2023 Tundra 1794 Edition, 3.4 twin turbo, 31k miles. it pulls a 21 foot center console to Kerr Lake most summer weekends, about 5,500 lbs with the trailer.
ran my VIN at nhtsa.gov after a friend mentioned it and there it was, the 2022 to 2023 Tundra recall for machining debris left in the engine from the factory. the remedy is a whole new engine. the letter showed up the same week. the truck runs perfect, no noise, no lights.
dealer in Cary says they'll call when an engine is allocated to my VIN and couldn't give me a date. questions:
do i keep towing the boat in the meantime?
do they give a loaner and does that loaner tow anything?
does a replaced engine help or hurt when i trade it?
i'm the numbers guy here so yes, the last one bothers me the most.
different brand, same dealer world. engines on a campaign like this get allocated in order, usually by the date the customer's repair order got opened. so go open one now even if they can't do it, it puts you in line. get it in writing whether you're entitled to a loaner or rental while you wait for the engine, not just while it's in the shop. those are two different policies at most stores.
and the loaner will be whatever is on the lot. it won't tow your boat.
i'd follow what the letter says word for word. if it tells you to keep driving and bring it in at any sign of knocking, rough running or a stall, then towing within the rating is driving. the i-FORCE makes its torque low and you're nowhere near its 1794 tow rating with 5,500. listen for any new noise from the bottom end, especially cold.
i'd skip the long hot pulls in August until it's done though. just me.
buddy of mine in Frankfort has a 2022 Capstone that got the engine in June. took about seven weeks from the call to having it back, and he says it runs the same as before. the dealer tech told him to treat the first few hundred miles easy, no towing, like a new engine.
dealer called on the 14th, truck went in the 18th, got it back yesterday. 9 days in the shop. loaner was a Corolla Cross, which is a fine car and could not pull our boat out of a puddle, so we missed one lake weekend and rented a pontoon instead. Toyota paid for none of the pontoon. tried.
they told me 500 easy miles before towing. Labor Day is out, i'll get the boat back in the water in September.
the resale question is the one i'd want answered too. does the replacement show on Carfax, and as what? my brother in law's 1794 has the same letter and he's trying to decide if he trades it before or after.
it shows as "recall completed" with the date, from the dealer service record. nothing that says engine replaced in big letters, but a buyer who reads the line and looks up the recall number will figure it out.
i asked the used car manager in Cary straight. he said they'd book it the same as any 1794 with my miles, maybe a little better because the engine has 600 miles on it. i trust that about as far as i trust any used car manager. tell your brother in law after. a trade with an open engine recall is a reason for them to knock something off.
