2004 Tacoma SOFT BODY COMPONENTS

[westech]

2004 Tacoma SOFT BODY COMPONENTS

Has anyone noticed the softness of the body components to include the bed of the newer Tacoma PU’s? I just purchased a new Tacoma TRD 4x4 with almost all the bells and whistles. I am coming from owning Ranger PU’s for decades and wanted a smaller truck I did not have to modify to make it right. I did not have time to shop or investigate; one day to make the decision. The financing and value at the end selling it later made perfect sense. Washing the truck the first time I placed my knee on the tailgate and put a big dent in it. What the heck?….

I worked at NIST in Boulder at that time, Materials Reliability. One of my associates advised Toyota years ago on their robotic welding methods. Toyota by the way runs their welding equipment as fast as it will operate, and it shows in all the welds. He knew nothing about the body construction, only chassis.

Being a materials and manufacturing automation engineer for years I set out to figure out what the body actually consisted of. Has anyone ever noticed how soft the body is compared to any other manufacturer????? I can dent the body anywhere except on sharp outside corners with a simple push of my finger or thumb. Such annealed material helps deaden the harmonics of body components as well as facilitating forming, the reason why the body panels are so smooth, taking full shape of the mold better. Note that the hood is not intermediately supported anywhere, only around the parameter. Check it out yourself…. The tailgate as well.

Looking at the body after the tailgate was dented I notice a pretty good size blunt dent in the left front fender, and recalled the tech that installed the alarm system banging on the fender to set the sensitivity. That little banging, which was not much put a dent about 1/16 to 1/8” deep over a softball size round dent. I put some foam rubber on the end of a broom handle and bent it back out with very little work. Apparently the entire body is this way. Check it out yourself…. Take your thumb in the center of the hood and press down. You can see and feel with only a few pounds of pressure you could put a sizeable dent with just a finger or thumb. I’ve gone to the dealer and tried this on new and recent year used Tacomas, same/same. By working out the dent on the fender I can feel the body is almost as soft as annealed straight aluminum.

Most of the other aspects of the truck surpass Ranger by far, but running around with a body you cannot even lean leaves me with a fairly disappointed feeling. I am even more amazed I’ve not seen it mentioned on any forum or consumer evaluation. Mine is not an isolated case by any means. All of the Tacomas I checked at the dealers have the same issues.

The tailgate inside access panel that all used Tacomas have, I plan to replace with 1/8” alum diamond floor plate. Since I still have all the manufacturing equipment from an automation business I use to operate I can do this easily. I thought it would be a great idea to market the replacement panels, but my cost in producing them would exceed a decent selling price, being around $110 plus. I will make one for myself and drive the truck, but I am not at all happy with this aspect of the vehicle.

The truck does have a very well engineered suspension. It is the only small truck that is able to ride over railroad tracks without the rear bouncing. Many times in my Rangers I ended up at a skewed angle on the road from the direction of travel after tracks or expansion joints in bridges. The Tacoma drives like a dream; it is just going to be a mass of dents after a few years. That is hard to swallow given the price of the thing. Every weekend now for the past month I’ve been working out small dents. The dents work out easier is one way of looking at it I suppose.

[ponchonutty]

Originally Posted by westech

2004 Tacoma SOFT BODY COMPONENTS

Has anyone noticed the softness of the body components to include the bed of the newer Tacoma PU’s? I just purchased a new Tacoma TRD 4x4 with almost all the bells and whistles. I am coming from owning Ranger PU’s for decades and wanted a smaller truck I did not have to modify to make it right. I did not have time to shop or investigate; one day to make the decision. The financing and value at the end selling it later made perfect sense. Washing the truck the first time I placed my knee on the tailgate and put a big dent in it. What the heck?….

I worked at NIST in Boulder at that time, Materials Reliability. One of my associates advised Toyota years ago on their robotic welding methods. Toyota by the way runs their welding equipment as fast as it will operate, and it shows in all the welds. He knew nothing about the body construction, only chassis.

Being a materials and manufacturing automation engineer for years I set out to figure out what the body actually consisted of. Has anyone ever noticed how soft the body is compared to any other manufacturer????? I can dent the body anywhere except on sharp outside corners with a simple push of my finger or thumb. Such annealed material helps deaden the harmonics of body components as well as facilitating forming, the reason why the body panels are so smooth, taking full shape of the mold better. Note that the hood is not intermediately supported anywhere, only around the parameter. Check it out yourself…. The tailgate as well.

Looking at the body after the tailgate was dented I notice a pretty good size blunt dent in the left front fender, and recalled the tech that installed the alarm system banging on the fender to set the sensitivity. That little banging, which was not much put a dent about 1/16 to 1/8” deep over a softball size round dent. I put some foam rubber on the end of a broom handle and bent it back out with very little work. Apparently the entire body is this way. Check it out yourself…. Take your thumb in the center of the hood and press down. You can see and feel with only a few pounds of pressure you could put a sizeable dent with just a finger or thumb. I’ve gone to the dealer and tried this on new and recent year used Tacomas, same/same. By working out the dent on the fender I can feel the body is almost as soft as annealed straight aluminum.

Most of the other aspects of the truck surpass Ranger by far, but running around with a body you cannot even lean leaves me with a fairly disappointed feeling. I am even more amazed I’ve not seen it mentioned on any forum or consumer evaluation. Mine is not an isolated case by any means. All of the Tacomas I checked at the dealers have the same issues.

The tailgate inside access panel that all used Tacomas have, I plan to replace with 1/8” alum diamond floor plate. Since I still have all the manufacturing equipment from an automation business I use to operate I can do this easily. I thought it would be a great idea to market the replacement panels, but my cost in producing them would exceed a decent selling price, being around $110 plus. I will make one for myself and drive the truck, but I am not at all happy with this aspect of the vehicle.

The truck does have a very well engineered suspension. It is the only small truck that is able to ride over railroad tracks without the rear bouncing. Many times in my Rangers I ended up at a skewed angle on the road from the direction of travel after tracks or expansion joints in bridges. The Tacoma drives like a dream; it is just going to be a mass of dents after a few years. That is hard to swallow given the price of the thing. Every weekend now for the past month I’ve been working out small dents. The dents work out easier is one way of looking at it I suppose.

Yes, most new cars seem to be built in the same manor but not as bad as you explain. I know I have to be carefull on vehicles when I install an alarm because of the very thing you state. That's why I used to use the windows but especially on Toyotas and Fords, if you barely beat on the windshield, it will crack. So now I try to hit on a piller or something like it.