A Software Check, Not a Guaranteed Swap
If you bought a Toyota specifically because you wanted the automotive equivalent of a brick that reliably starts every morning, the last two years have probably been a rough stretch to watch unfold. The latest development in the saga surrounding the Tundra’s twin-turbo V6 has arrived, and it’s the kind of news that turns an enthusiast forum into a genuine uproar: Toyota may not actually replace every one of the roughly 270,000 recalled engines after all.
Instead, the automaker is rolling out free inspections and diagnostics for the Toyota and Lexus models equipped with the troubled V35A-FTS engine, and only some of those vehicles will actually receive a new engine. The rest get a clean bill of health, effectively a pat on the hood, and a suggestion to stop worrying about it.
What Actually Went Wrong Inside the Engine
The root cause here is machining debris left inside the engine during factory assembly, which can damage the number one main bearing and, given enough time and load, potentially cause the 3.4-liter twin-turbo engine to fail internally. Symptoms owners have reported include knocking noises, a rough idle, and in the worst-case scenario, complete engine failure.
The recall was issued via NHTSA. Under the current process, owners get called back to the dealer, where inspection software evaluates the number one main bearing and pulls available drive data to assess its condition. If the software can’t confirm the bearing is in good shape, the engine gets replaced. If it can confirm the bearing is fine, the owner keeps their existing engine. Everything under this process is free of charge, which is the bare minimum expected but worth noting regardless. Toyota says vehicles covered under the original May 2024 recall will still receive replacements if they haven’t already gotten one, and anyone who’s already had a swap done doesn’t need to return. A design change to the V35A-FTS reportedly went into production back in July 2024, meaning engines built after that point should not carry the same defect.
Why Owners Are Genuinely Angry
Here’s the emotional core of the backlash: someone buys from arguably the most trusted name in the auto industry, and ends up with an engine that might damage its own bearings from the inside. Tundra owners reportedly want Toyota to simply acknowledge there’s an inherent design flaw and replace every affected engine outright, rather than running a software check and treating a theoretical failure as resolved.
To date, Toyota hasn’t publicly acknowledged a design flaw, and the automaker is still building the V35A-FTS at its factories, which have been producing this engine since the 2022 Tundra model year. Some owners who’ve experienced zero problems are understandably tired of the ongoing controversy. Others view the inspection-only approach as Toyota quietly limiting the financial cost of a much larger recall. Either way, the damage to owner trust here is real, and it’s not something diagnostic software alone is going to repair.