Toyota built its reputation around reasonably priced reliable vehicles. Although reliability fell in recent years due to increased complexity and too much plastic where there should be metal, everyone and their dog knows that Toyota still is king of the hill.
Victor Sheppard is the perfect case in point. Back in 2016, the folks at Toyota USA made him a pretty sweet offer: his 2007 model year Tundra work truck – which clocked 1,020,130 miles in nine years on the original 4.7-liter V8 engine – in exchange for a brand-new 2016 model.
Sheppard still uses the 2016 model as his personal truck, yet right before the trade, Sheppard bought a 2014 model as his next work truck. According to Tim Esterdahl of Pickup Truck + SUV Talk, the 2014 model racked up a little over 900,000 miles (1,448,410 kilometers) to date.
The pickup truck in question is a Tundra SR5 Double Cab with the 5.7-liter V8 engine, and thus far, said workhorse required a new alternator and transmission. The original tranny gave up at 780,000 miles, yet Sheppard put 80,000 more miles on his SR5 Double Cab before replacing the damn thing.
Tim, who talked with Sheppard on the phone about his soon-to-be second million-mile Tundra, further understands that the front seat recline motor gave up the ghost at 800,000 miles. Considering that Sheppard is a big-framed guy, that's only natural.
Photo: pickuptrucktalk.com
Another reason why the recline motor failed is Sheppard's job. Working as a hotshot driver, he often reclines the driver's seat and sleeps in his Tundra rather than wasting time driving back home. More often than not, he's too far away from home to drive back in one stint for a better sleep environment.
Still on the original engine, the 2014 model year Tundra SR5 Double Cab was meticulously serviced from day one. Including the oil filter, the V8-powered Tundra calls for 7.5 quarts of 0W-20 fully synthetic oil. Toyota recommends oil change intervals of 10,000 miles or 12 months, which is perfectly fine if you're doing mostly highway driving. For severe duty, make that every 5,000 miles or 6 months.
Unfortunately, the naturally aspirated V8 of the second-gen Tundra is out of production. Its final applications were the 2022 model year Sequoia, 2021 model year Tundra, 2021 Land Cruiser 200 series, and the technically similar Lexus LX 570.
The indirect successor of the supremely reliable 3UR-FE is the V35A-series V6, a twin-turbo lump that develops up to 389 horsepower and 479 pound-feet (650 Nm) in the 2022-and-newer Tundra. The V35A-FTS is also used by the Land Cruiser 300 series, Sequoia, Lexus LX 600, LS 500, and the GX 550 sport utility vehicle. Despite its nomenclature, this engine's actual displacement is 3,445 cubic centimeters, meaning 3.4 liters rather than 3.5 liters.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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