2018 Tacoma 60k miles. blown cylinder and cracked head

Toyota's QRD is over as long as Mike Sweers remains at the helm

 

Lower rpm lugging of the motor is worse for it than the increased wear from higher rpm as long as the cooling system and oiling is functioning. We have had more than a fair share of eco boosts punch holes in the block because the site supervisors are too lazy to hit tow-haul and lug the motor around in higher gear even with small loads.

 

Valid point. I’ve often wondered if the move from manufacturers away from manual transmissions isn’t in part related to this as a means to increase reliability by preventing lugging. Low rpm with high manifold and cylinder pressure is no way to run a gas engine

 

Man, ya got to unleash the VVT. Luging is sooooooo 1985

 

Haha! That was me last weekend driving 80-90 through mountain passes going uphill and fighting strong headwinds while at max payload. She just flies at 5k, it’s incredible. Got 16 mpg, not bad. 500 mile trip.

But yeah, no lugging over here. I just climbed a steep hill in third at 2k rpms, plenty of power. Full Otto cycle tune definitely helps.

 

I think your assumption is in the right direction. The advent of the 7-10spd transmissions with shift logic designed to get the motor in the highest gear asap, higher compression ratios, leaner fuel trims, the increase in forced induction being used and thinner oils have all cost us reliability . It’s no wonder that at one time they were practically shoving 5-7 year 100k mile warranties and now only a fraction of that.

 

I just wonder what the future is gonna be like for people that NEED a truck, like farmers. I feel like most trucks these days are being sold to people that use them the same way they would a Camry. I have a 20 crew cab sierra that gets unbelievable mpg with a 5.3 and 8 speed, but can’t imagine it could hold up like the old ones with a 350 and a 4 speed if it was being worked. Can’t wait to hear how well 9000 lb electrics do loaded down with tools over plowed ground. At least there will be large infotainment screens to enjoy while waiting for a rescue.

 

I get what your saying but I live in farm country in NW Indiana. You dont see many farmers driving half ton gas trucks... Most drive 2500 diesels. Most farmers wrench on their own equipment. They arent dumb... They eventually eliminate diesels then shit will hit the fan.

 

at least they can make their own bio-diesel. or have a solar array to charge everything

 

Pickup trucks are becoming a fashion statement for rich idiots.

I think a lot of working/trades people will switch to vans.

 

It is a scary prospect in many aspects of life. Some of the larger land clearing equipment I work on has electronic joysticks that operate pneumatic valves for the hydraulic systems. So instead of looking for hydraulic leaks or valve body issues we have a whole hierarchy of crap to troubleshoot now in the name of progression. Some of the major urban areas are buying electric fire trucks now, probably ok if you have enough staffing where the engines have small districts to cover but good luck anywhere else. This all relates back to the original issue in the post, is the 2gr an inferior/less reliable engine than the 1g’s? From a pure engine design side of things I would say no, but the added technological features open the door for more issues. The same could be said about the move from the 5.9 Cummins to common rail injection.

 

To improve reliability and performance, one might look at what Yamaha did with the UR series V8 to create the 2UR-GSE for use in the F cars.The UR shares parts and architecture with the V6. High nickel Stainless exhaust valves are employed to deal with the high performance lean burn of the direct injection. Improved oil cooling (especially on the 2nd gen engine), improved oil control via scavenging for the heads, and 5 or 10w30 oil. All is for naught if the tune is bad.

 

I love how at the end of the article it says Toyota decided to cover it under warranty after all of the social media coverage. Then went on to say using it in an autocross wouldn't void the warranty!!

Seems to be a 50/50 split of members in here who think this should be covered and those that don't. I honestly don't know exactly where I fall on this issue but I do know that if it were mine I'd want them to cover it (obviously). If we look at it as a very small number of vehicles out of the total number built, which I believe to be the case, then it's my opinion Toyota should cover it. It's really nothing for them in the big scheme of things but HUGE for their customers....who will continue to buy their products. If it's as big of a problem as some of you think then they should get in front of it and figure out exactly what's going on, if they haven't already, and put out a recall.

 

FWIW: page 4 of the 2022 Warranty and Maintenance Manual for the Tacoma:

"At Toyota, our top priority is always our customers. We know your Toyota is an important part of your life and something you depend on every day. That’s why we’re dedicated to building products of the highest quality and reliability. Our excellent warranty coverage is evidence that we stand behind the quality of our vehicles. We’re confident — as you should be — that your Toyota will provide you with many years of enjoyable driving. To further demonstrate our commitment to our customers’ satisfaction, occasionally we may establish a special policy adjustment to pay for specific repairs that are no longer covered by warranty. When we establish such a policy adjustment, we mail details to all applicable owners we have on record."

 

I don’t understand how. The manuals shift so clunkily at low rpm (all the ones I’ve driven, not just Tacoma) and they just feel like a dog at that low of rpm. I am constantly taking mine to 5k+ rpm.

 

There is no real merit to this line of thinking. The whole purpose of oil is so parts can spin and wear at such a negligible rate that they don’t really wear much at all. This makes it to where you can spin as many rpm as you want up to the redline of the engine and won’t really kill it any faster.

A good example of this is in the Jeep world they shipped the wranglers with 3 speed automatics (often 3.73 ratio) until 2002 and 5 speed manuals (often with 3.07 ratio). The manuals were like 2000 rpm at 70 and the autos were 3200 at 70. Many engines have been disassembled from both transmissions and folks often found significantly less wear on the autos despite constantly living at a higher rpm all the time simply because it was a 3 speed and lower axle ratio. The load on the engine is significantly less with the lower gears of the 3 speed and so despite the higher rpm, the engine suffered less abuse.

Another good example, my 05 ranger 3.0. I shifted that thing at above 4000 rpm at least 95% of the time. It had 210k miles when I sold it and still ran like new.

There is virtually no living proof that keeping an engine below X rpm will significantly help anything long term. If an engine is on its way out, then sure, maybe babying it will help it limp along a bit longer. But one in good shape doesn’t really care where you rev it. Of course, anyone can drive how they please but babying them isn’t benefiting anything except *maybe* fuel economy.

 

@BLtheP, thank you, you took the words right out of my mouth. One of the things I hate about how manufacturers have been trying to inform the EPA their manual equipped cars have good fuel economy is the idiot shift lights/indicators. The first car I had this on was my 1981 Audi 4000 4E; not long after I took delivery of that car I crawled under the dash and unplugged the shift light. Fast forward to my wife's 2016 Mazda3 s GT 6MT, Mazda reserved the entire left third of the instrument panel for a large display which shows things like "4-6" indicating I should shift from 4th to 6th, even though I'm climbing a shallow hill with 1,800 rpms indicated; if I was to follow the advice, yeesh, talk about lugging the freakin' engine.

 

Yep, my 94 Jeep had a shift light that they say is dynamic and presents itself at “optimal” times but as far as I could tell it just lights up at 2000 rpm. Gave terrible performance following that. After a while of that I took out the gauge cluster and removed the bulb and put it back. Worthless. They should have saved themselves $700,000 worth of $1 bulbs and skipped installing that light or the wiring to run it. I’m glad my Ranger, Frontier and Tacoma all didn’t have shift lights.

The EPA has pretty much ruined vehicles for me. The only way I can enjoy anything now is to gear them low and wind them out before shifting.

 

You’d think, except in my experience modern autos lug engines all the time (because low rpm equal low emissions). Seems like every single automatic I drive won’t go past 2500-3000 rpm unless you floor it. They are all in top gear by like 40 mph and they want the pedal at least halfway down before they’ll downshift any meaningful amount. It’s why I despise automatics, they will never drive how I want them to.

 

Add to that the lean AFR, increased cylinder pressure and water like oil viscosity and you have a recipe for disaster.