Cost for 3rd Gen Tundra Engine… $32k!!

Came across this video on youtube of a new gen tundra needing a new engine that toyota will not cover.

https://youtu.be/k76xRY6mrF4

Toyota really worked hard to ensure the new tundra is replaceable not fixable.

 

You really should modify the air intake if you are going off roading . Same issue with lexus in which the intake is at the fender wheel

 

Perhaps toyota should’ve made those modifications and not place the air intake lower vs previous gen. which makes them vulnerable.

Either way the cost of new engine because of this mistake is $32k, in comparison, it’s about $8k for previous 5.7L V8 engine.

 

True

 

I have taken my stock 04 Dakota and stock 09 Crewmax through water nearly to
The top of the wheel with no
Adverse effects. Changed diff fluid and went many thousands of miles after with no problem. I took it slow and did not try to make a TV commercial out of it.

I don't believe he was being honest about taking it slow through water below the middle of the wheel like on that video. I think he went deeper and/or gunned It and built up enough speed to push it through the intake.

Commercials are dramatized for advertising purposes and this is a silly excuse for destroying an engine due to lack of common sense.

It's not hard stuff. Know where your intake is, know the depth of the water. Know that if the two get too close you may end up buying an engine.

 

Something's F*cky......

 

Its not just the Tundra, the Lexus GX intake is in the fender too and i have seen probably 20 hydrolock on the GXOR group in the last couple years. I think the Tacoma and 4Runner are in the same spot

 

$32k is a whole Gen 2.5 with 80% of life left.

 

The engine is ~$18800. With the parts is $19k. Everything else is labor.

But really, for these money get a gen 2/2.5.

 

If the guy in the Vid truly did not exceed the water levels that were shown in the Tundra commercials, I think he has a fair point about false advertising.

 

It's all false advertising. I remember the Ford Raptor commercials. Ford was seeking plenty of bent frame and people were just doing what Ford said it could do. Some took it a little too high. The metrosexual commercials is what people should go by, not the off-road ones. Just like the space shuttle commercial, yeah ok, tranny was probably toast after that.

 

32 grand for a 6 cylinder. That’s ridiculous.

Would insurance come into play here?

 

In youtube comments he said it did.

 

Once drove my brand new Civic through a very deep puddle. Dealer didn't warranty it but insurance paid. Granted depending on what he was doing and into days insurance scams, I am sure the insurance would play hardball. Regardless, insurance would probably total it.

 

If I heard right, he said he had 10k mi on the truck and never thought to check the air filter after off-roading?
Maybe he also modded the wheel wells when adding the bigger tires and aftermarket bumper and somehow affected the the intake without realizing it.
I don't know how it's set up on the 3rd gen.

 

$32K for a ticking time bomb?

 

LS swap would be cheaper.

 

This guy may have made MODS that may have had an effect. Maybe he even drove through deeper water.

It doesn’t change the fact that the new engine is 20 plus grand. That’s just plain sad. What a total ripoff.

 

I recently got a quote to replace the 4 cats on my truck from the dealership..... $12k. I then took it to an independent shop..... $9k.

So, $32k for a dealership engine swap doesn't even surprise me

 

$19k for a stock engine. That's kinda ridiculous.

 

All off-road Toyotas (Lexus GX, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, etc.) have the air inlet located in the fender, and it is for a good reason. It actually helps to protect the engine from ingesting water as long as you do not exceed maximum fording depth (which typically is around 32-34 inches).
If the air inlet is located in the front, above the radiator, it is much more prone to ingest water if you cross water too fast. I have seen Jeep Wranglers, F-150, and several other full size pickups hydrolocked in as little as 12 inches of water because the idiots driving tried to cross the water too fast. If the water reaches the front bumper and you try to cross too fast, the water WILL climb all the way up and get into a front-mounted air inlet. It's a recipe for disaster. On the other hand, the side mounted air inlet in the fender allows you to cross water fast without a risk of hydrolocking the engine AS LONG AS YOU RESPECT MAXIMUM FORDING DEPTH LIMIT. Toyota air inlet in the fender is a very well engineered concept, unfortunately most redneck idiot "mechanics" don't have enough gray cells to understand how it works.

 

You sounded reasonably intelligent until you wrote the last paragraph.

 

Exactly what I thought.

 

Thanks for the education. This redneck idiot never really thought about it and didn’t know the pros of the engineering.
I’m off to grab a PBR and watch the monster truck show.

 

You might not like redneck mechanics but i highly suggest redneck barn music, it’s very impressive if you ask me!

https://youtu.be/e4Ao-iNPPUc

 

But fake... They are sober!

 

The 5.7 is around 30k new from Toyota too. I had it quoted for my LC200.

 

My wife hydro locked a car in heavy rain. Turned the corner on a dark rainy night not seeing a flood and plowed right into it at normal speed. Had to get out of bed and come Nudge her out in my Dakota. Insurance bought her a reman engine enabling her to run the car a few more years before moving on.

But that was because it was considered an 'accident' related to inclement weather. Hypothetically if that youtuber actually had his engine fail right after a deliberate off road water crossing trying to one up his dude bro in the Silverado ZR2 or something I think saying it on youtube could jeopardize that coverage. So if, say, he locked his engine right after attempting a crossing but decided to say in a video it happened in the middle of a long road trip And he never pushed the truck's limits, that might be why.


Who knows how he's really phrasing that insurance claim but if he actually said he hydro locked the thing crossing water off road I don't think they'd pay. He'd have a 60k paperweight in his driveway he'd have to part out.

The whole thing is shady to me, before we even get into debates about where the best place would have been for the Gen3 intake. I think there's more here.

 

That engine failure was one of the first that happened to the new trucks. It was a bearing failure. Since then many more have had bearing failures. This was a scenario where Toyota had not really seen these engines bearings failing yet at a high volume, so they blamed it on water ingestion. There have since been many more bearing failures and I think it’s pretty clear that this was just another one, but seen early in the release so it was not acknowledged as such.

I think it was mentioned by another member, but crank bearings don’t typically fail from water ingestion. It’s usually bent connecting rods, pistons, valves etc. I’d say this guy got screwed out of what should have been a warranty repair like the other bearing failures for driving through some shallow water.

 

I agree with this. It’s weak on Toyotas part. To many making the assumption this guy went deep and he is lying. The Tundra is meant to go off-road.