About 1 month after filming this video, (and 6 years after Chris replaced his first V35A-FTS with main bearing failure), Toyota FINALLY released something official with a safety recall on 5/30/2024. Root cause was machining debris as some of the internet comments correctly predicted. Check out the official recall here pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-recalls-certain-model-year-2022-2023-toyota-tundra-and-lexus-lx-vehicles/#
Hey, Great video! Regarding this recall and the machining debris.... It would sound more believable if it was related to one supplier or manufacturer of parts, but it appears it's happened at both the USA plant in Texas and the Tahara plant in Japan. This seems more like a design issue than it does a manufacturing or assembly issue. And the fact that it's happened over many many years, even though the recall is for '22 and '23 models. What are your thoughts?
@@OverlandOutfitters true. But my hunch is there’s more to this story. “Machining debris” seems more like they weren’t following the SOP. And the fact that it happened at multiple locations seems odd. Unless we’re taking about particles the size of microns that’s getting undetected. Whether we’ll ever find out or not, I trust Toyota will make it right.
have another upvote for the good ol' 269 number. Defiantly wish more so called "automotive journalists" did atleast half the research work this man does.
Nobody makes these videos the way you do. Others do lots of speculation, but you do proper research and make it easy to digest too. And no fan boy bias! Very impressive.
As a tech - here is a "Hack" when it comes to research papers. I had the privilege of working as a technician on research expeditions to remote locations and made a few friends in the industry. Look up the person who wrote the paper - ask them for the paper, and they will happily send you their paper- which, in most cases, they are allowed to do. The grunt that wrote that SAE paper probably didn't see a cent of your purchase sooo they will probably enjoy receiving your ping from somebody who actually wants to discuss and converse about something that they spent so many hours on getting published. Not to mention the opinion of the person who wrote the paper. -Magic
If you look at the oil capacity of these "new", smaller engines, it's an astonishing 7 quarts! Oil cools the engine and Trans-Am race cars from the '70s were known to run as much as 10 quarts for endurance racing
I will hit the like bottom for the reason you produced a quality video. However, remember the primary objective of the video--provide the complete answer to the problem. I am old school. I will wait to buy the smaller engine until Toyota truly discovers the problem.
Man I’m happy that I bought the last V8 engine in my GX460 2023 model last year, I knew that there were going to be problems. I’m also an engineer who worked in automotive for several years.
Yup we bought the 23 GX.. I love the low-tech v8. This landcruiser is a million mile chassis, and is used for various militaries all over the world. Bulletproof tank, not literally, but basically yea
As a guy who's owned 3 GX's over the last 21 years since the very first GX470 came out, I'm obviously a fan. They have all had bulletproof reliability, but with as heavy as the GX460 is, it feels pretty sluggish with the 4.6L, and it never felt as lively as my '08 470. I really liked the looks of the new GX550, but for the first time I'm hesitant to buy one with that engine. Man, I wish the 5.7L V-8 was an option, as I'd buy that one and keep it forever
i am from Saudi Arabia, and here we have a lot of Lexus LS500s and land cruiser LC300s, and recently after one or two years we started to notes the increase of those specific turbo charged cars going to shops and dealers for this specific issue, and most of the shop owners are starting to tell the people to not buy these cars yet, one shop even reported having more than 30 vehicles come to hos shop for bearings issues, and started a new way of fixing by pulling the engine from the car without removing the hood to cut costs and save time.
They pulling engine without removing the hood cuz the owner when he wants to sell it the poor bayer don’t know about the disaster happening in the engine bay or maybe the car had collision once بالعربي ربعنا مايفكون الكبوت عشان مايطيح سعر الموتر ولا احد يدري انه موضب من قبل وكلن وذمته والله رقيب حسيب شديد العقاب وهذي مشكلة في المكينة هذي الحمدلله اني لحقت على مديل ٢١ ثمانية سرندل وشريته كان اخر موتر عند معرض اليحيى
I'm from Saudi Arabia and yes we have the same problem, I just saw video of a workshop confirming he had more than 50 cars that he fixed between 22 and 23 with low mileage too I regret selling my landcruiser 2020😢
أتفق معك وتوي بكتب نفس تعليقك، للاسف الموديل الجديد فوق ما ان سعره فلكي فقير بالتيكنولوجيا ومحركها لا يصلح للاستخدام الثقيل نفس الجيل السابق الي ما يختلف عليه اثنين.
I can save everyone a lot of time. Yes, the engine is overstressed. Yes, it'll be mildly better than another company's engine. But it will not be as reliable as the Toyotas we all loved in the past. I would not buy one.
That's silly. Judging based on torque per liter is silly. Engineering for high cylinder pressure is just making sure the block, heads, gaskets and rotating assembly can handle it. Most failures are NOT related to any of that, at least in OEM engines. Most of Toyota's reliability record comes from doing everything else well, like seals, valve timing systems, fuel systems, electrical systems, cooling systems, auxiliary systems like the air conditioning, etc. None of those things have anything to do with high cylinder pressures. At worst, they might require a more frequent service interval for the spark plugs. And besides, the average demand profile will be that most owners won't be calling for 100% torque more than 1% of the time anyway. Most of the engine hours will be spent well below 50% torque output. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying you can't make the call based only on max torque per liter. It borders on ridiculous, unless we're talking about real extremes like top fuel drag racing engines or high demand applications like aviation or marine use where they might be run at 90% throttle continuously for most of their life, and 140-lbft per liter in a soccer mom's SUV doesn't even begin to get close to either of those.
I'm a mechanical engineer and I live in Huntsville, Alabama, and I know I've heard some of the old v8s and the new TT v6s are made here at the Toyota plant in town. I just google'd "V35-FTA Alabama" and one of the first results is a forum post mentioning that, *allegedly*, one of the shifts at the plant was not properly cleaning out the engine block oil passages for some length of time till they caught it and corrected them. This would cause metal shavings to still reside in the block, ultimately getting forced to the crankshaft main bearings once started, resulting in inconsistent and sometimes substantial wear & damage to the bearings once the engines get fired up. If that's true, then perhaps the root-cause does not lie within the engine's design. Food for thought.
I think the LX600 is built in Japan. Not sure if engine assemblies are all built in the US then shipped but I initially imagined the overseas models to have engine plants closer by.
@@shiroihachimaru4559 ha ha, so crap engines from Japan are better than USA engines that don’t have this problem? You are too funny. Let alone the ‘s’ word
I’m a tech at a Toyota dealer in Canada and we’ve had 6 tundras with the same bearing issues. Some were work trucks and others were just daily drivers but they all failed in the exact same spot. All got short blocks and 2 of them were seized solid when they came in. One of them took so long the guy bought another tundra and then had the same issue with it so he bought a trd pro instead of waiting to get his first 2 fixed. We ended up buying the trucks back from him.
Last month my friend who is a service manager at Toyota walked me through our dealership's parking lot while I was waiting for my Camry oil change and he also showed me multiple 2022+ Tundras with the exact same issues. There is clearly a reliability problem with Toyota's recent "environmental" decisions, I'm sure the Tundra is not the last vehicle to experience such issues.
engine is built tight and not enough space ford has abit more space and uses thicker oil while toyota uses mosy 0w20 oil or 5w30 for my ecoboost i use 5w40 and it works great make sure to do oil changes on time if not using to much boost if so then need more reg oil changes if not the oil will become diluted quick and the bearing will suffer frm lack of oil and in toyotas case of being built tough isnt the issue its not informing ppl about how to maintain a tt vechile engine i would recomend which i do to all my customers use synthetic oil if engine needs it and if its tt always put abit thicker oil and always check the oil to see if it has vescosity or not so if you use synthetic and says 12k km you change after 8 to 9 k depending how much boost was used and even earlier if towing, these tt engines need lubrication at all times...just like in the bed the faster you work the the more wet you hope she gets or else dry is just rough. lmfao
5w40 in boosted engines is the truth!!! Keeps them happy and doesn't break down from the heat as bad as 5w30 does, been a common viscosity In European engines for many years @@zinkamkamzin
As an owner of a Nissan and Toyota V8 vehicle I appreciate this video. There is no replacement for displacement. High strung, stressed engines require frequent rebuilds and are for race cars.
Downsizing is basically the norm on all areas of the car market, which, in my opinion and probably yours too, is quite unfortunate because not all users would know how to maintain an turbo engines properly, such as change oil more frequently, always idle for 30 seconds before moving, don't lug the engine too much, etc.
My new neighbor is a Toyota mechanic in a very large dealership in Dallas. I asked about the 3.4 failures and he showed me a picture of 8 blocks in crates sitting out back. He says it seems to average ~20,000 miles when they fail, although he has seen it as soon as 6,000. I think it's happening more than people realize.
I used to be a tech at Toyota up until June last year. The earliest I've seen one fail was 32 miles. The owner took it home on a friday and it failed over the weekend.
It’s dirty blocks the engines are fine when they are clean. At lexus we aren’t having them fail at that high rate and the mileage is usually way higher.
@@matte8441 remninds me of this cummins engine blowing a HOLE between cylinder 4 and 5. mileage was about 880 the reps said dont touch anything but put stuff in ziploc, drain fluids and send WHOLE engine back to manf for inspection. ford had 6.7 powerstroke blow up LEAVING car transport ramps. barely above 40 miles on odometer. new cars is time bomb. yeah idk
Undersquare geometry also generally works well for boosted engines. With better breathing efficiency, you don't need valves to be as big. Which means lighter valves that can have lighter springs and less contact stress on the cam, that kind of thing. With a smaller bore, you can have a smaller combustion chamber which can help produce the "high speed" combustion Koji mentioned. When they say "high speed" what they mean is that the burn is complete sooner after TDC. Which means that the effective expansion ratio is higher and you have more basic efficiency (think back to a LogP-V chart in your Thermo class). The high torque output doesn't necessarily mean a high peak cylinder pressure, it just means a high BMEP. So if toyota is finding a way to make higher *average* power stroke pressure while not spiking *peak* pressure, you can have both high torque as well as reliability.
This is a big part of the “answer”. Efficient combustion leads to high MEAN effective pressure which is basically torque, for a given bore and stroke. The high BMEP at lower rpm combined with a longer stroke results in peak torque at lower rpm, which means dynamic stresses and wear due to higher average rpm, are lower. Modern materials and lubricants, and cooling systems, are much better too, so the mechanical parts of the engine can have good strength and durability even with high mean and peak pressures. Also, modern multi-speed transmissions allow engines to operate at lower rpm more of the time, again reducing wear. It is certainly complex but I do trust Toyota, even though I’m a Tacoma 2GR 3.5 V6 owner 😀
You really made the most of your time with the chief engineer. I saw other videos interviewing him on the GX and noone was a prepared as you. Well done!
I hope your channel continues to grow, and the "brand" you're building. This is truly quality content. I'm sure it takes quite a bit of time to produce. Not sure how you're looking at your metrics/analytics, but if it benefits your viewer base, I might suggest doing a recap for those looking for the "answer", and all your loyal followers will continue to watch to the end, which hopefully will continue to show the companies that your viewers are paying attention, and they should too! There's always trade offs and it really depends on so many factors.
The reason why I like your videos is how simple you keep it for the average viewer to understand and deep you go into topics! Very informative! Keep it up!
I love how you have an actual engineer who knows his stuff and being able to answer your questions. Most people just think because they work on cars that they know why an engine is designed that way. I have 8 years experience as a tech and 3 years experience as a mechanical engineer. I have nowhere near the knowledge this guy has.
From what I have learned at Tundra forums, the failure seems to be from how they wash the crankshaft after being machined. Previous crankshafts would go through two wash cycles and all metal shavings would be washed off, the new crankshafts for the 3.4 v6 seem to have still some metal shavings left behind inside the oil feed holes causing oil starvation for the connecting rod bearings and causing early failure. It seems they have increased the wash cycles to 3 or 4, it reduced the number of failures on the 2024 tundras but there still seems to be a few. I'm making an assumption here, but I guess the oil feed holes are narrower nowadays with the newer engines because of the thinner oil, to maintain oil pressure. Because of these narrower holes, a lot of the metal shaving from machining get stuck and don't come out as easily, leading to the current situation with the 3.4 v6.
To be honest that sounds a little fishy. If the issue was fewer washed, you would think more washes would fix it completely. Also, cleaning debris after machining is something that has existed since the advent of machining so it seems a little unlikely that this would have been an unforeseen problem for them. My speculation is the change in bearing material and obviously the entirely new platform is just going to have a few bugs to work out. Fortunately Toyota stand by their product and you can spin bearings from now until the end of time and they’ll probably just keep warranting them.
This would make sense and explain why the failure is so inconsistent and happens so early. If the engine is overstressed or whatever you wouldn’t expect failures to happen till at least 60k miles, and very consistently, like with BMW V8’s
I think the reason they called it the GX550 instead of the GX340 or 350 was because people would associate the smaller number with less. People would think well its a smaller engine and it has less power, even if it has more power. Its the same reason why Mercedes still calls the C63 the C63 instead of the C40. It used to have a 6.2 that they marketed as a 6.3 to pay tribute to the old 600 from the 60s and 70s. Off topic but the point is that it had a "6.3" so they called it the C63. Then they replaced it with the 4.0 twin turbo and still called it the C63. If they had called it the C40 people would have thought it was less than the car that it replaced. Most people don't know anything about engines so they think if its smaller it must be worse. So they give it bigger number to help with sales.
BMW has been doing this for years. Once they started throwing turbos in everything, the number was repurposed to represent equivalent NA displacement performance. Yes, it’s dumb.
Absolutely drove me mad when Mercedes and others started to do the same, and don't get me started on Cadillac using some rounded approximation of what they think the kW or nm output of the engine in a given vehicle is....
Well done man, and shout out to Toshi. I praised his work in that vid you put up a month or so ago. Didn't realize what places I've seen him before. His background and credibility align with his astute execution in this job role.
This was my introduction to your channel. Def got a sub and a like and a lifetime watcher man. Fantastic work without any apologies or excuses made for the subjects of the video and you made the videos about something, not all about you, which is the trap of most creators these days. Kudos!
It's been happening since 2018. It's on the Lexus forums under "2018 LS500 on 2nd blown motor" & "LS500 Burning Oil". Difference is, the LS500 sells in much lower quantities and particularly to an older crowd that doesn't necessarily care to report problems on the internet. It's the very reason I avoided the LS500 back then and went with a K900 3.3T instead - 62K miles, zero issues so far. It's not too dissimilar from the very recent Honda/Acura recall on all of their V6's due to seized connecting rods.
I have a 1996 Toyota T100 SR-5 extracab with the 3.4. Last model truck made in Japan. It's been the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. I have taken care of it and it looks brand new. The guys at the Toyota dealership said it was the most preserved one of these they had ever seen and were taking pictures of it
Larry Chen and Hagerty are giving us the shiny stuff we love, and you’re giving us the meat and potatoes we need 🤙🏼 Keep up the good work! (Great to hear from Chris too 👍🏼)
Exactly. There’s a reason the name Land Cruiser means unreliable. Small displacement, turbo engines in the 80 series and prior were blowing regularly. It wasn’t until the V8 was created that they finally became good.
@@JollyGiant19What small displacement engines in the 80 Series? They're inline sixes that range in size from 4.0 to 4.5 and only diesels had turbos. All of these engines were, and still are, extremely reliable
@@chrisflores4788 A turbo just stresses and engine until it blows, nothing you can do about that. Turbo = unreliable!! Now to be serious, I see so many people express displeasure with turbos in Toyota vehicles as if they don't have decades of experience with it and highly reliable turbo diesel offerings despite how much higher pressures and heat that turbo diesels put out over a gas engine.
40 years as an automotive/diesel tech. To quote my favorite engineer "The more complicated the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain." The only reason everyone is running a turbo these days is to try and eek out a few more mpg to get past fuel economy standards and to fool the customer into thinking they arent looking anything. Honestly, 95% of car buyers are ignorant and just hear turbo and in the head turbo=fast.
The only reason they are running turbo cars is because NA engine development peaked. They cannot get any more power out of those engines without increasing in size, or revving them higher, like Ferrari and their 6 ltr V12 since the Enzo has been making the same BHP per liter to this day up to the 6.5 V12 812 SF. Lamborghini with their 6.5 is making the same power as the Ferrari. So they needed an option out because it would be outrageous to start putting 7 liter engines in production cars, I understand there is a couple with above 6.5 liters but the larger the displacement the lazier the engine, and the more inefficient it becomes.
@@thegeneral1955mpg and emissions aren't the same thing. Also I get about 4 mpg more in the new tundra compared to 5.7 V8. Most early comparisons were done before complete break in
As someone who loves, follows and owns vehicles from the brand: I agree these engines are being over stressed in the trucks. I love my gx460. They should bring back the 5.7 v8
You have won my heart with this amazing detailed informative video. I am one of those but hurt d by this v6 shift. You should have asked the engineer, why not put turbos on the v8. End of the day, they don't care about reliability... infect reliability is a problem for them, they want to make money. a company that sells its flagship lc300 in variants that have halogen bulb in head lamps, manual seat adjustments... and that in 2024.... should tell anyone what is their priority. From where i am, Landcruiser was not known as land cruiser, it was known as v8..... that died. no more million miles engines, lot more trips to dealerships, all those plastics and rubber hoses have life. Before Toyota was sleeping, now they are awake, and want to be on the top to sequeze as much money from customers as possible, and as repetitively as possible.,, all in the name of technology.... look at ur old cellphones... they were cute btw.
@@bunzaroo Nonsense! Other manufacturers are still making V8's. "Govt mandates" are not law! Those particular mandates were given only to those manufacturers that were given "incentives" aka bribe money. And if you think a turbo charged engine is going to improve emissions and mpg standards, you're fooling yourself!
I work in this industry. Yes some of the engines are failing, particularly the no. 1 crank bearing but also sometimes the connecting rod bearing instead of the crank bearing. Seeing as this engine came out in 2018 it’s surprising to have so many failures for a brand known for reliability.
GM, Ford and Honda are all facing the same problems, speculated to be improperly cleaned blocks after sand casting, but I don't have enough actual evidence to say anything concrete about the causes.
@@stevieray1828 Stop in at any Toyota store and see how many tundras are on the lot waiting for motors, wouldn’t roll the dice on the first couple years of production on this motor either. Currently shopping for a new, current generation 4runner before they switch to the turbo 4 on the 2025 for the same reasons
I find myself learning more from you and where you are learning from than anything else. Wish I would have found this channel sooner. I will be part of the study as I have a ‘24 tundra trd. I also recently purchased my wife and I the FJ as a play toy, now she drives it more than her primary. May sell the primary and get a 4Runner lol.
This is an excellent, excellent video and reporting. You have a bright future in Toyota enthusiast viewer content! Clear, technical but not boring, informative and most of all objective!
@@BigAltimaEnergy719this is actually an engineering work around for drowsy or distracted drivers. That's why cruise control will not hold a single gear for the posted limit
As someone who’s been with Toyota for 10 years, this video was amazingly put together, informative, and answered so many questions I had about the V35. And you couldn’t have picked a better source!
Fantastic video! Great to know all the updates in the new engine. My only request would be to work on your audio a bit. Try to have a better recording method when interviewing and please level the audio for different shots. It was much quieter when you were interviewing the engineer and your mechanic friend than when you were talking to the camera alone. Thanks!
The question I would ask is if government didn't force the reduction in displacement, would Toyota select the V6? I don't see any other factors in the decision to reduce displacement and go electric.
A lot of people dont understand how far we've come in manufacturing technology such as metallurgy, tolerances, etc. Turbos aren't the boogeyman anymore. The only limiting factor at this point is people.
@@PonyFoot123 As long as you listen to the ones who change their oil. There are going to be a lot of people disappointed in their engine's longevity if they're changing oil at 10k miles.
I was a 4g63 fan for years. I have daily driven 400whp cars/vans (eagle summit awd)with 16/18g turbo 4gs with over 240k miles. Turbo engines don’t automatically mean less reliable
There were 4 LX600 with the same issue in one of my local Lexus dealers as well. Sad to see these motors having so many teething issues 7yrs into its life cycle.
Wow! All I can say is I'm glad we got the 5th Gen 4Runner with the aspirated engine and not the 6th Gen with the turbo. Thanks for sharing your work. Keep it up!
Wow! .... amazing content, I've subbed. You are wise beyond your years- instead of click bait and innuendo we get actual facts and well informed opinions- well done! As an old fart (70+years) I think there's still something to be said for the "K.I.S.S. Rule" of engineering and the relative simplicity of the 22R and 4.7/5.7 V-8's that served Toyota owners so well for so many years.
The dealership I work at has had 2 tundras with main bearing issues below 15k. They were early model tundras. The wear was allegedly due to improper cleaning from the machine process
Finally a subject im pretty knowledgeable about! The longer stroke and shorter rod ratio (this is likely though i dont have any rod length numbers) force the piston to spend less time near piston Top Dead Center and in conjunction with a smaller bore and an optimized burn the ignition can be less advanced (reducing pumping losses) and resists knock because of the faster piston acceleration away from TDC. All of this increases low end torque. add in small quick spooling turbos and you have more power being made in a smaller surface area. The smaller surface area allows less heat loss(through conduction and more Work extracted) Main and rod bearing diameter (and width) have probably been minimized to reduce frictional losses. Couple this with fewer rod and (more importantly) MAIN bearings in a V6 VS a V8 and the more violent (because of shorter duration combustion and being shared between fewer cylinders) combustion strokes and the bearings are dealing with much more force with a smaller bearing surface area. If the forces are enough to break through the cushioning oil layer because of knock or power, or even bad harmonics they will relatively quickly damage bearings. Less agressive ignition timing, less torque or higher viscosity oil should all be able to bandaid the problems, but in the end its likely the bearings being over-optimized for fuel efficiency and not having enough of a margin of error for unknown harmonics or the effect of the faster combustion on instantaneous loads sent through the piston/rod/crank assembly
That’s for focusing on tech information rather than the average reviews which some guy just reads us the manufacturer marketing page. I love how you also compare the older models to newer ones. Keep going your going to do well in the end. You’re providing a valuable perspective that no one else is. Hi5
Twin turbo V6, less cylinders but more power and more complicated, it must be less reliable than simple non-turbo V8, no exception man, combustion efficiency is not affecting to mechanical durability, all moving parts are getting more stressed.....
Its a good video. I will reserve judgment and see if toyota is able to iron out issues in these new powertrains in the coming years and see if they really are reliable.
I think I have the answer: The problem is not the bearings themselve but the supporting material. The old engines used aluminium where the new ones uses cast iron. Aluminium can draw away the heat in the bearings much quicker than the cast iron. Thus bearing failure happens because of overheating. The specific heat capacity of aluminium is 900 J/kg°C vs only 460 J/kg°C for cast iron.
Get this comment higher! I had a similar thought when @17:32, he mentioned this material change. I was curious if the research paper addresses the difference in heat capacity of these materials and if modeling/testing could analyze the effects of cooling (or lack thereof) in the updated block. Sure, it can handle the increased torque output but at what relative temps and for how long?
i don't agree with you.. because the aluminum main caps main job is to stay in shape and not move as the crankshaft is rotating remember that bearing clearance is in the thousands having those supports just makes the main cap stronger . it has nothing to do with heat dissipation.
So what about all the famous iron block turbo engines? Its not heat thst kills bearings, its lack of oil. The oil is supposed to be between the bearings and rotating parts. Any heat has to get past the oil as its quickly being launched out and replaced from the bearings
Great indepth video for the nerds! Toyota just issued a recall on these motors saying that there is possible debris in the engine from manufacturing that is responsible for taking out the main bearings. It may or may not be related to over stress after all. I couldn't find any specifics on what they are doing to fix the issue though. Keep it up Kai!
This video is fantastic. You’re addressing topics every Toyota guy is arguing about daily. Thanks for making it, Savage Geese also addresses technical designs, and I’d like to see your channel get there, you have a similar format-, keep making great content, we all appreciate it. Every Gen 3 Tundra owner is wondering if their truck will be reliable. I’m sure Lexus Gx owners are wondering the same, if they are enthusiasts. My wife’s older GX460 with the V8 was incredible, we all hope this new engine can live up to even 70% of the older V8’s reliability….
As we've come to expect, another fanatic video. Thank you so much for asking technical questions and politely probing for answers. Keep up the great work!
These new toyota engines all run very thin oil for fuel efficieny and emissions reasons. This thin oil requires tighter bearing clearances. Tight bearing clearance in a high torque/L engine doesn't leave much room for error.
@@MeltingRubberZ28he is refering to the free space between the bearings and the rotating parts. With thinner oil those gaps hsve to be closer for the oil to spend a decent amount of time in the journals
How can you not love this guy? Brings up Torque plots and scientific papers. Love it. That being said, these engines cannot be breaking down as they are - the old 5.7 V8 had one issue, that being cam tower leak, which was simply because of sealant degradation and not an actual engine issue. Other than that i abused that engine in the great white north for 6yrs, and in LC's in the middle east. They were unbreakable. None of the new ones are.
I have that engine in my 2023 Tundra TRD 4X4 Off Road and absolutely LOVE it! Three and a half liter twin-turbo making more power than V8’s in the same class. It’s faster than the predecessor Tundra. 30k miles so far, ZERO problems (dealer -maintained) and I drive it HARD! Only modification is TRD drop-in air filters similar to K&N. The 10-speed transmission offers sports-car-like shifts from launch! I come from a street racing background, have kids now so live a civilized life. 😃
I recently traded my 3rd Gen Tacoma for a Jeep Gladiator. I still do really love Toyotas, and still have an older Land Cruiser. I wish Toyota would give more of what the American Off-Road community wants. Jeep, Ford, and Chevy are really stepping up their games on mid-sized off-road trucks. I wish you could get the Land Cruisers here that the Aussies have, all this luxury stuff isn't as interesting. The GX550 is very nice, don't get me wrong...
Yeah, it would be nice if Toyota truly tried to compete with the real off-roaders. I have a 4Runner, and I love it as a DD, but if I lived in Utah or some place with a lot of technical trails no way would I be driving a 4Runner. 100% would be in a Jeep.
@trailrunnah8886 I have family that lives near Moab, and I used to have a 2017 4 Runner with an ARB air locker and 33-inch tires. I could do a lot in Moab with the 4 Runner. It was great. But yeah, the 4 Runner is kind of at its design limits with 33s and Hells Revenge was kind of as far as I was comfortable doing with my Toyota.
@@adrianw3985 is that a front locker you have? Mine has the factory rear locker. I've never had to use it, which tells me I haven't pushed it as far as it will go LOL. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to crap on the 4Runner, it's just what I saw in Moab when I was there, and all the videos I watch, I would definitely be more comfortable in a vehicle like a Jeep, for the increased front articulation, as well as less body work to keep track of.
@trailrunnah8886 I had an SR5, so I added a rear locker, a 2.5 lift, a winch, and 33s. There is a lot you can do in Moab with a 4Runner. I would say trails rated 5 to 6 with minimal scraping. Even with a Jeep, you may get some scrapes on some of the tougher trails. It's just part of the game. You should try Fins and Things and Hells Revenge. Hells Revenge has some optional parts that would be tough even in a Jeep, so you can drive around those parts.
Great interview. My logic is: fewer parts in existence = fewer parts that can break. I'm sure that the entire package is very well engineered, however I have lost a lot of faith in Toyota build quality after purchasing my 3rd gen Tacoma and suffering through early part failures such a warped thermostat housing which was plastic. Critical parts which are exposed to high heat should not be victim to bean counter cost savings and made from inferior materials.
Could not agree more. It’s a simple fact that complexity has a direct relationship with failure potential. Now this might not seem like a concern on a new car, but once they acquire age, wear, stress, perhaps a fender bender or two… They’re already unaffordable to repair for some moderate operations, I cannot foresee a meaningful number of 2025 cars being on the road in 2050. We need to apply our knowledge like a scalpel, not a sledgehammer, and stick to simplicity unless used to improve efficiency.
@@Randolf_Wisenberg They already saw the results. The engine is already 7 year old. It's been out since 2017 for MY2018 for the Lexus LS. And nope, no long term issues with them. And personally after tossing my NA Lexus due to electrical gremlins for a Audi, Holy crap I had no clue what I was missing. My 2020 Lexus really was 15 years behind.
It’s not just Toyota, it’s a common theme to decrease displacement and use turbocharging to add it back. They did it with the 300 series diesel also. It’s emissions regulations and fuel consumption behind this, it won’t go back to the way it was imo
Definitely want to see more of these videos! There are not enough people coming with actual facts from the people that work or have experience with these newer platforms. 99% of the comments on these are all speculation with the occasional owner chiming in. It’s nice to see more about the design and methodology. Awesome video!!!!
There actually IS an official explanation for bearing failures. Improper cleaning of blocks post machining and pre assembly causes blocked oil passages and premature crank bearing failures. This is well known in the Toyota community so I’m not sure why a Lexus technician would not be aware of it. This is not a design issue, it’s a manufacturing/assembly fault. It’s disappointing there have been this many failures but Toyota is usually pretty proactive in solving issues. ‘The car care nut” does a great in depth video on the design of the cooling system in these engines. Pumping this much HP and torque out of these engines, heat would be a major factor that potentially could reduce longevity and reliability but Toyota designed a very competent cooling system in these engines. I’m confident these engines will ultimately earn a good reputation but they’ve certainly had some issues. I have a ‘22 Tundra and so far no issues at 23K miles. Knock on wood.
@@spaulagainDiscussed at length with dealer service manager. As well, in a 3rd gen Tundra owners group on Facebook, every engine failure I’ve seen posted has been diagnosed as this exact issue. There are many Toyota technicians and at least 1 Toyota engineer in the group.
In Saudi Arabia the new landcruisers with the same engines are suffering serious issues including blownup engines....may be this engine configuration is working in other countries but in the GCC it is not working at all...
maybe the new landcruisers are not designed for the desert anymore. it's a trade-off for putting a small engine and tuning it to give more power and torque
If Ford managed to build a 3.5 Liter twin turbo V6 that puts out good power, and reasonable reliability, than I _KNOW_ Toyota can. Honestly, as an independent tech, I see more Toyota vehicles with 300,000 plus miles than anything else, except exceptionally well taken care of Suburban / Yukon SUV's .
@@mcglovera Once you get up to the P2 cars, there are enough electronics to cause serious issues, transmissions are kind of weak, the 240 / 740 series were bullet proof. My experience.
My guess is the low rpm torque numbers are definitely part of a pointed chisel that’s busting the bearings on these. Sounds complicated being it seems like you have to pull apart the whole engine. Great piece! 👌🏻 That’s awesome you got an interview! 🤘🏼
Ford has shown for over a decade that these kinds of turbocharged V6s can be reliable long term. There are numerous examples of Ford 2.7L and 3.5L ecoboost engines with 300K to 600k miles and no issues. There's even one with over 1.3 million miles, though that one is on its second engine. You can even get a 3.5L in the F150 with 450 hp and 510 ftlbs of torque! Though Toyota's 3.4L TTV6 might be one of the least reliable V6s out there currently, these are likely just growing pains and updates to the motor will likely improve reliability.
The caveat to the longevity of the motors you mentioned is absolutely religious maintenance and easy use. The Eco-boost makes fun power and gets decent mpg, but they fail a lot when used hard. By used hard, I am referring to trucks that do weekend towing. This isn't my opinion, this is what 3 family Ford techs have told me. In their words, "If you want a gas car or truck to last 300k miles, DO NOT buy anything turbo charged. If you need to tow on occasion, buy any sized NA motor that meets your weight requirements and live with a little less power and lower mpg".
The 3UR-FE is kinda mid-tier in Toyota terms, but it is still outperforms all the Ecoboost engines in uptime and long term running costs. (Even at 15mpg.)
3UR-FE is mid-tier in Toyota terms? I mean, I know it’s not S+ tier, but it’s still A-tier. Especially the Japanese-built ones employed in the Land Cruiser / LX 570
@@matthewpeterson3329there have been many turbocharged cars I have worked on that have 500,000 kms and I have had friends who had turbocharged cars with 400,000 kms on them and they were German cars which are known for their reliability issues. Maintenance is key as many point out. And recently I did work on a 2014 Subaru forester with the WRX turbo engine. The owner did say he has been driving around with a blown turbo for the past year or so, but it was still going strong and could still do highway speeds.
Ford and reliable in the same sentence.... LMAO! Thanks for the laughs. Ford turbo engines are some of the worst junk on the planet. So they got 1 or 2 engines to go the distance, out of thousands that have failed. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile. The only ford engines with over 300k miles are diesels with multiple expensive fuel system repairs, and NA's that people put 2-3 engines in or hired a team a illegals to push them around town by hand.
I was actually thinking of looking into “tuning software” to get that extra 100 ft lbs of torque they promise with more boost. Glad I watched this. We used be pretty happy back in the day with a NA 1 HP per cubic inch. The norm was no replacement for displacement. Stock, at 213 cubic inches, this is putting out 1.7 HP per Cubic Inch. and with as much torque as a 455 olds lol. I just told myself, Stop. It’s enough. Love your channel. Very well done. ♥️ Why is it never enough 😂
Very interesting and thorough video, again, Kai! My assumption was that Toyota motors were so durable because they were understressed, stemming from low HP/L and mediocre gas efficiency. I didn't think that a more efficient engine would run cooler and therefore see less thermal stress.
Toyota reliability? I just returned a 2024 Tacoma with 40,000 miles on it, 4wd actuator and front transfer case totally self-obliterated. I don’t believe it anymore. Old school or no school
@bfromthea7663 really good actually. Only complaint about it was that I kept smacking my knees off the interior panel under the steering wheel. Enterprise had all the tech and apps disabled so I can’t comment on any of that
To be fair....you bought a rental. Rentals are never treated with care and the renters that had it previously most likely didn't have the transfer case fully engaged while towing/hauling. I don't think your experience is an accurate representation of Toyota reliability.
My fear with this issue is that it is just like the Tacoma and 4Runner front differential needle bearing issue. Toyota has yet to fix this issue. The only real solution in the aftermarket bushing. To me, it is a real failure on Toyota to not address and properly fix this issue. From your video, it seems this main bearing issue has documented history for several years also.
I believe the fix is a dampener to help the noise not reach the cab. Toyota has said that they noise is normal and won't replace the front differential anymore. As for the main bearing issue I have a feeling its the dual pulley system with the belt and the crank pulley itself is causing the issue.
I work at a Toyota Dealership in Alberta, Canada. So far we have two 2023 Tundras in for short blocks. One had a knock and the other had completely seized. Both had less than 30k in km. Oil starvation to the main bearings seems like a concern but it would be speculation. The last one was done in April. Short blocks and overhaul kits are somewhat available (2-3 weeks for certain parts). Toyota has not provided us with any information yet. Lets wait and see I guess.
EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT video! I never comment usually, but you did an amazing job, and wow, got the top of the top people to interview with. my 2 cents!!
Always in the comments there's people who can't get past 1970's turbo technology. So many examples of turbo engines, especially diesels, going hundreds of thousands of miles to millions.
Great video! I’m always amazed at how detailed your videos are, please continue the same way! There’re many many engines with the same problem from land cruisers in the middle east, some are even shown here in RUclips and I heard of many, so they are 100% confirmed You’ll definitely see more of these the next couple of years when GX buyers get up there in mileage
Well, it's entirely possible reliability isn't comprimised. But at the now sky high price of Toyotas, i'll buy used for years and let someone else do the beta testing. And in addition, MPG is not really improved.
About 1 month after filming this video, (and 6 years after Chris replaced his first V35A-FTS with main bearing failure), Toyota FINALLY released something official with a safety recall on 5/30/2024. Root cause was machining debris as some of the internet comments correctly predicted. Check out the official recall here pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-recalls-certain-model-year-2022-2023-toyota-tundra-and-lexus-lx-vehicles/#
Thanks for the follow up, great video.
Hey, Great video! Regarding this recall and the machining debris.... It would sound more believable if it was related to one supplier or manufacturer of parts, but it appears it's happened at both the USA plant in Texas and the Tahara plant in Japan. This seems more like a design issue than it does a manufacturing or assembly issue. And the fact that it's happened over many many years, even though the recall is for '22 and '23 models. What are your thoughts?
@@Superdada If they use the same SOP's then the manufacturing location may not matter.
@@OverlandOutfitters true.
But my hunch is there’s more to this story.
“Machining debris” seems more like they weren’t following the SOP. And the fact that it happened at multiple locations seems odd. Unless we’re taking about particles the size of microns that’s getting undetected.
Whether we’ll ever find out or not, I trust Toyota will make it right.
I’m trying to understand why the hybrid isn’t included. Or is it just a matter of time?
bro bought a research paper. and talked to the man himself. subbed.
Subbed. 👍
have another upvote for the good ol' 269 number. Defiantly wish more so called "automotive journalists" did atleast half the research work this man does.
👨🔬
They won't admit that it's too much power
He should have talked to the drivers of those vehicles do a full in depth.
Nobody makes these videos the way you do. Others do lots of speculation, but you do proper research and make it easy to digest too. And no fan boy bias! Very impressive.
I would say The Car Care Nut is another valuable source when it comes to Toyota/Lexus content.
@@AKBRONCOSFAN007love that man
4:40 This must be it! Taller pistons have more mass, increasing torque
There’s plenty who do it, and do it better
11 mpg ... I will pass .😢
As a tech - here is a "Hack" when it comes to research papers. I had the privilege of working as a technician on research expeditions to remote locations and made a few friends in the industry. Look up the person who wrote the paper - ask them for the paper, and they will happily send you their paper- which, in most cases, they are allowed to do. The grunt that wrote that SAE paper probably didn't see a cent of your purchase sooo they will probably enjoy receiving your ping from somebody who actually wants to discuss and converse about something that they spent so many hours on getting published. Not to mention the opinion of the person who wrote the paper. -Magic
great point. i love it
that's awesome.
If you look at the oil capacity of these "new", smaller engines, it's an astonishing 7 quarts! Oil cools the engine and Trans-Am race cars from the '70s were known to run as much as 10 quarts for endurance racing
@@luislongoria6621 I enjoy knowing about these details lol. Thanks for sharing.
I will hit the like bottom for the reason you produced a quality video. However, remember the primary objective of the video--provide the complete answer to the problem. I am old school. I will wait to buy the smaller engine until Toyota truly discovers the problem.
Man I’m happy that I bought the last V8 engine in my GX460 2023 model last year, I knew that there were going to be problems. I’m also an engineer who worked in automotive for several years.
Same here. ‘23 GX from a TT ecoboost with cam phaser rattle. I bailed. The GX was my exit vehicle. I’m done.
Yup we bought the 23 GX.. I love the low-tech v8. This landcruiser is a million mile chassis, and is used for various militaries all over the world. Bulletproof tank, not literally, but basically yea
As a guy who's owned 3 GX's over the last 21 years since the very first GX470 came out, I'm obviously a fan. They have all had bulletproof reliability, but with as heavy as the GX460 is, it feels pretty sluggish with the 4.6L, and it never felt as lively as my '08 470. I really liked the looks of the new GX550, but for the first time I'm hesitant to buy one with that engine. Man, I wish the 5.7L V-8 was an option, as I'd buy that one and keep it forever
The UZ were the best. The UR have issues with the head gaskets.
2008 to 2003 GX470 are the ones to purchase.
i am from Saudi Arabia, and here we have a lot of Lexus LS500s and land cruiser LC300s, and recently after one or two years we started to notes the increase of those specific turbo charged cars going to shops and dealers for this specific issue, and most of the shop owners are starting to tell the people to not buy these cars yet, one shop even reported having more than 30 vehicles come to hos shop for bearings issues, and started a new way of fixing by pulling the engine from the car without removing the hood to cut costs and save time.
Whats the most common problem in the lc300?
@@syedmohammedhussain799 same as lx600 or lx550 same engine = same issue dude
They pulling engine without removing the hood cuz the owner when he wants to sell it the poor bayer don’t know about the disaster happening in the engine bay or maybe the car had collision once بالعربي ربعنا مايفكون الكبوت عشان مايطيح سعر الموتر ولا احد يدري انه موضب من قبل وكلن وذمته والله رقيب حسيب شديد العقاب وهذي مشكلة في المكينة هذي الحمدلله اني لحقت على مديل ٢١ ثمانية سرندل وشريته كان اخر موتر عند معرض اليحيى
I'm from Saudi Arabia and yes we have the same problem, I just saw video of a workshop confirming he had more than 50 cars that he fixed between 22 and 23 with low mileage too
I regret selling my landcruiser 2020😢
أتفق معك وتوي بكتب نفس تعليقك، للاسف الموديل الجديد فوق ما ان سعره فلكي فقير بالتيكنولوجيا ومحركها لا يصلح للاستخدام الثقيل نفس الجيل السابق الي ما يختلف عليه اثنين.
I can save everyone a lot of time. Yes, the engine is overstressed. Yes, it'll be mildly better than another company's engine. But it will not be as reliable as the Toyotas we all loved in the past. I would not buy one.
I love my 40-year-old underpowered yet highly reliable 2H engine 😅
That's silly. Judging based on torque per liter is silly.
Engineering for high cylinder pressure is just making sure the block, heads, gaskets and rotating assembly can handle it. Most failures are NOT related to any of that, at least in OEM engines. Most of Toyota's reliability record comes from doing everything else well, like seals, valve timing systems, fuel systems, electrical systems, cooling systems, auxiliary systems like the air conditioning, etc. None of those things have anything to do with high cylinder pressures. At worst, they might require a more frequent service interval for the spark plugs.
And besides, the average demand profile will be that most owners won't be calling for 100% torque more than 1% of the time anyway. Most of the engine hours will be spent well below 50% torque output.
I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying you can't make the call based only on max torque per liter. It borders on ridiculous, unless we're talking about real extremes like top fuel drag racing engines or high demand applications like aviation or marine use where they might be run at 90% throttle continuously for most of their life, and 140-lbft per liter in a soccer mom's SUV doesn't even begin to get close to either of those.
@@xtnuser5338 I value your opinion and I disagree with it. Have a good day
@@xtnuser5338
Great points
Some people just don't understand there are many factors involved
💯
I'm a mechanical engineer and I live in Huntsville, Alabama, and I know I've heard some of the old v8s and the new TT v6s are made here at the Toyota plant in town. I just google'd "V35-FTA Alabama" and one of the first results is a forum post mentioning that, *allegedly*, one of the shifts at the plant was not properly cleaning out the engine block oil passages for some length of time till they caught it and corrected them. This would cause metal shavings to still reside in the block, ultimately getting forced to the crankshaft main bearings once started, resulting in inconsistent and sometimes substantial wear & damage to the bearings once the engines get fired up.
If that's true, then perhaps the root-cause does not lie within the engine's design. Food for thought.
I think the LX600 is built in Japan. Not sure if engine assemblies are all built in the US then shipped but I initially imagined the overseas models to have engine plants closer by.
those are gx lx engine made in Japan. not the same crap out of our declining USA
@@shiroihachimaru4559 right and they are having bearing problems as this video talks about
@@shiroihachimaru4559 ha ha, so crap engines from Japan are better than USA engines that don’t have this problem? You are too funny. Let alone the ‘s’ word
@@georgeburns7251all the Japanese made Toyotas are more reliable than those made in Mexico and the US. Accept it already.
I’m a tech at a Toyota dealer in Canada and we’ve had 6 tundras with the same bearing issues. Some were work trucks and others were just daily drivers but they all failed in the exact same spot. All got short blocks and 2 of them were seized solid when they came in. One of them took so long the guy bought another tundra and then had the same issue with it so he bought a trd pro instead of waiting to get his first 2 fixed. We ended up buying the trucks back from him.
Wow 2 new trucks with same engine failure would push me away from the brand.
Last month my friend who is a service manager at Toyota walked me through our dealership's parking lot while I was waiting for my Camry oil change and he also showed me multiple 2022+ Tundras with the exact same issues. There is clearly a reliability problem with Toyota's recent "environmental" decisions, I'm sure the Tundra is not the last vehicle to experience such issues.
Bmw is the new toyota unfortunately!! 😢
engine is built tight and not enough space ford has abit more space and uses thicker oil while toyota uses mosy 0w20 oil or 5w30 for my ecoboost i use 5w40 and it works great make sure to do oil changes on time if not using to much boost if so then need more reg oil changes if not the oil will become diluted quick and the bearing will suffer frm lack of oil and in toyotas case of being built tough isnt the issue its not informing ppl about how to maintain a tt vechile engine i would recomend which i do to all my customers use synthetic oil if engine needs it and if its tt always put abit thicker oil and always check the oil to see if it has vescosity or not so if you use synthetic and says 12k km you change after 8 to 9 k depending how much boost was used and even earlier if towing, these tt engines need lubrication at all times...just like in the bed the faster you work the the more wet you hope she gets or else dry is just rough. lmfao
5w40 in boosted engines is the truth!!! Keeps them happy and doesn't break down from the heat as bad as 5w30 does, been a common viscosity In European engines for many years @@zinkamkamzin
As an owner of a Nissan and Toyota V8 vehicle I appreciate this video. There is no replacement for displacement. High strung, stressed engines require frequent rebuilds and are for race cars.
Agreed 100%
Makes me wonder how the reliability will be in these new 4 cylinder engines Toyota is going with in the new Tacomas and 4Runners.
Downsizing is basically the norm on all areas of the car market, which, in my opinion and probably yours too, is quite unfortunate because not all users would know how to maintain an turbo engines properly, such as change oil more frequently, always idle for 30 seconds before moving, don't lug the engine too much, etc.
nissan 4.0 few issues
@@bikeman1x11 Nissan 5.6 zero issues
I am not a car guy, just a curious owner of an LX600. I finished the entire video, and it won my subscription. Keep up the great work.
My new neighbor is a Toyota mechanic in a very large dealership in Dallas. I asked about the 3.4 failures and he showed me a picture of 8 blocks in crates sitting out back. He says it seems to average ~20,000 miles when they fail, although he has seen it as soon as 6,000. I think it's happening more than people realize.
I used to be a tech at Toyota up until June last year. The earliest I've seen one fail was 32 miles. The owner took it home on a friday and it failed over the weekend.
@@matte8441 your talking about a toyota or a cybertruck here?
@@float_sam The Tundra unfortunately.
It’s dirty blocks the engines are fine when they are clean. At lexus we aren’t having them fail at that high rate and the mileage is usually way higher.
@@matte8441 remninds me of this cummins engine blowing a HOLE between cylinder 4 and 5. mileage was about 880 the reps said dont touch anything but put stuff in ziploc, drain fluids and send WHOLE engine back to manf for inspection. ford had 6.7 powerstroke blow up LEAVING car transport ramps. barely above 40 miles on odometer. new cars is time bomb. yeah idk
Undersquare geometry also generally works well for boosted engines. With better breathing efficiency, you don't need valves to be as big. Which means lighter valves that can have lighter springs and less contact stress on the cam, that kind of thing. With a smaller bore, you can have a smaller combustion chamber which can help produce the "high speed" combustion Koji mentioned. When they say "high speed" what they mean is that the burn is complete sooner after TDC. Which means that the effective expansion ratio is higher and you have more basic efficiency (think back to a LogP-V chart in your Thermo class).
The high torque output doesn't necessarily mean a high peak cylinder pressure, it just means a high BMEP. So if toyota is finding a way to make higher *average* power stroke pressure while not spiking *peak* pressure, you can have both high torque as well as reliability.
Great comment, thanks
awesome info. thanks for sharing! yes, what you said concurs a lot with the paper.
Good explanation! Should be pinned. You explained everything I was thinking far more articulately than I could have ever.
Under-square engines have a larger rotating mass, increasing torque through the gyroscope effect
This is a big part of the “answer”. Efficient combustion leads to high MEAN effective pressure which is basically torque, for a given bore and stroke. The high BMEP at lower rpm combined with a longer stroke results in peak torque at lower rpm, which means dynamic stresses and wear due to higher average rpm, are lower. Modern materials and lubricants, and cooling systems, are much better too, so the mechanical parts of the engine can have good strength and durability even with high mean and peak pressures. Also, modern multi-speed transmissions allow engines to operate at lower rpm more of the time, again reducing wear. It is certainly complex but I do trust Toyota, even though I’m a Tacoma 2GR 3.5 V6 owner 😀
You really made the most of your time with the chief engineer. I saw other videos interviewing him on the GX and noone was a prepared as you. Well done!
I hope your channel continues to grow, and the "brand" you're building. This is truly quality content. I'm sure it takes quite a bit of time to produce. Not sure how you're looking at your metrics/analytics, but if it benefits your viewer base, I might suggest doing a recap for those looking for the "answer", and all your loyal followers will continue to watch to the end, which hopefully will continue to show the companies that your viewers are paying attention, and they should too! There's always trade offs and it really depends on so many factors.
Nice video. I'm 770 miles into my GX550 OT. It is blast to drive!! Night and day compared to my wife's 22 GX460.
How is it holding now? I see people here driving same engine from Japan with no issues.
The reason why I like your videos is how simple you keep it for the average viewer to understand and deep you go into topics! Very informative! Keep it up!
I love how you have an actual engineer who knows his stuff and being able to answer your questions. Most people just think because they work on cars that they know why an engine is designed that way.
I have 8 years experience as a tech and 3 years experience as a mechanical engineer. I have nowhere near the knowledge this guy has.
From what I have learned at Tundra forums, the failure seems to be from how they wash the crankshaft after being machined.
Previous crankshafts would go through two wash cycles and all metal shavings would be washed off, the new crankshafts for the 3.4 v6 seem to have still some metal shavings left behind inside the oil feed holes causing oil starvation for the connecting rod bearings and causing early failure. It seems they have increased the wash cycles to 3 or 4, it reduced the number of failures on the 2024 tundras but there still seems to be a few.
I'm making an assumption here, but I guess the oil feed holes are narrower nowadays with the newer engines because of the thinner oil, to maintain oil pressure. Because of these narrower holes, a lot of the metal shaving from machining get stuck and don't come out as easily, leading to the current situation with the 3.4 v6.
To be honest that sounds a little fishy. If the issue was fewer washed, you would think more washes would fix it completely. Also, cleaning debris after machining is something that has existed since the advent of machining so it seems a little unlikely that this would have been an unforeseen problem for them. My speculation is the change in bearing material and obviously the entirely new platform is just going to have a few bugs to work out. Fortunately Toyota stand by their product and you can spin bearings from now until the end of time and they’ll probably just keep warranting them.
This would make sense and explain why the failure is so inconsistent and happens so early. If the engine is overstressed or whatever you wouldn’t expect failures to happen till at least 60k miles, and very consistently, like with BMW V8’s
This explanation would make more sense if there were only failures of tundras and not the Japanese models. Which I’ve seen are happening. Lx600
0
Tinkers content is very impressive. I don’t know how you make the technical stuff so entertaining but you just do! Keep it up brother 🤝
Always wish Toyota/ Lexus would have put their NA 5.0L V8 from the GS-F into a performance based crossover like Infiniti did with their FX50.
I think the reason they called it the GX550 instead of the GX340 or 350 was because people would associate the smaller number with less. People would think well its a smaller engine and it has less power, even if it has more power. Its the same reason why Mercedes still calls the C63 the C63 instead of the C40. It used to have a 6.2 that they marketed as a 6.3 to pay tribute to the old 600 from the 60s and 70s. Off topic but the point is that it had a "6.3" so they called it the C63. Then they replaced it with the 4.0 twin turbo and still called it the C63. If they had called it the C40 people would have thought it was less than the car that it replaced. Most people don't know anything about engines so they think if its smaller it must be worse. So they give it bigger number to help with sales.
💯 The "550" is pure marketing and the poor engineer was forced to rationalize it.
BMW has been doing this for years. Once they started throwing turbos in everything, the number was repurposed to represent equivalent NA displacement performance. Yes, it’s dumb.
Absolutely drove me mad when Mercedes and others started to do the same, and don't get me started on Cadillac using some rounded approximation of what they think the kW or nm output of the engine in a given vehicle is....
One hundred percent. G35/350Z meant 3.5L, G37/370Z meant 3.7L, and then we went Q50, Q60, and Z because they went to a 3.0L.
yea, sadly we are surrounded by uncritical muppets and marketing teams feel like the need to appease them
Well done man, and shout out to Toshi. I praised his work in that vid you put up a month or so ago. Didn't realize what places I've seen him before. His background and credibility align with his astute execution in this job role.
This was my introduction to your channel. Def got a sub and a like and a lifetime watcher man. Fantastic work without any apologies or excuses made for the subjects of the video and you made the videos about something, not all about you, which is the trap of most creators these days. Kudos!
It's been happening since 2018. It's on the Lexus forums under "2018 LS500 on 2nd blown motor" & "LS500 Burning Oil". Difference is, the LS500 sells in much lower quantities and particularly to an older crowd that doesn't necessarily care to report problems on the internet. It's the very reason I avoided the LS500 back then and went with a K900 3.3T instead - 62K miles, zero issues so far. It's not too dissimilar from the very recent Honda/Acura recall on all of their V6's due to seized connecting rods.
I have a 1996 Toyota T100 SR-5 extracab with the 3.4. Last model truck made in Japan. It's been the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. I have taken care of it and it looks brand new. The guys at the Toyota dealership said it was the most preserved one of these they had ever seen and were taking pictures of it
Larry Chen and Hagerty are giving us the shiny stuff we love, and you’re giving us the meat and potatoes we need 🤙🏼 Keep up the good work! (Great to hear from Chris too 👍🏼)
Some of the best technical automotive content on the internet right now. Keep it up. I hope you get the recognition you deserve.
Men of culture we meet again
nipples=turbo. I see what you did.
o7
What? Did I miss boobs?
Indeed we do.
wrong video 😆
20 mins of my life that I don’t regret spend watching RUclips. Great job!👏🏽 I feel like I know so much about Toyota and Lexus.
I bought my Tacoma in 23 because I don’t want to be part of Toyotas drivetrain experiment
Beta tester: Big benefit to Toyota , big problem for you.
Exactly. There’s a reason the name Land Cruiser means unreliable. Small displacement, turbo engines in the 80 series and prior were blowing regularly. It wasn’t until the V8 was created that they finally became good.
@@JollyGiant19What small displacement engines in the 80 Series? They're inline sixes that range in size from 4.0 to 4.5 and only diesels had turbos. All of these engines were, and still are, extremely reliable
@@chrisflores4788 A turbo just stresses and engine until it blows, nothing you can do about that. Turbo = unreliable!!
Now to be serious, I see so many people express displeasure with turbos in Toyota vehicles as if they don't have decades of experience with it and highly reliable turbo diesel offerings despite how much higher pressures and heat that turbo diesels put out over a gas engine.
Bought a 2024 4Runner in January for the same reason. Last of the naturally aspirated 4Runners.
This is the kind of content I crave. Please keep it up, and dont lose yourself as you continue to get bigger!
40 years as an automotive/diesel tech.
To quote my favorite engineer "The more complicated the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."
The only reason everyone is running a turbo these days is to try and eek out a few more mpg to get past fuel economy standards and to fool the customer into thinking they arent looking anything.
Honestly, 95% of car buyers are ignorant and just hear turbo and in the head turbo=fast.
The only reason they are running turbo cars is because NA engine development peaked. They cannot get any more power out of those engines without increasing in size, or revving them higher, like Ferrari and their 6 ltr V12 since the Enzo has been making the same BHP per liter to this day up to the 6.5 V12 812 SF. Lamborghini with their 6.5 is making the same power as the Ferrari. So they needed an option out because it would be outrageous to start putting 7 liter engines in production cars, I understand there is a couple with above 6.5 liters but the larger the displacement the lazier the engine, and the more inefficient it becomes.
@@lexuslfa4739very interesting
95% of car buyers have no idea what a turbo is..
Most car buyers be like, “pretty car, high mpg, me buy!”
@@thegeneral1955mpg and emissions aren't the same thing. Also I get about 4 mpg more in the new tundra compared to 5.7 V8. Most early comparisons were done before complete break in
Im simple man. I see tinker i click
hahaha dude I was literally thinking this verbatim as I clicked. Appreciate you
Same.
Thought u we were gonna say something bout tinkling a dick 😂
Weak
Are you a robot? Why is this comment everywhere.
You explain things so well in a very easy to digest way, and the lengths you take to get information is very commendable. You earned a sub.
As someone who loves, follows and owns vehicles from the brand: I agree these engines are being over stressed in the trucks. I love my gx460. They should bring back the 5.7 v8
This is the best automotive channel on RUclips.
I'd like to see something like HP per square inch of bearing surface. I'd trust that for longevity.
Agree
😂😂😂
Man I love when I get to learn the nitty gritty specifics of truck off road performance. 😊
You really do your research. Then going above and beyond by showing your work. Subbed.
Bro is not just a blogger, he is a reporter and most importantly a scientist!
Yes I subscribed!
You have won my heart with this amazing detailed informative video. I am one of those but hurt d by this v6 shift. You should have asked the engineer, why not put turbos on the v8. End of the day, they don't care about reliability... infect reliability is a problem for them, they want to make money. a company that sells its flagship lc300 in variants that have halogen bulb in head lamps, manual seat adjustments... and that in 2024.... should tell anyone what is their priority. From where i am, Landcruiser was not known as land cruiser, it was known as v8..... that died. no more million miles engines, lot more trips to dealerships, all those plastics and rubber hoses have life. Before Toyota was sleeping, now they are awake, and want to be on the top to sequeze as much money from customers as possible, and as repetitively as possible.,, all in the name of technology.... look at ur old cellphones... they were cute btw.
Nothing beats a NA V8! I don't care what ANYBODY says! Toyota should have just kept their V8!
Don’t talk to Toyota. Talk to Biden and US CAFE standards
@@hugoglenn9741 What does Toyota have to do with the govt? This is a Toyota issue
@@Thirteen7447Government mandated emissions and MPG standards. The V8 probably would not have made the cut
@@bunzaroo Nonsense! Other manufacturers are still making V8's. "Govt mandates" are not law! Those particular mandates were given only to those manufacturers that were given "incentives" aka bribe money.
And if you think a turbo charged engine is going to improve emissions and mpg standards, you're fooling yourself!
@@Thirteen7447Exactly mate
I work in this industry. Yes some of the engines are failing, particularly the no. 1 crank bearing but also sometimes the connecting rod bearing instead of the crank bearing. Seeing as this engine came out in 2018 it’s surprising to have so many failures for a brand known for reliability.
gx460 still the goat, then?
GM, Ford and Honda are all facing the same problems, speculated to be improperly cleaned blocks after sand casting, but I don't have enough actual evidence to say anything concrete about the causes.
Online forums probably makes this issue seem more prevalent than it really is. Dealership near me hasn't had any come in for this.
@@stevieray1828 Stop in at any Toyota store and see how many tundras are on the lot waiting for motors, wouldn’t roll the dice on the first couple years of production on this motor either.
Currently shopping for a new, current generation 4runner before they switch to the turbo 4 on the 2025 for the same reasons
@@stevieray1828 but now Toyota has announced a recall.
From a PE, if you ever get tired of RUclips, you have a future in engineering. (lol, just looked in your store and noted you're a mech engr)
I find myself learning more from you and where you are learning from than anything else. Wish I would have found this channel sooner. I will be part of the study as I have a ‘24 tundra trd. I also recently purchased my wife and I the FJ as a play toy, now she drives it more than her primary. May sell the primary and get a 4Runner lol.
This is an excellent, excellent video and reporting. You have a bright future in Toyota enthusiast viewer content! Clear, technical but not boring, informative and most of all objective!
There is no way, I will give up my naturally aspirated 1GRFE V6 engine. These are absolutely bulletproof and such a forgiving engines.
we want a 1grfe paired with a 10 or even 8 speed trans.....but never gonna happen..
@@FranciscoHugoGarciaur better off keeping the 5-6 speed transmissions, I’ve heard those 8-10 speed tends to hunt for gears a lot
@@BigAltimaEnergy719this is actually an engineering work around for drowsy or distracted drivers. That's why cruise control will not hold a single gear for the posted limit
@@FranciscoHugoGarciathe Lc300 comes with a 4.0 variant that carries the 4.0 1gr fe with the 10 speed transmission (2022- present Lc300) look it up
I love 1GR it's the best for me too
Great content here. This is a pearl in the ocean of surface level reviews.
Dude. This video was PHENOMENAL. Thank you for your hard work and for your deep dive on these topics!
As someone who’s been with Toyota for 10 years, this video was amazingly put together, informative, and answered so many questions I had about the V35. And you couldn’t have picked a better source!
Fantastic video! Great to know all the updates in the new engine. My only request would be to work on your audio a bit. Try to have a better recording method when interviewing and please level the audio for different shots. It was much quieter when you were interviewing the engineer and your mechanic friend than when you were talking to the camera alone. Thanks!
Thanks for the suggestion! will definitely pay more attention to that
The question I would ask is if government didn't force the reduction in displacement, would Toyota select the V6? I don't see any other factors in the decision to reduce displacement and go electric.
A lot of people dont understand how far we've come in manufacturing technology such as metallurgy, tolerances, etc. Turbos aren't the boogeyman anymore. The only limiting factor at this point is people.
Ill be waiting to hear from high mileage new gen toyota owners
@@PonyFoot123 As long as you listen to the ones who change their oil. There are going to be a lot of people disappointed in their engine's longevity if they're changing oil at 10k miles.
@@DeuceDeuceBravo for sure!!!
I was a 4g63 fan for years. I have daily driven 400whp cars/vans (eagle summit awd)with 16/18g turbo 4gs with over 240k miles. Turbo engines don’t automatically mean less reliable
@@PonyFoot123 You will, especially 4 cylinder Tacoma owners. They wont make it to 400K like the 1990's 4 cylinder Tacoma's did. Not even close.
There were 4 LX600 with the same issue in one of my local Lexus dealers as well. Sad to see these motors having so many teething issues 7yrs into its life cycle.
Wow! All I can say is I'm glad we got the 5th Gen 4Runner with the aspirated engine and not the 6th Gen with the turbo. Thanks for sharing your work. Keep it up!
Wow! .... amazing content, I've subbed. You are wise beyond your years- instead of click bait and innuendo we get actual facts and well informed opinions- well done! As an old fart (70+years) I think there's still something to be said for the "K.I.S.S. Rule" of engineering and the relative simplicity of the 22R and 4.7/5.7 V-8's that served Toyota owners so well for so many years.
Incredible stuff man... really appreciate the effort to bring such a video to RUclips... thanks 🙏
The dealership I work at has had 2 tundras with main bearing issues below 15k. They were early model tundras. The wear was allegedly due to improper cleaning from the machine process
This is great, I'm glad you had a chance to have a conversation with such a key person
Finally a subject im pretty knowledgeable about!
The longer stroke and shorter rod ratio (this is likely though i dont have any rod length numbers) force the piston to spend less time near piston Top Dead Center and in conjunction with a smaller bore and an optimized burn the ignition can be less advanced (reducing pumping losses) and resists knock because of the faster piston acceleration away from TDC.
All of this increases low end torque. add in small quick spooling turbos and you have more power being made in a smaller surface area. The smaller surface area allows less heat loss(through conduction and more Work extracted)
Main and rod bearing diameter (and width) have probably been minimized to reduce frictional losses. Couple this with fewer rod and (more importantly) MAIN bearings in a V6 VS a V8 and the more violent (because of shorter duration combustion and being shared between fewer cylinders) combustion strokes and the bearings are dealing with much more force with a smaller bearing surface area.
If the forces are enough to break through the cushioning oil layer because of knock or power, or even bad harmonics they will relatively quickly damage bearings.
Less agressive ignition timing, less torque or higher viscosity oil should all be able to bandaid the problems, but in the end its likely the bearings being over-optimized for fuel efficiency and not having enough of a margin of error for unknown harmonics or the effect of the faster combustion on instantaneous loads sent through the piston/rod/crank assembly
That’s for focusing on tech information rather than the average reviews which some guy just reads us the manufacturer marketing page. I love how you also compare the older models to newer ones. Keep going your going to do well in the end. You’re providing a valuable perspective that no one else is. Hi5
Twin turbo V6, less cylinders but more power and more complicated, it must be less reliable than simple non-turbo V8, no exception man, combustion efficiency is not affecting to mechanical durability, all moving parts are getting more stressed.....
Sometimes it is just that simple. Of course they’re going to try to sell us on their newer stuff.
Agree. Looks like a lubrication failure.
Its a good video. I will reserve judgment and see if toyota is able to iron out issues in these new powertrains in the coming years and see if they really are reliable.
I think I have the answer: The problem is not the bearings themselve but the supporting material. The old engines used aluminium where the new ones uses cast iron. Aluminium can draw away the heat in the bearings much quicker than the cast iron. Thus bearing failure happens because of overheating. The specific heat capacity of aluminium is 900 J/kg°C vs only 460 J/kg°C for cast iron.
Get this comment higher!
I had a similar thought when @17:32, he mentioned this material change. I was curious if the research paper addresses the difference in heat capacity of these materials and if modeling/testing could analyze the effects of cooling (or lack thereof) in the updated block.
Sure, it can handle the increased torque output but at what relative temps and for how long?
i don't agree with you.. because the aluminum main caps main job is to stay in shape and not move as the crankshaft is rotating remember that bearing clearance is in the thousands having those supports just makes the main cap stronger . it has nothing to do with heat dissipation.
And of course they never tested these engines before selling them.
So what about all the famous iron block turbo engines? Its not heat thst kills bearings, its lack of oil. The oil is supposed to be between the bearings and rotating parts. Any heat has to get past the oil as its quickly being launched out and replaced from the bearings
Great indepth video for the nerds! Toyota just issued a recall on these motors saying that there is possible debris in the engine from manufacturing that is responsible for taking out the main bearings. It may or may not be related to over stress after all. I couldn't find any specifics on what they are doing to fix the issue though. Keep it up Kai!
after posting I saw your pinned comment 😂
This video is fantastic. You’re addressing topics every Toyota guy is arguing about daily. Thanks for making it, Savage Geese also addresses technical designs, and I’d like to see your channel get there, you have a similar format-, keep making great content, we all appreciate it. Every Gen 3 Tundra owner is wondering if their truck will be reliable. I’m sure Lexus Gx owners are wondering the same, if they are enthusiasts. My wife’s older GX460 with the V8 was incredible, we all hope this new engine can live up to even 70% of the older V8’s reliability….
As we've come to expect, another fanatic video. Thank you so much for asking technical questions and politely probing for answers. Keep up the great work!
Absolutely awesome video, thank you for the time, energy and effort to put this together.
These new toyota engines all run very thin oil for fuel efficieny and emissions reasons. This thin oil requires tighter bearing clearances. Tight bearing clearance in a high torque/L engine doesn't leave much room for error.
The theory that oil passages have changed due to oil viscosity has been disproven.
@@MeltingRubberZ28he is refering to the free space between the bearings and the rotating parts. With thinner oil those gaps hsve to be closer for the oil to spend a decent amount of time in the journals
@@BrokeWrench interesting theory, but it's been disproven.
@@MeltingRubberZ28I think he’s talking about how well the oil handles higher heat
@@MeltingRubberZ28who disproved
How can you not love this guy? Brings up Torque plots and scientific papers. Love it.
That being said, these engines cannot be breaking down as they are - the old 5.7 V8 had one issue, that being cam tower leak, which was simply because of sealant degradation and not an actual engine issue. Other than that i abused that engine in the great white north for 6yrs, and in LC's in the middle east. They were unbreakable.
None of the new ones are.
I have that engine in my 2023 Tundra TRD 4X4 Off Road and absolutely LOVE it! Three and a half liter twin-turbo making more power than V8’s in the same class. It’s faster than the predecessor Tundra. 30k miles so far, ZERO problems (dealer -maintained) and I drive it HARD! Only modification is TRD drop-in air filters similar to K&N. The 10-speed transmission offers sports-car-like shifts from launch! I come from a street racing background, have kids now so live a civilized life. 😃
I recently traded my 3rd Gen Tacoma for a Jeep Gladiator. I still do really love Toyotas, and still have an older Land Cruiser. I wish Toyota would give more of what the American Off-Road community wants. Jeep, Ford, and Chevy are really stepping up their games on mid-sized off-road trucks. I wish you could get the Land Cruisers here that the Aussies have, all this luxury stuff isn't as interesting. The GX550 is very nice, don't get me wrong...
Yeah, it would be nice if Toyota truly tried to compete with the real off-roaders. I have a 4Runner, and I love it as a DD, but if I lived in Utah or some place with a lot of technical trails no way would I be driving a 4Runner. 100% would be in a Jeep.
@trailrunnah8886 I have family that lives near Moab, and I used to have a 2017 4 Runner with an ARB air locker and 33-inch tires. I could do a lot in Moab with the 4 Runner. It was great. But yeah, the 4 Runner is kind of at its design limits with 33s and Hells Revenge was kind of as far as I was comfortable doing with my Toyota.
@@adrianw3985 is that a front locker you have? Mine has the factory rear locker. I've never had to use it, which tells me I haven't pushed it as far as it will go LOL. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to crap on the 4Runner, it's just what I saw in Moab when I was there, and all the videos I watch, I would definitely be more comfortable in a vehicle like a Jeep, for the increased front articulation, as well as less body work to keep track of.
@trailrunnah8886 I had an SR5, so I added a rear locker, a 2.5 lift, a winch, and 33s. There is a lot you can do in Moab with a 4Runner. I would say trails rated 5 to 6 with minimal scraping. Even with a Jeep, you may get some scrapes on some of the tougher trails. It's just part of the game. You should try Fins and Things and Hells Revenge. Hells Revenge has some optional parts that would be tough even in a Jeep, so you can drive around those parts.
Great interview. My logic is: fewer parts in existence = fewer parts that can break. I'm sure that the entire package is very well engineered, however I have lost a lot of faith in Toyota build quality after purchasing my 3rd gen Tacoma and suffering through early part failures such a warped thermostat housing which was plastic. Critical parts which are exposed to high heat should not be victim to bean counter cost savings and made from inferior materials.
Could not agree more. It’s a simple fact that complexity has a direct relationship with failure potential. Now this might not seem like a concern on a new car, but once they acquire age, wear, stress, perhaps a fender bender or two… They’re already unaffordable to repair for some moderate operations, I cannot foresee a meaningful number of 2025 cars being on the road in 2050. We need to apply our knowledge like a scalpel, not a sledgehammer, and stick to simplicity unless used to improve efficiency.
Toyota’s reliability era is done.
once they see the results they will bring back natural aspirated V6 and V8 and remove the turbos.
I said this as soon as they decided to use turbos lol
lol you guys are funny I seen so many cohost from ford have easy 200k miles no issues and still going some into 300k
@@Randolf_Wisenberg They already saw the results. The engine is already 7 year old. It's been out since 2017 for MY2018 for the Lexus LS. And nope, no long term issues with them. And personally after tossing my NA Lexus due to electrical gremlins for a Audi, Holy crap I had no clue what I was missing. My 2020 Lexus really was 15 years behind.
It’s not just Toyota, it’s a common theme to decrease displacement and use turbocharging to add it back. They did it with the 300 series diesel also.
It’s emissions regulations and fuel consumption behind this, it won’t go back to the way it was imo
Definitely want to see more of these videos! There are not enough people coming with actual facts from the people that work or have experience with these newer platforms. 99% of the comments on these are all speculation with the occasional owner chiming in. It’s nice to see more about the design and methodology. Awesome video!!!!
You scared for a second. Your thumbnail has a gx470 and I just bought a gx470 hahaha. Love my gx470. Great content!
There actually IS an official explanation for bearing failures. Improper cleaning of blocks post machining and pre assembly causes blocked oil passages and premature crank bearing failures. This is well known in the Toyota community so I’m not sure why a Lexus technician would not be aware of it. This is not a design issue, it’s a manufacturing/assembly fault. It’s disappointing there have been this many failures but Toyota is usually pretty proactive in solving issues.
‘The car care nut” does a great in depth video on the design of the cooling system in these engines. Pumping this much HP and torque out of these engines, heat would be a major factor that potentially could reduce longevity and reliability but Toyota designed a very competent cooling system in these engines. I’m confident these engines will ultimately earn a good reputation but they’ve certainly had some issues. I have a ‘22 Tundra and so far no issues at 23K miles. Knock on wood.
Link to official explanation?
@@spaulagainDiscussed at length with dealer service manager. As well, in a 3rd gen Tundra owners group on Facebook, every engine failure I’ve seen posted has been diagnosed as this exact issue. There are many Toyota technicians and at least 1 Toyota engineer in the group.
In Saudi Arabia the new landcruisers with the same engines are suffering serious issues including blownup engines....may be this engine configuration is working in other countries but in the GCC it is not working at all...
maybe the new landcruisers are not designed for the desert anymore. it's a trade-off for putting a small engine and tuning it to give more power and torque
They’re wrecking big end bearings (con rod) in Australia.
If Ford managed to build a 3.5 Liter twin turbo V6 that puts out good power, and reasonable reliability, than I _KNOW_ Toyota can. Honestly, as an independent tech, I see more Toyota vehicles with 300,000 plus miles than anything else, except exceptionally well taken care of Suburban / Yukon SUV's .
This just the older early 2000’s Yukons and Suburbans or anything with afm/dfm?
My Volvo has a million miles
@@ThunderRunner 2007 was the first year.
@@mcglovera Once you get up to the P2 cars, there are enough electronics to cause serious issues, transmissions are kind of weak, the 240 / 740 series were bullet proof. My experience.
@@mcglovera right - do you see any 2007 or newer suburbans and Yukons with that kind of mileage?
My guess is the low rpm torque numbers are definitely part of a pointed chisel that’s busting the bearings on these.
Sounds complicated being it seems like you have to pull apart the whole engine.
Great piece! 👌🏻
That’s awesome you got an interview! 🤘🏼
Yeah slow moving(rpm) bigger torque numbers 🤷♂️ 😅
Your video may have contributed to Toyota doing the recall. Good work with these very technical videos.
Ford has shown for over a decade that these kinds of turbocharged V6s can be reliable long term. There are numerous examples of Ford 2.7L and 3.5L ecoboost engines with 300K to 600k miles and no issues. There's even one with over 1.3 million miles, though that one is on its second engine. You can even get a 3.5L in the F150 with 450 hp and 510 ftlbs of torque! Though Toyota's 3.4L TTV6 might be one of the least reliable V6s out there currently, these are likely just growing pains and updates to the motor will likely improve reliability.
The caveat to the longevity of the motors you mentioned is absolutely religious maintenance and easy use. The Eco-boost makes fun power and gets decent mpg, but they fail a lot when used hard. By used hard, I am referring to trucks that do weekend towing. This isn't my opinion, this is what 3 family Ford techs have told me. In their words, "If you want a gas car or truck to last 300k miles, DO NOT buy anything turbo charged. If you need to tow on occasion, buy any sized NA motor that meets your weight requirements and live with a little less power and lower mpg".
The 3UR-FE is kinda mid-tier in Toyota terms, but it is still outperforms all the Ecoboost engines in uptime and long term running costs. (Even at 15mpg.)
3UR-FE is mid-tier in Toyota terms? I mean, I know it’s not S+ tier, but it’s still A-tier. Especially the Japanese-built ones employed in the Land Cruiser / LX 570
@@matthewpeterson3329there have been many turbocharged cars I have worked on that have 500,000 kms and I have had friends who had turbocharged cars with 400,000 kms on them and they were German cars which are known for their reliability issues. Maintenance is key as many point out. And recently I did work on a 2014 Subaru forester with the WRX turbo engine. The owner did say he has been driving around with a blown turbo for the past year or so, but it was still going strong and could still do highway speeds.
Ford and reliable in the same sentence....
LMAO!
Thanks for the laughs.
Ford turbo engines are some of the worst junk on the planet.
So they got 1 or 2 engines to go the distance, out of thousands that have failed.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
The only ford engines with over 300k miles are diesels with multiple expensive fuel system repairs, and NA's that people put 2-3 engines in or hired a team a illegals to push them around town by hand.
Awesome video and content! Very nicely explained. Keep it up. Looking forward to the follow up video on this.
Always a solid video. These motors are a huge concern of mine.
Why?
here in my country (Saudi Arabia) i saw on social media a lot of those engines facing the main bearing issue especially lx600 and land cruiser 300
I was actually thinking of looking into “tuning software” to get that extra 100 ft lbs of torque they promise with more boost. Glad I watched this. We used be pretty happy back in the day with a NA 1 HP per cubic inch. The norm was no replacement for displacement. Stock, at 213 cubic inches, this is putting out 1.7 HP per Cubic Inch. and with as much torque as a 455 olds lol. I just told myself, Stop. It’s enough. Love your channel. Very well done. ♥️
Why is it never enough 😂
Very interesting and thorough video, again, Kai! My assumption was that Toyota motors were so durable because they were understressed, stemming from low HP/L and mediocre gas efficiency. I didn't think that a more efficient engine would run cooler and therefore see less thermal stress.
Toyota reliability? I just returned a 2024 Tacoma with 40,000 miles on it, 4wd actuator and front transfer case totally self-obliterated. I don’t believe it anymore. Old school or no school
Is that the borrowed Mazda V6?
40k miles on a 2024 Tacoma that was released in January?
@@marsarmory6236 yeah, it was a rental. It had Washington tags on it and I’m in WV, so it drove at least 2000 to get here.
@bfromthea7663 really good actually. Only complaint about it was that I kept smacking my knees off the interior panel under the steering wheel. Enterprise had all the tech and apps disabled so I can’t comment on any of that
To be fair....you bought a rental. Rentals are never treated with care and the renters that had it previously most likely didn't have the transfer case fully engaged while towing/hauling. I don't think your experience is an accurate representation of Toyota reliability.
My fear with this issue is that it is just like the Tacoma and 4Runner front differential needle bearing issue. Toyota has yet to fix this issue. The only real solution in the aftermarket bushing. To me, it is a real failure on Toyota to not address and properly fix this issue. From your video, it seems this main bearing issue has documented history for several years also.
Ugh, you just reminded me that I need to do mine... 😂
I believe the fix is a dampener to help the noise not reach the cab. Toyota has said that they noise is normal and won't replace the front differential anymore. As for the main bearing issue I have a feeling its the dual pulley system with the belt and the crank pulley itself is causing the issue.
I work at a Toyota Dealership in Alberta, Canada. So far we have two 2023 Tundras in for short blocks. One had a knock and the other had completely seized. Both had less than 30k in km. Oil starvation to the main bearings seems like a concern but it would be speculation. The last one was done in April. Short blocks and overhaul kits are somewhat available (2-3 weeks for certain parts). Toyota has not provided us with any information yet. Lets wait and see I guess.
EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT video! I never comment usually, but you did an amazing job, and wow, got the top of the top people to interview with. my 2 cents!!
Would like to hear your thoughts on the T24A-FTS.
The law to make more "green" motors is affecting the relability..thats all. Past motors , no turbo.are better in long terms
Always in the comments there's people who can't get past 1970's turbo technology. So many examples of turbo engines, especially diesels, going hundreds of thousands of miles to millions.
@@deucebigs9860 So true, the only thing that should be replaced within 200k miles are the turbos on modern performance turbo engines.
4.7 all the way I own one and they are super reliable
Great video! I’m always amazed at how detailed your videos are, please continue the same way!
There’re many many engines with the same problem from land cruisers in the middle east, some are even shown here in RUclips and I heard of many, so they are 100% confirmed
You’ll definitely see more of these the next couple of years when GX buyers get up there in mileage
Amazing video as always
Well, it's entirely possible reliability isn't comprimised. But at the now sky high price of Toyotas, i'll buy used for years and let someone else do the beta testing. And in addition, MPG is not really improved.
I love how you go to find deep technical details in papers!
This is the kind of technical insight I strive so hard to find, Im so glad I clicked this video! Keep them coming, Ill binge the channel soon enough
Dont need to have a PHD to know that adding turbos decreases overall reliability.
They could design the engine as if it were going to be used under full boost, 100% of the time.