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

Common issue I believe or i have terrible luck like you lol. My 15 tundra had it, and now my 17 pro is at shop as we speak for cam tower fix.

 

Care to say which dealer it was, just in case.

 

I vote for common issue, in varying degrees of severity. What makes one more severe, I have no clue. For my truck, I think it's towing.

I think it goes unnoticed largely and isn't repaired. Yet, the Tundra is at the top of the reliability list. Maybe it takes burning from the heat shield for someone to notice and look there. If you didn't know about this issue, would you drive your truck for the next 50-70k miles, blissfully ignorant, and then get something new? Wouldn't leave you stranded.

 

Lethbridge Toyota. I requested if I could get the same tech that worked on my 15 to do my 17 (thank god he is still working there lol)
And they said absolutely!

 

Nice. I bought mine in High River as I actually live in Turner Valley. Always preferred smaller dealerships but I've yet to have any major work done there so...

 

Anyone sent out of the dealership saying they cleaned it and will evaluate?

 

Nothing wrong with that. You want to make sure that's the issue before they tear into it.

 

That's understandable, make sure you put plenty of highway miles on to get that oil thin and hot to find those spots

 

Just bought a 2020 and glad I got the warranty! Has anyone seen this on their 2020's yet?

 

Yes, mine is on the passenger side. Haven’t even had my first oil change yet.

 

Hope you got the warranty...

 

will be covered under the 60K drivetrain.

 

Dude, he doesn't have to "get" the warranty, it comes with the new truck. You didn't "get" yours either, it came with your new truck.

 

What do you guys think? Am I in the clear? It looks like the seal is black to me. Could be looking in the wrong place...thanks for any help

 

So that's the question - if you don't get this fixed what happens? The cam tower weeps slightly for the life of your truck and besides maybe some minimal makeup oil otherwise performs faithfully and beautifully for 200K miles? Sincerely asking...

 

@PWMDMD My 2017 with 18k miles was dripping on the front crossmember, they can get worse other than a light weep. Some on here have burning oil smell from the hot exhaust

 

It could be people are irritated to spend 45k on a new truck to face an issue Toyota should have fixed tears ago. Really wish some of the cool aid boys would take some time off. These are great trucks but the GD fanboys that sit on their high horse and never claim any issues are irritating.

 

I think I everyone agrees Toyota has inexplicably dropped the ball on this. It isn’t a “bad run” of gasket material, it’s a production flaw that hasn’t been corrected in years in the manufacture of these engines. Land Cruisers / LX570s have the same issue. How common is it the issue? I don’t know. But it’s common enough. Having watched the videos of what all has to come apart to reseal it makes me sincerely hope my 2017 doesn’t spring a leak. If it did, and Toyota wouldn’t pay the bill, I honestly don’t think I’d pay $2,000+ out of pocket to have it fixed. As problems go, this one won’t leave you stranded at the side of the road or anything. I can buy a lot of oil for two grand.

 

Or....you could buy a truck that doesn’t leak oil when new.

 

I got a pretty good one for free. 500 bucks and I will tell ya how.

 

True. But mine doesn’t leak oil yet. Fingers crossed, but sure, it might happen. So long as it doesn’t develop the cam tower leak, these motors are pretty bulletproof. And the list of potential issues with a GM, Ford, Ram or Titan are much longer. The resale on those other makes is lower if you buy, as I did my 2017 Tundra. And the lease payments are higher on those other makes as a result of the complicated actuarial formulas Ally and other banks use to predict what people are willing to pay for used trucks (no opinions, banks aren’t losing money on these things). I leased my 2019 Tundra as a result because nothing else was within $75/month (the residual in my Crewmax SR5 ORP is an astounding 82% on a 2 year 24K lease). So while the Tundra isn’t perfect, financially and reliability / durability wise, it’s better than anything else on the market right now. I’m no Toyota loyalist, and if that calculus changes, I’ll be happy to drive something else that fits the bill.

FWIW, my last experience was with a 2007 GMC Sierra that had the AFM system and burned oil like crazy. The GMC was worth slightly less than 40% of what I paid for it after 4 years and 85K miles. If I include some minor unscheduled repairs and too frequent brake repairs (the rotors were awful on that thing), those were expensive miles. Extrapolating out the values of 4 year old Limited Crewmax Tundras like mine (at 40K miles now with no repairs, original brakes and rotors), it will be worth roughly 55% of what I paid for it after 4 years with similar mileage. So, it looks like it’ll be cheaper to run with the added advantage of increased resale. Heck, if your 2020 Springs a leak, trade it in and get the redesigned Tundra at that point. The resale value should make that pretty painless.

 

I also had the 2010 Silverado with AFM. The thing was constantly back for burning oil and misfire on cylinder number seven. I had all the updates performed and it still used oil. Then a oil leak developed at the oil pan and it went back twice for that one.
The warranty was almost up so I dumped it an bought a Tacoma. Now I'm in a 2020 Tundra. I laugh when people complain of a small oil leak that happens occasionally on the Tundra.

 

I got the dreaded cam tower leak. Fortunately Careguard warranty is paying for it minus a $100 deductible.

 

I'm at Rudy Luther Toyota right now having them get it on the books that there is a leak on my 2016 with 37,000 miles (passenger side only) We will see what they say.

 

Are you still on warranty? How long is the powertrain warranty for?

 

I am under both bumper to bumper because I bought it "certified used" and powertrain warranty is still good for a couple years or 100,000 miles.

 

Welp, He said that he doubts they'll approve the cam shaft tower seal. HOWEVER they found that my water pump was seeping (no drips that i've noticed) and could almost guarantee me that they'll approve that. SO? He said he sent both requests in with pictures of both for approval. We will see i guess.. Makes me a little disappointed in Toyota like a lot of people on this site. It's still the best choice for me right now though.

 

Certified used - 37K and not covering it? That’ll make a great social media post. Honestly, it will deserve its own thread here with the selling dealer and tagging Toyota corporate if it turns out that way. FWIW, if mine starts leaking out of warranty, I’ll be trading it in as is. Where is. I’m not paying for half the motor to be pulled apart for a .25 cent gasket. Sorry for you. That really Blows.

 

Thanks! Yeah it's super disappointing. I'm still waiting for a call back on it. I'm not getting my hopes up though.

 

FWIW, I had both cam towers re-sealed about 3 years ago and was working in the engine bay last week end..still bone dry. So it seems to hold with the black sealant