Toyota Tundra Recall Expansion: Why V35A Twin-Turbo V6 Front Bearing Failures Are Forcing Owners To Shift to Heavy-Duty V8 Iron-Blocks

V-8 & thicker oil.
Problem solved.

These truck manufacturers should at least do r&d when coming out on a new platform, that allows the previous generation engine to be used. As it stands, even if toyota wanted to bring the 5.7v8 or even the 4.6v8 back, they would need extensive research, and it would be about 2-3 years before those engines would be available. They would have to crash test and more. All manufacturers should plan on their newest engine having a severe issue like this, and should already have an easy back up plan in place. The back up plan should be to make sure that the previous generation engine works in/with their new platform. Just make it a more expensive option. Im sure tundra owners would love to just have the option of having the 5.7 or 4.6 available in the newest generation. Honestly, the new tacoma should've received the 4.6 v8 as an optional engine, as well as this 3.5L tundra engine, once they finally fix it. The tacoma should always have the option to get a de-tuned or smaller tundra engine, meaning last generation tacoma should've had the option for last tundra generations 4.6L v8, and this generations tacoma should have the less powerful turbo 3.5L tundra engine as an option(assuming there never was an engine problem). I think they would sell more, and it would do a lot for their reliability, assuming they never had the issue with the 3.5L or they actually fix it.

This is what happens when engineers can't keep up with government regulations! Most people buy new vehicles for reliability, but are now paying through the nose for uncertainty!

The timing chain pulls upward on the crank. The pistons push downward on the crank. The #1 main bearing will have less total load than the others. Article makes no sense.

I almost upgraded my 2010 Tundra for a new one in 2024 because of heavier towing demands. I too ordered a Chevrolet 2500 HD instead because I felt that the small twin turbo engine on the Tundra would be overwhelmed. Why can't Toyota offer more engine choices?
They're sticking this twin turbo down everyone's throat! Humble yourself Toyota and offer a naturally aspirated V8! And maybe some of your customers will come back!
John

Owner of 24 Tundra Limited with 75k on the odometer. I love this truck after owning multiple GMC”s with 6.2 and 5.3. Both had lifter and rod damage resulting in partial engine rebuilds. Add oil consumption, tranny cooling line replacement, transmission issues that feel like being rear ended while down shifting, awful in traffic on 95. The dealer says this is all normal. Normal for what?
Now I am waiting for the inevitable engine failure in my Tundra. I change oil every 5k and use Amsoil. Keeping fingers crossed and praying to the gods I don’t have to pay for another engine issue.

Live in Canada I have a 2022 tundra motor was changed in march 2025 I wonder if this motor is any better I think they should replace it again once they figure out what is really wrong is 0w20 oil still good to use. thank you

Hey Dave, can you quote your source on this? At high elevations, such as Vail Pass or the Eisenhower Tunnel along Colorado's Interstate 70, air density drops significantly, forcing the engine control module to command a much higher turbocharger wastegate duty cycle to maintain the standard target power output.

Why not put a thicker viscosity oil in and ignore their recommendations? Personally I'd never buy a turbo charged anything. They ask too much from a small motor, and do so at everyones expense. This is another example of bs leftist excuses to cheapen the vehicle so Toyota executives can make massive bonuses,. Lets let their v6 turbos rot. Think about it, why are they making v6 turbos? Remember folks when they started making a bunch of data centers they said they were wrong about the environment. So lets hold them accountable and let them go back to the v8.

What a great job in discovery and reporting the complex relations between the elements that together create these failures.

As a former mechanic myself, you couldn't give me a turbo engine vehicle today. Not only are they ask to produce a lot of horse power and torque but are more complex and obviously not engineered properly either. Toyota should have stuck with their V8 but I suspect they were facing tighter emissions and had little choice. Or they simply fell into a save the planet mindset that these smaller turbo engines were just better for environment. In either case the loser is the owners who trusted Toyota's past legacy of durability and now realize that ship has long since sailed.

As an owner of a 22 CapstoneTundra hybrid we are screwed same engine but no recall even though there are now hybrids experiencing failures. It was unerving when my wife had to take me to the airport 2hrs away at 3 am. Wondering if I was going to make it there or if my wife would be safe going home. Truly disappointing for a very expensive truck and a huge financial loss to sell it.

Moving on from my second 3.5 Ecoboost to a 7.3 Godzilla for this exact reason. Start-Stop, cylinder deactivation, aluminum blocks, high pressure oil and fuel pumps, 0W oil all required for CAFE standards are the problem.

I still believe this problem can be fixed, its gonna cost toyota alot of 💰 I honestly think they should have left the 5.7 ltr V8 in the Tundra.

I drive a ‘23 Tundra Hybrid. I’ve had it just over 3 years and have 134K miles on it. Suffered the dreaded engine failure May 2025 at 90K miles. Thankfully, the extended warranty we had on the truck to 100K covered the negotiated cost of $27K to perform a replacement that only covered the parts that oil flowed through. No crate engine, individually sourced parts brought in from all around the country and hand-built at the dealership over a period of 7 weeks. Am I thankful I didn’t have to cover the cost? Yes. Is it in the back of my mind that it will happen again? Yes. I drive in the desert southwest primarily, at altitude and through the 120°+ days on the highways of AZ, NV and CA primarily, with some CO thrown in too. I change my oil every 5K. Wouldn’t buy another on of these or any boosted truck engine in the near future. Emission controls and mileage standards have killed engine and transmission reliability over the past 20 years, starting with cylinder deactivation, to transmission gearing, to diesel engines w/DEF. My next truck will be a pre-2000 V8 and I’ll happily go down the road not worrying about when it’ll break down.

Like a Toyota employee once said: "There's no replacement for displacement".

My truck has almost 8000miles on it and I have started to notice a slight rough idle

After putting 235,000 miles on my 2013 Platinum Tundra V8 5.7 with never any major problems I traded to a 24 Tundra Limited. I felt after giving Toyota two full model years on the new platform they would have fixed the early engine problems but Toyota failed us! Lost a ton of money last week as I gave up and traded it on a new Lexus RX 350. Not a truck made right now that is worth a crap. Loved the way it drove and handled but learned a new lesson at 75 about manufactures and EPA Cafe requirements forcing them to build stupid engines that just fail. I was getting One mile per gallon better fuel economy. Than my 2013 Tundra 5.7! Makes totally no sense and we consumer are who ends up getting crushed financially and emotionally! My close friend ordered a $90,000 Suburban 6.2 and at 9,000 miles the engine blew! GM offered him 6 months of free Sirius radio service and free emergency service which he already had! He had bought 32 new GM vehicles and was a top loyalty customer. That’s all they offered him, sad and pathetic. I’ll borrow or rent a truck when I need one it’s way cheaper for me. I feel for all the people needing one every day and having to deal with this BS.

In other words, the main bearings don't have enough area, i.e., undersized. How will they fix that? A bandaid fix, such as trying to force more oil though? There is no way I would consider buying one without a complete redesign of the bearings. And I don't know how they would do that without a complete engine redesign.

I had a 2022 Tundra. I bought it new. At 18k I began having rough idle, throttle lag, and even failure to launch from a stop only when towing an 8k camper. I would have to power down and restart the truck to get going. I took it in to Toyota and was told they would not attempt a repair and I had to wait on an updated engine. I took my truck in and left it 3 times for a new engine. The last time it went in for a new engine we were to take a trip to Disneys Ft wilderness. We ended up staying at a cabin as we didn't have a truck to take the camper. I talked to every new generation Tundra owner at the campground and cabins. Every one had had an issue with their truck and even ones with the replacement engines were still having issues. Upon my return, I traded my new Tundra to a very low 20k mile 2018 Tundra 1794 edition truck. I traded even a 22 with 19k miles to a Tundra valued at 46k. I lost my behind but now have an awesome truck. This has been 2 years ago and no issues with the 2018. The odd thing is I had an 18 Tundra I traded on the new 22. If I were going to get another truck it would be 2500 ram with the 6.4. I have a fleet of trucks both Ford and Ram. Both good but the 21 Ram has over 100k miles no issues and the 22 Fords needed timing chains at 70k. Now that was the 6.2. We have 6.8 and 7.3 gas engines in 26 Fords now and so far so good
But for me, I suggest a good used Tundra with the good old V8.