Toyota Finally Solved The Tundra Engine Failure Mystery

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Is this it? Do we finally get to the bottom line of what's going on with those Toyota Tundra engines, the V35A?

[00:00:06]The ones have been failing, the ones have been replacing. They replaced 37,000 of these engines already.

[00:00:11]So, do we finally have the answer? Do we finally know what's happening to those trucks?

[00:00:16]I think we might actually have it. Hey, it's Tim. Pickup Truck Plus Heavy Talk.

[00:00:21]There's a defect information report that just came out. I just got an email just I don't know, 5 minutes ago. It's on nhtsa.gov.

[00:00:30]We have to go over there cuz I have it right here. We're going to put it on the screen. Let's talk about what's going on in this report. You can see Toyota official letterhead.

[00:00:37]May 20th, 2026. I didn't see this. I got an email to me and I was like, "Wow, look at this." Here it is.

[00:00:44]What's interesting about this report is when you get into the details. Let me see if I can blow this in the screen a little bit more. Zoom in a little bit so we can all, you know, even though it's a wearing glasses in the black back, you can see this in the screen cuz, yeah, I have to wear glasses these days.

[00:00:57]So, we're talking about uh Toyota Motor Manufacturing, talking about the manufacturing facility in Alabama.

[00:01:02]That's interesting cuz remember the initial recall was from two factories, Alabama and Japan.

[00:01:07]Now, we're talking about just Alabama.

[00:01:10]They're talking about this latest recall. This is the 2024 one that it impacts February 7th, 2024 through August 5th, 2024.

[00:01:20]So, this is the newest one they came out with. This came out just last week.

[00:01:24]But, I hadn't seen this defect information report before.

[00:01:28]And so, they're talking about which ones infected, the part number to block assembly.

[00:01:33]Okay. They're talking about how they're not all sold in the United States.

[00:01:36]That's something brought up the other day. They're importing these in Australia now. So, this this truck's going to live on long period of time.

[00:01:42]And it's they're producing this in in United States, shipping them elsewhere.

[00:01:47]So, recalls impacting all those. This is the 42,566.

[00:01:52]So, many trucks impacted.

[00:01:54]So, they again, they estimated the percentage. People keep bringing up this one number.

[00:01:59]It doesn't mean anything. They can't estimate the percentage involved.

[00:02:02]All right, so let's talk description of the problem.

[00:02:05]We've talked about this many times, but let's go through it one more time.

[00:02:08]The subject vehicles are equipped with a specific V35A engine that contains crankshaft main bearings which allows the crankshaft to rotate within the engine assembly while running.

[00:02:21]During a specific production period, there was a possibility that engine machining debris of particular size and amount may not have been cleared from the engine during manufacturing and that contaminated the engine during the production process.

[00:02:35]We talked about this before. I think it was several months ago that they didn't get all the debris out. They actually talked about different sizes of debris.

[00:02:41]Pretty detailed report.

[00:02:43]For those engines in the subject vehicles, the pressure on a main bearing due to the engine configuration is such that if the machining debris adheres to that bearing, operation of the engine continues at higher loads over time, failure of the bearing may occur.

[00:02:59]And there is no something about said something about crankshaft has tabs to keep it in place. They don't use that.

[00:03:04]They Toyota hasn't used that for years.

[00:03:06]So, that's not a thing for them.

[00:03:09]Or a bearing tab. No, it was crankshaft tabs.

[00:03:12]Uh so, they said this can lead to potential engine knocking, engine rough running, engine no start, or and or engine stall.

[00:03:19]And the subject vehicles, engine stall while driving leads to loss of motor power. So, yeah, it stalls, you can't move forward.

[00:03:26]A vehicle lost motor power while driving at higher speeds can increase the risk of wrath of a crash. Well, yeah, no kidding.

[00:03:32]So, this is the greatest thing I found in the last couple years. Chronology of principal events. This is like murder mystery stuff. I love this thing. Sorry, I get kind of geeked out about chronology stuff.

[00:03:42]So, November 20 2025 to February 2026.

[00:03:46]So, they had a filing a recall of that one 2025.

[00:03:50]That was for a the expansion the previous one before the previous one. So they've had this is like the third recall.

[00:03:57]Toyota continued to investigate certain vehicles with that engine produced the Alabama manufacturing plant with improved manufacturing processes.

[00:04:05]Remember they they changed manufacturing processes. They're trying to get rid of this debris.

[00:04:09]And other changes built after those involved in that recall.

[00:04:12]They continued to investigate the effects of one of these changes, a cam housing clearance change on bearing pressure on bearing pressure. So they they made a change to the engine. They made a a bearing a a clearance change. They created more room so the debris wouldn't build up. So they did make a change.

[00:04:29]And together with the supplier also studied the progression of bearing wear from engines in the field.

[00:04:35]To do this, both non-failed engines and engines with the alleged number one main bearing failure were collected, torn down, had the bearing sent to the supplier for analysis.

[00:04:45]The number one main bearing, you'll hear this more and more. It's like it's like clue. It's like the murder weapon.

[00:04:50]Concerning the study of the cam housing clearance changes, in February 2026, it was found there was a stack up of bearing pressure based on variables that included timing chain tension and engine loading scenarios.

[00:05:03]But this pressure stack up could not make the difference between these engines produced during the period under study from the engines previously recalled. So they So they didn't find anything there when they did the stack up of the bearing pressures based on variables.

[00:05:18]So the pressure couldn't make those engines doing differently.

[00:05:22]But they also, in addition to collecting, tearing down, and analyzing bearings from the engines in the field, Toyota and the supplier performed bench testing on the number one main bearing.

[00:05:31]There it is again. The number one main bearings were without wear from the period under study.

[00:05:36]The bench testing applied a specific pressure to the bearing to simulate engine loading as debris of a specific shape and size that were representative of debris found in engines produced in the period under study. So they they're bench testing. They basically they put debris in there with the new and imp- robust number one main bearings. I get that from a prior recall report I did months ago. They used that wordage verbage for the number one main bearings. They put the pressure in that as far as it bench testing.

[00:06:09]And they ran that through the study and they introduced that into the bearing in increasing quantities.

[00:06:15]In late April 2026, Toyota and the supplier completed the bench testing and determined that if this piece of debris of sufficient size is introduced on the bearings and introduced additional pieces was not a significant factor on the fatigue strength of the bearings produced during the period under study.

[00:06:31]So let's go to that one more time. So they ran these studies and they figured out in late April 2026 that if they determined that if they had debris in the engine with that improved number one bearing and that they had a piece of sufficient size introduced on that bearing introducing additional pieces was not a significant factor on the fatigue strength of the bearings.

[00:06:56]So they didn't So adding more debris didn't fatigue the bearings. So that wouldn't lead to more catastrophic engine failure. In late 2026, Toyota and the supplier completed the bench testing and determined that if a piece of debris of sufficient size is introduced on the bearing then you can introduce additional pieces and that was not a significant factor on the fatigue strength of the bearings produced during the period under study.

[00:07:24]So they tested this it added additional pressure to simulate engine load they added more debris and there was no fatigue on the bearings. So the bearings held up. So the engines didn't fail. Even with more debris than what they've been finding in those other engines. That's the way I read that.

[00:07:48]In early May 2026, Toyota and supplier completed the engine collection teardown analysis of the one main bearings in the field.

[00:07:55]The results of the bearing analysis showed that the bearings produced during the period under study contain the same wear pattern that was observed on the bearings produced in the periods covered by the recalls. Okay?

[00:08:06]So, the results of the bearing analysis showed that bearings produced same Okay, so based on the results of the investigation, Toyota determined that during the specific production period there of those recalls, but before the information of the certain improvements to one bearing, there's a possibility engine machine debris of particular size and amount may have been cleared from the engine during manufacturing and can cause the issue described section 5 to cover. So, they determined that if these engines in those those recalls were failing, it was because they hadn't done the new improvements to number one main bearing.

[00:08:48]Those engines had the debris that fatigued the number one main bearing to the point the engine failed.

[00:08:56]So, as long as and that's the way I read this, as long as you have an engine that has the new improved number one main bearing that you shouldn't have a problem. Which by the way, Toyota PR let me know those 77,000 engines that they replaced on Go big [clears throat] screen for a minute.

[00:09:13]Those 77,000 replacement engines at 105,000 whatever they they recalled, those have the improved number one main bearing.

[00:09:21]So, if you have a replacement engine, you are good according to this analysis and how Toyota and the supplier worked together to do that.

[00:09:33]According to this document. Okay, let's go back to the document.

[00:09:38]Now, let it says that Toyota decided to conduct a voluntary safety recall for the above described vehicle production period to catch those engines that didn't have the number one main main bearing in them, the improved number one main main bearing.

[00:09:53]And so they did some diligent review review of records, best engineering judgment, they found there are 30 total field technical reports, 360 warranty claims on the subject vehicle. So they they recalled 43,000 trucks to replace the engines based on 30 field reports and 360 warranty claims.

[00:10:13]So, what they done?

[00:10:14]So, the corrective corrective action is going to be, you know, be informed, you're going to be contacted further available about the remedy. I don't understand why they haven't announced what the remedy is going to be cuz it seems like the remedy is going to be a new engine. That's the only thing I'm I'm a little unclear about why I haven't announced the the remedy, but that's what it looks like it's come down to is that the interim remedy is not out yet.

[00:10:36]They they're going to notify the owners by July 20th, 2026.

[00:10:41]And that's what they have. So, it it is interesting to think that that's what's going on. And as you recall, I um Yeah.

[00:10:51]>> [snorts] >> I have one.

[00:10:54]I think this one is the new improved main bearing.

[00:10:58]And I tried to send this off for analysis, but the person ghosted me. But yeah, they look the same and unless I can do a a metal lab and have those analyzed, I can't tell you what the difference is, but apparently this bearing is the improved bearing. So, as long as you have had your engine replaced or it was built after those dates I told you on the the the screen there, recall report, you should have the improved number one main bearing. So, even if there is any sort of debris in the manufacturing process, it shouldn't fatigue the main bearing.

[00:11:33]And that's called swarf is the term I've learned in this process last year or two. Um and it's actually fairly common to have swarf in engines. We learned this as well. There was a article on autonews.com that talked to like people like Dave's Auto Center, the big YouTube channel, and people in engine manufacturing, and people in to teach engine design that because of lighter weight oils that the lighter weight oils aren't necessarily moving manufacturing debris out of the engines like they used to.

[00:12:03]It's not heavy enough to move it. It's like think of a stream. We don't have a big enough flow of heavy oils to move this stuff out. Cuz typically what happens is that stuff goes into the oil filter and gets filtered out.

[00:12:15]But that's not happening. So, that's the whole story. As far as I know in my gosh, year and a half, two years reporting on this and putting together all the different pieces of all these different stories, and that's what's happening is that yes, we've gone to lighter weight oils. Yes, we you can argue all you want about that. Yes, it's caused a variety of different things happening. Um yes, there's debris in engines. Yes, that's causing some problems. Yes, the number one main bearing seems like that's what Toyota's fix is for that.

[00:12:46]Yes, you can argue the design flaw and you argue in the comments all you want, but it seems like the bottom line from Toyota is this is that as long as you have a truck with the number one main bearing that's been replaced or your engine's been replaced and it's built after those dates, you should be okay.

[00:13:06]And unless I hear of a number of engines failing, I know we have the one 2025 model that I've talked to the guy on the forum about as well.

[00:13:15]Um I haven't heard anything number-wise after that that have been big numbers. I haven't heard a lot of recalled engines that have been fixed that have been that have been failing.

[00:13:25]Unless we hear a lot more no ways about 25's and 26's and recalled engines failing, I'm hoping we can put this issue to bed. Wouldn't that be great?

[00:13:38]Just put this issue to bed and be done.

[00:13:40]Cuz I'm sure something else will pop up.

[00:13:42]All right, more stuff that pops up.

[00:13:44]I'll be right here. More videos. No, it's this way. Whatever, that way.

[00:13:48]Oh, I'm eating lunch now. So, >> [laughter] >> check out website at pickuptrucktalk.com. As always, thanks for watching. I will see you down the road.

[00:13:56]Hopefully. While you're driving, not like on the side of the road. No, driving down the road. That's that's the key.