THINK TWICE

Frame and underbody corrosion is the first-generation Tundra's defining defect. STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS is the #2 complaint component (535 of 4,869, 11%), and 1,440 complaint texts across MY2000-2006 describe frame or underbody rust -- many reporting perforation ("large holes"), rusted-through brake lines, and failed safety inspections. Federal recall 09V444000 (2010) covers only MY2000-2003 trucks in 20 salt-belt states plus DC: excessive rear cross-member corrosion can drop the under-bed spare tire into traffic and can corrode the rear brake lines and proportioning valve, reducing braking. It is a cross-member inspection and anti-corrosion treatment, not a full frame replacement, and 2004-2006 trucks fall outside it despite heavy rust complaints of their own.

Check — Probe the frame rails, rear cross-member, and spare-tire crossmember with a screwdriver; flaking scale, soft metal, or perforation is disqualifying. Inspect the brake lines where they run along corroded members. VIN-check 09V444000 completion on 2000-2003 salt-belt trucks. Corrosion tracks the truck's regional/salt history far more than its mileage.

The first-generation Sequoia (2001-2007) rides on the same first-gen Tundra frame and shows the same salt-belt corrosion, though less often than the pickups: 396 of 4,482 complaint texts (9%) describe frame, underbody, or rear-axle-area rust, filed mostly under STRUCTURE:BODY and STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS. No federal frame-corrosion recall covers the Sequoia (the first-gen Tundra rear cross-member recall does not extend to it), so any frame perforation is the buyer's problem.

Check — Inspect the frame rails, rear cross-member, and rear axle/suspension mounts for scale and perforation, especially on northern trucks; check the brake and fuel lines routed along them. Regional history matters more than mileage, and there is no recall remedy.