Toyota Tundra Owners

Joined
Sep 22, 2021
Messages
527
Location
Western NC
Man I guess I'm the outcast on the older tundra mine was an 09' over all the truck was okay at best. Crappy plastic interior that felt very outdated compared to my 08 f250 it replaced. The transmission also sucked it didn't have enough gears and was constantly searching back and forth pulling anything.
 

philos

Super Southern Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Messages
1,791
Location
Behind you
I bought my 2005 1st gen Tundra new in September of 2005. 355K miles later and the only non routine maintenance in over 19 years is one torque converter and one radiator.

I thought I had a rarity but they are plenty of folks with similar stories with Tundras. I am admittedly biased but I believe it is the best truck out there when reliability is a factor. They are far from perfect but reliability to me matters more than frivolous bells and whistles.

It seems the newer Tundras may not be as bullet proof as the older ones but I would drive mine anywhere today with no qualms. I also would have zero problem buying one with 150K +mileage as long as I could have it checked out thoroughly
 

big44a4

WKR
Joined
Jul 4, 2017
Messages
649
Had great luck with (3) 5.7 tundras from 16-2020 models. Last one only traded at 205k miles due to work policy. That one changed brakes once and transmission fluid once for what was beyond oil changes. No issues great trucks.
 

StuckInTheEast

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 3, 2022
Messages
154
Man I guess I'm the outcast on the older tundra mine was an 09' over all the truck was okay at best. Crappy plastic interior that felt very outdated compared to my 08 f250 it replaced. The transmission also sucked it didn't have enough gears and was constantly searching back and forth pulling anything.
Its got enough gears, the shift strategy programming is not great when loaded trying to maintain speed on highway with cruise on they like to drop 2 gears instead of one. Seems like it's trying too hard to maintain exact speed at all times. Not sure why they never dialed that in. the 1st gen tundras and sequoia were even worse with the lack of torque from the 4.7l.
Good aftermarket tuning helps with that on 5.7l trucks.
They are plain Jane inside, but far from cheaply constructed in any way inside or out.
Thats all personal preference. A bunch of people complain about the 'dated' interiors and lack of big screens and techy crap...most of which the majority never really use much, it just looks fancy.
I miss the days of simple instrumentation. I could give a fat frogs ass about a big screen in my dash that controls everything and costs untold thousands to replace when it shits the bed out of warranty or gets damaged in one of many ways I've seen...and then all my fancy options don't work...including climate control.
I'll take knobs and buttons and manual single zone temp control every time...heated seats are nice with leather, heated steering wheel, yeah that's nice, Bluetooth connectivity for music from my phone gotta have that these days, i do aporeciate a back up camera when hooking a trailer, but what else you really need?
3D overhead back up cameras and self parking features? Just learn how to drive with mirrors like we have for over 100 years😜🤣.
I get why they revamped the interiors to try to stay relevant with the competition. I just think they screwed the pooch on the 22+ tundras. I've driven a few at this point and they do nothing for me in anyway....but im an old simpleton I guess. I just want stuff to work like it's supposed to for as long as possible as long as i do my part.
 
Joined
Jul 20, 2019
Messages
2,780
There’s a reason they have a cult following. I’m on my 2nd and getting ready to trade it in for another one. They’re bullet proof. The only downside is the small fuel tank and crappy MPG. I wish they had a 35 gallon tank.
Mine has a 38 gal tank I think…
 
Joined
Sep 22, 2021
Messages
527
Location
Western NC
Its got enough gears, the shift strategy programming is not great when loaded trying to maintain speed on highway with cruise on they like to drop 2 gears instead of one. Seems like it's trying too hard to maintain exact speed at all times. Not sure why they never dialed that in. the 1st gen tundras and sequoia were even worse with the lack of torque from the 4.7l.
Good aftermarket tuning helps with that on 5.7l trucks.
They are plain Jane inside, but far from cheaply constructed in any way inside or out.
Thats all personal preference. A bunch of people complain about the 'dated' interiors and lack of big screens and techy crap...most of which the majority never really use much, it just looks fancy.
I miss the days of simple instrumentation. I could give a fat frogs ass about a big screen in my dash that controls everything and costs untold thousands to replace when it shits the bed out of warranty or gets damaged in one of many ways I've seen...and then all my fancy options don't work...including climate control.
I'll take knobs and buttons and manual single zone temp control every time...heated seats are nice with leather, heated steering wheel, yeah that's nice, Bluetooth connectivity for music from my phone gotta have that these days, i do aporeciate a back up camera when hooking a trailer, but what else you really need?
3D overhead back up cameras and self parking features? Just learn how to drive with mirrors like we have for over 100 years😜🤣.
I get why they revamped the interiors to try to stay relevant with the competition. I just think they screwed the pooch on the 22+ tundras. I've driven a few at this point and they do nothing for me in anyway....but im an old simpleton I guess. I just want stuff to work like it's supposed to for as long as possible as long as i do my part.
I knew I wasn't getting a "fancy" truck. But the tranmission sucked. I don't live out west in the big mountains but I'm in the Appalachians any place I wanna go to is a twisty narrow road. When I'd be going up the mountain and it drop two gears and red line then jump up and bog down so bad I'd loose 20mph I was done. If it would have had a switch selector like most auto trucks now I think it wouldn't have been an issue
 

Joe7296

FNG
Joined
Feb 12, 2025
Messages
11
My dad had a 10’ tundra and sold it at 220k. It was tighter, quieter, and way nicer than my 06 Silverado with 80k. I’ve had several chevs.. good value and reliable but not quite in the same class if you ask me.
 

peaceman

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 29, 2015
Messages
185
Location
The Valley, Alaska
The '07s and up had a tow/haul mode and manual gear selection. Mine doesn't hunt like that when loaded and i use the manual feature. When loaded, it was meant to drive in 4th gear and not 5th or 6th.
 

Ucsdryder

WKR
Joined
Jan 24, 2015
Messages
7,000
So does my ‘21, But I have heard some is not really useable? Never run mine dry to test it :)
What do you mean? As in you’ll run out of gas before it actually runs out of gas? I’d be really tempted to find out, just carry a gas can and see what happens!
 

G_Tacoma

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Apr 2, 2020
Messages
244
Location
Northern Michigan
I currently have 346,000 on my 06 Silverado. Needed a new transmission at 157,000 but I’ve had no problems since. I keep up on basic maintenance, but there’s plenty of gmt800’s with over 300,000 miles
 

7mm-08

WKR
Joined
Oct 31, 2016
Messages
935
Location
Idaho
I searched long and hard to find an accident-free, one-owner 2002 Tundra access cab, limited, 4 X 4 with a TRD package and 70,000 miles on the odometer in 2022. I paid $16,000 for the vehicle, which I believe was a premium price at the time. Candidly, I had to do a nationwide search for more than nine months to find one that was not from the rust belt and had the criteria for which I was searching. If I had to do it all over again, I'd have bought a newer second generation Tundra, but I'm still very happy with that purchase. It'll likely be running when I leave this earth. The 5.7 liter Tundras are a dependable and thirsty beast that will serve you for many years (if you decide to go that direction). I have a friend with 450K on his first generation Tundra. Careful, however, if you go this direction because those interference engines have a timing belt that needs to be monitored and changed every 90,000 miles or 15 years.
 

huntnful

WKR
Joined
Oct 10, 2020
Messages
2,642
Man I guess I'm the outcast on the older tundra mine was an 09' over all the truck was okay at best. Crappy plastic interior that felt very outdated compared to my 08 f250 it replaced. The transmission also sucked it didn't have enough gears and was constantly searching back and forth pulling anything.
I'm guessing you were using cruising control? They freaking SUCK using cruise control towing a trailer. Definitely right about the excessive gear changing. Messed up programming for sure.
 

Bolt

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 5, 2017
Messages
145
Location
NC
I'm on my second tundra. The first got to 150k miles and someone ran in to the back of me and totalled it.
My second one is a 2015, it's been a great truck. Currently 160k miles. I have performed all the required maintenance and recently I had to replace the seals in the rear end which wasn't cheap. Other than that no issues whatsoever. I would get another one if they didn't change the engine, I hear bad things about the turbos and general issues on the newer models, although no first hand experience.
I'm switching to Ram after this tundra as the daily driver. I have a TRX and it is a solid truck although it will never be my daily driver.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
 

grizz19

WKR
Joined
Dec 13, 2018
Messages
331
Location
California
I had a Chevy that my wife totaled and Replaced it with a 2nd gen tundra. I will never go back. I love it. Got a steal on mine though. 118k miles and paid 18. Just have to constantly be looking and jump on one when the price is right. Chances are it would be a little over your stated budget though.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
5,556
Location
oregon coast
And it’s still a Chevy. The last one I drove for work was a disaster.
A couple years ago I picked up a Chevy work truck, got it out of there and on the freeway and had to take the first exit because it was not good, really aggressive shudder

Pulled over (my wife was behind me in her tundra so i wasn’t going to be stranded) and made a couple calls and the guy above me asked if I thought I could get it 2hrs home, I told him I don’t mind trying but I don’t know, he said if it breaks down leave it and call him

Anytime I didn’t have power to the truck it would start violently shuddering, but I figured out if I gave it power, it would quit, so I realized I had to just drive it like I stole it and made it to town, and dropped it off at the mechanic the next morning… 2 weeks and 3500$ later and it was drivable again and I eventually got comfortable with all of the bugs that thing had… about half way through that year, my Chevy started doing the same thing, then it started systematically falling apart, and I had a decision to make… do I take it in and get everything fixed? I loved that little pickup, but I think it would have cost a lot to get the bugs worked out (10k,maybe more) and it was still going to be a Chevy. That particular model pickup is my favorite vehicle Made today, but I can’t trust them

Neither of those pickups had 120k on them, way too big of problems for the amount of miles. If I was a little more wealthy I’d probably go back to the Colorado zr2 and just trade them in for a new one every other year, but Chevy will never be a long term option for me again.

My wife’s tundra with more miles (that we bought new) has not cost a penny more than normal maintenance (breaks, tires, oil changes)

I traded my Chevy in for a taco, and it’s not near as fun to drive as my zr2’s , i miss having them, but reliability is the biggest feature I need a pickup to have.

We traded my first Colorado zr2 in for the tundra (needed a half ton) and then I talked my wife into driving the tundra and I got my second zr2. I have drove 4 Chevy pickups, and been around a lot more, and they have all been problematic, usually something big by 120k

I have a friend who drives Chevy pickups and hasn’t had any big issues, but he traded them in every other year… until I can justify that, I’m sticking with Toyota… I have had a pile of them in all different conditions, and the only major issue I’ve had was with a 4Runner that had a 22re that I bought with 225k, and drove it for 2 years without changing oil or any maintenance (would add oil when the oil pressure light came on) and beat that thing to death.

It was so gutless that I would pretty much red line it trying to pass people on every hill… it lived longer than it should have with how I treated it. (I’m way better with maintenance now days obviously)

I have had bad luck with Chevy, I watched my first one burn down about 6 months after getting it, and my luck didn’t get better after that. I would love to see them with Toyota reliability, but for now…….
 

WRO

WKR
Joined
Nov 6, 2013
Messages
3,634
Location
Idaho
I'm switching to Ram after this tundra as the daily driver. I have a TRX and it is a solid truck although it will never be my daily driver.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

We have a pile of 1500 rams of various trim levels and Chevy 1500s.

I’d stay far away. Out of 8 we have at my branch, 4 have had new transmissions in the first 50k. 2 dodges and 2 chevys, none have been problem free.


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