2018 Tacoma TRD sport 102,000m blown engine

I got this truck used from a dealer back in 2020 with 14,000miles all the services done every 5k miles. I have babied this truck like no other and have all the receipts to prove it. All the oil changes meticulously done every 5k miles, and all the fluids checked and replaced as per the manual to the point that shops thought I was ridiculous. I very rarely tow an enclosed trailer but all well within the tow range and it has the tow package.

I drive very conservatively, I let the car warm up especially during winter to let the fluids cycle. I really tried to make this thing run for as long as I could since it’s so expensive to own a vehicle.

this week at 102,000miles driving at 55mph on a highway my truck made a horrible noise metal on metal horrible and stalled out. A high temp trans light came on and check engine. Had it towed to a dealer and walked miles to work that day.

dealer found metal shavings in filter and cap. Blown engine now I have to approve a full engine tear down to investigate what caused the issue. I have a stack of paperwork with all the maintenance records. I thought the warranty was for 100,000k miles that I have via Toyota auto care but dealer said I have until 110,000 which god bless. I need to double check my extended warranty but it’s in the truck glovebox.

Im just so disappointed in the craftsmanship on these vehicles, and I’m ranting because I really thought with all the money and work I’ve put into maintenance that this would last longer. Now I have to wait and see what the dealership finds to see if I don’t have to dish out 11k for an engine replacement.

 

That 2.7 that was in your 2007 is one of the most reliable engines ever, fyi.

 

Family outgrew single cab, + no real towing capacity that I needed to move

 

I know you mentioned Toyota Care, but at some point, you had independent shops change out all the fluids, or only the dealer? Even if keeping all paperworks, you never know, some shops may have BS you. Claimed they serviced, but really did not.

 

Another blown 3.5L

Sorry to hear, hope it gets fixed relatively stress free and low cost for you. These stories always make me a little nervous as the miles climb. I’m at 65K and there ain’t a lick of powertrain coverage left on mine.

Interested to see why it failed. If you got your oil changes and such done at a shop, hopefully they didn’t swindle you.

 

I used test strips to double check work. And it’s a friend’s shop who’s an old timer who really gives a damn. So I doubt it, but who knows. It’s hopium to think these models manufactured in mexico are any good I should have known better.

 

Thank you for the kind message I hope you’re trouble free for a long time and it’s just my bad luck.

 

Oh man that sucks! I'm at 42,000 on my 2021 and I hope to get a hell of a lot more out of the truck....
Hopefully you are covered under the Toyota auto care you have.
Good luck! Keep us posted on what happened.

 

It takes more than skipping a 5k oil change to catastrophically destroy an engine. It's unfortunate but sometimes parts fail. Empirically the 3.5 is still very reliable. OP keep us updated on what the techs find if they tear into it.

 

You don’t mention any vehicle history information before you bought the truck. Was the oil changed in the first 14K miles and how hard did the previous owner drive it?

I notice lots of Tacomas on the road and most are harder on their truck than I am. That being said, 102K miles is too soon for a blown Toyota engine.

 

I not blaming your old timer friend. But you use “test strips,” not sending in oil samples to Blackstone Labs for real oil analyze? Like previous post wrote, you know the history of the truck before you bought it? I should have asked, when it stalled out, you pulled dipstick to see if had engine oil?

Skipping oil changes would eventually cause the engine to burn bearing, spin bearing. Dealer suppose to drop engine oil pan, see anymore metal crap left iin bottom of pan.

 

I have a 2017 with 175k on it. All maintenance done, oil every 5k. This is my 3rd and likely last Tacoma. I always buy them new and drive them to 200k. I have $29,000 in receipts for repairs on this truck. 2 injectors have been replaced, the radiator has been replaced, 2 catalytic converters, 2 oxygen sensors, and at 140k, the engine had to be replaced. I still think it mostly bad luck and that Toyota is still probably better than Ford or Chevy, but $29,000 has left a hell of an impression on me. I can't imagine what a young person barely getting by and making car payments on it would do.

 

You got another 25,000 miles to go before reaching 200k, apparently no need another brand new Tacoma, like 4th Gen? Probraly all the bugs suppose to be gone? Why replace 2 catalytic convertors, unless ripped off?

 

I truly and honestly think I haven't paid $29 thousand dollars for actual repairs for every vehicle I have ever owned put together since 1978. The most expensive was $3 grand and was a 400M in a 1979 Bronco That dropped a valve due to a broken spring that popped the keeper off. And that included re-camming it to one better suited for the truck. That is the only engine I have ever had that let go and actually destroyed itself. Now more then 29 grand modding and building them up in the past, yeah...............

And I've owned some kind of pricey to repair rides in the past. Even if I had farmed out ALL the repairs that were done, I still doubt I would hit 29 grand.

I will say that it wasn't that expensive long ago for many repairs, the complete rebuild of my 1977 Dodge Ramcharger Torqueflite 727 was well under $500 and the shop did all the work on the removal and install also.

 

Who knows what the previous owner did, or didn't do to it.
It does royally suck, but with a million or more of these on the roads, I am not going to ignore the fact that one or two may POP along the way. It's great to hear it's under warranty still though! Get your new engine, continue to maintain, and enjoy your truck for another 100-200k miles!

 

OP, I wish you the best on getting the engine replaced under warranty and they don't try to weasel their way out of a legit engine failure.

 

29K is more than I have spent repairing every car I have ever owned combined also. That includes 2 911's which are very expensive to repair.

 

I don’t mean to pick, but didn’t you have a thread about low speed overheating before the engine blew on the highway? Something about your radiator fans not running, which makes no sense seeing as there is one fan and it’s mechanical? That was questioned in the thread but not clarified. Not that it matters, but your problem likely was preventable…unlike the other ones that randomly throw a rod or whatever else.

 

I didn't write it very well but I did include that previous owner did give me receipts from the dealer for oil changes every 5k before i bought it. I twas also inspected by dealership and done all the work before i bought it pre owned. Previous owner used it for daily driver nothing major.

 

Mexico does not build engines, tranny, axles.
Blame US of A workforce