Got photos? Is it just surface rust?

 

CarFax has some sort of buy it back warranty or something. Look into what has happened to it. If it was storm recovery vehicle and rebuilt you may have some sort of recourse. Very hard to say though.

 

I mostly notice it on the wheels. The paint they put on them is bubbling. It is on the undercarriage (Surface rust) and on the back door inside hinges. It came from Conn>Denver auction>Nebraska. Thing that is strange is that my husband is usually so is so picky that car dealers hate him. This one time he let his heart lead him..I will do some checking on CarFax. I found the business card of the former owner in the car. Maybe I will call her. A Real Estate agent in Conn. Maybe woman to woman she will tell me something.

 

Being in the NE its not a surprise to see surface rust on the frame with all the salt that is used. Are the wheels on it steel wheels? They have been know to rust as well.

Being a 6/7 year old vehicle its not surprising to find some especially after being in those environments.

Hinges on the other hand are a bit of a surprise.

 

Holy cow that thing made the rounds and traveled a long way. Not saying it's an issue but when vehicles travel like this and are selling through shady dealers and auctions it could be an attempt to clear a scrap title. This was big issue with katrina cars, they were all over the place. I had a friend that bought a 2002 Trans Am that was a Katrina car and it's title had been cleaned via state to state transfers. He was able to sue and get his money back and kept the car.

 

It has only been in Nebraska for 6 months. We just recently had our first snow so very little salt here. The wheels are aluminum. The rust on the hinges scared me. Thanks for responding.

 

Most of the dealers around here go to the Denver auction and bring back cars. This dealer has been around a long time and we never hear anything bad about him. He went the next week and brought back another FJ. I know he is looking for them because we need 4 wheel drive around here at times just to get to the store. Well, I may have to go back to work more just to pay for the problems I anticipate.

 

I've never seen an old Toyota with out rust. It's kinda like an old lady with no gray hair. The only way to fix that hair is make it purple.

 

Yeah the wheels are a common problem when they see salt.
I bought mine with the bubblyness. Only reason I sold them to get new ones.

Toyota should be able to warranty the hinges. I think they have a pretty decent rust warranty, though they will not do anything about the wheels.

This is like the only thread I can find mentioning hinge rust
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...rums/problems-dealer-service/142316-anyone-noticing-rust-rear-hatch-hinges.html

 

I make sure to wax my wheels everytime I clean the truck for this exact reason. Also my hinges on the rear door had surface rust from day one. I cleaned them up as good as I could and now I spray them down with WD 40 from time to time.

 

WOW! That's scary. You may want to get it up on a rack and take a good look at it. Use an icepick or probe to check any questionable surfaces. Don't be afraid to knock off rust, the damage is done. Be sure to spray some metal protection an any exposed surfaces. I use: AMSOIL MP Heavy-Duty Metal Protector on all of the underside. Makes a good door hinge lube as well.