2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 from North America - All Comments

Most of those 1985 Ford or Chevrolet's have been restored... this is getting out of control... why I should buy a truck (GM, Ford) with a 49 percent customer satisfaction. You know what domestic lovers? You are in the minority for once!

My 5.7 liter LT1 was a pretty good engine, but it was costly because of stupid things like Opti-spark...I think we had thousands of dollars into it and then the rod started to knock at 125,000 miles. We traded it on a Honda Accord; not for performance, but for reliability and economy.

00:07 I believe we've already covered this. How many trucks did Toyota sell in the US in '85? How many did GM sell? That's why you see a FEW '85 GM trucks around (probably rebuilt 3 times), GM sold millions more trucks in the '80's than Toyota did. That's the only reason you see more of them. Now that Toyota sells more Tacoma's and such, in 15 years you'll see way more of those still running than any GM truck of the same year.

I found this interesting, if you say Toyota's are so well designed and built, then explain this.

"Remember when Toyota advertised by showing a Toyota owner standing by their Toyota saying 'My Toyota has 250/300,000 miles on it with no engine repair.' In my experience as an auto shop teacher and mechanic, I think that about 20 years ago Toyota made the decision to make their engines wear out sooner so they could sell more cars and make more money on repairs. They made sure the engine would wear out sooner by mounting the oil filter horizontal or upside down and above the crankshaft. The oil runs out of the center of the oil filter and back into the oil pan when the engine sits over night. Now when the engine starts in the morning the oil filter has to be pumped full before the engine bearings get oil so the bearings run dry and wear out. The camshaft and rod bearings are damaged first.

I can hear the rods knocking on my 2004 Sienna for 3 to 4 seconds when it starts in the morning. I cured this problem by mounting the oil filter below the crankshaft with adapters and stainless steel oil lines. This 3.3 liter engine is used on many other Toyota’s. The new 4 liter Tacoma’s has the oil filter mounted completely upside down. About 90% of Toyota engines for the last 20 years have the oil filter mounted so the engine will slowly destroy its self.

Will Toyota fix these engines when they start to go bad, or will they blame the customer like they are doing to 2000 to 2004 Sienna’s whose engines sludge up and blow up on almost new cars? In 2000 Toyota engineers decided they could get better gas mileage, more power, and less emissions by limiting the flow of water to the heads on 3 liter engines used in Sienna’s and Camry’s. The heads ran hotter which could help these three things, but the heads were so hot that it cooked the oil to a thick goop. When this goop/sludge gets down to the oil pump screen it plugs the screen and the engine will blow up on new cars with 30 and 40,000 miles.

Toyota claimed it was the customers fault for not changing the oil often enough. When customers would prove that they had the oil change every 3,000 miles then Toyota said they were still at fault for not using a Toyota oil and filter. Toyota keeps saying that their oil filters are better, but when I cut apart a Toyota filter it has exactly the same back flow valves and bypass valves as all the other name brand oil filters. When customers who could prove that Toyota had changed the oil and filter at the Toyota recommended intervals, Toyota changed a few engines, which blew up 30,000 miles later. Even if Toyota replaces a few engines (which then go bad) there are millions of customers who pay for the repair themselves or sell the car thus loosing millions of dollars. This is a rip off of the consumer. Toyota produced a bad design.

They are trying to fix some engines by following a new service bulletin which says to replace the valve cover with one that has a better veneration system, cleaning out the oil pan, and oil pump screen. Toyota should fess up and get the word out to the public that they will fix the engine completely when it goes bad and that until then everyone must use synthetic oil, which is not affected by the extreme heat. Do we need to stop buying Toyotas to get them to be honest?"

A complaint against Toyota along with the many on this site.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/toyota_engine.html

Wow! You people are rough on each other. Lets deal in true facts not one vehicle sold in this country is made from parts made from this country alone (NONE). Toyota has good vehicles and bad vehicles and so do the domestic brands. The media has been playing with the consumers heads for years about gas mileage and the consumer hears Toyota on a commercial and thinks its better than chocolate without any investigating into the other brands that are not talked about.

Ford, Chevy, and Dodge have all dug their holes by paying CEO's and top management much more than they are worth and not listening to the consumer (Something Toyota has been doing for years). I own two Ford's both have there place Ford F-250 (work and play) and Ford Fusion (wife and kid).

Toyota makes a nice truck, but if you look at the label 25%

of the parts are made in China, 10% in Japan, 15% in Canada, 30% in USA, and the other 20% are not listed. I think I will stick with the Domestic models at least 75%-85% are still made in USA.

It still boils down to greed in this country and in the end CREED will ruin this county.

Oh sure- Toyota INTENTIONALLY decided to engineer engines that self-destruct? The fact that my family has had no less than 7 Toyota cars and trucks, of which had various designs involving oil filters either upside down or right side up, either above or below the camshaft, and which none have had any major problems other than a bad wheel bearing in an 88' 4runner, and a bad brake caliper in a 98' Avalon is cross-sectional real-life proof that NO - Toyota doesn't, nor has ever designed engines to self-destruct.

All you need to do is compare the amount of recalls both Ford and GM have had in the last 10 years, and compare the numbers to Toyota or Honda. Sure - ALL cars companies have had recalls... But if we're comparing recalls... Ford and GM win hands down in that game.

I think the real issue here is that Toyota gained a sterling reputation of reliability via good engineering - engineering based on manufacturing techniques suggested to US automakers by independent American industrialists and rejected, yet adopted by Japanese firms. The fact that companies like Toyota based their engineering and manufacturing output via more intelligent, efficient models meant they produced and still produce higher quality products.

I find it interesting that while Ford or GM might have to recall MILLIONS of cars and trucks, if either Toyota or Honda have even ONE, the anti-import go crazy and put these up as 'proof' of how bad Toyotas and Hondas are. Ironic because even they know the truth, and are don't like to admit it.

I think one more thing that can't be denied is that Toyota and Nissan pretty much KILLED the US small and mid-sized truck segment. The Colorado and it's sibling models are pretty much jokes that sell in small numbers. The Ranger is going to be discontinued this upcoming year. It hasn't been updated since 1993.Embarrassing.

So what it boils down to is this: We can argue all day long about what company builds a better product. But in the end, if consumers buy the cars and trucks they like and companies like GM and Ford don't listen, then they'll lose another market just like they lost the small truck market.

The only restored part of my Chevy C20 is certain parts of the sheet-metal. The original was never washed, waxed, or cared for. The truck was used to haul tobacco, hay, wood, rocks, fertilizer, or whatever else. The drivetrain is ALL original, everything from the engine to the wheel hub assemblies. It was not babied and it was used to move multiple tons.

I still haven't seen anyone stating that they've pulled 12,000 pounds with their Toyota, or hauled 1000 or more pounds with it. I guess I can assume that no one does. So what are these serious loads that these tiny little Toyota's, that are all over the place in California, moving? Lawnmowers or couches? Oh maybe a refrigerator if you're feeling crazy! I would imagine that none of those Toyota's have a ton in the back of them, or at least let's hope not. Good luck stopping.

It is literally impossible for a 70's or 80's model Toyota to do "serious" work. The Toyota's today lack enough metal, but the old ones were ridiculously scrawny. They were Corolla's with beds. How in the world could they possibly move or haul anything huge? Maybe your definition of "serious work" is a little more liberal than other peoples.

Ford and Chevy have a niche with small pickups today. The Tacoma, Dakota, and Frontier have all grown to nearly full-size trucks, but the Ranger and Colorado are still actually small and efficient. The Ranger has not been redesigned for a decade or more because the design is working for Ford. If it were so awful, they would be redesigning it over and over. Also, I see Rangers all over the place and they are a very popular fleet vehicle, which would be a good enough reason to keep them in production.

21:48 That's your major complaint about Toyota? The position of the oil filter? There is no problem with it.

Their world famous 22re is the best example. I've owned two of them, but a good friend of mine's truck is the best example: it is an '89 Toyota truck.

First off, those engines, from that era, had 135 hp at probably 5 grand. The point is, you run them hard all the time to move the truck. My friend put a suspension lift and 33" tires on this truck almost as soon as he bought it used in '91 or somewhere around there.

On a DAILY basis, after work or school, we piled in this truck and drove it through a muddy limestone quarry, all hills and rocks; the truck rarely shut off after 3:00 in the afternoon. We ran it like a racecar, with absolutely no regard for rpm's or anything else.

He NEVER changed oil to my knowledge. When it finally began to tap, every year or so maybe, he'd dump some more in. We revved it through the mud, pulled trees out with it, or tried to; we drove it like it was stolen EVERY day. Finally, somewhere around 2000 or so, we rolled it again (not the first time), and it was totalled.

I should mention that there were two Toyota's out that day, and we still flipped this one back over and drove it home. At this point, the odometer had long since stopped working; no one knows how many miles were on it, but a conservative estimate is 350,000. Easily. Could have been a lot more. Someone he knows actually bought it privately, and, as of a couple of years ago, it was STILL running and had the original engine, never opened up, and same transmission and gears. Believe me, I'm grossly editing all of the things we put this truck through just for the sake of the length of this comment. It NEVER quit running.

So as for you argument about the oil filters; forget it. This kid probably never even saw his to know what position it was in. Someone trying to tell me that a Ranger or an S-10, or ANYTHING else would have lived through this will hear me laugh in their face.

I could go on about my '93 Tercel that I could not destroy no matter how hard I tried, but I won't. Or my '95 truck (abused almost as bad). Or my '98 Tacoma that I drive today. I take care of this one, but I know from many experiences that I really don't have to. I'm just a lot older now and a lot more cautious.

I will probably still be driving this Tacoma when the brand new Fords and Chevy's on the sales lots are in the junkyard. That's how good Toyota's are.

"of the parts are made in China, 10% in Japan, 15% in Canada, 30% in USA, and the other 20% are not listed. I think I will stick with the Domestic models at least 75%-85% are still made in USA."

You're totally wrong on those numbers: Roughly 70% of all Tacomas are made from parts produced in the U.S. with the rest coming from Japan. The bulk of the parts are made by Denso USA in plants throughout TN and KY as well as TX, and IN. The Tacoma is manufactured in Fremont CA called NUMI (National United Manufacturing Inc.) This was the same plant that used to make Geo Prizms for GM.

The.

This review however is not about small light trucks... I had 2 of them at one time and would never own one again. Ford has a complete line of trucks; small, and also F-250 and above that address every need of the American consumer. I feel GM also has much more to offer.

I feel individuals are more discerning that purchase trucks, especially ones that have bought new ones before. Small trucks are a compromise, and many times I had to call friends with bigger trucks. I also own a new domestic SUV that actually is capable of doing everything my small trucks once did; keep the contents dry, locked up, and has superior towing capability as well than the small trucks.

18:52, My dad has a 2001 Tundra that he uses as a REAL work truck. Yes-He he pulls more than 12,000 pounds with it, in this case a 32 foot 5th wheel trailer. He uses it for landscape work as well. The new Tundra will haul even more.

In regards to these 'puny' little trucks you refer to, as I mentioned earlier, Ford and Chevy and probably Chrysler before long have totally lost the small truck market. The Ranger is soon going to be discontinued. The model was never updated simply because Ford concentrated on building disposable junk in the 90's, like Explorers, Expeditions, and that huge school bus looking SUV, the Excursion. These clunky SUVs could be sold for 30-40k and made Ford a lot of money since they were cheaper than cars to manufacture. It is well known in the US auto industry that small trucks are referred to as "bottom feeders" Hence Ford and Chevy made zero investments into improving their designs. At least Chevy updated theirs. That said, I went and looked at a new Colorado when they first came out and frankly, the truck isn't worth the cheap plastic and tin its made out of.

Toyota and Nissan not only improved their smaller trucks, but they also listened to what consumers wanted. They wanted more choices in that segment. So the Tacoma now comes in two sizes: a smaller 4 banger econo-truck and a mid sized v6. More fine touches were added. These trucks just about blow Ford and Chevy out of the water. Don't even try to tell me that the Ranger or Colorado even have a chance at being classified in the same bracket because they aren't.The reason Ford is dropping the Ranger is because they have totally lost that market and the sales volume is too small, especially given Ford's current financial situation.

By the way, we had two smaller 80's Toyota trucks that we used to haul a trailer loaded with 2,000 pounds of flea market junk as well as a bed full of junk. We hauled this, along with me, my mom and dad all across the Southeast. Considering that this truck had a tiny 4 cylinder engine yet hauled all 3,500 pounds of our stuff for years tells me that it not only worked hard, but worked well.

In regards to California, well being the state that produces more produce and agricultural goods than all the other states combined, I can't tell you how many fields I pass every single day that have these old beater toyota trucks being used for "real" work.

The question that I think that some of you need to ask yourselves is what will happen once Toyota and Nissan start making some serious inroads on the domestic truck market. If you look at how Toyota works, they test products and listen to what the consumer wants. If they don't get it right the first time (the T-100 and maybe the first gen Tundra) they will eventually. They did it with the small car market (Corolla) mid sized market (Camry) the small truck market (Tacoma). The large truck market is next.

So instead of scoffing at what a company like Toyota does and does right, how can companies like Ford and Chevy prevent themselves from losing another segement? Perhaps you as consumers can actually step in and tell them what you like in a truck and they'll make it better. There is a reason why Toyota is successful.

Uhm no, the Ranger is not doing anything for Ford. I live in St. Paul and the plant is scheduled to close soon. My brother owns one of the last 2007 Rangers and the only thing going for it is the brand new freshness. Sorry to burst your bubble.

GM also makes fantastic marine engines that you can order with your new GM Silverado and have a great boat engine to tow behind a great truck. I'd rather be out water skiing, fishing etc besides playing in mud, but to each his/her own.

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"I find it interesting that while Ford or GM might have to recall MILLIONS of cars and trucks, if either Toyota or Honda have even ONE, the anti-import go crazy and put these up as 'proof' of how bad Toyotas and Hondas are. Ironic because even they know the truth, and are don't like to admit it."

Do you have a selective memory? Imports are ALSO having to recall millions of vehicles. Does the number 3,300,000 ring a bell? (Engine sludge) Once again, it's no big deal for the imports to have massive recalls, but it's an atrocity for domestics to have them. As far as the domestics having more recalls over the years, keep in mind that the domestics have sold millions upon millions more over the past decade than Toyota. If or when Toyota gets as many vehicles out there as the domestic, they will have recalls and lemons all over the place as well. Producing 900,000 trucks worldwide is an overwhelming task, and Ford has done it, but Toyota hasn't.

ONCE MORE: LET TOYOTA PRODUCE 900,000 TUNDRA'S WORLDWIDE IN ONE YEAR AND SEE HOW PERFECT ALL OF THEM ARE.

With the first 30,000 new ones made, there's already a camshaft scare. Who's to say that more camshafts won't go to breaking? If Ford only sold a little over 100,000 F-150's last year, there would be a whole lot less bad ones and good ones.

Another thing to remember is Ford and Chevy may have been more willing to go ahead and do the recalls when Toyota just kept blaming the owners for their complaints. How many recalls did Toyota do over the notorious 3.0L V6 head gasket ordeal?

Also, I don't remember the news announcing Toyota having to recall Tundra's for warping brake rotors. Is it a big deal for a Ford to be at risk of catching fire, but not a big deal for a Tundra to not be able to stop itself?

Oh yeah, my grandpa never changed the oil in his '77 C10, and we did real work with it, instead of playing in mud.