Are these trucks really problem free?

I don't disagree with any of the suggestions, but I will comment based on my recent experience with dealer service and standard service intervals as I just had the 30k service experience. First, Toyota's recommendation in the maintenance book provided with the vehicle is to inspect differential and transfer case fluids at 30k, 60k. Change as needed. My local dealer's standard recommendation is to change diffs and transfer case every 30k to the tune of ~$600. Including other stuff they wanted $1,500 for 30k service. Would be same list at 60k. I called another dealer who has a very good service department but not very close to me - they said if I don't tow or off road much, the diff and transfer case fluids should be fine for many more miles. Their 30k service quote was less than $400.

If I did all of this stuff at home, I'd be inclined to service more frequently as Forum Santa recommends. Paying dealer prices for service? I'd check out the maintenance book in case your local service provider thinks they know better than Toyota and wants to replace fluids at a much shorter interval. It's not a bad thing for the truck, but probably not necessary or worth the $$$.

 

I have owned 6 Toyota vehicles since 1997 and accumulated over 600k miles on them. Here are the only issues I had:

2007 Tundra - rear rotors rubbing inner dust shield.
2018 Tundra - same issue as above and one bad servo in The HVAC system.

That is it - I am on my third Tundra now. I don’t think I would buy one of the new ones though. We gave our 2013 Highlander to our daughter to finish off. it has 145k trouble free miles on it.

 

Thank you for the info Santa, I appreciate it!! I will take it to the stealership, as I have no knowledge or desire to learn how to do that type of stuff!!

 

PS>>> Secret Santa 2024: Sign-ups are now LIVE!!!!!

 

I have a 2020 with 81k miles. Tow fairly often a boat and side by side in Texas heat. No transmission cooler, just monitor the temps with OBD reader. ONly issues ive had are at 50k miles, my transmisson pan gasket had a tiny leak and at 80k I had a coolant gasket failure under the intake in the "v" of the motor resulting in a small leak. Neither were major issues, just small leaks i happened to catch when changing the oil and looking things over. Both issues were covered under warranty.
I honestly am a little let down by these two issues I've had due to the way these trucks are hyped as never having things go wrong. On the other hand, Id much rather have small gasket failures than some of the issues ive seen with other makes/models.

 

53k miles on my 17 with zero issues.

 

33k miles and I just had a license plate light go out....so no, technically not problem free lol

 

I'd wager that if the tranny temps were lower over those miles that pan gasket may not have leaked. Way to go toyota.

 

Another way to check durability is to call around check the price for after market extended warranties. My Tundra is older and has more miles than my wife's Ram. My extended warranty was a fraction of the price for hers.

 

Mine hasn't been flawless, as my rear differential started leaking at about 15k miles. Thankfully it was fixed under warranty and has been fine in the 3k miles since (well, I suppose I should go double check).

My issue was fairly uncommon, and when you look at that versus what you see people dealing with in the competition, I think I'm doing okay.

As a side note, when my Tundra was in the shop for the differential issue, I did get a bit frustrated and spent a day test driving others. I drove a 2024 Tunrda Platinum i-Force MAX hybrid, a Ford F-150 with the 3.5 EB, and a GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate with the 6.2 V8.

I loved driving the new Tundra. Like seriously, loved it. It was also right as the recall was announced, which meant discounts, but also some uncertainty regarding long term reliability. There was just something about the F-150 that I didn't care for, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I definitely had reliability concerns. And finally, the Denali. No lying. I freaking loved that truck. The small gas tank was a potential deal breaker (I tow and need more fuel on board) but even more so, I've read of lots of issues with that 6.2 in the truck application. Maybe I got scared away by online stuff and shouldn't have, but I just didn't feel comfortable with it.

When the dealer called that my Tundra was ready for pick up after the repair, I was a bit fearful. You know, when you drive something new then get in your old car and it no longer feels sufficient. Absolutely didn't happen in this case. Getting back in my Tundra was like returning to my most trusted friend. Man, I love that truck.