Toyota Dealers Brace to Replace 100,000 Tundra V6s

[Yardbird]

Toyota Dealers Brace to Replace 100,000 Tundra V6s​

Story by Beverly Braga
3 min read


The time is nigh for the great Toyota engine swap. Undoubtedly one of the largest and most expensive recalls in the automaker’s history, Toyota dealerships are heading into December as prepared and as anxious as they can be.

In May, Toyota announced a recall of its 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6. The affected models are the 2022 and 2023 Toyota Tundra pickups and Lexus LX SUVs. The issue was engine failure due to metal debris contaminating the circulating oil. The reason this debris, called swarf, existed in the first place was because internal passages within the engine block or cylinder heads were not thoroughly cleaned during the assembly process.

The obvious fix would be to remove the engine for disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly, followed by reinstallation. Sounds simple, but it’s a labor-intensive and time-consuming repair. Instead, Toyota opted to replace the engines entirely.

However, the size of the recall (102,292 vehicles), the complexity of the repair (some 13 to 21 hours of work), and the resources needed (technicians, service bays, loaner cars) make this course of action equally daunting.

According to Automotive News, from the get-go, Toyota’s planning process “has been to try and reduce complexity for our technicians,” said Kent Rice, Toyota Group vice president of quality. “We’ve spent a lot of time consulting different groups, including dealer councils, and they have been really helpful in their feedback.”

Toyota wants to streamline its repair efforts and make engine replacements as easy as possible for dealerships and technicians. If the recall repairs run as hoped, the benefits are twofold: an efficient (and cost-saving) recall repair and new skills training for junior technicians.

A replacement engine weighs approximately 400 pounds. Toyota says the swaps can be done by a single technician but acknowledges that each store operates differently and may utilize two techs per repair. Some dealers agree that as expansive as the recall is, it does provide an opportunity for new technicians to gain experience with engine replacements earlier in their careers.

“We’ll take a man or a woman who is primarily doing light maintenance and offer them an opportunity to work with a master tech,” said Steve Gates, owner of the Gates Auto Family, to Automotive News. His group has 13 stores in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana, and among them are three Toyota locations and one Lexus location. He said about one-third of the 100 technicians at the four impacted dealerships will be working on engine replacements. Gates pointed to a previous Toyota recall involving replacing rusty frames on Tacomas as an example of how technicians took advantage of the learning experience.

“We ended up with techs that could do it so fast that they wanted to come in early or stay late, and they wanted to work weekends,” said Gates. “We had one tech that designed his own special tools and he could knock out that job like crazy. I am certain we will see the same thing with the engine recall.”

Similar to how some of those techs turned into frame replacement specialists, Gates anticipates the same with the engine changes. “It’s a great opportunity,” he said. Managing the flow of customers is a different story, though.

“If we had 50 customers that came in all at once for the recall, it would be a little challenging,” said Gates. “The dealers I have talked to are saying their customers are telling them they are not going to do this right away because they are not experiencing any problems…There’s some curiosity, but no panic.”

The engine replacement will be done by appointment, as most dealerships won’t be stocking replacement engines. Instead, they will be ordered from Toyota once an appointment is confirmed and a repair scheduled. This allows for the same tech to work on the vehicle from start to finish.

As for vehicle loaners, Toyota is paying for those, but not everyone has the appropriate inventory. If a customer uses their Tundra for work, offering them a Corolla doesn’t quite fit the bill. Gates, for example, plans to move trucks from new inventory into his loaner fleets as needed.

Tundra and LX owners will be notified by early December to schedule engine replacements. There is no timetable as to when the engine recall program will be completed. Owners can check if their vehicle is part of the recall by visiting Toyota’s website or by entering its Vehicle Identification Number or license plate info at nhtsa.gov/recalls.



https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/new...&cvid=3f9c861176c0433b980a1eb84ce489d1&ei=103

 

[HEMIMANN]

So much for Toyota's vaunted quality processes.

It's hard to fathom how big a quality failure this is for a company that was obsessive about it. Not just in terms of the failure itself, but they type of failure, and for how long it went on without detection or action, and for a company that has built engines for decades knowing how to clean parts prior to assembly.

Maybe Musk bought them.

 

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

So much for Toyota's vaunted quality processes.

It's hard to fathom how big a quality failure this is for a company that was obsessive about it. Not just in terms of the failure itself, but they type of failure, and for how long it went on without detection or action, and for a company that has built engines for decades knowing how to clean parts prior to assembly.

Maybe Musk bought them.

Or - how a major, serious recall process is done right from start to finish.

 

[RamDiver]

I'm glad I said no to buying a new Tundra and traded my '07 Tundra Limited for a Warlock.

.

 

[ConqueringFools]

Manufacturing standards and processes the world over have fallen dramatically. From airplanes to automobiles. Greed and avarice at the top plain and simple. I work in pulp and paper and our industry is non-union. We are putting together automobile engines, just gluing paper together but still the quality of worker and turnover is horrendous. We pay $19/hr starting out. You want to offer child's pay well expect to hire child workers.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Manufacturing standards and processes the world over have fallen dramatically. From airplanes to automobiles. Greed and avarice at the top plain and simple.

COVID supply chain disruptions hit Toyota hard. They started accepting parts they would have rejected before just to have parts. A friend of mine is a QC manager at one of their suppliers. It doesn't help the supplier has high turn over since they stopped drug testing and hiring people who's immigration documents are hand written on a McDonald's napkin. As long as they get any sort of document they can shrug and sat they thought it was legit. They fire the guy, then hire him back under a different name.

That's also a big driver of keeping your wage down. The mantra "American's won't do X job" really just means "Americans won't do X job for the laughable wage we're offering."

 

[rzr6-4]

Greed and avarice at the top plain and simple.

I work in manufacturing, and in my position I am able to see it from several sides.

1) You really think that after hundreds of years of manufacturing, companies JUST NOW realized they could just *****-nilly turn up the price gouging greed-o-meter and make more money? That's never occurred to them before? No, because there's much more to it that that.

2) Labor. Blame gov't hand outs during rona, blame work force moral, worker pay, there are a thousand things that you can blame but no one can really give one definitive reason for why. But we can agree, that the current work force is less skilled and less motivated than even 5 years ago. Even for people that are motivated and want to learn, a lot of people moved around in the last few years, myself included. It takes time to learn your new position at your new job.

3) Quality of materials are horrible. You can't make a quality product out of poor materials. Dimensions, warping, metallurgy, damage during shipping, I've seen it all in the past few years. Prints that were unchanged for decades had to be updated to make parts stronger, to account for the decrease in material quality.

But ya, GrEeD.

 

[HEMIMANN]

COVID supply chain disruptions hit Toyota hard. They started accepting parts they would have rejected before just to have parts. A friend of mine is a QC manager at one of their suppliers. It doesn't help the supplier has high turn over since they stopped drug testing and hiring people who's immigration documents are hand written on a McDonald's napkin. As long as they get any sort of document they can shrug and sat they thought it was legit. They fire the guy, then hire him back under a different name.

That's also a big driver of keeping your wage down. The mantra "American's won't do X job" really just means "Americans won't do X job for the laughable wage we're offering."

Yupper. I spent 32 years in machinery. Glad I got out just before covid hit. The worship of just-in-time delivery for zero cost (no) inventory from the cheapest vendor in the world completely exploded when an inevitable distruption occurred.

That is was the worst disease outbreak in 100 years matters not - the unmitigated greed of corporate executives to extract every GD dime for their product cost is the cause. It ain't improving, either. jfc - just shopping for a battery today is a herculean effort lest you close yer eyes and throw a dart.

 

[Docwagon1776]

2) Labor. Blame gov't hand outs during rona, blame work force moral, worker pay, there are a thousand things that you can blame but no one can really give one definitive reason for why. But we can agree, that the current work force is less skilled and less motivated than even 5 years ago.

I'm not in manufacturing, but our applicant pool is greatly diminished and we're losing people rapidly. We used to have a strong edge salary wise and time off wise, but competitors have eroded that gap or beaten us. Work place "quality of life" issues is where we're losing out with the younger guys. I'm too old and tired to jump ship and start over, but I don't blame the guys in their early 20s who are.

 

[ramffml]

They actually designed a special lift for this replacement, they're hoping to avoid cab off repairs and hoping to leave the front grill in etc.

If I were a Tundra owner I'd drag my feet as long as possible, let them build up their "expertise" while they figure it all out and work out the kinks.

Agreed though that this recall is being done right.

 

[HEMIMANN]

They actually designed a special lift for this replacement, they're hoping to avoid cab off repairs and hoping to leave the front grill in etc.

If I were a Tundra owner I'd drag my feet as long as possible, let them build up their "expertise" while they figure it all out and work out the kinks.

Agreed though that this recall is being done right.

I read the truck cab has to be removed to replace the Hurricane engine also due to the length of the inline 6 cylinder configuration.

 

[ConqueringFools]

I work in manufacturing, and in my position I am able to see it from several sides.

1) You really think that after hundreds of years of manufacturing, companies JUST NOW realized they could just *****-nilly turn up the price gouging greed-o-meter and make more money? That's never occurred to them before? No, because there's much more to it that that.

2) Labor. Blame gov't hand outs during rona, blame work force moral, worker pay, there are a thousand things that you can blame but no one can really give one definitive reason for why. But we can agree, that the current work force is less skilled and less motivated than even 5 years ago. Even for people that are motivated and want to learn, a lot of people moved around in the last few years, myself included. It takes time to learn your new position at your new job.

3) Quality of materials are horrible. You can't make a quality product out of poor materials. Dimensions, warping, metallurgy, damage during shipping, I've seen it all in the past few years. Prints that were unchanged for decades had to be updated to make parts stronger, to account for the decrease in material quality.

But ya, GrEeD.

I work in manufacturing too. I'm on the front lines and actually am involved in hiring and training as well. When I say greed, I guess I also mean malinvestment. None of these manufacturing companies really spend that much money on sophisticated, advanced, well organized training over time. They expect some high school drop out that worked at McDonald's making $19/hr to come in and be able to run a machine or highly technical equipment after a few weeks LOL. Yeah right. Young people can barely read a tape measure. Most of the new hires we are bringing in are all dysfunctional in so many ways. Unreliable transportation, no punctuality, all smoking weed (legal here in MN of course). And it's all races too. The black youth we hire in are a complete disaster on every level. Many of the white kids we hire dress like they are going to a screamo Insane Clown Posse concert with tats and piercings all over. Actually, the best employes we have are Hmong and blue collar white females (hardest working smartest employes we have). And no I'm not saying any of this to sound racist. Take it for what it is but the absolute worst hires we ever have are young black females. Worst attitudes around, lazy, worthless. Hell, I have no idea what all these Somalis in this area are doing for work. They love the meat processing plants but I don't seem them in paper, steel or any other industries. So my point, American manufacturing used to hire the best and brightest because wages kept up with lifestyle and inflation and there was respect for working with your "hands" and turning a wrench. Work life balance is a joke in manufacturing nowadays. Split shifts, rotating shifts, weekends. Sorry but this isn't the 1950's where someone has a wife to go home to after they punch a clock that takes care of the kids all day and has a nice warm meal waiting for them when they get home. When you punch a clock and work shifts you have zero flexibility in a society and lifestyle that requires more and more of it.

I've worked for a few hospitals and other big companies that have on site day care for their employees. Perks like this are huge. But very few manufacturers offer stuff like this. Its usually white collar corporations. NOTHING about life is aligned with the hours of manufacturing. Hell most school aged kids in America don't start until 9AM. How do parents in manufacturing balance that when they have to be at work anywhere from 6AM to 8AM? What do they do when they have a sick kid? Work from home?

Land O Lakes up here has finally woken up and has an awesome flex scheduling program for employees. Why more manufacturers aren't using part timers is crazy. Part time workers would solve A LOT of problems. My company refuses for whatever reason. Like I said manufacturing in general is still stuck in the 1950s and are going to continually struggle to find quality workers unless they get creative and adapt to the times and the American lifestyle of the 21st century. Europe has it's problems of course. And call it socialism whatever. But A LOT of big companies over there have much better work life balance, strong respect for unions and manufacturing employees, and manufacturing employees are treated with a lot of respect. Here they are lower than lower class unless they are in a union. How many companies offer work and school programs? Siemens for example over in Germany will send you to tech classes that go towards a degree while you work for their company.

I could go on and on........rant over!

 

[rzr6-4]

So you say that companies are greedy for not investing into new employees, then proceed to describe said new employees and how bad they are. If they are that bad, your shouldn't even hire them. And if you do, I sure wouldn't be investing thousands and thousands of dollars in training when they'll just move on to a new company next month anyway.

If you want your company to invest in you, you have to prove your worth first. Work ethic, shocking concept I know.

And 2nd and 3rd shifts have always been around. That's where single men typically end up as you can give them an extra dollar or two an hour and they will happily work those weird times. In my experience across several companies, manufacturers generally let people with families work day shift, and are fairly accommodating to people getting there kids moved around as needed, because they will quit and go somewhere else if they don't.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Not when there aren't enough good jobs. Cause they went out-of-country to people willing to work for peanuts.

 

[Docwagon1776]

So you say that companies are greedy for not investing into new employees, then proceed to describe said new employees and how bad they are.

...that's the hires you get and retain when you don't invest in your employees.

Pay peanuts, get monkeys as they say. Guys who are worth a damn will go where they are valued more appropriately.