No effing trans cooler?! I'm out Toyota

Realize this is old news here but i've been motoring along happy with my '17 problem free. Towing everything from golf carts to 21' boats all the while secure in the knowledge my truck is built for it.

So this year for tax planning i figured out i could get a new Tundra for roughly $9k after tax benefit. Started shopping in earnest yesterday.

Then i read here that toyota cheaped out. Found the lame ass TFL video where they basically show the temps are too high but sell out with 'toyota says it's ok'. useless bunch of jackasses.

So that's the end of it. i'm not handing Toyota $50k for a new truck that isn't built to tow and in which i may have warranty problems if i use some aftermarket kit. my experience with aftermarket anything is less than positive so i won't be doing that.

what a shame. the last of the no bs quality trucks is, to me, dead.

 

I love your glass half full approach

 

Why don’t you wait for the redesign and see what it offers. It may blow the current generation away.

 

Couldn’t help it. I say that ^^ but it’d bug me too if I were in the market. Though maybe not as much as you.

 

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

 

Why would you buy a truck that's like 99.8% identical to your current one anyways?

 

I don't blame you in the least and agree it should have one on it. The other trucks have caught up. They are faster, get better mileage, tow more, and have more bells and whistles. It took them years but they are better in every way except maybe reliability (still). I tend to buy work trucks so the bells and whistles didn't matter and the difference with the other stuff was negligible.

I actually did not know about the lack of a cooler when I bought the 2020 (I was kinda pissed) but it would not have changed my mind. For $39K out the door I got a good truck that will last me a long time. I bought a cooler kit and will put it in soon. Figured $700 or so versus go to the dealer a few times a year with issues. I chose to spend the $700. YMMV.

 

This has been beat to death, but i agree that anyone who is towing should have a trans cooler.

toyota probably looked at reality. Im sure less than 5% of tundras sold ever have a trailer hitched up in their lifetime.

and the transmission is so damn strong, they have seen so few failures that they can afford to abuse them more and likely still see very few failures

 

A little dramatic dude.
Get your new truck and the OEM cooler kit installed and have the identical setup you have now.

 

So they don't offer the Tow Pkg anymore? My '11 with the towing pkg has a trans cooler ...

 

Tow package yes, no trans cooler 19+

 

That may be the case, but in my experience* in engineering fields, a company like Toyota wouldn't make such a change based solely on cost.

I have ZERO inside information to support this, but my guess would be that Toyota has been analyzing the reliability and warranty cost data for long enough to realize that the fleet averages are BETTER without the cooler. That sounds counter intuitive, but it is possible that leaky connections, failed seals, corrosion, etc in the old cooler design caused more damage than their models suggest would occur from higher operating temps.

They would take that data, build a business case for the effort required to make the change, then build a number of trucks and run them through durability testing. If the data didn't support the change, they wouldn't make the change.


At least, that's how my company would do it, and we hire lots of automotive engineers and literally send people to classes to study THE TOYOTA WAY.

 

Seems odd ... maybe they figured it was redundant. At any rate, if I was towing 10k or more on a regular basis it wouldn't be with a gasser ... gotta have an HD diesel if you want to do it right.

A good salesman might be willing to make a concession on the price and/or offer to have one installed on the truck in order to get the deal.

 

I tow a trailer with my 2019 but just pull over every 50 miles and blow on the transmission until the warning light goes off.

 

Part of the 5%

 

@DIYDad yes i am speculating of course. I do know i have heard of few if any trans failures. When i used to be in the gm world, we would see blown transmissions all the time in the forums.

interesting idea about radiator leaks/repair cost.

 

I read somewhere the ac refridgerant was changed and maybe they chose to dump the atf cooler in an effort to increase ac temp, and not redesign condensor setup, since so many folks never tow or push it hard. All heresay except for those closed door meetings between engineers and finance folks.

 

I think about it like this: if the 2019-2021s prove to have unreliable transmissions due to the removal of the cooler, how many 2022+s do you think Toyota will be able to sell?

"Oh no, we only cut corners on the last few years of the last gen to save money. Didn't cut any corners with the new one." Yeah, that will fly with the type of person who buys a Tundra or a Toyota in general.

Unless this is some big, drawn out conspiracy to get out of the pickup business:
1. Remove cooler so reliability suffers
2. No one buys new Tundra because previous one had transmission issues
3. Cancel Tundra so they can look good for millennials and other environmentalists
4. ???
5. Profit

But then why not just offer the new Tundra with a Ford engine, GM transmission and Ram interior? Save millions on R&D.

 

Just curious but the pre 2019 didnt have an oil cooler up front either right? Because the oil temps on my truck stay pretty much in line with the trans oil temp so why are we so worried about the trans oil temp being so high but not the engine oil being just as high?

 

If you have a problem with your transmission, then, don't tell the service writer about this practice...it could void your warranty.

 

Enjoy your ‘17 OP

 

I'm a different breed of cat than the rest, but if I was worried so much about the new truck not having a trans cooler, I'd take some of the $9k in tax savings and put it towards having a trans cooler installed...

 

No matter what mommy and daddy told you as a child, you are not required to buy a Tundra. Nor is Toyota required to give you what you want when you want it.

Put on your big boy pants and buy a new Tundra and install the aftermarket kit. Or don’t until you know for sure it is actually needed. Or go buy SOB that is set up better for towing and hope the entire truck lasts as long as the Tundra actually will last.