Tundra Question

1,540 Views | 15 Replies | Last: 14 days ago by Green2Maroon
MRB10
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7:43a, 8/25/25
AG
I'm going to be in the market for a new truck at some point between now and the end of the year. I'm debating between buying new and trying to find a 2021 for the V8. Two questions…

-Does anyone know how common engine/turbo failures are with the current model? Tundra forums have me wanting to stay away from the twin turbo v6 but I'm wondering if that's an overreaction.
-Is December the best time to buy new if we go that route?

TIA
“There is no red.
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There is the state.
And there is you.”

“As government expands, Liberty contracts” - R. Reagan
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Furlock Bones
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8:10a, 8/25/25
AG
They will never last as long as the 5.7 V8. Now will they last 150K when the kinks are worked out? Yea probably. But I'm not sure they have the kinks worked out.
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BlueSmoke
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10:02a, 8/25/25
Do you want boring dependability or modern convenience and performance?

My 5.7 Tundra gives me a case of the happy-pants every time I start it, but the ride is rough, tech almost non-existent, and it's loud in the cab.....and I will never trade it in barring an accident or something unforeseen.

It's a TRD, storm-trooper white with black accents, and I put larger, more aggressive tires on it. It's a tank.
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fixer
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10:32a, 8/25/25
Toyota has done a decent job of getting the turbo waste gate issue and the main bearing issue under control.

I would think that in the timeframe you are looking at there would be enough time to really evaluate if those issues are still statistically significant.

There have been a few 2024 and 2025 with main bearing failures. But nothing like the 2022-2023 years.

The glaring issue with the 2019-2021 models is the absence of any real transmission cooler. There is a really good retrofit kit from genuine cooling systems . It bolts right on. But is about $1300 or so.

If you are concerned at all about fuel economy don't even bother thinking about a 2021. The fuel economy is meme- material bad.
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BCStalk
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11:44a, 8/25/25
I've got 27k of hard miles on my Tundra. I am aware of the issue with the early models, but at this point what manufacturer does not have its own problems. I needed a truck that would constantly pull a trailer and the hybrid Tundra checked most of my boxes.
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JP76
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7:37p, 8/25/25
Last I checked there was around 1000 bearing failures out of 120,000 units but not sure what is now.


I have 43k on my 2023 and no problems so far.

The old 5.4 fords blew plugs out and people still bought boat loads of them as well as the eco boost that had all the cam phaser issues.

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JP76
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In reply to fixer • 7:40p, 8/25/25
fixer said:
Toyota has done a decent job of getting the turbo waste gate issue and the main bearing issue under control.

I would think that in the timeframe you are looking at there would be enough time to really evaluate if those issues are still statistically significant.

There have been a few 2024 and 2025 with main bearing failures. But nothing like the 2022-2023 years.

The glaring issue with the 2019-2021 models is the absence of any real transmission cooler. There is a really good retrofit kit from genuine cooling systems . It bolts right on. But is about $1300 or so.

If you are concerned at all about fuel economy don't even bother thinking about a 2021. The fuel economy is meme- material bad.



The 2022 up blows the old motors away on fuel economy. The power is great as well when you want it to be.





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MRB10
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7:57p, 8/25/25
AG
Thanks for the feedback. I generally assume auto forums dedicated to a specific vehicle are full of people who've either had issues or are fan boys. Therefore they likely aren't a good picture of the typical experience.

I'll keep an open mind about the new setup and may just try and get them to throw in an extended warranty to get the deal done.
“There is no red.
There is no blue.
There is the state.
And there is you.”

“As government expands, Liberty contracts” - R. Reagan
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Langley
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11:04p, 8/25/25
38k on my 2023.

No issues. They also discontinued the army green. This bad boy gets comments everywhere even 2 years later


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tejas_ayanem
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In reply to Langley • 7:27a, 8/26/25
Positive comments?
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Green2Maroon
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In reply to MRB10 • 7:38a, 8/26/25
AG
More and more vehicles are being built like this. Smaller engines with fewer cylinders and turbochargers is not unique to the Tundra at all.
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ElephantRider
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In reply to BCStalk • 9:31a, 8/26/25
AG
BCStalk said:
I've got 27k of hard miles on my Tundra. I am aware of the issue with the early models, but at this point what manufacturer does not have its own problems. I needed a truck that would constantly pull a trailer and the hybrid Tundra checked most of my boxes.

This is the part people need to accept. They all have issues now; reliability is a thing of the past. If you're going new, just get what you want/like and be prepared for something to go wrong.
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MRB10
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8:48p, 8/31/25
AG
Am I wrong in thinking a Sierra 1500 SLT with the duromax may be a better option? Seems like the tech is as good or better and the diesel may be more reliable.
“There is no red.
There is no blue.
There is the state.
And there is you.”

“As government expands, Liberty contracts” - R. Reagan
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CStewTAMU
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11:40p, 9/5/25
AG
I have a 2021 CrewMax. It's very basic. SR5. I love it and plan on keeping it a long time. It's probably the last simple old school truck. No turbo. No hybrid. No multi-displacement. None of that crap that breaks. The only issue I see is the aforementioned lack of a transmission cooler although transmission failures have never been an issue in 2nd gen tundras to my knowledge . I never tow so it's not a big deal for me. The 2019 and earlier models had one if I'm not mistaken. However, I don't think the Tundra didn't get CarPlay until 2020. Not sure how important that is to you, but not having it is a deal breaker for many now.

It all boils down to balancing affordability, reliability, and performance. You can only have two of those 3 things or at least must sacrifice one to improve one of the others. Toyota built their brand and reputation the last 50 years by putting most of their chips into the reliability category. Their cars were never the most powerful, got the best fuel economy, or were the cheapest. But they spent less time in the shop than pretty much any other brand. And they hold their value better than probably any other brand. They're getting away from that and trying to improve performance abs creature comforts. I find the entire automotive industry's trend of moving towards small displacement turbo engines disappointing as I'd rather have a gas guzzler with less power that never breaks

That's my 2 cents.

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AggieFrog
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3:47p, 9/6/25
AG
I had a '14 Tundra with the 5.7 for 9 years and 135k miles and got a '23 Limited 2.5 years ago. This truck is better in every way over my old '14. It tows better, is more comfortable, better tech, better acceleration, and 25% better gas mileage.
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Green2Maroon
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In reply to CStewTAMU • 7:05p, 9/6/25
AG
The automotive industry has to comply with increasingly strict fuel economy and emissions standards. They can only get so much fuel economy from a naturally aspirated V6 or V8. So in the case of Toyota, they almost had to go from a regular V8 to a turbocharged V6 for the Tundra. For the Tacoma they had to do a similar change and go from a 3.5 liter V6 to a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder with a turbo.
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