Uh-Oh...Trouble w/the Tundra's 5.7's?

[HammerDown]

...http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...705310379/1148

Toyota Tundra may be recalled

Engine trouble on new Texas-made pickup could hurt quality reputation.

Christine Tierney / The Detroit News

Toyota Motor Corp. faces a costly setback in the biggest U.S. vehicle launch in its history after owners of its new Tundra pickup reported engine failures.

The Japanese automaker may recall Tundras equipped with 5.7-liter V-8s to replace the engines, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

The trouble with the Tundra's 5.7-liter engines, the most powerful engine available on the new pickup, is the latest in a series of recalls and problems that have dented Toyota's reputation.

The automaker set the industry standards for vehicle quality, but now seems to be straining to maintain top quality as it expands overseas, builds factories and hires thousands of new workers.

"It's really tough," said Karl Brauer, editor of Edmunds.com, an automotive research Web site. "Engine failure kills a car's ability to run and it's not a simple thing to fix."

Such a problem is also likely to affect residual values, he said.

Industry experts say Toyota is extremely vulnerable to negative publicity because of its prominence in the industry.

In the first quarter of 2007, Toyota overtook General Motors Corp. to become the world's leading automaker in terms of sales.

With the launch of the Tundra earlier this year, Toyota aims to double its share of the lucrative full-size pickup market, one of the few segments still dominated by the U.S. automakers.

Toyota officials characterize the Tundra launch as the most important introduction in the company's history in the United States.

The rollout has suffered delays and disappointments. For instance, the Tundra earned lower frontal crash scores than domestic rivals such as the Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram.

But the engine problem is more damaging and could slow the vehicle's brisk sales momentum.

Company spokesman Bill Kwong said Toyota realized in February that there was a problem with the camshafts delivered by a supplier for the 5.7-liter engine, and the automaker ordered the necessary changes to production.

Still, Toyota has seen 20 cases of engine failure in trucks equipped with 5.7-liter engines, although no injuries have been reported.

Toyota is now studying how many of the 30,000 5.7-liter engines it built are affected.

Toyota builds the Tundra pickup at assembly plants in Princeton, Ind., and San Antonio, Texas, and makes the engines in Alabama.

The automaker hopes to sell 200,000 new Tundras this year, compared with 124,508 previous-generation Tundras in 2006.

But U.S. automakers are holding their own in the pickup market, and GM has been successful with its new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks.

In contrast to their performance in the car market, where they have been pushed back by Japanese nameplates, American manufacturers account for more than 90 percent of full-size pickup sales, which totaled 2.2 million units in 2006.

[Dropgun]

So far very very limited numbered are know to be affected.

[EchoHoLiK]

This is old news.

[KENTACO]

I wrote Toyota about it. They said so far twenty engines have been replaced. Not just the camshafts, but all of the engines were replaced with brand new ones. They said that the engine replacement exceeded customer expectations. I wonder how the big 3 would've handled a similar problem. If it happens to me, at least I know that I will get a new engine after how ever many miles I've put on mine.

[LanceM]

Not what you want to hear after already buying the truck but thanks for the info

[stryker709]

Wow, pretty suprising to see the Detroi news bash the Tundra. I wonder if there at all biased? Isnt this the old news?

[stryker709]

In 06 GM had a recall on over 38000 units for engine fires, this include the silverado and sierra. 20 camshafts compared to that are pretty minor.

[ShawnM]

I would think the bigger problem from a consumer standpoint would be the ones that dont actually break untill the truck is out of warranty. A recall would be the only way to get rid of that concern.

[stryker709]

5 years 100000km I would think if its gonna go, it'll go by then. Mabey an extension on that for the camshaft only could be possible if its built in a certain period.

[Vmax2007]

Originally Posted by stryker709

5 years 100000km I would think if its gonna go, it'll go by then. Mabey an extension on that for the camshaft only could be possible if its built in a certain period.

Why would you assume that? A slighty affected camshaft could easily last 60K miles and break prematurely at, say 75K miles. My guess is that MOST of the affected camshafts are not as severe as the ones that broke right away and will begin showing up later on. But that is pure speculation, based on my mfg/metallurgical experience.

[ShawnM]

Thats what I was thinking, the worse ones are the ones that are breaking right now but theres bound to be some that will last a while before they break. I have no doubt toyota will do what they see fit with it but that thought will be in everyones mind that is thinking about buying one new or used.

[engineer]

Originally Posted by stryker709

In 06 GM had a recall on over 38000 units for engine fires, this include the silverado and sierra. 20 camshafts compared to that are pretty minor.

First, excusing bad behavior with worse is a terrible way to make a point.

Second, your statement suggests that all 38,000 of the GM trucks had this failure, which is not the case. I could not find an exact number that were actually affected, but your point above is misleading (Like someone saying that all 20,000 of the Tundra's 5.7l engines have the cam failure issue, also not true). Gm issued a recall that addressed the 38,000 affected trucks, Toyota has yet to issue a recall for it's cam issue, presumably to address each failure when it arises. You decide which is the better approach. . . . .

[stryker709]

Originally Posted by engineer

First, excusing bad behavior with worse is a terrible way to make a point.

Second, your statement suggests that all 38,000 of the GM trucks had this failure, which is not the case. I could not find an exact number that were actually affected, but your point above is misleading (Like someone saying that all 20,000 of the Tundra's 5.7l engines have the cam failure issue, also not true). Gm issued a recall that addressed the 38,000 affected trucks, Toyota has yet to issue a recall for it's cam issue, presumably to address each failure when it arises. You decide which is the better approach. . . . .

Let me simplify my point.

Engine fire is worse than a broken camshaft.

This is just an observation with my experience with fire.

[HammerDown]

Originally Posted by KENTACO

... If it happens to me, at least I know that I will get a new engine after how ever many miles I've put on mine.

You better keep your finger crossed with that one. Out of warrantee is out of warrantee...at best you (may) get a remanufactured engine but (new) nahhh don't think so.

*it may be in 07 owners best interest to purchase an extended warrantee before the original one expires. This way they might offer a new short Block.

[engineer]

Originally Posted by HammerDown

You better keep your finger crossed with that one. Out of warrantee is out of warrantee...at best you (may) get a remanufactured engine but (new) nahhh don't think so.

*it may be in 07 owners best interest to purchase an extended warrantee before the original one expires. This way they might offer a new short Block.

Actually, wouldn't be a long block due to it being an overhead cam engine?

Never-the-less, an extended warranty might not be a bad idea.