Considering canceling my reservation(s)

[Spork18]

Given the massive recall for V35A-FTS equipped trucks/SUVs I'm thinking twice about buying the GX, which has the same engine (with smaller turbos I believe). The notice only mentions 2022-2023 gasoline-only engines but I think that's likely because there's just far fewer 2024s and hybrids on the road to potentially have the same failure, which provides Toyota the opportunity to slow-walk an eventual recall of all V35A-FTS equipped trucks/SUVs. Also, as far as I can tell all V35A-FTS engines are produced at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, so the fact that the GX is assembled in Japan doesn't give me much confidence. This is a spreadsheet maintained by the tundras.com forum showing engine failures in 2024 Hybrid Tundras...

Change my mind! (please.)

 

[Spork18]

I should mention I already have a 2024 Tundra Platinum Hybrid (that a business actually depends on), so worrying about two vehicles possibly detonating isn't something I really want to do.

 

[1 due]

Given the massive recall for V35A-FTS equipped trucks/SUVs I'm thinking twice about buying the GX, which has the same engine (with smaller turbos I believe). The notice only mentions 2022-2023 gasoline-only engines but I think that's likely because there's just far fewer 2024s and hybrids on the road to potentially have the same failure, which provides Toyota the opportunity to slow-walk an eventual recall of all V35A-FTS equipped trucks/SUVs. Also, as far as I can tell all V35A-FTS engines are produced at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, so the fact that the GX is assembled in Japan doesn't give me much confidence. This is a spreadsheet maintained by the tundras.com forum showing engine failures in 2024 Hybrid Tundras...

Change my mind! (please.)

It’s going to be hard to convince you being Toyota/Lexus has been quiet sometimes you have a bit of faith I know that’s not to convincing but that’s all I got good luck in your decision

 

[Gunner]

I hear your pain. I want to buy one too but I am getting the jitters and might just wait until 2025 or 2026. (Spork18, I thought the Japanese Toyota Engines for the GX550 are made by Yamaha. (In Japan) Yamaha makes all of the Lexus engines for quite some time.) I could be wrong....

 

[Spork18]

I hear your pain. I want to buy one too but I am getting the jitters and might just wait until 2025 or 2026. (Spork18, I thought the Japanese Toyota Engines for the GX550 are made by Yamaha. (In Japan) Yamaha makes all of the Lexus engines for quite some time.) I could be wrong....

I just started researching this ~2 days ago, but what you just said is the first I've heard about Yamaha being involved with the GX 550 build process.

 

[DKisler]

I hear your pain. I want to buy one too but I am getting the jitters and might just wait until 2025 or 2026. (Spork18, I thought the Japanese Toyota Engines for the GX550 are made by Yamaha. (In Japan) Yamaha makes all of the Lexus engines for quite some time.) I could be wrong....

I don't think that's right as Lexus makes the engine in Japan and the US. I watch a YouTube video with the guy touring the Lexus plant discussing it being make with the same equipment in Japan and US and that is why the defect is happening on engines make in the US Toyota plant as well as the Japan plant.

 

[Ben O]

My two cents… it appears from the spreadsheet that the issues happened while still under warranty (thank goodness). For a minute… take away the concern regarding the engine and the new GX (mine is the Premium +) is a pleasure to drive and a modern luxury body on frame SUV. The 10 speed direct shift transmission performs flawlessly the steering is precise. Too late for me since I own it so I changed the oil at 1200 miles after reading about the engine debris. I do not remember having a recall on any of my 5 previous GX’s so this is all a surprise to me.
Now including the engine issues (which may or may not affect this model) in addition to the current delays it may be best to wait for a 2025 model. We all know the first year of a new model may have issues. I know my wife’s new model 2024 X5 50e PHEV had two issues with the battery (BMW was great about resolving the problem).
I am sure once the engine issues are cleared up you will enjoying driving the new GX as much as I do!

 

[Spork18]

My two sense… it appears from the spreadsheet that the issues happened while still under warranty (thank goodness). For a minute… take away the concern regarding the engine and the new GX (mine is the Premium +) is a pleasure to drive and a modern luxury body on frame SUV. The 10 speed direct shift transmission performs flawlessly the steering is precise. Too late for me since I own it so I changed the oil at 1200 miles after reading about the engine debris. I do not remember having a recall on any of my 5 previous GX’s so this is all a surprise to me.
Now including the engine issues (which may or may not effect this model) in addition to the current delays it may be best to wait for a 2025 model. We all know the first year of a new model may have issues. I know my wife’s new model 2024 X5 50e PHEV had two issues with the battery (BMW was great about resolving the problem).
I am sure once the engine issues are cleared up you will enjoying driving the new GX as much as I do!

I think if the GX 550 was the only V35A-FTS equipped vehicle I was to eventually own I wouldn't really be concerned. But, purchasing two lotto-tickets for the prize of having to deal with a service center, for a long period of time, just seems insane to me.

 

[NoriGreen]

I’m wondering the same thing.

I placed a deposit in June 2023. My sales manager, clueless as he is, said we may get it as soon as December ‘23. Well, now a year later we do have an allocation for an OT+ and it just got on the 56 day hold. That puts us now in August for an ETA.

So now I’m wondering to just play it safe and wait it out until either the 2025 model year comes out without requiring a QC hold or Toyota/Lexus can be transparent and update us on if the engine issue has been fixed.

 

[CMSFRAT]

I ordered my GX OT in December. I presently have a 2007 Hummer H2 (original owner) with over 265K miles on it. It is in pristine condition and my mechanics believe it it is indestructible and will last another 250K miles. I have already test drove both the GX Luxury and OT versions. My Hummer which is actually bigger, rides smother than both these versions, since it has the air suspension system, which I believe is a big miss on the OTs. I still believe the GX will be a very close replacement vehicle at some point, but I have decided to cancel my order until the 2026 models come out. For $85K+, there are just do many present issues with this new design and engine. There will not be a 2025 GX model, since it was released in April, so the the next GX model will not be until 2026.
I still have faith in Lexus, and did decide to get my wife's vehicle first. I am replacing her 2009 Mercedes ML350 with only 115K miles, and picking up a 2024 RX 350 Luxury model that just arrived at the dealer. It was a perfect color and match for what she wanted.

 

[jclaffee]

I hear your pain. I want to buy one too but I am getting the jitters and might just wait until 2025 or 2026. (Spork18, I thought the Japanese Toyota Engines for the GX550 are made by Yamaha. (In Japan) Yamaha makes all of the Lexus engines for quite some time.) I could be wrong....

No offense, but I'm really doubtful that Yamaha makes the GX engines.

As far as the recall notice being for gas-only engines is concerned, my worry is that because it's a safety recall, the hybrids may just be excluded because you could still drive it to a safe place on the battery when the ICE pukes its main bearing. But that's just my speculation. There are definitely cases of V35A hybrids failing.

I'm on 3 dealers' wait lists but I'm definitely going to wait at least until 2025 models are readily available and see how things look then.

 

[jclaffee]

... There will not be a 2025 GX model, since it was released in April, so the the next GX model will not be until 2026.
...

Huh, are you sure about this? You think a GX manufactured in early 2025 will be titled as a 2024 model??

 

[Critmonkey]

By the time I get my allocation it’s gunna end up being a MY25 model lol!

 

[blakebearden78]

d might just wait until 2025 or 2026. (Spork18, I thought the Japanese Toyota Engines for the GX550 are made by Yamaha. (In Japan) Yamaha makes all of the Lexus engines for quite some time.) I could be wrong....

 

[blakebearden78]

I have been trying to better understand the manufacturing debris issue with the V35A-FTS for a while now and I was struggling to understand why the problem occurred both in Alabama as well as in Tahara, Japan. Many speculated that this issue might be moreso related to the design of the main bearing caps (now a one-piece ladder design) vs what we heard from Toyota/Lexus as debris from manufacturing working its way into the main bearings a resulting in engine failure. For what its worth, my brother in law talked with a Lexus tech in the SoCal area who indicated that the issue was related to the tooling process used in engine manufacturing where the switch the tooling after a specified number of engines due to tool wear. Apparently Lexus/Toyota had changed their process to use tooling for a longer period which had resulted in the debris. The process has since been changed and we shouldn't see a continuation of the problem. Take that for what its worth, I honestly hope this is the case and we're not looking at issues with the design of the engine which would be a much more extensive problem to address. We should all know more in July.

 

[R!ck]

Given the massive recall for V35A-FTS equipped trucks/SUVs I'm thinking twice about buying the GX, which has the same engine (with smaller turbos I believe). The notice only mentions 2022-2023 gasoline-only engines but I think that's likely because there's just far fewer 2024s and hybrids on the road to potentially have the same failure, which provides Toyota the opportunity to slow-walk an eventual recall of all V35A-FTS equipped trucks/SUVs. Also, as far as I can tell all V35A-FTS engines are produced at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, so the fact that the GX is assembled in Japan doesn't give me much confidence. This is a spreadsheet maintained by the tundras.com forum showing engine failures in 2024 Hybrid Tundras...

Change my mind! (please.)

Sorry, I can't change your mind. I too took my name off of a waiting list. And there has been at least one 2024 Tundra with 7000 miles that has a blown engine, I expect we'll hear more. I'm 70 years old and plan on some traveling, I wanted to probably purchase my last new vehicle, wanted something reliable and planned on the GX. Dissapointed to say the least.. Watching tons of videos and reading many articles on Toyota and Lexus especially on the GX I had to take my name off the list.. First and formost the engine issues (a big deal to me), the hood wobble going down the highway, the 17 gallon fuel tank on a vehicle that estimated to get about 20 mpg is crazy, that's a fill up (about) every 300 miles under favorable conditions, that's EVish. I looked at a GX sitting on my dealers lot, the interior looks cheapish (at least for a Lexus), they had that hard plastic that's used on the doors for a kick plate is everywhere, not just on the bottom of the door not much soft touch. Storage in the cab is lacking, and the handling has been described as boaty and floaty on the NON overtrail models, believed to be because the KDSS suspension only comes on the overtrail and not avaliable on the other trims. There are many other little issues that can be overlooked but there just seems to be too many at this time, so for me I'm waiting for this fall to see whats going on at that time otherwise maybe a Infinite QX, not exactly the style I was looking for but they apperar to be reliable, they have a proven (naturally asperiated) V6 engine that's been around for a long time. ALSO those V35A-FTS engines are made in Alabama AND in Japan and the issue has come from both locations so I'm hesitant on it being a cleaning issue but hopefully it is that easy, we'll see. The design on the GX is beautiful and the reliability of Toyota and Lexus seem to be at an impass, very disappointed. Best of luck to you on your decision..

 

[R!ck]

I have been trying to better understand the manufacturing debris issue with the V35A-FTS for a while now and I was struggling to understand why the problem occurred both in Alabama as well as in Tahara, Japan. Many speculated that this issue might be moreso related to the design of the main bearing caps (now a one-piece ladder design) vs what we heard from Toyota/Lexus as debris from manufacturing working its way into the main bearings a resulting in engine failure. For what its worth, my brother in law talked with a Lexus tech in the SoCal area who indicated that the issue was related to the tooling process used in engine manufacturing where the switch the tooling after a specified number of engines due to tool wear. Apparently Lexus/Toyota had changed their process to use tooling for a longer period which had resulted in the debris. The process has since been changed and we shouldn't see a continuation of the problem. Take that for what its worth, I honestly hope this is the case and we're not looking at issues with the design of the engine which would be a much more extensive problem to address. We should all know more in July.

Hope your rright on that, but it seems Toyota is cutting corrners to better their bottom line which of course big companies do all the time, but sometimes it catches up with them.. For example the Tacoma made in Mexico is losing sales to the Nissan Frontier made in the US, quality issues and price.. It's hard to believe that Toyota Tacoma's can be 8000 to 15,000 dollars more than a Frontier and the labor in Mexico is something like a few bucks an hour where the Frontier is manufactured the hourly rate is something like 20 bucks an hour.
HMMM

 

[Spork18]

I just read through this Defect Information Report from NHTSA and it looks like maybe engines manufactured after Jan 2023 will be okay, possibly even earlier for GX/Lexus models.

 

[Larry]

7 Toyota's 2UR-GSE EngineToyota engines also usually apply to its luxury subsidiary, Lexus. The 2UR-GSE engine is a Yamaha-designed five-liter naturally aspirated V-8 engine that powers models like the Toyota Hilux and Century, and the Lexus IS, RC, GS, and the LC 500.Mar 29, 2023

 

[ianmcall]

My two cents… it appears from the spreadsheet that the issues happened while still under warranty (thank goodness). For a minute… take away the concern regarding the engine and the new GX (mine is the Premium +) is a pleasure to drive and a modern luxury body on frame SUV. The 10 speed direct shift transmission performs flawlessly the steering is precise. Too late for me since I own it so I changed the oil at 1200 miles after reading about the engine debris. I do not remember having a recall on any of my 5 previous GX’s so this is all a surprise to me.
Now including the engine issues (which may or may not affect this model) in addition to the current delays it may be best to wait for a 2025 model. We all know the first year of a new model may have issues. I know my wife’s new model 2024 X5 50e PHEV had two issues with the battery (BMW was great about resolving the problem).
I am sure once the engine issues are cleared up you will enjoying driving the new GX as much as I do!

I also plan to do a 1k and 5k mile oil change then send samples out to Blackstone for testing.