A 2024 Toyota Tundra Owner Says His Truck Broke Down at 21,500 Miles, Spent 21 Weeks in Service, and Needed Two Engine Rebuilds While Toyota Refused to Approve a Full Engine Swap, “I Absolutely Love My Truck, But This Has Taken a Toll,” He Says

A 2024 Toyota Tundra Limited owner says his truck has spent nearly one-fifth of its life in the service department after suffering a major engine failure at just over 21,500 miles. Despite two separate engine rebuilds and an active interim engine recall, he says Toyota refused to authorize a full engine replacement, leaving him conflicted about a truck he otherwise loves.

The breakdown occurred on August 4, 2025, when the truck had just over 21,000 miles on the odometer. The failure happened six hours from the owner’s home, two states away, forcing him to rely on the nearest Toyota dealership for repairs. That dealership opted to rebuild the engine rather than replace it, a process that ultimately took more than 14 weeks, largely due to parts delays.

“Here's an update to my breakdown experience.

You can check my profile for my previous post.

TL; DR - Engine was rebuilt (took 15 weeks - mostly waiting for parts). A week later, the engine is leaking. Toyota denied a full engine replacement (even though I have the interim engine recall notice). The engine has to be rebuilt again, and the truck is still in the shop. Total time in the shop now is 21 weeks and counting. 

I have a 2024 Limited with a 10/23 build date.

It broke down at 21,5XX miles on August 4th, 2025.

The dealership closest to where I broke down rebuilt the engine.

I picked up the truck on November 14, 2025.

In total, they had my truck for 14 weeks and 4 days.

A week after my engine was rebuilt, I noticed an oil spot in the driveway and took the truck to my local dealership on December 3, 2025. My local dealership did not do the repair since my breakdown happened 6 hours away from home - 2 states away.

My local service department inspected the work done, and the service rep said my engine was leaking everything from everywhere. They said it looked like the tech that did the rebuild didn't know what they were doing, and the work was done inadequately. My local service department quoted the original service department that did the rebuild $7750 to fix their work.

The service department that did the rebuild decided not to pay my local dealership to fix it - even though I voiced my concerns with their work and requested they let my local service department handle the job. They decided to transport my truck back to them (6 hours, 2 states away) and swap my truck out for a rental. Then they would do the repairs themselves. It took a week and a half for my truck to be transported.

Since my truck has the interim engine recall notice, the service rep said they would talk to Toyota about just replacing my engine instead of trying to rebuild it again. Toyota denied their request and told them to rebuild it. 

My truck is still in the shop.

The amount of time my truck has been out of commission this time has been 6 weeks and counting. 

The total time my truck has been in the shop so far is 20 weeks, 4 days.

I got the truck right at the end of December 2023. I've had it for about 107 weeks, and it's been in the shop for 21 of those weeks. Almost 20% of the time I've had it. 

I'm currently consulting with a lemon law lawyer to see how much Toyota offers to buy the truck back for, and then I'll decide if I want to go through with it or not. 

Again, this has just been my experience. I'm sure (and hope) many others have had completely different experiences. I'm sure many of you would have handled things differently. 

I'm just conflicted because I absolutely love my truck, but this whole experience (that's still ongoing) has really taken a toll on my enthusiasm for it.”

The owner finally got his truck back on November 14, 2025. Less than a week later, he noticed oil spots forming in his driveway. Concerned, he brought the truck to his local Toyota dealership on December 3 for inspection. That dealership did not perform the original repair and quickly identified extensive oil leaks, describing the engine as “leaking everything from everywhere.” According to the service department, the rebuild appeared to have been done improperly.

Toyota Tundra: Twin Turbo & Fuel Economy 

• The Tundra’s twin-turbo V6 replaces the previous V8, improving torque delivery for towing while changing the truck’s character with more turbo-related sound and response behavior.
• Suspension tuning leans toward stability under load, delivering confident highway manners when hauling but a firmer ride when the bed is empty.
• Cabin design focuses on practical usability, with a wide center console, large storage spaces, and controls sized for work use rather than a purely minimalist layout.
• Fuel economy improves versus older generations, but the truck’s size and gearing still make efficiency highly dependent on speed, payload, and towing demand.

The local dealership quoted the original repair facility $7,750 to correct the issues. Rather than approve the work, the original dealership chose to transport the truck back to their facility and redo the repairs themselves. The owner requested that his local dealer handle the work instead, but that request was denied. Transporting the Tundra back took an additional week and a half, during which time the owner was placed in a rental vehicle.

Because the truck carries an interim engine recall notice, the service department again requested authorization from Toyota to perform a full engine replacement instead of another rebuild. Toyota denied that request and instructed the dealership to rebuild the engine a second time.

As of the owner’s latest update, the truck remains in the shop. The second repair attempt has added more than six additional weeks of downtime. In total, the truck has now spent 21 weeks in service.

The owner purchased the Tundra at the end of December 2023 and has owned it for roughly 107 weeks. With 21 of those weeks spent in the shop, he calculates that nearly 20 percent of his ownership period has been without the vehicle. He is now consulting with a lemon law attorney to determine whether a manufacturer buyback is possible and what compensation Toyota might offer.

What makes the situation particularly difficult for him is that he still enjoys the truck when it is working. He describes himself as conflicted, saying he absolutely loves the vehicle but that the prolonged repair process, repeated rebuilds, and refusal to approve a full engine replacement have taken a serious toll on his enthusiasm.

Other Tundra owners responding to his story shared similar experiences. Some reported multiple rebuilds due to oil leaks, while others stated that their trucks received complete long block replacements under recall guidance. Several expressed confusion as to why Toyota would approve repeated rebuilds rather than installing a fully assembled replacement engine.

While Toyota has not publicly commented on individual cases, the story highlights a growing frustration among some late-model Tundra owners. The issue is not only the mechanical failure itself, but the length of repairs, inconsistency between dealerships, and corporate reluctance to authorize complete engine replacements even when repeat failures occur.

For this owner, the decision now comes down to whether to walk away through lemon law or continue trying to salvage a relationship with a truck he still wants to love. As he put it, the experience is still ongoing, and while he hopes others have had better luck, his own situation has reshaped what ownership looks like far sooner than he ever expected.

Image Sources: Toyota Media Center

Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.