What Truck Has The Least Amount Of Problems? The Best Truck To Buy

I feel like I’ve been writing about this truck a lot lately. It is awesome to see that this truck really stands out from the rest and not by a little, but a lot. The truck we’ll be talking about has been loved by its owners for decades and it has been proven to have the least problems that when they want to upgrade they get the same truck model again, just a newer year and continue to be loyal owners.

The truck that has the least amount of problems is the Toyota Tundra. The best year in the last 20 years has been the 2008 and 2013 but anything newer that this continues to have the least problems from all the trucks on the market. This declaration is based on a lot of research that has been done by consumer product rating agencies as well as feedback and reviews from actual owners.

I actually compiled data from various reporting and rating organizations in an article I wrote earlier that covers a lot of details on how this truck compares to the others in its class and it is easy to see why this truck stand out. It has earned a many awards for reliability and customer satisfaction. It has been rated higher than other trucks by J. D. Power as well as Consumer Reports. It has been reported that this truck has the least customer complaints and costs less to maintain than other trucks. These trucks also live longer when maintained regularly.

What Problems Do Toyota Tundras Have?

 

There are 4 main problems that are reported by the Toyota Tundra owners the most and they are not too serious so not a big alarm for them.

1. Exhaust Manifold Leaking And Making A Ticking Noise – This is the most common problem and has been reported a total of 147 times on RepairPal.com. When there is a leak in the exhaust manifold, every time there is an ignition in the cylinder you will hear a tick as the exhaust escapes through the leak. This is not a big deal but does get annoying and your truck sounds like a tractor. It is not pleasant to say the least. This is a fairly easy fix by replacing the exhaust manifold at a cost of about $1,000 to $1,400 if you take it to a shop. If you buy the parts and replace it yourself, the parts can cost about $600.
2. Front Suspension Lower Ball Joint Wear – Second most common problem has been reported a total of 95 times. This is a manufacturing defect that Toyota is responsible for and has issues a recall on it so this is a free fix if you take advantage of the recall. If you had to take the truck into the shop to get it fixed it would have cost you about $1,000 to $1,200. If you were to fix this your self, you could expect to spend about $200 on parts.
3. Faulty Air Injection Pump – The third most common problem in Toyota Tundras has been reported a total of 48 times and it is the air injection pump that fails and creates issues with the air to fuel ration during ignition. You can expect to spend about $500 – $1,300 if you take it to a shop to get it repaired. If you take this on as a DIY project you can spend about $150 to $200 on parts.
4. Failed Oxygen Sensor – And the last most common problem on these trucks has been reported a total of 42 times and it is the oxygen sensor that fails. It stops sending information or starts sending wrong information to the computer which most commonly just lights ip the Check Engine light. No other symptoms would normally be experienced when this happens. Getting this repaired can cost about $300 to $400. As it is a fairly simple fix, just by replacing the oxygen sensor located on the front half of the exhaust, near the exhaust manifolds. You can expect to spend about $150 to $250 on parts.

What are the worst years for Toyota Tundras?

The most common issues described above that the Toyota Tundra experience, happen in the 2007 year model of the truck but there are these and also less common problems that have been reported in the 2012 year model that include engine failure, transmission problems, electrical issues.

Because of the reasons above, the 2007 and the 2012 Toyota Tundra are the worse years for this truck. 

Having said this, the issues reported are not that critical so even if you do get these years, I wouldn’t worry too much about it because the Toyota Tundra is still the best truck you can have.

What year Tundra is most reliable?

Like I mentioned at the top of this article, I spent a lot of time compiling data to compare the reliability of 11 most popular trucks and to determine the most reliable old trucks and their best years.

The 2008 and 2013 Toyota Tundra is the most reliable years from all the Tundras. This was determined by all the reliability and customer satisfaction awards that were given to these trucks as well as least number of customer complaints, high ratings from J. D. Power and Consumer Reports. 

If I had to pick one, the 2013 would be it. This year received more awards and was rated better than the 2008, plus it is newer so the 2013 Toyota Tundra is officially the more reliable truck.

How long will a 5.7 Tundra engine last?

It is well known that the Toyota Tundras last for ever and their engines are “indestructible”, if they are taken care of and maintained regularly. There will be an occasional issue like with anything but once fixed, it will continue to run very well in general.

The conservative answer is that the Tundra engines will run well beyond 200,000 miles. Considering an average of 10,000 miles that is driven per year, this would make this engine last well over 20 years.

The beauty is that these trucks are so well made that many of them go well beyond 300,000 miles and last over 30 years. After which time, they will be resold to the next person and continue to run for many more years.

How many miles will a Tundra last?

Just like we discussed above, these trucks last forever is they are maintained regularly. This means taking it into the show to get the oil changed and other fluids checked. Change other fluids every few years and change the timing belt every 100,000 miles.

If this is done, and average Tundra will drive over 200,000 miles and will last over 20 years almost without a problem. You will probably have to fix a few things along the way, like some mechanical items like ball joints might wear out and need to be replaced, and some other moving parts. But overall this truck will continue to serve you for decades.

Many of these trucks will run way past 300,000 miles and then be passed on to other owners that will do a full rebuild and probably run another 300,000 miles on them.

Which is more reliable Tacoma or Tundra?

The Toyota is known for quality and their trucks are no different. The Tundra is more of a full-size truck while the Tacoma is a mid-sized truck, so they are not exactly the same. Their reliability though is about the same.

According to the research I did for another article I wrote, Toyota Tundra is more reliable than the Toyota Tacoma, but not by too much. The Tacoma received many awards for reliability and was ranked high by J. D. Power and Consumer Reports, but the Tundra was ranked higher.

So really, for all for all intents and purposes, these trucks are both some of the most reliable trucks on the road, but if you had to rank them the Tundra would win.