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RIstream'n · 10-23-2007, 11:37 AM

Attn potential Tundra buyers. I was just reading an article in Automotive News titled "Tundra owners grumble over rumble" The article states that besides getting hit by Consumer Reports this week for "below average" in reliability Toyota is now being hit with angry consumer complaints that the torque converters in 07-08 Tundras with 5.7 litre ,6 speed trans trucks are having problems disengaging while shifting causing a rumble noise. It states that Toyota thought it had put their initial problems behind them. First there was defective camshafts then the 4 star crash test ratings while competitors have a 5 star rating. It goes on, saying the latest snarl involves vibration coming from the tranny. Toyota Motor Sales officials have nicknamed the problem "the rumble strip"{nice!}. Toyota is still trying to trace the source of the problem.

Toyota makes great vehicles but this is food for thought. In a quest for volume quality sometimes suffers.

Bob Thompson · 10-23-2007, 12:16 PM

The key will be how Toyota takes care of the problem! In the past they've done a pretty good job of correcting problems and making things right. Hopefully they'll do a lot better job than Ford did for their HD truck customers.

RIstream'n · 10-23-2007, 12:57 PM

Hopefully they do better than they did with the sludge problem on 6 cylinder Siennas

BillTex · 10-23-2007, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Thompson

The key will be how Toyota takes care of the problem! In the past they've done a pretty good job of correcting problems and making things right. Hopefully they'll do a lot better job than Ford did for their HD truck customers.

Like the "sludge" cover up?

Oops-Brian, you beat me to it!

RIstream'n · 10-23-2007, 01:11 PM

Gottcha Bill!!!

wingfoot321 · 10-23-2007, 02:06 PM

Did either of you folks ever talk to an expert on what caused the sludge problem in Toyota engines?

My service manager showed me one of the 4cyl engines this spring with the valve cover off. Had never seen one up close. It looked just like the overhead valves on a ford or chevy 40 years ago that was running quaker state or exxon before detergents were added. The overhead oil lines would plug with parafin and dirt blocking the oil coming to the top end.

wingfoot321 · 10-23-2007, 02:11 PM

Didn't mean to hijack the thread on oil.

Toyota only did a partial job of fixing the early Tundra brake problems. I have been on a couple web sites where guys said the fix was $2000 and Toyota paid in some cases and not in others. Some of the posts made me think that the dealer had too much discretion in the matter.

Bob Thompson · 10-23-2007, 02:43 PM

I followed the Tundra brake issue closely as it would effect my vehicle. What I saw and what was evident was the people with the most problems were people who used their brakes very very aggressively. These drivers had every right to expect their brakes to perform properly even in normal very aggressive driving. Personally, my disks and calipers did fine even pulling a variety of trailers thru 64,000 miles. At 64,000 miles, the brakes developed a mild judder but were out of warranty so I decided to do the most widely accepted solution. I replaced the disks with Brembo slotted disks and I swithed to Performance Friction carbon-metallic brake pads. The entire fix cost me about $220 and about 45 minutes of time. They've been perfect ever since.

Many of the very aggressive drivers with problems were not seating in their brake pads properly nor were they allowing the rotors to take an initial seasoning before using the brakes harshly. The resulting brake judder usually meant a trip to the Toyota Dealer. Many had their brakes redone multiple times because they would do the same thing over and over. Many complained over and over, some saying they spent $2000. Some were determined to ram the problem down Toyota's throat! Some sold their horrible POC Tundra's at rock bottom prices just to get rid of them, taking $10,000 losses! Some swore never to drive Toyota's again and went off to buy post 7.3 Powerstroke diesels! Some overlooked that fact that there was a real solution which cost only $220 and they could be on their way!

Gene · 10-23-2007, 03:16 PM

My new '07 Tundra with 5.7 L, 6 speed automatic has about 1200 miles and everything works perfectly so far. Braking is very good and smooth, no rumble switching back and forth to/from 4WD or changing gears, and the camshaft hasn't blown through the hood (that would be a sight to see!). The Consumer Reports article, which I've only seen reports about, seems to say they will not give relability ratings before a vehicle has been proven for a while. The practice of giving relability ratings to a brand new vehicle in the past was not a good one anyway and wasn't done very often. I do think Totoya's reliability has slipped a bit in the past 5 years, but any problems I've had have been very minor (bad windshield wiper blade, badly adjusted emergency brake, and such on our '06 4Runner) and my Toyotas still have performed excellently. I hope not to change my mind.

SRW · 11-16-2007, 12:27 PM

I have just over 5000, miles on my 2007 Tundra, 5.7L Crew Max Limited.

To date not ben one single problem.

In addition I am pleased with the dealer.

juel · 11-16-2007, 01:26 PM

I love my Tundra and have not had a single problem with it. It's an 05, 4.7L V8. I'd like more power, but have put off buying the 07 or 08 because of what I saw here on the Forum about the frame difference when compared to the box frame of the Ford. I also like the step-side design of mine which they don't make any longer. My husband keeps teasing me that I may buy a Ford next time because I really like his 07 Ford so much. I think I'll just wait to see what Toyota does now. My Tundra pulls the 24ft Argosy with no problem. Wouldn't want to hook it to the new 31ft though.