Utter disappointing. Loss in quality. Rusting and salt splashing

[Moby]

My service advisor was very nice and listened to my story - only in salt (Michigan) for 2 days then Florida for the past 3 months. THEN the advisor mgr came by and he was real negative and stated that it was from road salt/exposure and wouldn’t be covered. Anyway they had the vehicle for about 1.5 hr and the advisor came out and said they were covering it and had ordered parts (still waiting for parts (3 wks). The key I think is to not mention corrosion warranty and to focus on a part(s) / coating/mfg defect. I just persisted with them that this is obviously not normal wear and if it was they would have hundreds of other vehicles with the same issue - they had never seen this type of corrosion before. I did use ChatGTP before I went to the dealer and it helped with my approach. My dealer is in FtMyers FL. I think I am going to buy the inserts from ARK to close the gap above the shocks. In the end I have no idea why this happened and only know that it shouldn’t.

Agree and thanks for the sharing ur experience. Its unfortunate that for such a vehicle with a Toyota badge, they have definitely cut corners.

i will definitely update the forum once i find out the next steps. Fingers crossed

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[Commandcentral00!]

Yes I’d like to hear what your dealer has to say. When I take my vehicle back I’ll ask them what their diagnosis was.

 

[LLL1990]

Try Ark Splash Guards for the front wheel wells. Quit a bit of opening there and the splash guards should prevent a lot of that spray from reaching the engine bay.

Keep in mind that engine heat is exhausted through the wheel wells. When the cooling fan running you can feel the heat coming from the engine in the wheel well.

 

[TrdProGirl84]

where do you live? I’m in Georgia. None of that going on with mine.

 

[127.0.0.1]

Yes I’d like to hear what your dealer has to say. When I take my vehicle back I’ll ask them what their diagnosis was.

just checked mine, dipstick tube shows similar corrosion. it's winter road salt spray.
none of my other toyotas show that, the tubes are coated much better

I've soaked it in acf50 and am not too worried about it
and will evaluate my options once I start nearing 3/36... it may just be ugly but ok

high pressure fuel pump has a fat line feeding it that also shows corrosion.
....hmmmmm

 

[Commandcentral00!]

just checked mine, dipstick tube shows similar corrosion. it's winter road salt spray.
none of my other toyotas show that, the tubes are coated much better

I've soaked it in acf50 and am not too worried about it
and will evaluate my options once I start nearing 3/36... it may just be ugly but ok

high pressure fuel pump has a fat line feeding it that also shows corrosion.
....hmmmmm

 

[Commandcentral00!]

Thanks for the tip on the corrosion spray.

 

[Moby]

Update: so this is the response from Toyota service:

“ Thank you again for your patience while we escalated your concerns to our Toyota regional representatives.

After a thorough review, Toyota has advised that the surface rust observed on your vehicle is consistent with environmental exposure and is not considered a defect in materials, workmanship, or manufacturing. Based on their assessment, this condition falls outside of warranty coverage, as it is attributed to external factors beyond Toyota’s control.

I understand this is not the outcome you were hoping for, especially given the care you’ve taken with your vehicle. Your concerns are completely valid, and I appreciate you bringing them forward and allowing us the opportunity to review them in detail.”

 

[Lamuncha]

Standard corporate denial unfortunately.

I just did my first oil change after a winter from hell. Seems like the salt trucks were constantly working this year so the 4runner saw a lot of crappy salt and sand.
The engine bay looked fairly clean considering 5 or so months of winter roads.
I attribute this to the splash shield that covers the underside of the engine bay from the front bumper to the frame behind the engine oil drain.
It is not a skid plate but a felt covered piece of material, fairly rigid.
Four or five bolts hold it in place.
I am not sure all models have this especially if they have a skid plate.
And the truck has a front air dam.

 

[Moby]

Indeed a corporate denial. I don’t know if this could be escalated further but i will give it a shot bcs i am now hesitant to keep the vehicle when the lease is up in 2 yrs. It is likely the Toyota doesn’t care bcs if i return the vehicle

 

[Lamuncha]

Possibly it could be taken further up the line. Check your warranty manual. It describes a process you can go through. Of course document everything.
What concerns me is the salt residue under the hood. How is that getting in? Even so, corrosion should be minimal and limited to uncoated parts.
After maybe 1500 miles driving through a really messy winter the engine bay in mine stayed pretty clean. Total milage now ~4000.

By the way the owners manual discourages hosing down the engine area due to potential fire hazard- go figure.

 

[Moby]

Thanks for the tips and the pics from your vehicles engine. I am now looking to reach out to Toyota brand engagement center as per the warranty manaul. Seems like, that would be the next step for me and will share any updates on this forum. Best of luck to me

 

[Commandcentral00!]

See photo for the corrosion I had - dip stick tube and brackets on both sides of engine. The advice I got (and it worked) was not to seek or mention warranty. Just premature corrosion/part coating failure etc. The dealer got Toyota to replace the parts/labor at no cost. I was afraid to ask how they did it. I’m also going to install the tire well inserts shown.

 

[Moby]

Thanks!!

I do think Toyota has lost its way especially when they are charging premium prices…

Lets see how it goes

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