Gas tank falling off

[IndigoCE07]

I started the car (2007 Corolla CE 52,000 miles, built in the Ontario factory) yesterday morning and it had a horrendous rattling sound. I looked under it and saw that the rear heat sheild was loose, so I drove it to the dealership because I have the 100,000 mile extended warrentee.

After having it checked out, the service advisor told me that one strap that attaches the gas tank to the car broke. He also said that he has seen it happen before but it's not common and that there was no corrosion. Fortunately, it was covered under the warrentee.

Have any of you experienced this before?

Thanks
Brett

[spartantoyota]

Actually, this just happened to me as well, though I certainly had corrosion issues due to a manufacturer's defect. In fact, my 1996 Tacoma even had a recall out for rust issues. I had already replaced pretty much everything underneath, from the muffler (2x) to the brake cords, radiator, and more, owing to rust issues. Yet somehow it always passed the recall inspections, including its last one just last October (the warranty was only until last year)

On Friday, however, I had a new issue- the GAS TANK actually FELL OFF the vehicle, WHILE I WAS DRIVING! It literally just fell off, and lay there on the pavement. The straps and pipes had all been rusted out to the point where they could no longer manage its weight and the thing just dropped! In some ways, this might have been a blessing in disguise. Had this happened on the highway, this might have been a different story and I probably wouldn't be writing this right now. At the very least, I can't believe that Toyota missed this during their last inspection.

I called Toyota today, and they have nothing to say on the matter. For those of you with old Tacomas, however, be careful.

[mikered30]

I guess the salt killed the straps. How is the rest of the underside of the car?