Rust Spots on New 4runner

Hi all! I am new to the 4runner world and absolutely loving it. About 2 weeks ago got my 2023 4runner. I was snooping around and looking at things today and discovered a bunch of areas in the front underbody near the tires that have rust.





While it is true I am in the rust belt, I have not driven it in snow/salty roads at all so far due to the season.

I did find this thread but I can't help thinking I am seeing significantly more rust than shown by the OP in that thread.

Am I overthinking this? What can I do about this?

 

Normal. I live in Ca and when I looked under mine upon delivery, it was the same.
My tie rods and bolts dont look as bad as your tho. I believe some parts of 4runner are cast iron and it tends to look that way.
If you are concern about it, you can clean it and coat it with rust sealant.

 

You will also notice that some of the frame welds have rust spots. Apparently it’s from the weld slag?

 

Yep I got mine last June in Michigan (built April) had that and some rust on welds. I was ticked like you. Mine had not even seen rain under my ownership let alone salt or snow.

I had the weld spots por 15 and fluid filmed right away that summer and I do not drive it in inclement weather.

It is ashame such a vehicle has such a weak spot for this.

 

Take it back. It's defective.

 

Probably should give it to a friend

 

Don’t worry though I think they finally heard about this rust issue in Japan. This is still a relatively new concept.

I have the utmost confidence that an action plan is in place to resolve for 2025 sixth gens. Maybe sixth time is the charm.

 

Yes, you're over thinking it. What you see is completely normal and common across all automotive brands. Since you (like me) live in the rust belt though, you might want to consider additional corrosion protection. Here's something to consider:

Complete Corrosion Protection for my New T4R | Toyota 4Runner Forum [4Runners.com]

 

As was explained to me when I noticed it, they all take a boat ride across the ocean, that salty air isn't helping.

FLuid film, wool wax, surface shield. ect the heck out of it.

 

Normal. If it bugs you, sand areas that can be sanded, hit it with some rustoleum paint.

 

Those are the hard stops for your steering linkage. I guess the engineers figured they didn’t need to be painted. It bugged me, so I cleaned those two areas with a Scotch-Brite pad and put on a coat of corrosion preventative compound. The pics were taken today after driving in Georgia for more than a year. Eezox is some good stuff!

 

They put yours on the deck of of the cargo ship from Japan . Mine is only a week old and looks exactly the same.

 

Thank you all for the responses! I appreciate you all. The conclusion for me is to follow up with sanding the possible areas to remove rust, and then rust-proof them. Will post pictures here when I finish that process.

Completely agreed, it makes sense.

You have a very good point. I looked under our other car for comparison. We've had it since late 2019 (not Toyota) and I am definitely seeing rust under the front area. Not terrible, but very noticeable. Also, that's a fantastic post you have linked! Bookmarked it for reference. Definitely will be using it! Thank you.

I was wondering what some of those parts are. I have a lot to learn You're absolutely right about the hard stops. And it does bug me! Just thinking in future this can easily progress from this part and rot out the whole piece. I'll be doing what you have done. It makes sense. Thank you.

No kidding! Must have been on the deck enjoying some salt for sure.