CAM SHAFT TOWER SEAL LEAKING ** PLEASE READ***

The issue could be air trapped in the supply line when the silicone is applied

 

I think Toyota relies on the general ignorance and feigned dealership ignorance about this issue. Most of the time, it doesn't leave oil on the ground so no one knows. Maybe you smell it on the heat shield and figure it out, but I'd guess most are blissfully ignorant. When you discover it outside of warranty, you're screwed.

I do think the issue is much larger than Toyota would ever admit, which stinks for us. The closer to 5.7 phase out, and with each year that passes, they have less financial responsibility. This thread will continue and people will bitch about this issue, and Toyota will do nothing.

 

I'm at 7500 miles now and it's barely weeping, if at all. Dry on the passenger side. Zero towing miles.

 

This could be a case of corporate gamesmanship. The manufacturing side doesn’t want to take the hit to the budget to update the engine manufacturing line. The warranty side is getting hammered and can’t figure out why...

 

It seems to be a consistent spot that the towers leak. I'm willing to bet the robot starts/stops applying on the bottom front corner of each side. That could leave a small gap where most of the leaks happen.

 

Excellent work on making Toyota Motor Corp. stand up and be accountable.

 

Well add me to the list of 2018's with the leak on the drivers side. I have less that 15,000 miles on the truck. It's going in Wednesday and they said it takes 2 days.

 

Sorry to hear. I see you're in Hillsboro—where are you taking it for the repair?

 

Taking it to Royal Moore, only because it's close by and its convenient. I've used Beaverton Toyota but had a few issues with their service people when I had my 4Runner.

 

Sometimes it's better to have those smaller shops/dealers do the work because they actually take their time instead of rushing though it, so it might be a good thing RM is doing it. Hopefully they take good care of you!

 

anyone with a 2020 with some miles noticed this yet? or do we believe, after a over a decade, Toyota has finally fixed it prior the the Gen change

 

I'm pretty sure someone earlier in this thread with a 2020 reported the leak. I'd bet a lot of money that Toyota didn't suddenly decide to fix it.

 

I noticed a seep on my 2020 at 1500 miles on the passenger side. I cleaned it off and haven't noticed it again after 800 miles. Im sure it will prolly be back and have to be repaired. Sad thing is, I traded my 2011 back in 2016 due to this issue(I was 2,000 miles outside of warranty). I would have thought they would have addressed this issue and I should have done some more research before purchasing.

 

If you had done the research and found this is still occurring, would that really have changed your decision to buy a Tundra?

 

Not for me

 

Yes, I wasn’t in a bind with the vehicle I had. I still love the truck without a doubt.....Toyota still dropped the ball on this issue and they are aware and don’t care.

 

What would you have bought instead, if you don't mind me asking?

 

I’ve hade good luck with Silverados. Had good luck with the 2016 Suburban I traded. The 5.3 is nothing to write home about and the 6.2’s are powerful but more rare and in higher price ranges models. That’s why I landed back in the Tundra. Price, power, room, re-sale. Lol...good news is I have 4 years 9 months and 57,000k miles of warranty to get the cam leak sorted.

 

I wouldn’t have changed my choice of trucks had I known about the issue. But I damned sure would have made the warranty mandatory. As luck would have it, my warranty is in full effect.

Like a parent finding their kid doing something stupid, I’m not mad but I’m really disappointed.

 

I just checked mine and it’s still dry after 1,600 miles. I’ve noticed on my 2020 that you can see the bead of gray silicon. I don’t remember my 2011 having that. Maybe After break in mine doesn’t come back...lol

 

I did the research, saw it was affecting older models and told the wife when I signed papers "only thing I have to worry about with the Tundra is a cam tower leak but Toyota should have fixed that by now." 21k miles later...leak onto heatshields and smoking. Everyone seems to glorify Yota trucks but both my Toyota trucks (Tacoma and Tundra) have had the most costly, intensive work under 50k then any vehicle I have ever owned. Maybe just my luck with both trucks but I have no loyalty to them and probably wont purchase another. If I do go with another Toyota it will be a 4runner for the wife if I can ever get her to let go of her Tacoma, she has the typical this is the best thing ever Toyota attitude lol.

 

My 2019 just rolled over 20,000 miles and still bone dry. I'd like to think I have just gotten luck with my truck, but I know it will probably happen soon.

 

As I've said elsewhere on here, I was essentially down to either Toyota or GM until I saw how many guys have had the brakes fail on their T1s. I'll be disappointed if I end up having to tear the engine apart to fix a cam tower leak but it seems less likely to kill me or my family than losing the brakes especially while towing a travel trailer over the Rockies.

 

I was really looking hard at a T1 but to get bucket seats would have put me in a $60k+ CAD truck that has the potential for brake failure, infotainment issues and inability to consistently power trailer lights.

 

By the looks of it my seep (really leak) is going to turn into a leak.

 

I did not know about this issue when I bought by 2019 SR DC in March, 2019. It most likely would not have affected my decision; mainly I knew I wanted a truck, I knew I wanted a Tundra. I came from Ford and wasn't going back. I didn't like the GMC/Chevy trucks, I had considered RAM, but thankfully decided against that. I wanted the reliability of the Tundra.

What I maybe would have tried to do is negotiate a heavily discounted extended warranty knowing that this problem existed.

BTW - my Tundra has 7,800 mi and is bone dry (my 2012 Lexus RX 350 has pretty good oil seepage on the backside of the engine at 58k...)

 

Found this thread while doin research into an odd oil leak. Our ‘13 Seqouia has this issue. It was there when we bought the truck, and I figured it was valve cover gaskets. I replaced those, only to find the oil Still leaking. Now, I know what the issue is! I will call my local dealer first, and give them the opportunity to make this right. If that fails, I’ll Try the next closest dealer. Last option will be direct to Toyota.
I will post back as needed.

 

I just purchased a 2012 Sequoia 3 weeks ago. 147K miles, great clean condition. I knew about this issue, but not to extent of what Ive read so far in this thread. I called a couple dealership to ask about this issue to see how prevalent it was. All gave me the impression that it was not. The car I purchased was such a good deal, excellent condition. I inspected for this issue specifically, but the seller had the car detailed, including the engine bay, so it was perfectly clean - bone dry. When I asked him if he this issue, he said he wasn't aware of it, but said he had never noticed any leaks before the detail job.

I've put 3K miles on the car (bought it in GA and drove it home to CO) and yesterday I was looking for the engine type code. In the process, I went to look through the wheel well and saw mine is leaking (driver side). Passenger side is still bone dry. All I can think of is that the seller didn't drive it after he had it detailed.

Has anyone had any luck getting Toyota to cover the fix for a vehicle this far passed the warranty period?
Has anyone had success doing a DIY repair on this? This video provides a good overview: https://youtu.be/MiO9ARX9Lts

 

When will that be?

 

I have a 2014 with the 4.6 l engine does this apply to that engine or to the 5/7 only