Engine Failure

Well today the Tundra really surprised us, and not in a great way. We were out of state on vacation and driving on the highway when I noticed a sudden decrease in power. All of a sudden, I got a low oil pressure warning, check engine light, parking brake malfunction and some sensor warnings, as well. The engine still had power (albeit decreased) however it definitely sounded like it was knocking. Probably about 30 seconds after the oil pressure warning (I used this time to get over to a shoulder lane, safely) the engine completely died and the message just read Engine Stopped. I called Toyota roadside assistance, who informed me that they could not help tow me off of the highway (sorry, I’ll break down somewhere more convenient next time). Luckily for us, a tow truck driver just happened to be driving on the highway behind us and was able to tow the truck to the closest Toyota dealer for us. When it got there they tried starting it up and it would not start (made a quick knocking noise and then died). I overheard the service employee calling someone on the phone and stating, “Yeah, sounds like we have another one.” I’ll update once they give me a diagnosis, but I fear that it won’t be great and that I’ll have to leave the truck at a dealership about 10 hours away in order to get fixed. Truck has 35K miles on it and was just serviced at 34K.

 

Sorry to hear this, please keep us updated, and good luck.

 

Terrible to hear. I've been there, stranded with a catastrophic failure hours from home.

Consider hiring a tow truck to bring it to a dealer close to you especially if trusted or where you bought it, if you have a good relationship, etc.

I had mine towed to the dealer I bought it from where I knew I would be provided a loaner during the long repair.

 

OP, Sorry to hear that one. Ten hour drive? Yeeesh. I feel for you on that.

Like to know how this gets handled.

 

I can’t think of a worse day. So sorry. Looks like oil drips on ground below oil filter location. I wonder if the oil was just changed and oil filter was loose and slowly leaked oil until you ran out.

 

So you had the roadside and you broke down and some person on the line said that they can not send someone because you were on an highway??? Man o man would I be raising some hell!!! People pay extra for the service but that service is now a might come and help you??? WTH!!! I would be making some phone calls. Sorry that happened!!
You can have it towed back to your dealer! They might even pay for it??

 

I would just have it towed to your dealer. Before it went any further.

 

I cannot believe Toyota Roadside Assistance left you stranded like that! That is unforgiveable. I would be bugging Corporate every hour!

 

Sorry to hear this
Hopefully they fix it quickly or even better give you a brand new Tundra.

I think Roadside assistance couldn't send a tow company on that highway because most highways (at least in NY) have contracted tow companies on the highways so others don't race to try and get the job. Also the prices are set so you can't get ripped off. You get towed by the contracted company and pay them and then you submit the bill to get reimbursed. Toyota could have explained that better to you.

 

This is tough to hear. Especially because you have so many miles on your truck. Usually failures tend to happen early or late in an engine’s lifecycle (unless caused by human error). I think most of us feel like we’d be out of the woods for a catastrophic failure at that mileage. I’m sitting at 21k, personally.

My immediate thought is this: Since you mentioned getting it serviced recently, I wonder if some form of human error occurred during the last service? I’m assuming you had it serviced “early” at 34k knowing you were going on a trip vs it being 4k “late”, correct? The 30k service is an oil change interval, but the 35k interval is not. Maybe someone screwed up something during the service. A tech forgot to torque the drain plug, or something? I say that only because human error seems more likely to cause an engine failure at 35k vs a component failure. I feel like most component failures would’ve occurred earlier in engine hours.

If there is any silver lining…at least it happened within the 3 year/36k coverage (assuming you didn’t have an extended warranty). Still sucks either way.

Side note: I feel your pain in having a major issue hours from home. I got T-boned in a tiny town (Show Low, AZ) which is 12 hours away from Oklahoma City, where I lived at the time. Happened on a Sunday. Lady ran a stoplight and hit my F150. Nothing was open with it being a Sunday and it took forever to even find a tow truck. My truck sat in that town for days until the two insurance companies could figure out what to do. If there was anything lucky that day, it was because there was an off duty Arizona State Trooper behind her that saw the whole thing. With him as the witness, there was no question whose fault it was. Getting myself, my wife, and our friends who were with us on the road trip back to Oklahoma was a mess, not to mention getting the truck back to me. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

 

Damn, I would try to get my truck towed closer to home as well.... the option of leaving it where it at that local dealer is, someone else from the dealership will drive it to you. Back in '08 when my truck's water pump went there was a bickering between the dealership and corporate as dealership refused to repair it unless I paid for repairs. Toyota sent a tow truck and towed it to Longo Toyota, a 3 hour drive. They made the repairs and offered to drive it back down to me, I asked for it to be towed and was declined, so I declined the offer, and drove up there and picked it up myself.

 

Sorry to hear OP; I would certainly be contacting Toyota to at a minimum have your vehicle towed to your local dealer (assuming you want that & have a good relationship with them) and a full refund on your roadside assistance bill. Start there, have them find a nice '23 for you to drive while they figure out if it's repairable or they will be permanently handing you the keys to that '23 loaner.

 

These reports make me hesitate to do my own oil changes because you know they'd push back on warrantee claims if there was a manufacturing defect. But this recent failure shortly after maintenance and other threads where they do a simple change poorly really make me want to do it myself.

OP, did you have a chance to check your oil levels after mai tainance was done?

 

Sorry to hear OP. Hopefully you're able to get a resolution from Toyota that is satisfactory to you. I've broken down two hours from home, and that was a nightmare. I can't imagine being 10 hours away and dealing with this. Especially with a new vehicle. Good luck! Keep us updated!

 

Same for NJ. Blew a radiator hose on my grand cherokee, on the NJ Turnpike. Had to get towed off the turnpike before AAA would then tow me to the dealership. Such a pain lol

 

keep everone updated

 

That would be illegal. They'd have to hire a third party to investigate that matter before doing any such claims. DIY oil changes are perfectly legal in America.

 

Dang. Yes, please keep us updated. There’s another on here that failed at 44k miles.

It’s difficult to think you’re out of the woods after a certain point with these popping up.

 

I'm not sure where the line is, or how it would be determined, before a modern Toyota engine actually fails and the engine going into LIMP MODE. There seems to be some really crazy engine computer functions that cut power to the engine and then shut them down for the smallest of things (I've heard related stories traced to low coolant levels). In these instances I would wonder if the programming is related to "warranty risk" or emissions. Or both.

Just rambling thoughts of a frustrated poet. Hoping the root cause is something seemingly simple.

 

Wow sorry to here OP, will be following for updates

 

Does Toyo still sub it out to AAA? Lexus did in 2009 when I spent 6 hours on the side of road talking to idiots. AAA sells road side as a service to automakers, insurance companies, etc. The 1-800 Lexus number was just a special line to AAA operators instructed to say welcome to Lexus Roadside Assistance.

 

Sorry to hear about that for you guys as well! So the 34K they did was just a tire rotation and inspection; since I just had the oil change done at 30K they told me it was too early. Everything checked out perfectly during the service. When I checked fluid levels before we left everything was good too! I will note that after the engine cut out, I checked the oil level and it was within spec on the dipstick. I did never get a low oil level warning, only the low oil pressure warning before it failed. Maybe a pump issue? I’m going to contact Toyota and ask them to tow the truck to my dealership based on the recommendation of several members here!

 

Damn that sucks, sorry to hear OP.

 

I'm with you on this one.... I absolutely HATE bringing my vehicles to the dealer. Its not just a toyota thing. I owned a Sonata once. Brought it to the dealer for a minor service.
They overfilled the oil on the motor and didnt realize something was up till the next day. When I opened the hood the top of my motor looked like an oil waterpark.
Blew out near every seal on top of the motor. What a mess! Sadly with Toyota I had more bad issues than good at the local dealers service.

Only time my vehicles have to go to the dealers is for warranty work.

 

Overfilled oil results in oil foaming, which does quite the opposite: oil is not able to provide adequate pressure anymore. Seals popping out is PCV problems usually.

 

OP, sorry to hear this. That really sucks and its terrible that Toyota Roadside Assistance refused to help you. I hope you get a good resolution, and soon.

 

Pretty shocking to hear of a complete engine failure from Toyota at such low miles. Hopefully it was something easily explainable like human error at last maintenance and not a deeper issue with the powerplant.

 

Usually, but it can depend on the engine design and level of oil. One example, I have a motorcycle where my model is notorious for blowing seals if the engine is even slightly overfilled.

 

$10 bucks says they’re going to mention those LED grill lights have something to do with the failure

 

All of the failed engines I’ve seen pop up here with the new trucks seems to start with loss of oil pressure, followed by bad noises, followed by no worky. I think this is #4 I’ve seen on the forum? Highest mile failure was at 44k. Maybe there’s an oil pump design issue?