Amazing how little quality is left.....

That's what I think is the answer.

There isn't enough salt used on the roads here to talk about.

I have one of those chromy pumpkin covers on the rear of my 82 'burban with some crazy amount of miles. not really rust-prone.

I've never heard about a differential cover rusting through.

TnAndy, did you buy the truck new? Any chance there was a replacement cover on the truck?

I've seen the cheap chrome replacement covers with significant surface rust on them.

My uncle used to be a nut job about Toyotas, that is, until he bought a brand new Sienna.

The master cylinder went out at 37,000 miles, and both the dealer, and Toyota corporate told him they would not cover the repair under warranty. Toyota wanted $1,100 for a new one.

They had the master cylinder replaced, and drove it for a while, until they had even more problems, and traded it for a new Ford.

I used to own a Mazda B2000 and I put on 75K miles delivering pizzas. I burned that truck up and I only paid $400 for it.

I bought the truck new. No chance it was a replacement cover.....it came with the truck. And this wasn't surface rust.....the metal was, as best I can describe, "rotten".......you could stick a screwdriver in under sections and pop off 50 cent sized pieces !

The fact Chevy makes a "kit" for it tells me a LOT.

American-made Toyota, is not the same as Japanese-made Toyota, unfortunately.

Nothing is perfect - My Toyota truck rusted out from under me.

I too have a 2003 2500HD that has had rust issues. I replaced the front bumper this spring and it was rotten through and through even more than this picture shows. Imagine that my surprise when I disassembled the bumper brackets and found in big bold letters "TAIWAN" stamped into the bumper. Replaced it with an OEM bumber...also stamped with "TAIWAN". You might want to check your brake lines as well before you get a real thrill.

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www.salmonslayer-simplelife.blogspot.com

And then yesterday, I changed oil on the wife's 2011 Subaru. Also decided to rotate the tires. One lug nut already had stripped threads, had to be from the factory since that is the first time the tires had been off the car.

Have replaced all the brake lines on the F150 several years ago. Gas tank too, a fuel vent connector rusted out on top of tank. cheap junk metal.
They did use a rust preventative alloy in brake lines in years past but stopped that after it was deemed a carcinogen. Went with stainless brake lines for replacement .

I've owned Fords, Chevys, Dodges, and Toyotas. They all have break downs, and a lemon shows up in all of them from time to time.

Nothing is perfect. They even make parts for Mercedes and Rolls-Royce.

Knock on wood, DH's 2000 Toyota Echo is still running strong after 250,000+ miles. We bought it new.
This one was 100% Japanese made.

Have had a number of Toyota's over the years and loved them. No issues what so ever.
Though my favorite was a 93 Camry wagon.
The Toyota dealers... have so far, done right by us. Granted that was in WA and OR.
Time will tell if the VA dealers are as honest.

We decided to go with Toyota's after a number of years of GM/Chevy/Dodge products that lasted until the warranty ended, most of the time and then cost major $$$ to repair. We spent so much money keeping them running, we had no money for anything else.
Sad part is, we take good care of our cars/trucks... do the scheduled maintenance.

Worse one was a Dodge truck we bought, back when we were young. Brand new truck was trying its hardest to send a Rod through the hood. And the Dealer kept telling us nothing was wrong. Finally found a shop and they had to re do the engine. Seriously wasn't impressed. With the proof from the shop and State Attorney generals office... we finally forced Dodge to pay for the repairs. Needless to say we dumped the truck after that.
There are others with GM/Chevy cars, issues that were beyond annoying. These companies sure do not put pride in their work... or even make them reliable.

One thing we need is Reliable... and good gas mileage is a plus.

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Shari