Toyota is a company built on three pillars: Quality, Durability, and Reliability. Although Toyota has some great vehicles, pizzazz isn’t the company's raison d'être. Its main goal is to provide bulletproof vehicles that never break and never die. That's why breathless news reporting about its Tundra pickup engines grenading due to manufacturing problems is so scary to so many owners and fans of the brand.
What’s Happening With Toyota Tundra Engines In a Nutshell
Owners of late-model (newish) Toyota Tundras are living in fear. The automotive media has spun up a narrative hinting that all V6 Tundra engines, twin-turbo and hybrid alike, are going to fail because there are metal shavings in the oil pans. Toyota isn’t running from the issue. A recall has been issued covering Tundras with the turbo engine from the 2022 to 2025 model years. Thousands of engines have been replaced under warranty at no cost to the owners. The sense of dread is real, not imagined.
I know that feeling. I owned a Subaru Legacy, which I purchased new, whose engine quit after just 11,000 miles. It still had the new car smell when the engine seized. Luckily in my driveway after a long weekend of holiday driving with family. My emotions ran the gamut. Fear, anger, dread, sadness, and disappointment. Not necessarily in that order. Subaru put a new short block in the car, and at my request, also threw in a 100,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Overall, it turned out to be a great ownership experience, but on the day my engine quit, I was very upset.
What Does Consumer Reports Say About the Tundra and Its Engine
Consumer Reports is the go-to source for vehicle reliability data in America. So, when I fired up my digital subscription to find out how bad this Tundra engine issue is, I was very surprised to see that Consumer Reports had no warning, no note, no highlighted indication at all that the current Toyota Tundra was having a big problem that everyone should lose their collective minds over. In fact, CR has a summary of the Tundra’s reliability that reads:
We expect the 2026 Tundra will have about average reliability when compared to the average new car. This prediction is based on data from 2023, 2024, and 2025 models.
Consumer Reports has a number of ways that it signals to subscribers/members the reliability of the vehicles it rates. First, there is the current model year reliability prediction. This is based on prior years’ data and any new information the staff may have about the vehicle. For example, if the vehicle underwent a change, whether good or bad, the current model-year reliability estimate would shift accordingly. The 2026 Tundra earns an average score. While not the usual level of Toyota reliability, the ‘26 Tundra’s score is not outside of the norm for pickups. For example, the 2026 Tundra’s predicted reliability is just a bit higher than the 2026 Chevy Silverado 1500's score, a smidge below the Ford F-150’s score, and dramatically better than the RAM 1500’s terrible score, which is near zero. No warning about Tundras here.
We also looked at the 2025 Toyota Tundra’s reliability score. Remember, the 2025 model is covered under the recall. This year’s score isn’t predicted, but actual, and based on owner surveys. Interestingly, the 2025 Tundra earned the coveted “Recommended” stamp of approval from Consumer Reports. Its actual reliability score was very high, in the 60s out of 100. We dug into the reliability data and found that its powertrain was scored as high as possible, and the “Engine Major” and " Engine Minor” sections also scored as high as possible. We looked next at the 2024 Tundra. Same basic story. All green, with top scores for engine major and engine minor reliability. The three most recent years of the Tundra had zero indication of any scary engine issues to be concerned about. Look further back, and the engine issue is noted in the 2022 and 2023 model years by CR.
Surprised that the dire Toyota Tundra engine failure issue all over social media was not flagged by CR, I reached out to my contacts at Consumer Reports. Torque News is fortunate to have a great relationship with the group there, and as always, our inquiry was answered promptly, and with all the detail one could ever hope for. We were assisted by James McQueen, Senior Communications Specialist. We asked why the engine failures are not specifically highlighted by CR and if recalls are factored into reliability ratings.
James told Torque News, “We are strictly examining the problems that owners reported experiencing. (our emphasis)” Pausing here for a moment, owners of 2024 and 2025 Tundras have not reported any meaningful numbers of engine issues to Consumer Reports. In fact, the Tundra scores the highest rating possible in this area for those model years.
Next, James elaborated on the way recalls and problems can combine to be reflected in its data. He told us:
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Most vehicles involved in a typical recall have not exhibited a problem, but they have been identified as being at risk for a preventable safety concern. Where recalls and reliability overlap is that owners may experience the same problem that is covered by a recall; in that case, it counts as a reported reliability issue.
Do the Numbers Justify the Concerns and Dire Reporting?
According to Toyota, about 270,000 vehicles with this engine problem have been recalled. The current consensus is that fewer than 1% of Tundra owners with this engine have reported problems to dealers. James pointed out the one positive related to recalls, saying, “While recalls can be inconvenient, they are ultimately a good thing—the automaker has identified the risk of a problem and will correct it for free.” James concluded his commentary on this subject with us by saying, “Our reliability ratings are relative, compared to other pickup truck models of the same model years (2024, 2025, 2026), the Tundra is about average for reliability.”
The Tundra’s Engine Issues Are Noted by Consumer Reports, but Not For Recent Years
If you have a digital subscription, you can find the Toyota Tundra’s engine issues by looking back far enough. The 2022 and 2023 model-year Tundras have comparatively lower reliability scores, particularly the 2022 model. However, owners of newer Tundras, those produced over the last three years or so, have not reported a high rate of problems related to the engine. In fact, the reports say just the opposite. The Tundra’s powertrain is rated as highly as possible.
Toyota Tundra Engine Bottom Line
So, where does this leave a worried Tundra owner, or a shopper eyeing one of these trucks? In a much better spot than the social media panic would suggest. The dread is understandable, and I felt every bit of it the day my own engine quit in the driveway, so I am not here to tell anyone their fear is foolish. But fear and data are two different things, and the data tells a far calmer story. Toyota identified a real manufacturing problem, issued a recall covering roughly 270,000 trucks, and is replacing affected engines for free, all while fewer than 1% of those engines have actually given owners trouble. More telling still, the Consumer Reports record for the 2024, 2025, and 2026 Tundra shows top marks for engine reliability and not a single warning flag. If you own a recent Tundra, the most useful thing you can do is confirm whether your truck falls under the recall and let your dealer handle the rest. The brand built on Quality, Durability, and Reliability has not walked away from those pillars on the Tundra. The fear, uncertainty, and doubt headlines just got there first.
Suggested Reading On This Subject:
Pickup Truck &SUV Talk - Toyota Finally Figures Out What’s Causing Tundra Engine Failures, People May Not Like The Answer
The Drive - Toyota Won’t Replace Every Recalled Tundra V6, and Some Owners Are Fed Up. Toyota Built Its Reputation on Reliability. The Tundra Is Threatening to Undo It
CarBuzz - Toyota's New Fix For The Big Tundra Engine Recall May Upset Some Owners
About the Author:
John Goreham is a 14-year veteran of Torque News. An accomplished writer and a long-time expert in vehicle testing, Goreham also serves as the Vice President of the New England Motor Press Association and has a growing social media presence. He’s also a 10-year staff writer and community moderator for Car Talk. Goreham holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an undergraduate Certificate in Marketing. In addition to vehicle and tire content, he offers deep dives into market trends and opinion pieces. You can follow John Goreham on X and TikTok, and connect with him on LinkedIn.
Images by John Goreham.
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