Rear Suspension Shock Absorber problems of the 1999 Toyota Tacoma

Tl the contact owns a 1999 Toyota Tacoma. While driving 20 mph over a bump in the road, the contact heard a loud abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the rear shock absorber fractured and that there was a hole in the frame. Del Toyota (2945 Lincoln hwy e, thorndale, PA 19372, (610) 383-6200) was contacted and stated that the vehicle was sold as is without further assistance. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 83,000.

Dec 13, 2015, while bending down to pick up my reading glasses in the driveway, I noticed a clean through fracture of the frame, rear passenger side, just in front of the shock absorber fitting. A few days earlier I had wondered why the bed was tilted up pinching the back of the cab. The vehicle had passed state inspection year after year and had been see by my regular mechanic less than 2 years ago and no issues with frame deterioration were found or brought to my attention. I contacted Toyota and just yesterday was told, sorry about your "rust" issue, but the warranty has long expired. This is a well documented design and manufacturing defect tied to improper prep by Toyota frame contractor dana holding corp. The vehicle was fully operational and now it is un-driveable. If the vehicle had come apart at highway speeds, it could have caused serious injury or fatality. This is my only means of transportation as a fixed income retiree. There's no justifiable reason a vehicle frame should fail like this only to have Toyota tell me they will do nothing. My troubles aside, this is a very serious public safety risk and a risk to all service personnel, owners, their passengers and others on the road in their vicinity. It was only by sheer luck that I discovered this while the vehicle was parked.