Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Chloride, Arizona

On December 28, 2011, I brought my 2001, Toyota Sequoia in to be serviced for rear brakes and to get the oil changed. My certified mechanic called me at home and strongly suggested that I come in to see what he discovered while my vehicle was up on the lift. So I stopped in to take a look. He showed me extensive rust holes in the middle of the frame welds on both the passenger and driver's side. He also pointed out that the rear differential case has severe rust damage. He strongly urged me to stop driving the vehicle and stated that it is unsafe in its present condition and that he has never seen such extensive frame rust damage on a vehicle this well taken care of. The drive train, outer body, and interior are in mint condition. I also have always made it a point to power wash the salt (calcium chloride) off the under carriage after driving in the Northeast after snow or ice storms, when salt is used on our roads. I contacted my local Toyota dealership and they gave me the phone number to Toyota Headquarters. The end result was, they were sorry to hear that I had a rotted out frame and suggested that I get rid of the vehicle because there is currently no recall for the Sequoias. Although, after going online at the Toyota forum I found out that they're are over 300 consumers with the same type of issue with their Sequoia frames in our state, so I do not stand alone. I am floored that a company like Toyota, that prides itself in being committed to safety does not care and will not take ownership when they knowingly used cheap Japanese steel to build these faulty frames. I currently have three young children and this is my primary vehicle. I cannot afford to throw $8 K away (Kelly Blue Book) on this vehicle. Please help!

I have an 04 with corroded wheels, we bought it used and the previous owner drove the SRX year round. The mag chloride/salt from the winter is very hard on chrome and wheels in general. Have you used the same wheels in the winter? If so, I suspect that is the problem.

You are right . I think the E 46 came out in 2005 or 06 and now a good used one would be about 24K not sure. A 330XI AWD that is..I put 16"tires and rims on VW and was sweating the TPMS would work as it's a costly fix and it's needed for state inspection.It's too low and this Year I could of used studded tires. I have been looking @ a Susuki AWD as it has a timing chain and I hope to get the car situation straightened out before next winter. This 2.5L VW burns gas also, when the heater is crankin' and your driving up the mtn acess rd. I was down in Riodosa, New Mexico and had to rent tire chains off the Indian kids to get up the switchbacks that got me to the base lodge. It must be nice to live in CA you can wash your wheels and keep a car mint.We have sodium chloride ,sand and rock salt.

Isn't it a Husky's duty to take off on a gallivanting romp from time to time?? lol In seeing your temps, i think your area is colder than here. We get temps like that, but i get the feeling not as often. I've seen a -40 twice in 10 years. -35 about 7 times, -30 probably 40 times. Last night, that 11.2 became 1.3 only a few hours later. I see we hit -.4 at 730 this morning. This has been a very mild winter for us so far. In fact that is our coldest night since last winter. I have seen -23 in Nov a few years ago, and that was before we got any snow. But that was very VERY rare. There were many frozen water pipes that year. AWD minivans...yes, only the Sienna, and they are way too hard on gas. Apparently the 2WD are not too bad, but just like the Caravan, GM's Safari, Ford's Aerostar and Mazda's MPV (did you get those?) as soon as you go AWD, mileage drops about 40%. A huge hit. Far greater than the hit a vehicle like the CRV or Ford Escape, Rav4 takes when u go AWD. I am just amazed that one of the brands didn't offer a turbo diesel with one of those AWD minivans. Chrysler would have been a good choice. Use that wonderful 3 litre V6 MBenz engine that they use to offer in the Gr Cherokee. Talk about a doit all vehicle, and enjoy an honest 30 (your gallon) mpg in all climates. I too like winter driving! I have done a lot of it though and more miles in my big truck than most other means. I don't like the salt tho. I wish they would use more sand. Here, they salt it till they get it down to the pavement, and if it is too cold, then they are using that calcium chloride crap that eats metal so fast you can almost sit there and watch it work when the sun comes out and heats it up on the car. I actually avoid the roads they use that stuff on. And if some day I can't, I wash my car when i get home. (I installed hot and cold outside water lines just for that job). btw, I sorta lost you here? "and quickly replaced it with a 2007 Outback. That car was sold five months later after we found out we were having a second baby. We then purchased a 2008 Outback for a trip then sold it when we returned home " You only kept the 07 for 5 mo but bought an 08 the next yr? That part I lost ya..

What's your opinion of salt versus the meltaway products (magnesium chloride). The meltaway stuff will burn thru ice and snow like red hot magma, but you have to apply it pretty heavily... and it is more expensive. I don’t know about the “magnesium chloride” but the calcium chloride is pretty potent. I have a friend whose brother works as mid level manager of a very large truck supply company and the truckers are screaming bloody murder about the use of calcium chloride. He said that it has eaten brake lines, gas lines, gas tank straps, destroyed brake rotors and everything else that is under the trucks in a little over a year where some states use the hell out of this stuff. This may increase the cost of the oranges that I’m about to start mashing so I’m going to join in on the screaming. jmonroe