According to Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong, the automaker was aware back in February that there was a problem with the camshafts in the Tundra's 5.7L V-8. So far only 20 actual failures have been reported in which the camshaft has actually snapped in half, but those are very expensive failures. Given some of the problems that Toyota has suffered recently with engine sludge and other quality shortcomings, it looks like it is seriously considering a quick recall of the trucks to replace the engines.
If Toyota does end up replacing all 30,000 5.7L V-8s that have been built so far, it will be very expensive. With a very conservative estimate of $5,000 per truck, the bill could easily exceed $150,000,000. That's certainly not a good way to launch a new vehicle. If the problem turns out to be from the camshaft supplier, they will likely bear most of the financial burden for the recall, and we're not aware of many suppliers that have $150,000,000 lying around.
[Source: Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Avinash machado @ May 31st 2007 10:04AM
And to think people bash GM most of the time for having recalls.
Hamud @ May 31st 2007 10:05AM
There has to be a way of testing the 30,000 camshafts and only replace those that may actually come to fail.
DarkKnight67 @ May 31st 2007 10:08AM
Gee, that's a damn shame! How will they ever make up for it ... oh, right, by selling more crappy cars with problems they'll try to blame on the suppliers.
Tim @ May 31st 2007 10:11AM
They can blame the suppliers all they want, in the end, they are responsible for the quality. Most manufacturers have quality inspectors at the supplier site and perform testing on components. So blame away, its Toyota's quality team that dropped the ball on this one.
Joe K. @ May 31st 2007 10:19AM
i guess the $150 million will just have to come out of their $14 billion profits...
Brad @ May 31st 2007 10:30AM
If they do recall those trucks to replace the engines, they had better be prepared for a bunch of lawsuits from people that don't want their engines replaced but want a whole new truck.
I've seen several occasions where there was light engine work done on a vehicle, still under warranty, and the customer starts saying they don't want the vehicle back. I can just imagine the firestorm when a complete engine replacement is involved.
roadside observer @ May 31st 2007 10:37AM
"If they do recall those trucks to replace the engines, they had better be prepared for a bunch of lawsuits from people that don't want their engines replaced but want a whole new truck."
I'm sure that some tort lawyers are already working on it. If this gets much bigger, they'll start trolling for clients to file a nationwide class-action suit.
Viv @ May 31st 2007 10:32AM
If this was the General everybody would be piling on them. Since it's toyota even autoblog comes up with the supplier issue.
roadside observer @ May 31st 2007 10:36AM
"According to Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong, the automaker was aware back in February that there was a problem with the camshafts in the Tundra's 5.7L V-8."
Hmmmmm ... let's see here ...
GM and Ford keep building a vehicle with a known defect = bad
Toyota keeps building a vehicle with a known defect = not an issue
Must be that magic Toyota pixie dust at work ...
Oh, and before the Toyotaphiles climb on their soapboxes to preach about how great Toyota is, how it does the "right thing"(whatever that means) for its customers, let's not forget that Toyota is now the #1 automaker and will be held to the standard to which you Toyotaphiles hold GM and Ford. Remember, when Ford found a problem with the turbos and the particulate filters on the new Super Duty engine, Ford halted production until it was fixed.
And Toyota?
"Eh, we'll just keep on building them and try to keep a lid on it."
Matt DeCillis @ Jun 1st 2007 11:05AM
Amen to that man. I know exactly what you are saying. The media is so far up Toyota and Honduh's arse! Media is the #1 problem for the Big 2.5 right now.
White Goodman @ May 31st 2007 10:41AM
Let's see..... 4 camshafts, 32 valves, 32 valve springs, Variable Valve Timing, and a host of other things that could go wrong.... and the Toyota 5.7L V8 just barely manages to eke out a few HP (and no mpg gains) over the more durable, more compact, less weight, and far simpler small block Chevy derivative found in GM trucks.
Sigh. When will people realize that HP is HP and Torque is Torque regardless of how many valves or camshafts are involved. Give me a PROVEN over 50 years small block Chevy any day of the week for my truck. But I guess the rest of the world buys into this marketing BS that Toyota has perfected.
Cedric @ Jun 13th 2007 2:12PM
All I can say is I had a 2004 dodge ram hemi and it is straight junk and so is the service from dodge. There is a lot more then meets the eye with Toyota as in the 5.7 is based on 4.7, that is based on the 4.0 like in my 94 Lexus that is the best car ever built. I drove airport shuttle out of LAX from 89 to 96 and dodge ram van 318's were world class at the top of there game back then until the Germans bought dodge and i'll never get a dodge as long as i live. I don't know if my 07 Tundra needs a new 5.7 engine but the ride and power is so perfect i wouldn't trade it for anything else because all else pails in comparison. The cam issue wouldn't exist if the truck was build in Japan and not by slow thinking complacent, incompetent and corrupt Americans, like me :)
badasstanker19k @ May 31st 2007 10:42AM
Toyota should stick to what they're good at making cars.They have themselves to blame for recalls.How many times can you push the blame to others, thats very childish!
Sometimes you gotta bite the bullet and say "I F'ed up!"and take the blame and soldier on.
*Best Automaker my A$$
Biff Baxter All American @ May 31st 2007 10:44AM
Here's Toyota's press release:
"There is nothing of concern here."
"Move along."
darkmastyr @ May 31st 2007 10:51AM
I don't possibly see why a faulty camshaft requires an engine replacement. Replacing a camshaft is not that difficult of a task. I'd estimate maybe $1000/truck including labor. Any half decent technician who's worked on engines can replace a camshaft.
Don @ May 31st 2007 5:08PM
Maybe because the owner doesn't want his BRAND NEW MOTOR fixed?
hydrogen_wv @ May 31st 2007 11:07AM
Why not just replace the camshaft itself? $5000 for an engine replacement or a couple guys replacing a camshaft in a few hours... $5000 vs. $500 (10 man-hours @ $50 per hour... very high estimate, i'd think)....
That'd bring it down to $15mill max..
Timmy @ May 31st 2007 11:12AM
If I dropped that kind of money for a truck I don't want some replacement engine - I want a new truck or my money back. How will this affect my resale value if the report comes up and shows a "replacement" engine was dropped in at 12k miles? Will they be providing me with a free loan car for however many days this fix is going to take? Will they extend my warranty to cover the engine or does the warranty only continue from the day the original engine was installed? How many other problems as a result of poor quality control are going to show up later on down the line?
If I bought some foreign truck under the impression that I was paying more to get better quality than the Big 3 then I'd feel pretty disillusioned right now.
mikomi @ May 31st 2007 11:17AM
Might? There will be a recall. Toyota really does not have much of a choice and has to own up and replace the part.
Personally, to me, a recall is not necessarily a bad thing, it means there is a problem and steps are being taken to fix the problem. Does it suck for any car maker that has to make a recall? You bet it does, but if I were a Tundra owner, you bet I want my camshaft fixed. It does not matter what the reason is for a faulty camshaft, it has to be remedied or they will have to start a new department called Damage Control.
hydrogen_wv @ May 31st 2007 11:27AM
Timmy... how is a new engine at 12K miles a bad thing? If anything, I'd think it'd increase the resale value because the new negine has 12,000 miles less on it than if there was no replacement.
Does it matter if they extend the warranty? If they didn't screw up, it'd still only be for X miles. If they did it'd be a plus.. if not, you aren't at any loss.
Most vehicles have a drivetrain warranty and a rust warranty. Why would they increase either due to an engine replacement? The rest of the drivetrain still has the 12,000 miles on it.
You are one of the guys that'll hire the lawyers wanting a new truck. Get over it.. it's a new engine. Would you complain if you had a 10 year old car and someone offered to professionally install a new engine for you free of charge? I doubt it.. you'd accept in a heart beat.. how is this any different?