The TERRABL Build Thread - '25 Limited Crewmax

So at the time of purchase, the truck's license plate/nickname was going to be BBQSAUZ... But after it ended up like this at 1,270 miles 10 days into owning it, my brain switched it to TERRABL. This won't be a short read, but I promise that at some point, there'll be more photos. I'm typing this thread as the truck has spent the past 2 days at a local dealer after it sounded like the internals wanted to be externals, leading to the tow truck scene below. For those wondering, at this point they have no update for me regarding what the failure/problem is nor a plan on what needs to be done to fix it.



Quick back story, we absolutely loved (and immediately regretted selling) my last Tundra, and so when the itch started earlier this year to start a new project, another Tundra was at the top of the list. My last daily/trail vehicle was an Ineos Grenadier (build thread), which was absolutely fantastic. The story, the vehicle, and the community are all great and I was a day 1 reservation holder for it (way back in 2021, when I still had the last Tundra), but the itch for a new build hit me around the 10 month mark. One of my faults is that I enjoy the build process more than the long term ownership, and so when I was told "if you want a new project, why don't you get a daily and a trail truck", I jumped at it. Trail truck is easy, it'll be an older 4Runner, GX, or Tacoma, but the daily is the "special" one because it will pull double duty for travel as well.

Enter the search for a Tundra, because I couldn't just go with something common. After learning that what I really wanted (double cab SR5, Terra, black softex, TRD Off Road, premium audio) was impossible, I reevaluated what I was ok with and found this Limited Crew Max TRD Off Road at a local dealer. One quick test drive and it was like being home again (we spent a lot of time road tripping in our old Tundra), add to that a dealer that gave me a very strong trade-in number on the Grenadier, and I was happily backing a Tundra into my driveway for the first time in 3 years.

So where is this build going... I told my better half that I would limit modifications to this truck to "quality of life improvements" only, she said "well that sounds like a really vague limit". Shhhh, it is

Plans from the start

• Tint
• Mats
• Topper
• Slight lift
• Wheels/Tires
• Some aesthetic stuff inside and out
• On board air
• Fridge and supporting electrical
• Sound deadening/insulation
• Some extra bass
• Some extra lights

Tint was done on day 5, Xpel XR Plus 20% on the front sides, 35% over factory tint on the rear 3 windows, 70% on the windshield, and Xpel XR 35% on the pano roof. Massive improvement for both light and heat. While sitting at the tint shop (great work by The Wrappers in Westminster, MD btw), I placed an order for a GoFastCampers topper (not the camper), scheduled for delivery in Mid August.

Around the same time some boxes arrived... Amazon purchase of an adhesive cover for the center console (around the shifter) to cover the piano black with matte black, AJT Design armrest liners, AJT Design key, and WeatherTech mats for the front and back.

I also popped on the ICS Fab dash mount with some RAM Size B bases and magnetic mounts for our phones, and a dual USB-C charger plugged into the 12v outlet in the dash cubby.

A whopping 9 days in (yes, the day before the motor unalived itself) I gave it the de-badge and de-sticker treatment and a baseline detail, topped off with Adam's Graphene coating. I've used Chemical Guys, P&S, and Griots products/coatings on previous builds, and it's a constantly evolving process in my driveway. I'm by no means a detailer, or person who always has clean vehicles, it's a light hobby of mine.

Sitting in a box waiting to go on when the truck gets back (eventually? hopefully?) is a screen protector (Xpel stealth PPF) for the 14" screen, BlendMount to mount the V1 Gen2, Rexing 4K dash cam (with 5 pin plug adapter for power), an auto start/stop eliminator, Lamin-X door cup protectors, Lamin-X Headlight reflector film, and Xpel door sill film.

Sound/thermal insulation will most likely be the pre-cut SoundSkins for the doors and Siless hybrid on the floors and back wall; all covered with 3M Thinsulate (I have plenty of SM200L and AU40002-5 left over). I'll probably throw a layer of Thinsulate and maybe 3M Low-E between the headliner and roof as well at some point since I have a lot left over from previous builds.

Wheels/Tires will probably be a set of Raceline Rogue's in 18x8.5 (ET35), specifically because finding wheels that don't poke seems to be almost impossible. And still debating whether I want to go skinny 35s (285/75) or 34s (285/70); the truck will occasionally see some trail use, but it's mostly aesthetics, and I don't know if the trade offs will be worth it to go to 35s.

Lift is still up in the air, but Radflo 2.5s may be the move, along with some Dobinsons springs in the rear, I'm only looking for ~1.5" in the front and 1" in the rear.

Fridge will likely go on a platform in the back seat area. Extra bass and lights? We'll see as it happens.

 

Big plans! Hopefully it comes back better than before! Haven't heard of this happening to a '25

 

It was mentioned in the other thread I was posting in that following the saga of my motor fix was muddled with other conversations/problems... So I'll use this post to just keep a running list of updates whenever they actually happen and give an order of operations/play by play.

June 24 - The truck had a bit of a rattle at idle when I started it up, almost sounded like an exhaust heat shield rattling. Didn't think anything of it really, but it was noticeable that my girlfriend asked what it was as we were getting in. About 10 miles of driving later, on the highway (1600-1800rpm) I noticed it had a slight stumble under very light load/throttle. As we pulled off the highway and to the first traffic light, it missed the "normal" idle point, stumbled for a moment, surged up to about 1,000rpm, and then calmed back down at around 650 but with a horrible sound similar to something going for a ride in your dryer. Limping it to the adjacent parking lot was an adventure in almost no power and it really not wanting to exceed 1,200 rpm with the sounds getting quite bad around 1,000rpm. Called Toyota roadside, learned the tow radius is 25 miles, which my purchasing dealer was outside of, so I had it towed to a dealer that is part of a dealer umbrella that I've had plenty of good dealings with (Heritage Toyota of Catonsville). This was my mistake for not investigating further before choosing where it went. The truck arrived to the dealer a little after they closed, so we had some friends pick us up to get us home, and I awaited a call from the service department in the morning.

June 25 - Around 8:30am the service writer contacted me, listened to what happened, confirmed a few times that in fact it only had 1,270 miles on it, and then advised me he would call be back in the afternoon with an update on the vehicle as well as an update on getting me a loaner so I had a vehicle to drive. Around 3:30pm, having not heard from the dealer I called and left a voicemail. I called several other times between then close of business, and never was able to speak to my service writer.

June 26 - I started a case with the Toyota Brand Engagement Center, as well as with NCDS; adding not only my issue with my 10 day old truck blowing up, but also that the dealer had effectively ghosted me. I started at 8:30am again calling the dealer, leaving more voicemails, and not getting any communication. Through the Toyota app I was able to ascertain that they pulled the truck into a bay around 9am (hood open, doors unlocked, windows down) and pulled it back out and parked it around 1pm; this had not happened on the 25th. Around 3pm I called to speak with any other service writer, finally got passed to another gentleman who took down my name and said he would have their service manager call me back. A few hours later, I got a call from my service writer, who advised me that Toyota engineers were involved (I understand they are actually dealer technical reps) and that it was in their hands as far as what repairs or parts are ordered. He also added that their process takes 24-48 hours to figure out what is wrong and what needs to happen. When I asked him again about getting a vehicle to drive in the meantime, he stated that their dealer doesn't offer any sort of loaner vehicle, and if Toyota corporate deems that I should get one, one must be given to me from corporate. Luckily later on this day a fine forum member linked me to the Toyota Transportation Assistance Policy, which states that any Toyota dealer in the US is required to provide a vehicle for any warranty repairs that extend overnight or longer, whether that is due to extended diagnostics, labor times, or parts shortages.

June 27 - After many phone calls, another voicemail to my service writer, and a voicemail to the service manager; the service manager finally answered the phone (coincidence that it was about a minute after a previous call, but the call he answered was from my work number, not my personal). I asked for an update on my vehicle, to which I was told that a short block had been ordered, but no ETA was available as of yet. He advised to call back on Monday (this was on a Friday) for an ETA. When informing him that I was told they don't have vehicles to give out, but that the Toyota Transportation Assistance Policy states they are required to, he quickly backtracked the story given by the service writer, and stated that he would have two vehicles available the following morning.

June 28 - Went up to the dealer to get my loaner (a dealer "rental" since there is a rental agreement) and was given a new Camry SE; a far cry from the Tundra unfortunately. My service writer wasn't there and the service manager walked past me while I was waiting for the Camry without a word (I'm only confident that he knew who I was as he was presented my repair order by another service writer to figure out what car to give me). Found the truck parked in the way back of the service parking lot, left unlocked since it was parked midday on 6/26.

June 30 - After another handful of calls and a voicemail or two, I got a hold of my service writer who seemed quite surprised to hear from me. I asked about the ETA for the short block and was told that "since it was only ordered on Friday, it's still too soon to know when it'll show up, call back on Wednesday or Thursday". In the mean time I've been communicating once every other day or so with my Toyota Brand Engagement case manager, stating that since they have yet to figure out what the failure was, I don't feel safe with a short block, and wanted a long block. I made it very clear that a precedent exists for vehicle buy back or vehicle replacement in this situation, especially with involvement from NCDS, however I was stopping short of requesting all that and just asking for the long block.

July 1 - Chatted with the TBE rep again, further plead my case for a long block vs a short block, including that I understand short cuts are taken when techs are being paid flat rate, and even more so when it's warranty pay flat rate; and that a long block allows far fewer potentially-critical short cuts to be taken. She agreed that shortcuts do get taken sometimes, but that Toyota techs are a ridiculous amount of training hours and are fantastic at what they do. She said she hadn't heard back from the dealer, but would call me back by EOB on 7/2 with an update.

July 2 - TBE Rep called to advise me that there was no update as she had been unable to get ahold of anyone from the dealer. She advised that she had been calling daily and left voicemails for the service manager, who hadn't returned any of her calls since she started calling on 6/30.

July 3 - A blessing of the internet... After reaching out to my circles of social media friends across decades of being in the industry, a few degrees of separation allowed a connection to someone who, at the very least, was able to make a few phone calls/messages to reiterate my frustration with the situation. At the very least having another pair of eyes somewhere on the Toyota Corporate ladder looking at the case can't hurt; and as I have said before, I am thankful beyond words for the folks who have offered "phone a friend" assistance. After a half dozen or so calls that rang and went to voicemail, I finally got my service writer on the phone, who seemed very shocked to hear from me. I advised him that the TBE rep had been calling daily since 6/30 and hadn't gotten a call back, to which he advised they hadn't gotten any calls or even heard of that division. I asked for an update on the parts, and was passed off to the service manager. Service manager said he spoke to the TBE rep on 7/2 and "everything is good and taken care of with her". When asked about the parts, he advised that they were backordered. I confirmed if there was an ETA on restock and he said "they're backordered" and refused to elaborate further. I called TBE to follow up later in the afternoon and while my rep was unavailable, another rep jotted the notes down. I also advised that I wanted to see if, since the vehicle had not been disassembled yet and was still in a running state, I could pay to have it towed to another more competent and communicative dealer.

July 4 - This day marked being just as long without my truck as I was with it.

July 5 - Not sure whether that last note to TBE triggered a flag somewhere or pure coincidence, but the dealer pulled the truck into the shop and tore it down (Toyota app lost communication finally).

July 8 - I learned I have two separate TBE cases, one for a "parts concern" and one for a "product concern"; my "parts concern" case is apparently because I have warranty parts on backorder. My ETA for the parts I'm "waiting on" is 7/10-7/25.

July 10 - Got two very cryptic emails letting me know that "all special ordered parts have arrived" for my R.O./Invoice from the dealer the truck is at. My order of operations involved a chat with my TBE "product concern" rep before I called the dealer, who wanted to verify that the "parts concern" rep had advised me correctly, and that they had a solid date of 7/25 for my "backordered parts" to arrive. She also advised me that she has been calling, now almost daily, and has yet to get a call back from the service manager at the dealer. I told her that he told me on 7/3 that he talked to her, she confirmed that in fact he did not. I called the dealer, and somehow on the first ring and first call of the day my service writer answered the phone. He advised that "Toyota engineers" were at the dealer currently working on the truck and were "taking your motor apart piece by piece because it's a guinea pig, to figure out what happened". When I told him about the emails saying "all special ordered parts have arrived" he said "oh, ok", which I thought was a bit of an odd response. He also assured me that while he wasn't sure what the failure point was in the motor, I was getting "a whole new engine, but they had to do it the long way so it's piece by piece, but it's a whole new engine just like the recall trucks". When asked for an ETA of completion he said he had no idea. I said I would check back early next week and he said "yea that sounds good". It's a bit disheartening to have such poor communication from the dealer and a complete lack of proactive communication. I've read more than a handful of other folks who have gone from being towed in to being back on the road in as little as 3-4 days (not to mention watching all the same-day or next day turn arounds of long-block replacements on YouTube), so it's definitely a let down when allegedly "Toyota engineers" are the ones working on my vehicle and there's no ETA. Also an interesting discrepancy between the dealer saying all parts are in and corporate saying it'll be another 15 days for the backordered parts to arrive.

July 12 - The truck turned 4 weeks old today... 18 days of which have been broken.

July 14 - Called to follow up as instructed last week and left my service advisor a voicemail mid-afternoon. Not surprised, but no call back today. I did add in my voicemail that I may stop in tomorrow. The dealer is about 20 minutes from me, but at least I can't easily be ignored if I'm standing there.

July 15 - Stopped by for a visit at the dealer; saw the truck torn apart, heads on a table, turbos on the floor... Spoke to the tech, #5 bearing failure. In stark contrast to what my service writer told my on 7/10, I'm not getting a whole new motor, all I'm getting is the standard short block (plus the gasket set, timing cover assembly, oil pan gasket, oil, filter, and coolant). The gasket set (the backordered part) did arrive on 7/10, which the tech knew but my service writer did not. Chatted with the service manager who was adamant that he, nor any other manager at the dealer, has ever talked to or gotten a call from my rep from the brand engagement center. Her recorded call logs show otherwise. I also asked for an estimate on completion since everything has been here since last Thursday and was told "sometime next week". My brand engagement center rep is now calling to further follow up about why it'll take over another week to reassemble the motor. I also mentioned my desire to start the lemon law process assuming it's not done by next week when the 30 day time hits, and upon expressing my dissatisfaction about only getting a short block, was offered a warranty extension if I decide to not go down the lemon law path.

July 16 - Learned through a source that the short block part number that was ordered has been superseded to a newer number. I called the service advisor to see if he can contact the FTS to figure out why the older part number was ordered (perhaps stock on hand, not knowing there is a newer number, etc). Service advisor said contacting the FTS is above his pay grade and forwarded my call to the voicemail of the service manager. Left a voicemail, and got no call back. Also called the brand engagement rep, left a message asking the same thing regarding part numbers.

July 17 - Got a call from my brand engagement rep to follow up regarding the short block part number question. She advised that she had yet to get an answer from 2 days prior from the service manager about the repair lead-time, and attempted a conference call while I was on the line with her to call him again about the short block part number question. No answer from service manager. I told her that I had contacted the service department on 7/16 and was forwarded to the service manager and left a voicemail with no return. TBE rep advised that she would call me back when she gets an answer, but that her Friday (7/18) was very busy with other clients.

July 18 - Got a written reply through NCDS from Toyota, stating that the repairs are in process and a final part is arriving 7/21, expecting the vehicle to be completed 7/22 or 7/23. Not entirely sure what this additional part was, but as of 7/10, all the parts the FTS authorized were in stock, and the technician said on 7/15 that he had everything he needed.

July 23 - Checked throughout the day, and finally at 7pm (when the dealer's service department closes), and there is still no communication with the Toyota App, thus the battery hasn't been reconnected, and the truck isn't in a drivable state. Which means the written response from Toyota to NCDS last week stating the vehicle would be released after being "thoroughly tested and driven to ensure successful repairs" either yesterday or today didn't come to fruition. Still no call back from the service manager from the voicemail I left him on 7/16 (a week ago), no update from the service advisor, and no call back from the TBE rep since 7/17. Today also marks 4 weeks since the dealer first started diagnosing it, and 29 days since it was dropped off to them.

July 24 - Again, checked throughout the day in the Toyota app, still no communication, just did the final check at 7pm. I've been doing screen recordings of every time, just in case the dealer tries to say it has been running since XYZ time/day. I'm not saying that everyone at this dealer service department is dishonest, but I haven't communicated with anyone that has actually been honest or communicative. I also got a call this afternoon from the TBE rep, she was checking in since it had been a week since she last tried calling the service manager, but wanted to let me know that she still hadn't heard back from him, so while I was on hold she attempted to call him again. According to her she left voicemails (today) on his cell number and the dealership extension. I advised her that I too had not gotten any communication from him since 7/16 when I left him a voicemail.

July 25 - Officially 30 days in the shop. I stopped by the dealer this afternoon as I had to renew my rental contract on my Camry loaner, and thus decided to chat with my service advisor. I asked him what was going on with it and he immediately jumped to "oh yea, parts just arrived today for it". I asked what parts arrived today, because Toyota Corporate had said parts were arriving this past Monday, but that I had gotten notification (via email) that parts arrived last Thursday and this past Tuesday, but nothing about today. He said that since none of his managers were in, he couldn't answer what the parts were and would call me back. When asked when it would be ready, he said "definitely by the end of the month". He ended up calling me about 15 minutes later and told me the part that arrived today was a cam housing, and as a follow up question I asked what the other parts were that arrived earlier this week and last week and his reply was "oh I don't have any way of knowing that until the vehicle is finished". I REALLY don't want to lemon the truck, but the absolute lack of any proactive communication or empathy from the dealer is pushing me to seal the deal and go in that direction.

July 25 Pt 2 - I got a call in the evening from my TBE Parts Concern Rep, who was calling just to confirm that my parts had arrived and that I had gotten my vehicle back. I told her the parts (related to her case) arrived 7/10, and that I still did not have my vehicle back. She seemed quite stunned on the phone and seemed like she wasn't really sure where to go from there. She asked if I had gotten a timeline from the dealer, I told her what they had said and she continued to seem to not really have a reply. Glad I'm not the only one feeling that way. I talked to her about the process for going through with Lemon Law'ing the vehicle, and she was very open about the fact that there is a 60 day processing time for Toyota to confirm eligibility before they will do anything further. She also made a note for my TBE Product Concern rep to call me on 7/28 to follow up about the extended warranty offer she made previously.

July 28 - Today came and went, no communication from the dealer (not surprising) nor a call from my TBE rep (surprising). The truck still isn't running. Next update will be when someone calls me and gives me some information.

July 29 - Got a call from my TBE rep in the morning to let me know that she has yet to hear back from the service manager (since 7/16), and was hoping I had gotten an answer. She is apparently escalating the lack of communication up through the chain to see if she can get an answer. I then got another email from the parts department letting me know that special ordered parts arrived today, called the service advisor to ask what additional parts (again) were needed and was told that he had no idea what parts were ordered or arrived, but that the tech was "turning wrenches on it when I came in today"... I followed that up by asking if he had an updated timeline for completion and he stated "maybe today, but otherwise it should be tomorrow".

July 30 - Hopefully no one put a bet on it being done today, because it was a day of no communication as expected.

July 31 - Got a call this afternoon from my TBE rep; she FINALLY, after 2 weeks, got in touch with the service manager, who didn't have info on the short block part number being an outdated one, but did tell her that the vehicle will be done tomorrow. She said, without prompting from me, "he said the vehicle will be ready tomorrow, I don't think it will be though, after they are done they have a number of checks to do and things to look for to make sure it is good, especially given the repair that was performed". Glad to see that her and I are in the same boat.

And for those keeping track of the promised completion dates, we've now missed all of those given to me thus far: "by next week" (7/21-7/25) said by Ali Talatory the Service Manager (verbally in person on 7/15); "Tuesday/Wednesday 7/22-7/23" sent by Kimbra Marsh the Toyota Dispute Resolution Administrator (in writing 7/18 to NCDS); "definitely by the end of the month" (7/31) said by Curtis Womack the Service Advisor (verbally, in person on 7/25), and "maybe today, if not tomorrow" (7/29-7/30) said by Curtis Womack (verbally on the phone on 7/29).

August 1 - For the first time since 7/5, just before 9am, I got a notification from the Toyota App "2025 Tundra has turned the ignition on". After spending the entire day (8:45am-5:20pm) watching almost constant activity through the app (doors opening and closing, windows open/close, ignition on/off, etc); I assumed something wasn't going to plan. After it came back on this morning, for the first time I got the notification that it had a CEL, something it didn't have with the horrible rod knock. Just before 5:20pm the app stopped communicating with the truck again, I can only imagine that something was wrong and now another (hopefully partial) disassembly is in progress. Still no communication from the dealer regarding the missed promised deadlines of either "end of the month" or today. I've got a free morning tomorrow morning so I guess I'm making another in-person visit

August 2 - Stopped by the dealer to see what is going on. Service manager initially stated that he assumed I had been told about the delays because his "upper management is involved now". I told him I assumed something has gone wrong because of the delays, he said that they weren't sure what the problem was, but there is a new problem. I asked what codes it's throwing, he initially said "it isn't throwing any codes", when confronted with the fact that the app pushed a notification to me that the CEL was on, which means there's a code, he said "oh. yea, but we're looking into it". I told him that it had to be in some phase of teardown because the battery was disconnected again, he said "well... it's not torn all the way down like it was, but yes, it is partially torn down", so I probed further for what the issue is; he finally stated that they "think" it's a timing related problem. He assured me that he would personally call me on Monday (8/4) with an update.

Given a "timing problem", that tells me that it was an error on reassembly of the engine, by a tech that verbally complained about having to reassemble the engine.

August 4 - I've tried to keep this post factual and without a lot of sarcasm... But, I can feel my patience with that quickly running out. If anyone has read through the nearly 6 weeks of my updates then I doubt you would be surprised by today's update. It's the end of the day and I didn't get a call as promised by the service manager with an update on the truck or what their plan to fix it is. I guess I'll be taking another hour out of my day and visiting them in person tomorrow

August 5 - Started the morning with voicemails to the service manager, service director, and parts & service director. Around an hour later got notification in the Toyota App that the battery was connected again and the ignition was on. About 2 hours after my 7:30am phone calls I got a call back from the parts & service director (Steve Seely) who advised that they found one cam was one tooth off. I asked about valve/piston interaction and whether the pistons had been checked, he said they had and no contact or damage was seen. He advised that the shop foreman and master tech were now working on the vehicle, and they wanted to put it through some heat cycles and road test it today and that it would be ready for pick up tomorrow. He also advised that he would be contacting Toyota Corporate to update them on the situation. Today is 6 weeks from kaboom day, or in another way of saying it, since I bought it, I've only had the truck in my possession for 19% of the time.

August 5 Pt 2 - My TBE "parts concern" rep called to follow up again to make sure the vehicle was completed and had been returned. I advised her it had not yet, she asked if it was a parts hold up, I advised her that it wasn't and that it was delayed since 8/1 because the dealer mistimed the engine while reassembling and subsequently had to fix that. She asked for a new completion date, I told her that I was told it would be returned to me tomorrow, she's following up on 8/7 to confirm I have it back. No call from my TBE product concern rep (the one that didn't think they'd have it completed on 8/1) today, I figured I would follow up with a call to her tomorrow if she doesn't call by mid-day.

August 6 - Still too early to get a call about the truck, but they drove it 3 miles yesterday, so I'm assuming that was the dealer's "thorough road test". I did get a reply from NCDS about my arbitration hearing. NCDS' arbitrators unanimously voted that there was no proof of a manufacturing defect causing my breakdown, and thus they sided with the manufacturer, stating that nothing beyond their repair was justified. I replied to the case manager and asked what else needed to be supplied to prove that an engine that failed at 1,270 miles in a common and known failure method was a manufacturing defect.

August 6 Pt 2 - Got a call from the service manager, along with the first apology of any kind from anyone at the dealer for him not calling on Monday. He stated the truck is done, but they want to do another test drive and it will be ready for pick up later this afternoon.

August 6 Pt 3 - I'm going to start this update with a huge sigh. That's how I'm feeling. Now on to the details. Went to go pick the truck up, saw it parked in the lot and walked over to it. I understand that when vehicles spend a lot of time in a service bay, damage happens. This is why before it went in I took a lot of 48MP photos of every body panel and 4K video walk arounds. To say I wasn't thrilled by what I found would be an understatement. It hadn't been cleaned, there are grease/grime covered finger prints around both fenders and the entirety of the hood, the hood is not at all close to being properly aligned (it sits up and to the passenger side in the rear), beyond this both front door handles have serious damage to them (looks like they were opened into lift posts at speed, many many times), there are scuffs on the rear bumper where they were stepping into the bed to grab parts, and there is grease on the rear seat, both rear door cards, and the drivers seat, as well as a crease in the center part of the rear seat from them storing parts inside. To add insult to injury, as I was about to walk inside and speak to the service manager, my girlfriend stops me and points out a ~20ft long trail of fluid that ends at where the truck is parked. I look under it and see a puddle of oil, and oil actively dripping from the skid plate. I walked inside looking for the general manager, who was gone for the day, so I found Steve Seely the Parts&Service Director, and had a sit down with him and Ali (service manager) about what I found. I started my conversation off with "I'm not taking the truck today", and then laid out my findings. He seemed less than thrilled at the lack of QC, and all of us, including the service advisor walked out to look at the truck and for them to take photos. As we were leaving the tech walked out (the same one that was disgruntled about having to rebuild a motor) and when presented with the damage and active oil leak simply shrugged his shoulders. This was the final straw. I called my TBE rep on the way home and advised her that I wanted to start the lemon process. My confidence in the technician's abilities, and at this point, the dealership's abilities to properly repair a vehicle in a timely manner is non-existent. There'll be another update whenever something else happens.

August 11 - An update on the truck, the oil leak was found to be the driver's side valve cover... Apparently that valve cover was pulled off to correct the timing, and as it was explained to me, there is the rubber gasket as well as 4 locations where sealant is added. The tech didn't add sealant to 2 of the 4 locations, thus causing the oil leak. Upon inspection from the service manager, some amount of residual oil was found both on the engine and surrounding it (I'm assuming on the plastics) and he had the tech clean that as well. Today the door handles were repaired by their body shop as replacement handles are allegedly "on backorder". The truck is getting sent over to their detailer tomorrow and should be ready for pick up "towards the end of the day tomorrow".

August 12 - Got the call that it was ready... again. Service manager stated that he had gone over the vehicle and it looked good, but he wanted me to pick it up while he was there so he could go over the vehicle with me, kudos to that. Arrived at the dealer, handed back my loaner and a few minutes later my truck arrived in the pick up lane. Ali, the service manager and I walked out to look over the vehicle. Interior stains are basically gone, there remains a slight mark on the side of the driver's seat, but you'll only see it if you're directly looking for it. Hood was aligned properly, smudges obviously gone, door handles smoothed and repainted. But then found they did nothing for a scratch on the hood, additionally found a scuff that I some how missed on the front bumper (black center lower part, looks almost like scuffing from leaning over it or something, but it wouldn't wipe off), and then the scuff on the rear bumper was still fairly visible as well as the ground in dirt into the "tread" portion of the rear step bumper. Ali attempted to clean these spots with glass cleaner, which worked to lighten the mark, but not remove it. I was blunt with him, thanked him for the time and money they put into the detailing, and stated that my only concern with body damage was Toyota dinging me when it comes time to turn it back into them since I was going through with the lemon process. I offered a solution of just noting on the invoice/repair order that scuffs still remained on these spots after detailing, and I'll take the truck; he said he would rather fix them and told me that it should be ready again tomorrow. Yet again, I left in my loaner Camry.

August 13 - I've gotten this call before... Went up to the dealer to re-inspect the vehicle. Rear bumper scuff is basically gone, hood scratches were polished out, front bumper scuff is slightly improved but remains. Service manager advised that "that's as good as it'll get" and confirmed that's all they are willing to do. He also advised that the hood alignment is better but not perfect because there's "no adjustment". I'm not certain how there can be no adjustment and something then doesn't line up after it once did, but again, that's all they are willing to do with it. I had them note on the repair order/invoice that a scuff still exists on the front bumper. As I was leaving I then noticed a new broken part. The passenger side interior grab handle's upper bolt cover is missing. Not just dislodged and hanging from the retainer, but completely gone. I checked under the seat, the floor mat, the door cubby, nothing. Service manager is ordering me one and will let me know when it arrives. On the drive home I smelled a bit of burning oil, I'm assuming it's all residual oil burning off from the previous leak. I popped the hood when I got home to find that the sloppy technician strikes again... Dried coolant splatters are all over the passenger's side of the engine bay (engine cover, air box, frame rail, hoses, etc)... 30 seconds with a hose could have fixed this, but I guess that isn't important now. 49 days at the dealer, 13 of those were waiting on the short block parts to arrive.
- The drive home was an uneventful 9 miles. It could be because I haven't driven it in 7 weeks, but even in just merging onto the highway it seems sluggish compared to what I remember, no multi-gear WOT pulls or anything like that, but just part throttle acceleration seems meh. It could all be in my head. Or it may not be.
- Still no response from the customer relations email after 2 business days from my email to them asking what the next steps in the lemon process are. I guess I'll make a phone call tomorrow or maybe stop by the Central Atlantic Toyota offices as they are less than 10 minutes from me.

August 14 - Oh you thought we were done? I loaded the bed of the truck up this morning to haul a bunch of stuff down to my girlfriend's work, started my drive there, and about 2 miles in got "Engine Oil Low" and then it went away. I thought that was odd. About another mile in to driving it came back again, this time coming back immediately every time I canceled it on the dash. Got home, unloaded the whole bed, checked the dip stick, dry. I know the 3rd gen dipstick is tricky to read, but my paper towel came off without getting wet, so I'm calling that dry. I had a little less than 1/2 qt of Toyota 0W-20 left over in the garage, added that, dipstick was still dry or maybe a bit on the bottom, but the warning went away. I drove to the dealer and alerted them of my findings. Service manager took the truck for about 20 minutes and came back and asked how much oil I added because the dipsticks are hard to read and "it's showing almost full". He also added that the tech "thinks it may just be a delayed code, he scanned it and doesn't see any active codes in the system, but does see the oil warnings. It's parked outside for you". I understand that's not how that works, and that <1/2qt doesn't take you from nothing on the dipstick to almost full. I went home, reloaded the bed of the truck and headed down on my initial mission, now about 2.5 hours behind schedule. Truck sat parked for about 2 hours down there, and as I went to leave I saw a puddle under it. Laid on the ground, and alas, there's a puddle of oil under the truck and it is dripping oil from the same corner of the skid plate as it was when I refused to accept it on August 6 (remember the one that was fixed?). I looked at our security cameras, and sure enough, there's a puddle in the driveway at home where it was parked since yesterday as well.

I called the service manager, told him it was leaking still and that I'd be there in 45 minutes. When I arrived the only words spoken to me by him were "please have a seat right here and she'll get you a rental car to drive". So now I'm driving a 2025 RAV4 with <800 miles on it that is heavily scented by a odor-covering/concealing spray smell, I would imagine it has something to do with the ash residue that exists on the dash, steering wheel, and center console, and again am without my truck.

August 16 - No real update, although I did get an automated email this morning letting me know my special order part has arrived at the dealer. I didn't get a call yesterday with an update, no call today with an update or plan or anything. Yesterday they drove the truck around the lot and/or shop several times, lots of key on cycles, parked it outside, moved it back inside to the bay, lots more key on/off cycles in the bay, where it has been since yesterday afternoon.

I coincidentally got the "How was your recent service" email from Toyota a few minutes ago. It was hard surmising the past 2.5 weeks into 1000 characters, but I think I did an alright abbreviated job of that. I reached out to the General Manager of the dealer via email yesterday as well, no reply on that either.

August 18 - Whoever is working on the vehicle got it running this morning and took it for a several mile road test and then parked it in the bay again. I got a call shortly after from the service manager that stated that they had now found the oil leak, and it is coming from the other valve cover (not the one that has been sealed/opened/resealed 3x). In his words "we're thinking maybe the pressure from the other one caused this to start leaking"... I'm not sure if that is simply a canned response he gives uninformed customers that don't understand engine operation, or if he's saying there's an abnormally high crankcase pressure causing the VC gaskets to leak... Apparently that gasket will arrive tomorrow and he hopes to have the vehicle back to me by the end of the day tomorrow

August 19 - Whether the "special order" emails are to be believed or not is still up in the air, but I didn't get one this morning, so I'm not sure if that means the VC gasket didn't arrive, or if it wasn't a "special order", or if it really arrived on Saturday and they are just slow rolling the repair. Either way, Toyota contacted me and agreed to replace or buy back the vehicle this afternoon, so now we work through that process as well. I told Toyota I couldn't get a copy of the registration (they requested it) as the truck is at the dealer, and they stated "It was picked up on 8/14, we have the signed repair order". So I'm guessing they weren't made aware of the fact that it is back at the dealer, by the dealer; but they know now! No contact from the dealer today, I guess we're back to the old communication standards where missed deadlines don't warrant a call.

August 20 - Gotta keep these updates going at this point... Saw in the Toyota App that the truck was started and moved out of the bay and parked at the back of their parking lot this morning around 8:30am, and also saw that it has a CEL on, which I thought was unique. This afternoon the service manager called me with an update, the part that he expected to arrive yesterday, didn't arrive yesterday or today, and upon further checking with the parts manager he said it is backordered, with an estimated ship date of 8/21-8/26. I guess that puts me in this RAV4 for another 1-6 days.

I can also deduce that the reason the truck has a CEL is because it was partially reassembled to be drivable and get out of the bay. If I were a betting man, I would assume the MAF/airbox/intake hose is still off on the passenger side, and it was driven out of the shop with the turbo open to the world.

August 22 - Got another email saying a special order part arrived first thing in the morning. A little after lunch the truck was pulled into the bay and they started working on it. Around 4:30pm it left the shop and went for a test drive, ending with it being parked outside, but I got no update from the dealer, perhaps that means tomorrow?

August 25 - Still no update from the dealer. The truck sat outside the service bay all weekend (I happened to be in the area yesterday and drove by) and then this morning it was started, pulled in for a few minutes, then out on an extended test drive, then back into the shop with a lot (~8) ignition cycles in <10 minutes, and then parked outside again. I'm not sure if it's fixed, there's something else wrong with it, the dealer is being really thorough, or if they are holding the truck and letting me cruise around in a loaner while Central Atlantic Toyota figures out the details of the buyback/replacement.

I was able to get some answers with CAT this morning, I have the option of them having a truck pulled from the production line to replace mine, however, it must have the exact same options (but would be a different color). If a local (in the region) dealer had an identical option/accessory truck and was willing to give it up, they could go that route as well. I asked for a timeline, because a lot of the "in production" trucks I'm seeing now aren't scheduled for delivery until November. I also asked for a timeline and final dollar amount for a repurchase instead (where I could go buy whatever). I'm supposed to get an email with those answers tomorrow morning. For what it's worth, every person I've conversed with at a Toyota Corporate (or regional) level has been absolutely fantastic, communicative, and engaged; further cementing that the problem here is the dealer.

August 26 - Got the "repurchase" offer from Toyota this morning, it effectively takes the purchase price, removes the $3k customer cash rebate, and then deducts a $436 mileage penalty. This would put me at a substantial net loss if I go to buy a MY26 Tundra on my own (or any vehicle) as not only are the incentives not as good, but I would also throw away the nearly $4k in tax savings that I got on my truck by trading my last vehicle in. Between the change in customer cash and tax, an identical MY26 (assuming I got the same % off MSRP) would cost me nearly $6k out of pocket.

A replacement vehicle from Toyota will go into production the second week of October and arrive at the dealer Mid-Late November, and would be a straight up trade of vehicles, nothing out of pocket. This is a bit of an issue as we're currently planning a 6 week trip through almost all of November and the first half of December, which would require not only to have a vehicle, but have it built out before the departure date. Toyota is definitely pushing for this, as it costs them the least. I'm still up in the air on which way to go.

As for the TERRABL, it went out for another drive just before lunch and got parked outside again, service manager called this afternoon and said he wants them to do one more test drive and it should be ready to be collected this afternoon. 9 weeks after it blew up, it might be done and back at home this evening - EDIT: Service manager initially told me "one more test drive and it'll be ready" at 12:40pm... It got parked after its next test drive around 3pm... He called me at 6:35pm to tell me it was ready and to come between 9a-5p tomorrow.

August 27 - It's home. Again. Parked on the street in the (hopefully) unlikely event that it leaks oil again. The service manager stated again to me that "we're thinking that maybe it was pressure that caused the second valve cover to leak", and when I immediately questioned him saying "so you think there's an increase in crankcase pressure causing gaskets to fail?" he backtracked again, and switched to saying that the tech couldn't remember if he put sealant on (you would see this when you disassemble it) or if maybe they were just a bad pair of gaskets (the least likely scenario).

The missing cap on the interior grab handle was still missing when I got in, so I walked back inside. This part was allegedly ordered on 8/13, and on 8/14 the service manager said "oh that part isn't in yet but it should be soon". The service manager had disappeared. Another service advisor called him on his cell and this was the exchange
Advisor on the phone w/ manager: "What were you waiting on from Ali?"
"He ordered a cover for the grab handle 2 weeks ago, it isn't installed on the truck, I'm assuming it's in your parts department"
"He said it isn't in yet"
"Is it backordered or did he not order it?"
"He said he'll call you when it comes in"
"Ok, but is it backordered?"
"He said he'll call you, he's not sure when it will arrive"

I, not in a great mood or with my finest facial reaction walked out. About 30 minutes later I got a call from Ali (service manager) saying that he had "checked with his parts department, and the part is in stock in the local warehouse, so I'll be sending a driver over to pick it up, if you come by around 5pm tomorrow I can install it for you". Confirmation that he never ordered it and lied to my face 2 weeks ago as well as through his coworker.

I also drove the truck from the service bay to the sales side to get a trade in value on the truck. After seeing the truck, I can only imagine the sales manager doing the assessment knew about it as he had a lengthy chat with a gent that looks like the GM (based on photos on the website). The (assumed) GM also disappeared prior to the number being brought over to where we were seated. In case you were wondering, the 2025 KBB Highest Resale Value for a Truck winning vehicle, the Toyota Tundra, at 10 weeks and 1500 miles old has a depreciation of just over $18k from sticker to trade in from the dealer that has kept it "safe" for the past 9 weeks. I thanked the sales manager for his time but told him to save the ink of writing it down and walked out. Carmax down the street offered me $3000 more about 10 minutes later, but that value still puts me about $3k shy of equaling (with trade-in tax credit) Toyota's repurchase offer.

I was happy to be driving my truck again last night on the way home, but honestly, it doesn't even feel the same. The interior reeks of auto shop, and it felt just as foreign and "meh" as a rental car. Same feeling was corroborated by my girlfriend

 

Reserved for additional updates as needed

 

OMG. Sorry bro. Reading your experience is giving me flashbacks to nearly identical issues with my alfa romeo stelvio several years back.

 

Now a days the consumer is just a walking target for corporate DGAF

 

Crazy story, very unfortunate situation for sure. Probably the most shocking part is the dealership blatantly lying about not receiving calls from the TBE rep and then doubling down saying they had already called the rep back when they didn't. Wtf was the thought process there, did they think you were never going to talk to the rep again?

 

I think it’s the culture within this dealer, just like the service advisor telling me I was getting a whole new engine, but when I showed up in person he backtracked and said it was just the short block. I’m assuming either the majority of their customer base never questions them, or there is absolutely no accountability. The latter starts at the top and trickles down through the organization

 

ouch
They should have found you another one, or pushed one down the pipeline and just given you a new truck.
They have had 34 days notice that something went sideways on a 10 day old truck. They have certainly been aware of the online chatter about it and know whats up. The dealer being less than stellar and absolutely non communicative has gotta be a swooft kick in the groin as every day comes and passes and you dont get any word. I truly think if you didnt keep going up there and keep calling, they would have your truck sitting on some back lot collecting dust. Its truly nuts.

 

You would think so, right? But that has never been offered and my mentions of wanting a replacement vehicle or a buyback have effectively been glossed over and not commented about/replied to.

Part of me, perhaps the glass-always-half-full side, is hoping that Toyota Corporate is being stymied by the dealer's incompetence.

I'm a bit "stuck" on a Tundra at this point as I have around $6k already out-of-pocket on a GFC Topper that should be arriving in the next two weeks or so; not to mention a large pile of stuff waiting on the truck to be in my driveway again to install. This also makes the lemon law/buy back process rather annoying, as pushing out another 2ish months before being able to look for a replacement vehicle puts me into the model year change (and transfer the topper over, assuming it can be found when this one would need to be turned in). And in a icing on the cake moment, that 60 day timeline also puts me potentially without a truck, or at the very least without a properly built truck to run my booth from for Overland Expo East.

Ok, I'm done with my rant for the evening, thanks to all who listened

 

That's a rough spot man. I'm sorry your dealing with it.

If they will go for the lemon law/buyback, they would have to provide you a vehicle at least, right?


With all the failed communication, have you spoken with legal counsel at all? Just to know your options.

 

Lemon law would have me driving the vehicle until they process the buy back; from what I've read one of the reasons companies utilize the full 60 day "processing" time is because the buy back price is dependent on mileage, and if you have the vehicle for 2 more months, that's more miles and fewer dollars they have to put out.

As far as legal counsel, that's a road I again haven't wanted to venture down, and why I got NCDS involved from the start to battle Toyota on my behalf. The arbitration hearing (documents only) is scheduled for next Monday (8/4), so maybe something comes from that.

I've said it numerous times to the TBE reps, but what I really want is my truck back and at 100% again

 

That’s TERRABL

 

another sad two days

 

This is rather perfect....

 

Did you comminucate this to your Toyota rep? If the effed the timing that "new" engine might be doomed.

Dude, I'm sorry you're dealing with this. Terrible luck.

 

Wonder how long till Toyota stops push notifications to his phone, AND changes the data plans for everyone else so that while a vehicle is in a techs hands, or at a dealership, it wont relay data to a customer via push notifications

 

toyota may want to keep this one... wouldn't be surprised. sorry about your troubles. gotta say you have a good attitude.

 

My brand engagement rep is out of the office until Tuesday, I plan on fully informing her of everything... unfortunately, it's too late to submit more information to my NCDS Arbitration hearing on Monday with Toyota

 

This was actually a thought I already considered

 

Ready to be heated? Scroll on up to the list of updates and read today's

 

Dude, you are so much nicer than me. If I went through all of this and it was in that shape when I arrived...... Pretty sure I'd have gone nuclear.

I really hope you took video and pics of the shape of the truck before you went in to talk to them.

 

Photos and video of everything, just like when it was dropped off

 

Yeah, this is one of those cases where a lawyer may well be worth it. That's just asinine behavior, and for the tech to just shrug.... If I were the shop manager I'd have fired him on the spot for trying to return that to a customer.

Insanity.

 

I really hate the idea of lawyering up, but you're not the first to suggest it... From what I've seen with other folks, my "ask" is and always has been quite minimal. I didn't ask for wasted payments, or insurance, or loss of work, or even missing out on half of my Sirius trial or 1/10 of my Remote Connect trial. All I've wanted is a working truck that I can be confident driving and enjoying (as much as you can be with a third gen), which, in keeping this truck, equated to a 7yr/100k Toyota Platinum warranty, which the brand engagement rep offered me, but her offer was overruled by the Dispute Manager. Plus, I have a pile of parts waiting to go on that are vehicle specific...

Ironically, since I've started the lemon process, my brand engagement center case has closed, and my new lemon case manager is the Dispute Manager... The same person who said nothing else was justified in this case.

 

man, I don’t have too many words other than
“What a shit show”

 

That asshat being the one in charge of your case would definitely be pushing me to pursue whatever legal recourse I could to get a different truck. Like you, I'd still be going for a 3rd gen, but I'd look into state lemon laws and such. You've been without it for plenty long, and they've not made a reasonable effort to repair, as evidenced by the condition when it was "ready" for you to pick it up. Take those pics and find a lemon law attorney who will give a free consult. See what they say and find out if it would be reasonable for you to pursue Toyota for the legal fees.

You shouldn't have to pay extra for them to make this right.