2020 Tundra is Outdated on Arrival - TFL Truck's Review

2019 had everything I wanted and I test drove a $70,000 Raptor that I could have bought.

Test drove Dodge and Chvey as well

Some want more buttons and they can buy a different truck

 

Those two are entertaining. I dint always agree with stuff they say, but they make the reviews fun. Didnt know rear departure angle was as bad as it was compared to others.

 

They kind of fanboi it up from time to time, but overall I like the channel as well. Their off-road channel isn't bad either.

 

If Toyota equipped the Tundra like the Tacoma (trim to trim) alot of this would be moot.
The loss of the 5.7 as a primary engine is inevitable.
The loss of the 6 speed transmission is also inevitable.
The fact that we have already paid off or are paying off a loan for an extremely reliable truck is the current reality.

My buddy's F150 2018 Platinum has already been in the shop for:

HVAC
Intercooler
Vented Seat
Transmission
Bedliner issue

Thats at 25k. None stranded him, but my Tundra has been in the shop for:

Oil change/Air Filter/ tire rotation .

I electively changed to an AGM

Thats at 40k



Videos can't demonstrate these differences over a 15m video without making everyone bored to tears.

 

I go to the auto show every year so I can check out what all the manufacturers are doing. I like some of the utilitarian aspects that a few of the manufacturers have come up with (Dodge's bed boxes, GMC's tailgate - yes I like it), but a lot of it just seems to be BS used by the marketing dept. There are also some seats I like better than the Tundra, but the interior of the some of the other manufacturers just look, feel and sound cheap. I can't imagine how poorly they'd hold up to my dogs.

 

Interesting.. I've taken most notice to engine, transmission, and electronics of the competition.
My Tundras plastics are a joke. My wife's Lexus plastic is very good.
The pickup bed contraption is a joke. Toyota could have put a better screen, NAV, and apple\android play in all past and future vehicles if the safety issue was really a priority. But.... Oh well.

 

The best way I can sum it up is the tortoise and the hare story. Slow and steady wins the race.

 

It was a fair review.

 

Didn't watch it. Just wondering why anyone wants to put out a review on a 14 year old design.

 

I love those guys and check their website daily. But they’ve posted a lot of click-bait articles lately. Seem to be working hard to drive daily clicks even if their article has nothing to say.

 

Probably because they have a lot of people posting about Tundras on their channel, so they have to throw us a bone from time to time.

 

Reliability isn't one of the aspects they look at in their reviews. They are more interested in bells and whistles as I see it. I bought my Tundra for reliability not fancy radio, bigger screen, apple play, 50 charging points, 360 degree video, etc. I bought mine to last over 200k without major issues, pull a horse trailer, dirt bike, camper, etc. And I don't need a tail gate that looks like a transformer and will cost me 5k to replace when I back into a farm implement with it or hit it with a trailer. You know the inevitable in the real world.

 

Fair and on point review.

We all love our tundras and think they are heads above the rest and in some ways they are, I believe in the reliability area they are. In some of the creature comforts they are falling behind. I mean I am still waiting on a premium leather wrapped steering wheel on the SR5 upgrade package, I mean come on Toyota, wtf? The 2011 ram bighorn I traded in for my first tundra had a premium leather wrapped steering wheel with cloth seats. If ram can do it, why not Toyota.
It took 6 years for the sr5 upgrade to get auto headlights, yup my 2011 ram had em, and lets not forget one touch up/down power windows that the sr5 upgrade still is missing.

Other than few little things I love my truck, lets hope the remodel addresses some of these minor issues.

 

It's Christmas time. The baby needs new shoes.

 

I like mine. I don't like bells and whistles. My biggest gripe is the instrument cluster isn't backlit when the lights are off and it doesn't have an 8 track player.

 

I think it is a consensus that a good majority of us here put reliability above all the bells and whistle. Otherwise, we wouldn't be owning Tundras when the competition has fancier bells and whistles. I, for one, bought it for the reliability and the other gadgets were nice to have features. I didn't buy a truck to play around with the gadgets, I have enough distractions in the back seat screaming and smashing food into the seats.

Short response, I'm a simple man.

 

My other truck, a 1997 Toyota T-100, has 3 pedals on the floor and those rolly-rolly things for the windows. At 264,000 miles it is still my daily driver. I have had to put $0.00 into the factory air conditioning. Everything works.

 

I miss this. It is always the good things that end up fading away.

 

This is why I refuse to work for a company obsessed with checking the boxes on "features" without creating a stable product FIRST.

The more time spent on developing checkmarks (bells and whistles) the less time there is for developing dependability, and stability.

This is exactly how it is in the tech industry of which I have many years of experience. There's only so much time to go around in development. Make one piece of the pie bigger, and some other slice will get smaller.
The more focus put on one thing, the more blurry the other things become.

For the machine that takes me into the middle of the desert or some remote area with sometimes almost no chance of survival if that machine breaks... I say f' the checkboxes.

 

Yup even a cam tower leak ain't going to strand you.

 

Im in my 30’s, don't consider myself “old school”. I appreciate tech. But it blows my damn mind how much weight, gimmicky BS “safety” features carry during these reviews.

Auto start/stop and “DFM” are cheap tricks for MPG at the expense of longevity/reliability. Marginal improvements in MPG at best depending on how you drive.

Lane departures, chimes, dings, adapting cruise controls....pay F’ing attention and drive. Apple car play(I have it)...hardly worth mentioning in a damn review. Not as cool as it sounds.

Gimme a 6.2L iForce w/ a 10 speed, 440hp/475ft lbs and a Ram’ish interior...take my $55k Toyota!

#offthesoapbox

 

The more outdated the better. I think vehicle design peaked in 95-2000.

 

Or somewhat closer or not far afterward production. The first Gen Tundra trks were engineered to be a bullet proof rock solid dependable trk. A necessity to make and be a worthy name in the new American market.

Toyota overwhelmingly succeeded. Though, that program dwindled to the point of 2nd and more so 3rd Gen Tundras road survival rate to decline beyond buyers expectations. Toyota is now competitive to the big 3 overpriced mainline competitors trucks sales, as intended, but with same overwhelming vehicle issues while at unrelenting premium sale price above competitors.

Toyota has been Americanized, and are no different than the competitors.

 

Stop it.

My 07 has been and still is absolutely bulletproof after damn near 13 years and 160k miles. I want a new truck but it wont let me. From what I see on these forums for the most part, I am not an exception.

I’m OCD about maintenance, but its been basic(oil, filter, tires and brakes). Has never left me stranded, never been back to the dealer, doesn’t leak or burn a drop of oil, never gets hot, AC is ice cold and yanks the rzr’s through utah/idaho mountain ranges as fast as I want to go.

‘Yota hasn't lost their edge on rock solid reliability yet.

 

Having been the owner of two Tacoma’s (96 and 01), and 3 Tundras (01, 10, 18), I have enjoyed near 1 million miles and counting of their well earned reputation of reliability. Trust me, I love Toyota’s and have a great appreciation for their corporate philosophy and business model.

What I fail to understand is how they drag their feet with modern technology in the Tundra when they have successfully integrated modern comforts into other vehicles in their line up. Simple back lighting, one touch switches, push button start, proximity entry, factory remote start, heated steering wheels, capless gas tanks, multiple USB outlets, rear heated seats, the list goes on and on.

I love my 2018 Platinum, but given the profit margin on trucks and the American market, why not offer these options on your most high dollar vehicles when you offer them in other vehicles in your line up? You can’t tell me they are not reliable when they have been proven reliable already. These relatively small upgrades would take away basically every complaint of the Tundra besides the MPG (which I have no problem with given the reliability more than makes up for it).

 

I just took a 2.5 hour trip with a friend in his 2019 Ram Laramie. It was nice, but seats felt narrow, more like a sports car. The tundra seats are wide. The passenger floorboard loses about 30% of the floor area as it slopes up for tyranny. Not near as comfortable as my tundra platinum.

 

I don't want to get you down....

But....big frigging deal. 160k is still a baby. Even a dodge is going to do 160k. People buy toyotas for what they are doing at 300k.

Ugh. I don't want any of that crap on my truck. I hope mine lasts forever and I'm never forced into something like that.

 

YouTube reviewers are looking for maximum exposure for maximum views which leads to maximum money for them. If you don’t believe me just search for nerf battles and see kids with 78 million views reviewing a nerf gun.

Why don’t we (the forum) have someone like @Stig or @joonbug do a tundra review and actually drop science on viewers instead of watching paid for and sponsored youtubers.

Plus I want to see how @Stig does a review without talking.

 

You know what bugs me?

no one ever does a 100k mile competitive review.

If Toyota really wanted to pickup market share (and perhaps they don’t) they would purchase competitive vehicles with 100k miles on them and advertise repair history, durability, fit and finish and calculate a TCO including gas and depreciation.

When my wife and I were shopping for her SUV she wanted a Durango in the worst way. I asked her if we could test drive a two year old Durango (it was a 2015 with about 30k miles on it). Everything rattled, brakes felt soft and I think there was a dash light on as well. Interior did not feel like it was holding up well and it definitely drove like a used vehicle. She had a leased journey at the time and the Durango felt like a large journey that cost 10k more. We went to Toyota and did the same test on the highlander. That day there was no question which vehicle she wanted and we got her HL Platinum a week later.

if you’re spending all this money to buy a depreciating asset at least do your research.