Tundra Owners Sound Off

I have had my Tundra double cab for about 3 months now. I have always been a GM guy so the Tundra was a big step for me. I started out wanting to buy a GM 3/4 ton 6.0 L crew cab but with fuel prices the way they are now, I went with the Tundra. My truck has the 5.7L with the towing package. It pulls my Airstream 25' travel trailer very well. The brakes on the Tundra are far superior to that of my 2005 GM 1500 but the mileage on the GM was 2 mpg better on average.

2008 Tundra 2WD double cab 5.7L

Current Fuel Mileage
15.5 to 16.5 mixed driving
17.5-18 Hwy 65 mph
10.5-12.5 towing 25' travel trailer
14.5 towing 16' crappie boat


Likes

Power, I love the 5.7 L engine and the 6 spd. tranny. The 4.30 gears really get things moving. Tons of torque.

Comfort, I like the interior layout and the bucket seats. Nice quiet ride. Excellent radio and cruise control.

Tow Mirrors, these are outstanding. Easy to extend, large and very useful for towing my camper.

Price was comparable with that of GM.

Bed Size, deeper and longer bed than GM. More cargo space is always nice.

***American Made*** the GM I was looking at was made in Monterray Mexico.

Fit and Finish is excellent on the Tundra.



Dislikes
Thin sheet metal in bed. Flexing occurs on tailgate. Bed interior dents easily. Toyota needs to address this.

Soft paint, Toyota needs to find out what GM uses for paint. The GM paint is much more durable and scratch resistant.

Lack of aftermarket accessories.

Cannister type oil filter. I have no idea why Toyota would use this filter type. Needs to be a spin on, period.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. I will check back in at the 25,000 mark. Let's hear what y'all have to say about the Tundra.

I can't speak to the Tundra but I'm kind of in the other boat. I have always been a Toyota truck guy and I recently bought a Suburban. When it comes down to it nothing Toyota makes comes near the storage capacity of the Suburban. The Sequoia didn't tow as much, carry as much and was much more expensive. In addition the fuel economy was worse than the Suburban (that is not something you hear everyday)

I have owned a Tacoma, a Land Cruiser FJ80 and my 4runner. I am surprised about your comment on the paint. I have always found that the paint on my Toyotas has been very very durable.

My biggest issue with Toyota trucks has always been fuel economy. I have "modified" my 4runner but even before my modifications it got about 17mpg mixed driving. I get nearly that much in my wife's Suburban. There is and forever will be a soft spot in my heart for Land Cruisers. My FJ80 was the toughest vehicle I ever owned but it only got 14mpg HIGHWAY. That was with no modifications, well tuned and regular highway tires.

I have found that the Chevy is easier to work on than the Toyota. That is important because you have to do it more often. And I hope I never meet the guy that designed the parking brake system on Chevy trucks. I just spent $250 in parts to fix my parking brakes just so I could pass inspection. For those of you with Chevys and GMCs from the early 2000s on, set your parking brake every night.

Love my Tundra 5.7! No complaints but I don't haul much in the bed. I'm considering a camper style topper for it along with a bed rug.

I currently own a 2006 Toyota Double Cab pickup after driving Chevy products (1984 Blazer, 1988 chevy pickup, then a Trailblazer).

Likes of the Tundra - I really like driving the Tundra. I've always said that it just seems like the "finish" is better than my past Chevys. I put in an aftermarket stereo and was amazed at how much thought was put into it the dash. Screw holes line up when you take them and reinstall and this never happens without some flexing of the panels in a Chevy. Also the doors well more secure when they close (this is probable only an addition of a $2 gasket on Toyota's part and I'm just retarded).

Dislikes of the Tundra - They have the worst turning radius I have ever seen in a truck (of the ones I've owned and the Fords I drove for work).

Overall I bought the Tundra because I plan on driving the vehicle into the ground and want it to last along time. I know there are lots of folks who have Chevys and Fords that go to high miles but on average I haven't seen it without new engines and transmissions (my observations and opinions however). By my internet searching I probably paid an extra $2k over a comparable Chevy.

2008 Tundra Cew Max 5.7 4X4. Will last me 20 years.

2006 Tundra Access Cab 4.7L SR5 - just picked it up this week with 12,500 miles on it a 7-year, 100,000-mile comprehensive warranty.

Of course, I *thought* it had a transmission cooler until I got it home. I looked at too many trucks that day.

Now I am looking at what it will take to equip it to tow my 18-foot center console boat (gross wet trailer weight 2600 lbs). I think I can probably get by with just a class III hitch for now, and add the Toyota cooler later. The factory cooler kit is very pricy, but has all sealed metal fittings and should not leak like the aftermarket one on my S10 Blazer.

2006 Tundra Access Cab 4.7L SR5 here too, love this truck, i used to be a ford man, but after having this truck for a couple years all i'll ever buy again is a toyota. i'll second old town about the paint though, but other than that everything is fine.

My dad got rid of his 2500 2x4 chevrolet 6.0 gas over MPG's. He believed the marketing and salesmen that his New 07 or 08 5.3 or 5.7 (the second to the biggest motor) crew cab would just spank the chevy's mpg. He added the camper shell and is shocked. There is practically no difference. He is a cash pay guy and feels silly for switching his allegiance from chevrolet. Especially when he had just shelled out all that dough over 3 years on two different trucks. I think the Toyota is way cool but that turning radius and the way it just seems to have over stretching fenders when in tight turns is no good. I can get into a spot with my chevrolet in far less effort than that Toyota.

The second biggest is the 4.7 still; the largest is the 5.6. The Toyota Crew Cab has a huge turning radius (47.7 feet, I think). The '06 Crew Cab would not fit in my garage and allow me to open the door to the house ... so I went with the extended cab which is 13 inches shorter. It also has a 43-foot turning radius. Those '07 and '08 Toyotas just look too massive to me ... I wanted the smaller body style.

Mileage is not the reason to buy these trucks ... they are comparable to Chevys in that regard. I bought mine because I wanted to give Toyota a try -- my Blazer had some issues, like a persistent "unbalanced tire" feeling at highway speeds, that Chevy just documented in a TSB as a "normal characteristic of these vehicles -- do not attempt repairs."

That did not sit well with me. Nothing says "we care" like admitting to a problem and then declining to address it.

Here's a side by side comparison of the Tundra CrewMax vs the Chevy Crewcab vs. the Ford SuperCrew. It's at the bottom about 10 from the bottom. The turning radius for the Tundra Crew is listed at 22 feet, while the Chevy is 23.6 and the Ford is 24.

http://www.cars.com/go/compare/trimCompare.jsp?acodes=USB70TOT10AD0,USB70CHT27AA0,USB70FOT11IC0&compType=D

Mine is a 03 it turns better. Thanks for the info.

Hmm ... I know I got my figures from a review. Maybe they were measuring the full circle?

mine is 06 and it has very small turning radius

Did I mention that I traded an 05 Chevy on the Tundra??

07 Double Cab TRD 5.7

Likes-
*the 6 speed trans and seq. shift, the 5.7 power although I could have gotten by on the 4.7.
*The TRD suspension- there may be better aftermarket packages, but this one works well for me- light towing, 18 1/2' boat.
* get 18 mpg for the most part- 68-70mph cruise speed.

Dislikes-
*The paint does show scratches very easy.
*The bumpers are very thin, seems most of the new ones are like this though.

I have 17k miles, the dealer had to replace the o-ring on my dipstick tube, and the window weather strip-outside psgr door. Other than these two minor things, the truck is great. Hope to have it for a long while, 200k probably.

You know, I did too. My 2WD Tundra has a much better turn radius than my 2005 4X4 Crew Cab. Maybe Tgutie is not turning the wheel all the way. I do a U-turn everyday in front of my shop. The GM went off on the shoulder, the Toyota stays on the pavement;an obvious difference in turn radiuses. A 2003 GM had the same chassis as a 2005, very unusual indeed. On a different note: I have a 2004 GM 2500 2WD Crew Cab, 6.0L with a 3:73 rear end. I have never seen this truck get better than 14 mpg. I started out to buy another GM 2500 when I bought the Tundra. When I saw the 10,600# tow rating that the tundra offered I was sold.

Ask me in a year about the Tundra, I will have made up my mind by then.

I have the '07 Double Cab 4.7 V8. The gas mileage SUCKS!. I get under 12mpg when towing the Nitro 750.

The turning radius is awesome unlike what some have stated above. Mine almost turns a complete circle within the same circle. I looked at the F150 prior to the Tundra and was impressed with its turning ratio but was blown away by the Tundra's.

I've a few workmanship issues that were easily fixed. I got the smaller V8 thinking gas mileage would have been better but what I actually learned (after purchase) the 5.7 V8 has a higher MPG rating than the 4.7 - go figure.

It's a pretty good ride. I did one thing right. It's a lease and I can't wait til about 26-28 months to get rid of it. The mpg is a real disappointment and I drive conservatively.

Thats his cab and drive train exactly outside the tow package and with a camper shell. 12.8-13.0 MPH Toyota told him the bigger motor has more highway gears in the rearend. Totally cool truck.

OT I have had my 07 Tundra since July 07 and could not be happier. I have 07 Tundra, DC, 5.7, 6spd. Auto, and tow package. The previous truck was a 01 Dodge 2500, 4x4, auto with 5.9 cummins. The tundra has a much better ride, more comfort features, and pulls almost as good as the 5.9 cummins.
Pulling my 19.5 CC the tundra gets 13 mpg. On the road to the lease I frequently get 19-20 mpg with and average load. Regardless of what anyone says the Cummins never got over 19 mpg even with a chip, it was usually closer to 14 in town to 17 on the road. With the current price of diesel I have no regrets.
My daily driver around town is a 06 Toyota Scion XA. Usually 30-33mpg city.
Jim

2008 Tundra 4WD double cab 5.7L.

Just have 5k miles on it, but very happy so far. Milage has improved to 17 mpg from about 13 in the very beginning. Previously had Chevy HD2500 and spent all my time getting it repaired....don't expect to do that with the Tundra...and do expect to drive it for many, many years. Rides much better, turns much better, and has lots of "zip" when you need it.

Haven't towed yet, but looking for a good pontoon boat.

Just a thought. Are those of you that have issues with the turning radius driving the 4x4s?

For those that are interested, here's a pretty good head to head comparion of the GM and Toyota.

http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests/suv/163_0704_fullsize_truck_comparison/specs_pricing.html

I have a 03 Tundra LE, best truck I've ever had. Pulls that Skeeter down the road like its not even there.

I have a 07 Tundra SR5 5.7. I like it. Get about 14.7 according to trip comp towing. I got 20.9 on the road trip to get my new to me boat. I adverage about 16-17 work home around town.

I like it alot. Came from a Nissan Titan.