2003 Toyota Tundra SR5 from North America - Comments

At 26k miles I started noticing two different vibrations in my Tundra. The first was a side by side where the console would shake braking or not braking. The second vibration was a huge up and down, the whole steering column would bounce when I applied the brakes. I have owned Toyotas' for years and never had one of them in the shop for anything other than an oil change. I have now had the brakes changed out including new rotors (so the dealership says). I think the dealership didn't replace the rotors, but turned them instead. I am not at 35k miles and the problem is arising again. I'm at a loss as to why Toyota would let such a major safety issue go without notice or change.

The choice of tires for the Tundra is poor, causing uneven wear and tear.

The brake system is obviously not able to handle the weight of the truck.

The engineering of the brakes is poor and needs serious re-design before people get involved in serious auto accidents.

Hi...my 2003 is running and braking perfect. Of course I moved from an old chevy silverado... which might explain why the toyota feels so much easier to drive and is much more comfortable. I will be on the look out for brake problems... but so far so good. I will say the mileage isn't too good... but the power is incredible. It is as they say "a rocket ship" on take off.

I have a 2005 v6 tundra and it works perfect. I traded in a z71chev for this thing. I miss the chevey, but gas and mech problems seem very high on that truck. the toy is fun fast and has much better gas mileage than the chevy. my only complaint is the lack of a locking or limited slip rear. my gas use is over 18 in the city. and I use a lot of throttle. thanks.

My 2001 had a vibration issue also. But, I traded on a 2003 with 17" rims that never had the problem. I also never burned rubber with my newer Tundra since I found out that Toyota does have an issue with tire and rim slippage and them getting out of balance. Still, correcting the balance on my older Tundra never fixed the problem. Most 2003 Tundras will be a good truck if you are looking to buy one used since Toyota has had enough time to get out the bugs. Yet, I would hesitate getting an older one with the 16" TRD rims. But, you may never have the problem. It's a matter of problems as a percentage of all trucks sold and Toyota does have fewer problems than many other manufacturers.

I have a 2004 Toyota Tundra access cab with moderate front end vibration/shimmy that Toyota has now refused to do anymore diagnostics on the problem with only 18K on the truck when it started. They tell me it is the tires/wheels yet I took it to an independent tire dealer to have a Hunter Roadforce Balance done and was told there is nothing wrong with the tires (Michelin LTX) or the rims. This would not be so hard to accept that the fact is this is my second Tundra to do the exact same thing at about the same mileage and was told the same thing the first time and finally got rid of the truck when I got fed up with the problem and the lack of listening to the customer. If anyone has any documentation from Toyota on work attempted to be done on your truck send me a notarized statement of your problems it would be greatly appreciated as Iam taking them to arbitration within the next 30 days. brucegriffiths@adelphia.net.

My trunk has also been doing the shimmy/vibraton thing when I apply my front brakes. I told the dealership of this issue about a 8 mo's ago and they supposedly gave me a new rotor they happened to have had in the repair shop without any charge. hmmm... but anyhow, they supposedly replaced, turned my rotors and put in new brake pads. Now, the same thing is happening again today!!! The trunk vibrates (front cab, the steering column, dashboard and consoles) when I apply my brakes. I did not know so many people were having this issue with the 2000-early 03 tundra models, now I feel like I am part of the TSB that was issued by Toyota. Also, Toyota sent me a letter re: safety recall on the ball bearings and they put me on a waitlist 3 mo's ago. I still have not heard from Orange Toyota in CA. I am getting really suspicious now of my truck and toyota. It seems like this is not an isolated issue. I have a 2003 Toyota Tundra V8 2WD. If anyone else is having problems with their braking system, please post and reply.

Yeah mine has 33.000 miles, and the shaking problem is there, I'm getting used to it. but I hate it, if I wanted things to shake and falling apart, I would have bought a chrysler not a toyota. I'm dissappointed.

I use to have a Tundra sr5 v8. I brought the car with 62.000 miles and I sold the car with 88.000 miles. The only thing what I did was the belt and 2 tires in the front, oil and gas :) I brought a van because I need more space for tools, but I love the Tundra. Why is the Tundra keeping its price high (for the used cars) if they are not good, and why is this not the case for American cars?

What keeps Japanese prices high is pure psychology. Ad hype, subliminal hints in the ads, and an extreme sense of having made a horrible mistake on the part of Toyota, Honda and Nissan owners who realize they got taken, but have to pretend they didn't to save face.

One of our best friends bought both a Camry and a Tundra in 2003 and both (especially the Tundra) has been a NIGHTMARE of problems. We have had to give him rides on numerous occasions while his Tundra has been in the shop with a whole slate of problems, some serious safety problems. Nevertheless he will staunchly defend Toyota and rant about how much "better" they are than domestics (in spite of the fact that our domestic that has given him rides to the dealer to pick his Toyotas up has NEVER HAD A PROBLEM in 60,000 miles!!)

I see this kind of reaction all the time in people who make terrible mistakes and have to rationalize them away. It sort of creates an "urban myth" that feeds on itself. You'll hear import owners talk about how domestics break down all the time, but they seem never to be able to actually cite a real-world example.

One of the best examples of that is a good friend of ours who bought an expensive Italian sports car. The car started LITERALLY FALLING APART from the first MONTH. At 63,000 miles it was ready for the scrap heap, and the dealer told him that was a "normal life span" for that car. In spite of this he would go on and on about his "great Italian sports car" and how much better it was than American cars.

I asked him one day how many miles his wife's old Plymouth, which she drove 120 miles a day round trip to school at a college in another city, had on it. He thought for a moment and said "About 215,000 miles" I asked if he'd ever had any problems with it. "None I can think of", he replied, then proceeded to tell me how vastly superior his Italian sports car that self-destructed at 63,000 miles was!! Being a certified therapist, I just smiled, left him to his fantasies, then got in my Ford and drove home.

Wow, given 13:54's story one has to wonder why Japanese makes have always topped the JD Power surveys and others and why the imports made any headway at all. I mean, it's clearly obvious that American cars are so vastly superior to any other vehicle. Guess my positive experience with over 20 imports from various countries is just a fluke, eh?

And the Italian car comment is totally irrelevant since those cars are known for their unreliability and owners know that going in. If your friend didn't know that, s/he should not have bought the car in the first place.

Well, I'm surely impressed that you are a qualified therapist. However, that doesn't mean that you are a qualified mechanic.

What keeps Japanese vehicle prices high, (which is to say higher than the domestics), is that the quality is higher, and you are paying for a vehicle that will last longer than so-called 'domestics'. People have argued rings around this site, and to no avail. Those of us that have owned a few domestics and a few Japanese imports know this to be fact. Now, there may be a few people out there that did in fact have a 'bad' Toyota. Almost none, in reality; it's usually the owners fault if the thing finally breaks down after 100,000 miles after little or no maintenance.

As for the rest of these comments made by people that say that they have owned several Japanese imports and several 'American' made vehicles, and the imports were all bad, the simple and true explanation is that THEY ARE LYING. It COULD possibly happen, but highly, highly unlikely. You're a therapist, so I'm sure you realize that because their comments are made anonymously, these people back up their favorite vehicles with a LOT of exaggerated situations, false mileages, false service records, false stories, and false, inaccurate, or out of context information. Of course it happens on both sides of the argument.

Still, the fact remains that those of us who have ACTUALLY owned some of both makes of vehicles have had much better luck with the Japanese makes as a whole. No contest for me, and friends and family that buy them now. We all see how much better they are, how much smoother they run, and how much LESS they break down. Almost never. Tell me truthfully that you have owned more than 3 imports and more than 3 domestics, and that the domestics were more reliable. No way. People might PREFER domestic vehicles, but there is no way they can truthfully say that they are more reliable. They are more expensive for the same reason that prime rib is more expensive than bologna.