Here’s How the Million Mile 2007 Toyota Tundra Inspired the New 2022 Toyota Tundra’s Reliability

A recent article from Toyota shows just how almost every aspect of the new 2022 Tundra was influenced by a million-mile driven 2007 Tundra.

The modern car is meant to be disposable especially with EVs. Nobody really wants a 10-year-old EV, but they would happily drive a 40-year-old gasoline vehicle with more than 100k miles on it. Why? Well, it’s simple. You can maintain a petrol engine by simply changing parts or cleaning them once in a while. However, on an EV, that’s more of a difficult task. Take for example a 2011 Tesla Model S and a 2011 Toyota Camry. Which would you prefer if you were to buy it in 2022?

True the EV sounds more promising, but I guarantee you it would not last another 2 years if not a year more. Luckily, I see this as a short-term problem for the EV market because car companies tend to learn from past mistakes and improve on them.

That’s exactly how Toyota improved their next generation Toyota Tundra by taking an old high mile 2007 Tundra and basically taking what makes it so tough and implementing that into the new tundra. Back in 07, the number of microchips and computers in the car were far less than in today’s Tundra but that’s just with the evolution of time.

Recently, Toyota posted the story of just exactly how these million miles, yes million-mile 2007 Toyota Tundra inspired the Tundra team to make such a reliable truck. The story is truly amazing, and I think that a lot of car companies who have made cars that could reach a million miles should really do the same.

To sum up the story, an oil industry worker by the name of Viktor Sheppard bought the Tundra to use as a work truck. Mind you, he’s 6’6 and 400 some pounds and yet the seat looks almost brand new.

Basically, once Toyota found out that this Tundra had become a member of the million-mile club, they bought it back from Viktor to use as the basis in terms of reliability for the new Tundra. Firs thing they looked at was the engine. Today, the 2022 model does not come with the glamours v8 it once did however they didn’t look at engine displacement, rather the materials they used.

They also took a look at things like the suspension and transmission. Mind you none of the things from the 2007 model Tundra made it over to the 2022 Tundra however it was basically the systems of manufacturing and materials that were given thought rather than design and power output.

Will Toyota continue to use this method to make better cars in the future? Will we ever see a million-mile EV? Let us know in the comments below.

Harutiun Hareyan is reporting Toyota news at Torque News. His automotive interests and vast experience test-riding new cars give his stories a sense of authenticity and unique insights. Follow Harutiun on Twitter at @HareyanHarutiun and on YouTube at Toyota Time for daily Toyota news.