V35A-FTS bearing issue? (1 Viewer)

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So is anyone else starting to get a little spooked about the V35A-FTS bearing failures?



The fact that it is turbocharged doesn't bother me. But the bearing failures over the course of several years of production is starting to worry me.
 
First, I think he does a great job on all of his videos. Complete, knowledgeable and he has real data to back it up.

Personally, I have a modest bit of apprehension about the bearing. The little bit of info out there and this video makes me hope it is something that shows up early in life. Makes me glad for the 6 year/70K warranty. If it goes bad it appears it is audibly apparent in the video clip. I’m confident the Lexus techs can R&R the motor and get it back together in the truck.

Lexus Warranty  Lexus.com.jpeg.png
 
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I'm thinking that early oil changes (like at 500 and 1,000 miles) might be warranted.
 
I got my suspicion the bearings are prone to failure.... with that new "ladder frame" design and the additional stress going from 8 to 6 cylinders.

What if there is a tolerance issue with such a large piece covering multiple bearings, or the added stress from 8 cylinders to 6 and twin turbos causes issues to exacerbate. Makes me hesitant to move from V8 to V6.

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I got my suspicion the bearings are prone to failure.... with that new "ladder frame" design and the additional stress going from 8 to 6 cylinders.

What if there is a tolerance issue with such a large piece covering multiple bearings, or the added stress from 8 cylinders to 6 and twin turbos causes issues to exacerbate. Makes me hesitant to move from V8 to V6.

View attachment 3639967
Keep all 3!
 
It freaks me out, and I don't think Toyota really has a handle on the causes (or a solution) yet, Or, they would have announced it and assured everyone that things are under control. Repair costs I'm seeing have ranged from $29-32K. It's enough of a problem and long-term ownership risk to me that I would personally not buy one of these vehicles until Toyota has definitively announced a problem and a solution, and there are enough high-mileage VA35Fs on the road to prove that it's not a fatal flaw of the engine where they'll eat main bearings after the warranty period. Because if this is a fatal design flaw, these rigs run the risk of becoming $80K paperweights (in which case, why not just buy a Bronco Raptor?).
 
In general, I'm not a fan of extended warranties and in the past would never buy one on a Toyota. However, you could hedge with a 7 year / 125k plan. I've it's going to throw an main, I would imagine that would happen before that time. Probably a $2,500 - $3,000 charge.
 
Extended warranty may help, but would not address lower future resale value if there is indeed a fatal flaw with the VA35F.
 
While I agree there is cause for concern, my belief is that Toyota will address the problem just as they did with the Tacoma frame rust through. Not because they had to but because their reputation was at stake and it was the right thing to remedy a flaw.

At this point we don't know the root cause. If from supplier manufacturing, then it's a binary issue; either the truck will have early death or it's good for 500k. IMO this would be best case as there will be a line at which point it's fixed. If from a flaw in oil circulation then that's a different mode and one that is harder to address. If you look at some threads (such as this one) it looks like it's a 2022 thing, though this could be a mileage correlation. And while Tinkerer's video has the 550 as the cover model, are there any known 550's with an engine out? I know the tech had a few 600's, but those could be low milers just now getting into the trouble range.

Would be a tough call to make if I were buying one right now. I'd probably still get the 550, though the 250 would be a consideration. It's just hard spending equal $$ for a 4-cyl Toyota. We need a new family hauler so this year's spend is a Yukon XL Denali, so I'll side on the sidelines with the 200 for a few more years.

This is a great example in leadership; either you confront the story and tell it your way or others will invent a story to tell. Either way the story is being told. While it may not be a fun story to tell, it's way better than what others will make up.
 
Toyota has done similar things with other engines in the past

Recall the original V8 they had in the first couple years of the Tundra?

So called "Short Skirted Pistons" and "Piston slap" not to mention the cracking exhaust manifolds and other issues they had.

If you were not left stranded with a dead vehicle they wouldnt do anything to remediate unless you hounded them.

This is where blackstone oil analysis comes into play....if the engine is eating itself due to parts incompatibility issues it will show up on a report that the dealer (or court of law) cant dismiss

These oil analysis reports can help you catch failures early before it becomes super inconvenient.
 
Since not all the V35As are grenading, and actually an extremely few number have — my suspicion is that if the engine is going to go, it’s going to happen when it’s an adolescent.
The term “infant mortality” is used in the tech industry to describe early failures of hardware.
Mechanical Hard drives are the classic example. If it’s going to die, it almost always dies young. Once they survive childhood, their lifespan extends to the designed capacity.

I know the new Toyota engine isn’t a hard drive, but all mechanical devices seem to follow a certain trend of the universe
 
Our correspondents from GCC have reported the same problems with this engine in the 300 series. And one of them was happy to have the 1GR in his 300 instead. The 1GR looks like a good alternative until these issues are resolved.
 
The term “infant mortality” is used in the tech industry to describe early failures of hardware.
Mechanical Hard drives are the classic example. If it’s going to die, it almost always dies young. Once they survive childhood, their lifespan extends to the designed capacity.
Same thing with aircraft. Many people search for an extremely low time engine in their purchase. A well maintained mid-life engine is much more likely to make it past TBO.

This is where blackstone oil analysis comes into play....if the engine is eating itself due to parts incompatibility issues it will show up on a report that the dealer (or court of law) cant dismiss

These oil analysis reports can help you catch failures early before it becomes super inconvenient.
I do use Blackstone and while they're a good indicator of trends, we don't have any data to show they could predict V35A sudden death. Do they start shedding iron in the miles before they go? Or is it a sudden even where it's healthy right up to the event that causes them to spin? We also don't know if this is even an engine thing. Could it be as simple as excess tolerance in a turbo journal that allows pressure bleed down?
 
I do agree with an earlier poster who pointed out the likely extreme tolerances required for the one-piece lower engine girdle/main caps. That seems drastically harder to properly machine and assemble correctly than four individual six-bolt main caps. Is there even a way to adjust main clearance if one of the mains is 0.001" tighter than the others? Do they check each individual main clearance as part of assembly before giving the motor the A-OK?

Perhaps Toyota over-engineered the engine beyond their manufacturing and QA/QC ability. As an engineer myself, sometimes we can do that. Or, it's beyond the ability for the workers to get it right on Fridays before the 4PM whistle blows. Regardless, the design seems overkill considering lots of other deep-skirt blocks (i.e., LS and apparently the 3UR as well) have simpler six-bolt main caps and can reliably handle large amounts of boost.

Either way, I'd be more comfortable if they came out and said what the problem was rather than leaving us all guessing.
 
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Same thing with aircraft. Many people search for an extremely low time engine in their purchase. A well maintained mid-life engine is much more likely to make it past TBO.


I do use Blackstone and while they're a good indicator of trends, we don't have any data to show they could predict V35A sudden death. Do they start shedding iron in the miles before they go? Or is it a sudden even where it's healthy right up to the event that causes them to spin? We also don't know if this is even an engine thing. Could it be as simple as excess tolerance in a turbo journal that allows pressure bleed down?

bearings in engines dont generally spontaneously combust and grenade without telltale signs and wear signs that would show up in oil analysis for an OCI

this is why people use oil analysis testing


no chance in hell I'd buy a 70k vehicle from a vendor that KNOWS there's an intermittent issue with engine thats catastrophic and has known for a number of years and still not solved the problem.
 
no chance in hell I'd buy a 70k vehicle from a vendor that KNOWS there's an intermittent issue with engine thats catastrophic and has known for a number of years and still not solved the problem.

Do we know that it hasn't been solved? Has anyone's GX550 blown up?

It does seem like a trending topic of catastrophizing speculation fueled by Youtubers making the same videos, saying the same things, some even referencing each other's videos. Chasing views, perhaps?

Like others have mentioned, I'd be interested in a statement from Toyota, but perhaps this issue isn't as widespread as social media is leading you to believe?
 
Do we know that it hasn't been solved? Has anyone's GX550 blown up?

It does seem like a trending topic of catastrophizing speculation fueled by Youtubers making the same videos, saying the same things, some even referencing each other's videos. Chasing views, perhaps?

Like others have mentioned, I'd be interested in a statement from Toyota, but perhaps this issue isn't as widespread as social media is leading you to believe?

My local dealership says the issue continues

Its not just the epic fail being discussed here, the new tundra has a PILE of TSB's

Does it have more TSB's/Issues that past new release/re-arch vehicles? It seems like it to me but.....

Toyota isnt going to outright say anything/make an announcement based on how they have dealt with past issues.

This isnt a knock on Toyota because they choose to deal with it one issue at a time.....if it were one of the big three they would generally speaking wait until the feds forced their hand for refusing to address complaints/epic fails through a recall
 
As with any controversy, it's always good to change perspectives. What would we be saying if Broncos had the same kind of problem? Or what did we say when they were dropping valves in the early-production 2.7 Ecoboost (which I think as caused by an issue with a single supplier)? How many of us are laughing at the various Cybertruck fails? Chances are most of us made fun of those other vehicles as "lesser" and "not Toyota build quality" and "that's why I don't buy domestic vehicles". I sure did.

What makes this one unique is the sheer scale of the replacement. Just a shortblock - not a long block - and vehicles being off the road for a month with what seems to be dozens of hours for replacement labor. I don't think any of us would be happy at all if that happened to a new $60K Tundra or $100K LX600.

We own two Toyotas and will probably own more in the future. We put up with the lackluster ability to customize them, long wait times, sometimes behind-the-curve performance, and relatively high cost (over most other manufacturers) for the reliability and overall build quality. If the VA35F doesn't prove to be reliable (the jury is still out and will be for some time), there really isn't a good reason to buy one of these rigs.

Hopefully it's just a minor/isolated issue and has already been corrected.
 
You could always get a used GX 460. It's not like those SUVs have issues with leaking transfer cases, center valley leaks, or transmissions failing ;)
 

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