2.5 or 3?

I am going to be replacing my 2011 Tundra soon and on the fence whether to buy a 2018-2021 with low km or a brand new 2025 Tundra.

I will be retiring soon and plan on lots of excursions pulling a small travel trailer through the Yukon and Alaska and eventually down to Baja Mexico.

I have concerns about the reliability of the 3rd gens especially being in the middle of no where. Warranty is great when you are near a dealer, and with Toyotas I have never been concerned until the 3rd gen came out. I realize a lot of negative comes out on the forums, so some good news would be welcome.

The 2021s with low km up here in Canada are selling for what they were new due to high demand and low inventory. I am willing to pay for the reliability but would rather buy a new Tundra.

Currently used 2022s and 2023s are priced lower than 2020s and 2021s.

Thoughts/advice?

Thx in advance.

 

Sounds like you made your decision.

 

Are you able to hold out a little longer to wait and see how the 2025's hold up and make sure they don't have the same engine issues as per the recall?

 

The 25”s are dialed in. I might have more milage than your 2011 on my 22 Tundra 99,000 and mechanically it’s been perfect. Don’t get me wrong I had some quality control issues that were quickly resolved but it by far has been the best Tundra I’ve owned and I’ve had a bunch. Obviously get what you want to spend your money on but if you can swing a 25, I would test drive it and see how you feel. It sounds like no matter what direction you go, your not going to lose

 

The 2.5 builds up your right leg from pushing on the gas to get it go or keep going.

 

I have 250000 on my 2011 with lots of heavy towing, I would keep it forever but it is a rust belt victim unfortunately.

Its been flawless, serpentine belt, brakes, heater blower, tires and a headlamp bulb, that's it, no check engine light, leaks or any other BS. Awesome truck.

It also gets pretty good mileage for a heavy truck with 4:30s, 15-17 MPG empty HWY, 8-12 towing. (Prairies)

Great to see you have had a good experience with your Tundra, the for the info.

 

Would like to get something by July.

 

Currently have a '21. Came from a 2017 F-150 Ecoboost. I know people will say Toyota vs Ford is apples to oranges, but the new Tundras have an almost identical powertrain to the 3.5 Ecoboosts. 3.5 liter Ecoboost twin turbo with a 10 speed, vs the new Tundra 3.4 liter twin turbo with 10 speed. They make nearly the same specs. My biggest question would be how do you like to drive? Again I know it's not a direct comparison, but a twin turbo felt more zippy (as much as a full size truck can feel zippy lol), compared to the V8 feeling more stout. Towing wise the extra gears in a 10 speed were much appreciated. After having a V8 6-speed F-150, then a V6 TT 10-speed F-150, and now a V8 6-speed Tundra, I can confidently say I prefer the "feel" of a V8 (machoism aside). It seems to be pretty evident that Toyota's taken a hit on their reputation of reliability and I'd guess they're looking to gain that back. I'd wager the old adage "don't buy the first year or two of a new generation" holds true here and now that we're in the 4th year of gen 3 the wrinkles will be more or less ironed out.

Other thing to consider which you touched on is pricing. Buying a used vehicle for nearly its original MSRP is probably the only "worse" decision than buying new. Everybody and their mothers heard money gurus chastise people endlessly about how foolish buying new is but to hell with that.

I'd say you know what you've up until 2021 (especially if you've got the 5.7 in your 2011). Best bet is probably to just test drive a 3rd gen and see how it feels. There's no right or wrong answer and no matter what I'm sure you'll end up happy.

 

Lots of great points, Thank you.

 

Reliability is one part but related for me would be ability to repair. For a brand new model if your in the middle of nowhere it may be difficult to get brand new parts for a more complicated machine. I'm sure a shop 200 miles from the nearest dealer would more likely have 2.5 gen parts compared to 3rd gens that they might not have ever seen before.

 

That is definitely a concern for me especially in southern Baja, not so much in Canada, Alaska or lower 48. Thanks

 

How much weight are you pulling?
I pulled a 7k camper with my 2008 for over 30k miles all over the U.S. Sold it with 218k as I live in the rust belt also & was planning a long pull to Alaska.
So, I bought the Platinum Hybrid & towed my camper to Alaska. I love the truck & it tows better with much better brakes(downfall of the 2.5 gen imo). Yes, I’ve replaced a turbo but it was the right decision. I wanted 20-21 but wasn’t paying up for used during COVID. My last bit of advice is to get the auto leveling air suspension or expect some sag.
Congratulations on your retirement!

 

Looking at a 22-24 footer TT hoping to stay around 6-7 k for weights. Ack the air bags, have Timbrens on my 2011 and luv em.

Yes looking fwd to no email or subordinates. Cheers

 

lol, I found the 5.7 to be pretty good, I had 2. If dead nuts reliability is the only thing that matters, you can't beat the last gen tundra for that specifically.

but ya, this little boosted guy, drive modes, and the 10 speed makes the truck come alive compared to the 350 v8.

Towing, the gen 3 is hands down better in pulling and stability especially, the rear frame is 8" wider fully boxed, etc, and it shows, load leveling rear for the win also.

and if you give a shit about MPG (I don't really), there is this....

vs this