Posted yesterday on YouTube. Lots of interesting details around design choices made for this platform.
Failed V35A tear down
- Thread starter tbisaacs
- Start date
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Here’s my concern. As someone who mechanically babies his cars (3 oil changes before 10k recommended service, I drive very conservatively most of the time and never accelerate hard before it has reached operating temps, I never do short drives where the vehicle doesn’t reach normal operating temps), I’m concerned that my engine is still affected by the main bearing problems, but I won’t see the problem until 80k miles.
I would be out of warranty and SOL.
Yes, some are seeing engines grenade at 36k miles like in this teardown, but the real story is that none of these engines seem likely to see 200k miles.
Without the promise of longevity, I wonder what the point of the LX is, compared to anything else.
I would be out of warranty and SOL.
Yes, some are seeing engines grenade at 36k miles like in this teardown, but the real story is that none of these engines seem likely to see 200k miles.
Without the promise of longevity, I wonder what the point of the LX is, compared to anything else.
200,000-Mile 2022 Toyota Tundra With Twin-Turbo V6 Shows It’s Possible
This Tundra averages more than 100,000 miles per year but, since it falls under Toyota's recall, it's going to get a brand-new engine free of charge.
www.thedrive.com
Yeah. It's not all doom and gloom.200,000-Mile 2022 Toyota Tundra With Twin-Turbo V6 Shows It’s Possible
This Tundra averages more than 100,000 miles per year but, since it falls under Toyota's recall, it's going to get a brand-new engine free of charge.
So you've been beating up LC since 2015 but mechanically baby them? Sounds like an abusive relationship.
Not sure this is complicated, but “beating up” in the context of my profile means actually wheeling them and putting them through difficult terrain.So you've been beating up LC since 2015 but mechanically baby them? Sounds like an abusive relationship.
Plenty of scrapes and body damage over the years.
Mechanically, I take great care of my vehicles.
I’m glad there’s an alleged 200k example with this motor, hopefully that’s not the anomaly.
I agree with I Do Car mech on his video that its not debris in manufacturing causing the problems, so I asked Chat GPT this, "Just on the LX600 V35A-FTS engine, what is causing the main bearing problems of that engine and what revisions the Toyota lexus have done to mitigate those problems specially starting July 2024?"
Here's what Chat GPT says:
Below is a clear, LX600-specific explanation of the root cause of the V35A-FTS main-bearing issues and the exact revisions Toyota/Lexus implemented, with emphasis on the major July 2024 update—the point at which Lexus made the biggest internal durability upgrade to this engine.
The LX600 has the same core issues seen across the V35A family, but the heavy curb weight, tall gearing, and high sustained load make the problems more pronounced in this model.
Here are the four actual causes of the main-bearing wear issue:
1. High Oil Temperatures During Heavy Load (Most Critical Issue)
The LX600—due to its mass and boost-heavy tuning—generates high oil temperatures during:
This is the number one root cause.
2. Center Oil Gallery Restriction (Design Weakness)
The No.2 and No.3 main bearings receive oil through a narrow vertical passage.
In the LX600, under high-temp + high-load conditions, this causes:
This causes:
4. Oil Aeration/Foaming (Under Rapid Load Changes)
The LX600’s variable-displacement oil pump sometimes overshoots flow at high RPM transitions.
This leads to:
Major milestone: July 2024 production update
This is when oiling, bearings, cooling, and crankshaft changes were rolled into LX600 production.
Below are the exact revisions and how they address the root causes above.
Introduced: July 2024 production for LX600
The center oil gallery feeding the #2/#3 mains was enlarged and straightened, improving:
The LX600 received updated mains with:
New crankshaft machining spec:
The LX600 was among the first to receive the upgraded cooler:
Deployed in waves, fully implemented by summer 2024.
Updates include:
● Oil Pump Logic
Improved crankcase ventilation reduces:
Cleaner oil = healthier main bearings.
Here are the July 2024 LX600-specific upgrades summarized clearly:
✔ Revised block casting with widened oil gallery
✔ Revised crankshaft (improved journal microfinish)
✔ New main-bearing set standardized across LX600
✔ Improved oil cooler fully implemented
✔ Updated oil pump targets in ECU firmware
✔ Updated torque management (low-RPM load reduction)
✔ Updated PCV valve for cleaner oil and lower aeration
These changes brought the LX600 to the most reliable form of the V35A-FTS produced to date.
Root Causes of Main Bearing Wear (LX600)
July 2024 is when the LX600 received the full suite of durability upgrades.
Here's what Chat GPT says:
Below is a clear, LX600-specific explanation of the root cause of the V35A-FTS main-bearing issues and the exact revisions Toyota/Lexus implemented, with emphasis on the major July 2024 update—the point at which Lexus made the biggest internal durability upgrade to this engine.
The LX600 has the same core issues seen across the V35A family, but the heavy curb weight, tall gearing, and high sustained load make the problems more pronounced in this model.
Here are the four actual causes of the main-bearing wear issue:
1. High Oil Temperatures During Heavy Load (Most Critical Issue)
The LX600—due to its mass and boost-heavy tuning—generates high oil temperatures during:
- long climbs
- high-speed desert driving
- towing
- deep-sand/off-road use
This is the number one root cause.
2. Center Oil Gallery Restriction (Design Weakness)
The No.2 and No.3 main bearings receive oil through a narrow vertical passage.
In the LX600, under high-temp + high-load conditions, this causes:
- pressure drop at the center mains
- reduced oil wedge formation
- localized bearing fatigue
- This flaw is specific to early blocks and is one of the major things Lexus fixed in July 2024.
3. High Low-RPM Torque Loads (Calibration Issue)
The earliest calibrations allowed full boost at very low RPM—especially in the LX600, which is tuned for strong low-end torque.This causes:
- high crankshaft bending loads
- high bearing unit-pressure
- repeated pounding of the main bearings when oil film is thinnest
4. Oil Aeration/Foaming (Under Rapid Load Changes)
The LX600’s variable-displacement oil pump sometimes overshoots flow at high RPM transitions.
This leads to:
- micro-bubbles in oil
- reduced load-carrying capacity
- increased bearing wear under high load
Major milestone: July 2024 production update
This is when oiling, bearings, cooling, and crankshaft changes were rolled into LX600 production.
Below are the exact revisions and how they address the root causes above.
Introduced: July 2024 production for LX600
The center oil gallery feeding the #2/#3 mains was enlarged and straightened, improving:
- oil volume
- pressure stability
- flow uniformity to center mains
The LX600 received updated mains with:
- stronger overlay
- improved fatigue resistance
- better heat stability
- more consistent crush height
New crankshaft machining spec:
- smoother journal microfinish
- improved fillet radius
- reduced taper/ovality variation
The LX600 was among the first to receive the upgraded cooler:
- larger plate stack
- better low-speed heat rejection
- improved stabilization during long climbs or sand driving
Deployed in waves, fully implemented by summer 2024.
Updates include:
● Oil Pump Logic
- reduced high-RPM overshoot → reduced aeration
- increased low-RPM pressure under load → better lubrication at mains
- reduced low-RPM torque spikes
- smoother boost onset
- better thermal/load prediction models
Improved crankcase ventilation reduces:
- oil dilution
- oil foaming
- vapor ingestion
Cleaner oil = healthier main bearings.
Here are the July 2024 LX600-specific upgrades summarized clearly:
✔ Revised block casting with widened oil gallery
✔ Revised crankshaft (improved journal microfinish)
✔ New main-bearing set standardized across LX600
✔ Improved oil cooler fully implemented
✔ Updated oil pump targets in ECU firmware
✔ Updated torque management (low-RPM load reduction)
✔ Updated PCV valve for cleaner oil and lower aeration
These changes brought the LX600 to the most reliable form of the V35A-FTS produced to date.
Root Causes of Main Bearing Wear (LX600)
- High oil temps → thinned oil film
- Restricted center mains oil gallery
- High torque at low RPM (early calibration)
- Oil aeration under fast load changes
Fixes Toyota/Lexus Implemented
- stronger bearing materials
- redesigned oil passages (July 2024)
- crankshaft microfinish update
- larger oil cooler
- revised PCV system
- pump logic + torque management ECU updates
July 2024 is when the LX600 received the full suite of durability upgrades.
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As usual, did GPT provide references for any of this?
- Thread starter
- #16
Replace “I asked chatGPT” with “I asked my confidentially incorrect friend”
programming to get the engine into the lowest gear as fast as possible, 0W oil, thin as eff bearings, 'required' tolerances that can't be met receptively in the real world from multiple manufacturers all over the world, a 10 speed trans that no one can fix cheaply, a few plastic bits on the front air dam that will be removed by the owner, on and on just for 1-2 mpgs in the real world.......only to then spend $billions, use up untold unrenewable resources to make new engines, recycle the old ones, manufacture and ship parts all over the world via ships, planes and trains spewing pollution.....
yea, green
yea, green
It probably did.
In the beginning there were a lot more hallucinations with AI. These things are getting better by the minute, and I would not be surprised if 90% of the information is correct and backed up by sources.