain.
Anyone buying a Hilux in the Northern hemisphere should know that it needs aftermarket underbody and cavity protection from day one.
Yes, this costs another 1,500 if done properly. But it must be part of the initial budget calculation.
The same applies to getting the tub treated with a spray-on liner.
These are basics for any pickup truck in Northern Europe.
 
zambezi said:
Urghh. It seems my vehicle's chassis fail case may have been the leading edge of a spate discovered in the U.K.. I wish I had pushed for the chassis replacement harder instead of the buy-back I settled for.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The Isuzu I replaced the Hilux with is competent but laced with nanny state electronics you cannot turn off. I would have my 2106 Hilux back in a heartbeat...
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That’s a pretty sad story. I agree, a new chassis all paid for, then maybe you could have got it galvanised before it was fitted too. ….

Kindest regards, Olaf
 
I hadn’t had any notification of a recall, but having seen this thread last week and phoned my local dealer, my 63 plate Invincible is one that qualifies. Booked in next week. I had the chassis treated a couple of years ago, so it will be interesting to hear the outcome.
 
Malxwal said:
So, they can say you qualify for a new chassis, but try to discourage people by insisting on £000's of other mandatory work ?
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its mandatory in that it needs to be done, but anyone can do it, not just a Toyota dealership. especially on a vehicle of that age the warranty has gone already.
tbf to toyota the work they are asking people to do (especially on a vehicle of this age) is all the normal wear and tear parts (exhausts, bearings, suspension components etc), and if they were already degraded etc they wont survive the chassis swap so Toyota would be forking out even more! the guys with the 10 to 12 year old trucks getting new chassis are doing very well in the grand scheme. its unheard of for a manufacturer to offer something like this voluntarily! makes you wonder how much those older models will rise in value again when the market is flooded by ones with brand new chassis etc.
 
Flash42 said:
its mandatory in that it needs to be done, but anyone can do it, not just a Toyota dealership. especially on a vehicle of that age the warranty has gone already.
tbf to toyota the work they are asking people to do (especially on a vehicle of this age) is all the normal wear and tear parts (exhausts, bearings, suspension components etc), and if they were already degraded etc they wont survive the chassis swap so Toyota would be forking out even more! the guys with the 10 to 12 year old trucks getting new chassis are doing very well in the grand scheme. its unheard of for a manufacturer to offer something like this voluntarily! makes you wonder how much those older models will rise in value again when the market is flooded by ones with brand new chassis etc.
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They’ll make sure they earn the money back on the new chassis. House always wins
 
triggertrix said:
They’ll make sure they earn the money back on the new chassis. House always wins
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yeah they will earn it back in terms of keeping the faith in the hilux and people seeing this and moving over to Toyota from other brands. The whole thing is funded by Toyota GB, the local dealerships wont be making much at all from it as there involvment is purely the inspections, and the odd work when people decide to use them for the necessary repairs. but as has already been stated above they are simply to expensive for most people, but thats personal choice.
 
Toyotas are built in Japan, and Hiluxes in South Africa. They do not use salt on their roads, so corrosion is minimal due to wet and salt.

Here in the UK we don’t seem to accept that in winter we do ice and snow, do we all drive on summer tires and rely on huge amounts of salt to keep the roads ice free, and hence cars that are not built (ie fully galvanised) for salty roads just rot.
 
Heym SR20 said:
Toyotas are built in Japan, and Hiluxes in South Africa. They do not use salt on their roads, so corrosion is minimal due to wet and salt.

Here in the UK we don’t seem to accept that in winter we do ice and snow, do we all drive on summer tires and rely on huge amounts of salt to keep the roads ice free, and hence cars that are not built (ie fully galvanised) for salty roads just rot.
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Very true

I recall growing up in Denmark, most garages offered a winter undercarriage protection spray in the autumn. And winter tires are a legal requirement
 
just rung my local dealer today to ask about my 2012 plate hilux. unfortunately not covered. but fortunately I had the sense to waxoyl it regularly and the chassis is a lot better than some Ive seen.
 
Just got a reply from the local dealer my 12 plate was to old , but he had a list of reg numbers in the area, , he also stated my 12 plate had a good chassis
how did he know that then , :-|
 
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