Questions on new 3rd Gen

Before buying the new Tundra, I need two questions answered:

1) Will the new engine be as durable as the 5.7? We keep our vehicles for 400,000 to 500,000 miles. Supercharging puts a lot of stress on the internals of a motor.
2) Exactly what is the benefit of choosing the hybrid? The fuel economy difference is negligible, and it can't tow as much as the traditional V-6 (perhaps due to the weight of the battery). My truck will spend its life towing a 16' cargo trailer, so this matters.

I would appreciate any insight you have to offer, since I have contacted dealers, called Toyota, and emailed Toyota service, but received no satisfactory answer. They all just repeat the sales pitch from the website.

Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome to the forum. It remains to be seen whether the V6 which is turbocharged not supercharged, will be as reliable as the older V8 Toyotas. Hybrid benefits are touted as performance benefits, not fuel efficiency benefits. So pulling your 16’ trailer from a stop, the electric motor assist will pull it off the line with ease. That comes with the complication of the electric motor and battery. The 2.5 Gen is proven reliable (as you already know), but I wouldn’t bet my business on the new one just yet. If I had to tow a 16’ cargo trailer every day all day, I would step up to a 3/4 ton gasser.

 

Hmm…not a lot of 5.7’s or any other 1/2, 3/4 or 1 ton motors around with 500k miles on them.
Move up to a semi and I see such miles as standard and more…

 

Tundra mechanical review https://youtube.com/watch?v=EKRlBoj0s7E&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE

Hybrid review
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bkXiYiGWZnE&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE

Hybrid towing review
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_3BHBp0UQds&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE

 

1. Welcome to the forum. I wrestled with the exact same question before I decided to accept some risk and buy my Tundra. I have owned eight Toyotas and have and am running the wheels off them. I have 278 000 on one of mine now. Here is how I made my decision. I researched the other brands Ford, Chevy and Dodge and they have all had major mechanical problems at higher mileage. Not all of their trucks but several. I have never had a major mechanical failure on the Toyotas I have owned.

Some of the 3.5 turbo components have been used in Lexus products since 2017. I tried to find out how much of the Tundra motor is the same as Lexus application but could not find a lot of reliable facts. So I thought this is not a completely new engine design but some parts are new and unique to the Tundra.

I needed to replace my old truck and decided if all the major manufacturers are having major mechanical failures costing thousands to repair I trust Toyota to stand behind their products more than the other companies. In my mind this doesn’t guarantee I won’t have problems but reduces my risk. The other choice is wait a couple years to reduce risk even more. First year new models always have some issues. I am okay working through these issues with a company that is customer focused and has a stellar history of constant improvement. I will also give my truck extra care like changing the oil every 5k instead of the recommended 10k.

2. I have noticed when I do a lot start and stop city driving my gas mileage drops fast. It is a heavy truck to get rolling. It has tons of power but that also uses gas. I would think the hybrid could help your city driving mpg. If you do a lot of start and stop driving I would consider the hybrid. I changed my route to work from start and stop to a longer drive with few stops and higher average speeds and my avg mpg improved by 3-4 mpg. I was getting 11-13 and now get 15-16 consistently in town. I get 18-20 on long highway trips driving 70-75. So think about how you drive most often and then if you pull a trailer over 6000 lbs. The non hybrid pulls my 6000lb boat like its not there. If you pull a heavier trailer the hybrid will help. Hope this helps you decide.

 

All the new engines have plenty of power. Hybrid has almost diesel like torque. If you’re towing enough to want that type of power I’d be looking for a 1ton. The non hybrid version is similar hp to the old 5.7. But produces torque much lower. Long term reliability is still a bit of a gamble at this point but for power any of the 3rd gen tundras will suffice for 99% of truck owners/buyers.

 

1. its unknown, a variant of this motor/tranny has been in use with Lexus longer then 2022, but I dont think we have seen any of them hit 4-500k

2. the hybrid is a joke, run the #'s it wont make sense to own it, since the mpg improvements are nada, last time I ran it, I would have to drive the truck for like 20 years to break even on the premium for hybrids, i am sad that this hybrid plant was jointly developed by ford, but ford greatly improved the system using lithium battery instead of old nimh, has 7.2kwh power inverter capability and gets 24/24 mpg. The tundra hybrid is literally a afterthought sales gimmick imo.

tldr, your gonna get the hybrid owners that say its worth it because they dont want buyers remorse, I finally saw another post where a hybrid guy went larger tires and 2nd day went back to smaller tires because the hybrid system rarely engaged after the large tire change, hybrid owners will also say it better for towing, so I guess they all must have real life experience that the non hybrids cant tow up to the oem 12000lb spec

 

I really hesitate to jump in on a topic like this when I know that I'm not an expert. So let me just phrase this as more food for thought than anything better.

1- Asking for 400k + miles out of anything short of a commercial vehicle is a stretch except in the most extreme cases, like gen 2 or 2.5 perhaps are/were. As has been said above the only real test for this is proof in the pudding as they say, number of such 400k vehicles on the road. It will be several years before the gen 3 has enough on the road and a chance to prove it's muster. So the safe answer to your first question is no, the chances are not good for such a workhorse. OK, probably better than the competition, just keep your expectations realistic.

2- True turbocharging does put more "stress" on the engine. But, Toyota and also Ford have a lot of experience with this (Ford's ecoboost dating several years ago now). It's my understanding that the components around the engine are more prone to failure such as the turbos themselves. And from the early on turbo wastegate problems of the gen 3 we know that it's a huge job and high cost to replace the turbos on these trucks. My point being that overall maintenance and repair costs are more than just "when will the engine" fail. Will Toyota be good about these repairs? Likely yes. Will the gen 3 Tundra cost you less at 400k miles than the other brands? A total crap shoot at this early stage IMHO.

Thanks for reading this far, and let the others give you real info

 

We obviously don’t know what the new TTV6 will do long term but all the worry, complaining, arguing “Toyota has lost their way” are the exact same things everyone said about the release of the Tundra Gen2, Tacoma Gen2… Prius… Corolla… People love their old Toyotas and every time there is a redesign people think it’s the end of the world and the new Toyota is crap… until it’s not.

Look it up, Tundra Gen2 got mostly terrible reviews and had a ton of issues, but Toyota stood behind their product, fixed it and took care of their customers like they always do.

 

1) Doubtful, just due to the nature of TTv6 engines. It is powerful and delivers its power smoothly, but it is far harder on itself than a NA v8, hence the massive and complicated cooling system. I think the question to ask is, will it end up being more reliable than the other half ton offerings? Toyota knows how important that is to their brand. I think that is a far safer bet.

2) Power—especially off the line—is the benefit of the hybrid. Given the weight of the truck and the resulting payload, it seems that it’s more tuned for the driving experience and less for doing any kind of real work.

This isn’t the exact same engine built in Japan for Lexus (and now for the LX600/LC300). It’s worth noting that the turbos built by IHI Japan apparently haven’t had any wastegate issues in the LC/LX, but the turbos built by IHI America under license from IHI Japan have.

What have you been towing your 16’ trailer with? How much does that trailer weigh?

 

I keep reading this on the forum in posts from the last year or so, but I don’t think it’s actually true. The 2nd gen Tundra won truck of the year and debuted WAY out in front of the half-ton pack. Also, the vast majority of ultra high mileage specimens that got there on minimal maintenance are from the first couple of years. There were a very small number of 5.7s that had valve spring issues that Toyota mopped up quickly. This is why I think it’s likely that Toyota will mop up the V35A issues quickly as well.

I still see tons of early 2nd gens on the road. They get insanely high reliability marks from every outlet and publication. People say a lot about the 2nd gens, but having a ton of issues is never one of them. The biggest issue with them is the cam tower seepage, but in 99.99% of cases it doesn’t even leak enough oil to drip on the driveway or change the dipstick reading between changes.

 

Stats something around 5 percent of all gas 1500 trucks go past 250k. Some such as Toyo are slightly higher but all brands are in that 5 percent range. So high milers are the one off not the rule. If you have one or your buddy has one that is antidotal. Does not mean all are going to get there

 

Thank you so much for giving my questions consideration, and providing a clear answer.

 

Obviously, I prefer Toyota trucks because they are far more durable than their competition, including any "heavy duty" options.

My trailer usually weighs 7500 to 8500 lbs, but sometimes up to 10,000 lbs. I have just over 200,000 miles on it, and it still runs like new

 

By the way, if you get a hybrid, you'll loose storage space under your back seat. That's where the batteries are stored.

 

my 07 SR5 had 212k miles on it and the engine and transmission had many miles left on them but a lot of other things were worn out and I lost faith in the reliability of the truck to tow long distances. Everything rubber and plastic was rotten or cracked. The body had rust spots popping up everywhere. The interior had seen better days….. the list goes on.

 

As others have said we need to wait to see about the durability of the new power plant. Turbochargers stress rings, head gaskets and valves more than anything but this is not a new problem.

The hybrid is there to increase engine performance, not gas mileage. It increases horsepower some but yanks torque up nearly 100 pounds, a very significant number if you are towing and need to quickly get up to speed or up a steep grade with your trailer.

if your power plant and driveline last 400k miles the interior and soft parts will need to be replaced long before that.