Is this Rust? (Gold Certified)

I purchased this 2020 tundra today with 40k miles in California. It is gold certified and comes with bumper to bumper and powertrain warranties.

It looks like there’s some small dents around the skid plate. Is this rust? Is it bad? What should my concern level be?





Thanks, Jon

 

Looks like surface rust on the skid and tow hooks, but neither of those pieces are structural in nature... I'd pull them off and wire brush and re-paint them. I'm guessing they either caught some road salt in the mountains or truck driven on a gravel road a lot and the paint just got beat up exposing the metal.

Very, very minimal surface rust on the lower control arm (to the left of the cam bolt in the bottom and top pics)... I'd clean that off and just touch it real quick. The stuff on the control arm will probably come right off w/steel wool.

None of that would concern me... Just treat it like another aspect of required maintenance before the winter hits!

 

I wouldn't lose a minute of sleep over that. You can sand it and touch it up, but it's really no big deal.

 

Welcome from OKC! As said, correct it and go on. Fluid film or Woolwax the entire frame once a year in the fall.

 

Welcome from SoCal, did you do a carfax if you got it from a dealer from ca they’re required by law to give you one for free, looks like it was a coastal truck like San Diego or the beach cities but it also looks like he might have driven it into the ocean like in pismo beach

I’ve seen coastal trucks here in SoCal but your truck is only 5 years old which makes me think the owner drove it thru ocean water unless it’s from another state

I bought a 4k boroscope on Amazon for like 30 dollars I would look into that to look inside your frame just to be sure

otherwise you can get a wire brush and brush off any scaling rust and hit it with rust reformer and then a top coat and then woolwax or fluid film it

 

Thanks all,

I got the carfax yes. No accidents, one owner, in the Petaluma (northern california) area. Not a salt belt highway state, but Petaluma isn't too far from the ocean.

I got underneath just now and saw just a few orange rust blotches on the frame where the lower control arm connects to the frame. But it doesn't look like the severe pitting pictures I saw on google.

I'll have my mechanic take a look, brush it off, and treat with Fluid Film or Wool Wax tomorrow. I'll update with what he says.

Thanks all for the help.

 

I like woolwax a lot better it sticks on and stays on much better than fluid film you have to power wash off woolwax

 

Good friend of mine from California who laughs hysterically when I (or any other midwesterner) says "surface rust." In Michigan, rust is - indeed - the enemy, but I see "surface rust" all the time and it's NBD if followed closely. At least in my opinion. He thinks I'm insane.

 

That's quite a bit of rust for a California truck and only 40k. At least the cam bolts look okay but its kinda sus.

 

Gotcha. Thanks for the honest response. Having a shop look at it this week. I sort of trusted the “Gold Certified” from Toyota. Crossing fingers it isn’t on the frame.

 

I live in a road salt state, and that area is quite clean in comparison and I have twice the miles.

 

Hose it down and Spray it all with CRC Marine anti-corrosive spray and it will prevent it from getting any worse I undercoat my truck with that stuff before every winter

 

Undercoat as soon as you can. I prefer summer over fall. The warmer weather helps the material seep into all the seams. My guy hot washes everything and then recoats. I live where they abuse the salt and brine in winter. The pics he sends me the undercarriage looks like new!

 

Yeah, it’s a little more than surface, it’s beginning to pit some. But I’m the kinda person if I have a warranty and ability, I’d take it back to be finished for me or fixed.

 

I'm one of those people that is laughing at this "rust" while I live in IL, the beacon of freedom.

TFL trucks years ago showed a brand new F150 with surface rust already on it and it was brand new truck. I believe it was Andre's own F150.

I have been spraying mine with fluid film and need to touch up for sure this year.