Typically rust affects vehicles whose owners live in winter weather climates and the cost to repair it may turn out to not even be worth it. And now Toyota is learning a hard lesson about that. According to Automotive News, Toyota has agreed to pay a $3.4 billion settlement for a federal class action suit brought by American owners of its trucks and SUVs. Turns out those vehicles' frames were rusting through.
The affected vehicles include about 1.5 million model year 2005-2010 Tacomas, 2007 and 2008 Tundras, and 2005 through 2008 Sequoia SUVs which, according to the plaintiffs, failed to receive adequate rust protection. This resulted in corrosion that was serious enough to "jeopardize their structural integrity." Although it admitted no liability or wrongdoing in the settlement, Toyota will still inspect these vehicles for 12 years, beginning from the day they were originally sold or leased in order to determine whether or not their frames need to be replaced entirely, or reimburse owners who have already paid for a frame replacement.
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