Chebby

Any update?

It’s not the battery. It has done this with 3 batteries over the past few years. Current battery is not yet two years old. I just have an OBD reader.

Checking back in on this thread. The Yukon XL is at 155k miles now, and I have been using a Range AFM Disabler. I haven’t fouled up any cylinders like before, although #7’s spark plug again looks a bit older/dirtier than the others, even though they were all replaced. The electrical haywire issue still happens randomly, but if I remove the battery cables and clean the terminals (which do not in any way appear to be dirty or loose), it goes away for a few thousand miles. Just weird. The thing I like about this Yukon XL is that it has the heavy duty towing package, rated for 8k lbs. That comes in handy. But I’m also getting sick of dealing with issues. It blew a heater core hose last year and stranded my wife on the highway. Second time it has stranded her on the side of the road.

Any updates on this issue?

I thought I read that it got up to 300°F. Crazy. It seems everyone is going to higher transmission operating temps, around 200°F. I don’t understand not having an external air cooler up front in addition to the oil heat exchanger on the transmission itself. Do they think we all just use our half tons for gettin groceries?

As a current Tundra driver, the new one looks as expected. Like most Toyota designs of the last several years, it seems like it's trying too hard to be cool. I think that about most new vehicles though. Like @Daly said, it looks like a bigger Tacoma. I see some of the 4Runner's face in it as well. I wish the front end wasn't so huge. For a company whose truck demographic is far more off-roaders than work fleet/commercial use, you'd think they'd create a better approach angle on their top-of-the-line off road truck. It's too low. I wonder what the lower trims will look like and if there will be any chrome on that face. They may have decided to do away with chrome like the 4Runner (the only 4Runner trim with any chrome is the Limited, and it's an accent rather than a whole bumper). I'm curious to see official powertrain specs. If the rumors are true, it seems it's going to be basically Toyota's version of an EcoBoost with a Powerboost option (TTv6 with hybrid). It can be argued that Ford's powerboost was taken from or at least inspired by Toyota, as the two automakers decided to work together on a hybrid truck design several years ago, and Ford abruptly walked away with Toyota's blueprints in hand. If it addresses the two main issues people have with the current Tundra (payload and MPG), I'm sure it'll be a hit. I hope the interior has less chrome than my '21 as well.

The site literally used to be called the Long Term Quality Index. Read this link. Some selected quotes: "Dashboard Light is our attempt to offer free information about the long-term reliability of vehicles, forever." "Unlike J.D. Power, which focuses their studies on the earliest portions of a vehicles life, and Consumer Reports, which regulates its study to surveys filled out by owners of late model vehicles, LTQI has been designed to assess the long-term reliability of used cars from the point they are three years old to the end of its life cycle." Also, on the FAQ page, you linked to, if you just read a tiny bit further, you see that it indeed measures long term reliability: "The Quality Index Rating(QIR) offers an overall score based on the frequency of powertrain issues, the mileage distribution of when those issues take place, and vehicle age at the time of trade-in. You can think of it as a weighted average where we look at a number of factors for a given vehicle model, and then get a single value indicating it's overall long-term reliability." Regarding the sharing of their data that you quoted, again, just read a bit further: "Our partnership agreement with our data providers does not allow us to publicly redistribute the database, but we try to provide transparency wherever possible to indicate the sources for, and methods used, in our analysis." They do. For every vehicle, they have data from 2017 back. I guess I agree that it's a bit confusing. The reliability scores at the top seem like more of a "quick and dirty" snapshot of model year ranges. But on every single page, the graphs below suggest that the deep-dive assessment of Yearly Defect Ratio/Quality Index Rating enters at the time the vehicle is three years old. For every full-size truck, the data goes through 2017 on those charts. I expect to see 2018 vehicles included in those graphs soon. Look at the Titan page...why is there insufficient data for a reliability rating for 2016+ Titans, but the YDR/QIR graphs show data for up to and including 2017? I emailed them and asked to clarify the apparent disparity.

I am, in fact, on that awesome forum often. I posted here because it's relevant to the topic. Also, I really like the new TBs. Again, I almost bought one. Not to poke you in the eye, but I mostly come here to search for why my Yukon's dash is lit up like a Christmas tree or why it's in limp mode and throwing codes again. It's a good vehicle, but it takes far more attention to keep running properly. Yeah, no maker is perfect. Your experience with your Tundra sucks. I'd be super pissed to be one of the very few who have issues. May neither of our trucks spend any time on our dealer's lifts! And you're kinda proving my point about the forum.

the thing about Dashboard Light is that they measure long term reliability. Specifically long term. If you go through all the manufacturers, the numbers are noticeably better for the last 5 years of production. Those numbers are constantly in flux because they continue to inspect more and more vehicles. Take Toyota for instance. The last time I looked, they had inspected around 280k Toyotas total. That’s for all models and all years. Toyota only makes 100k Tundras per year. The relatively few 2015+ Tundras they’ve inspected have honestly probably not had any problems. That’s just Tundras for you. Overbuilt and underrated. You’ll notice on that site a trend that shows older model years with lower ratings than newer model years of the same vehicle. This is because common problems tend to reveal themselves more over time. The older Tundras are still in the 90s...it makes sense that Tundras that are 5 years old and newer just don’t have any problems. This is my experience and the experience of most Tundras.com people. Enjoy your TB! They are super cool, especially with the 6.2L I have been a Chevy guy most of my life. I just didn’t quite trust the newest generation. I haven’t ruled them out way down the road in the future when I get another truck. And if I ever need to tow more than a ski boat, I’ll have to upgrade my truck for sure. With the Tundra, I may lose the 1/4 mile and get worse mpg doing it, but I’m almost guaranteed to win the race to 300k miles. That was more important to me. I want to drive my paid off truck for 10-15 years. I’d trust older domestics to go that distance and more. But the newer half tons, I’m just not sure about.

I chose a '21 Tundra (the last of the 5.7 v8!) over the 6.2 LT Trailboss. I really enjoyed the 6.2. That's the funnest engine in all the half-tons, in my opinion. But I made the decision I made, and I do not regret it, even with fuel prices creeping up. Factors driving my decision include: 1. The test drives. The 6.2 TB was a beast and a total blast to drive. But it had some minor rattles and squeaks inside and out, and the interior is just as abysmal as the Tundra's. It did not feel as well put together as the Tundra. I know the Tundra's numbers are dated (mpg, low payload), but it drives smooth and feels unstoppable. It is almost as fast as the 6.2 TB despite weighing 1,000lbs more. I'm a fairly conservative driver, but I like to test what it's capable of regardless. The Tundra's interior, while looking outdated, was dead silent. Still is, 6 months and 8,500 miles later. 2. Data gathered at Dashboard Light (they inspect 100s of 1,000s of vehicles and rate them on long term reliability metrics). No surprise that Toyota/Lexus is on top. But full size GM vehicles fare pretty well also. 3. Forum chatter. A minor factor, but a factor nonetheless. The difference between this forum and the Tundra forum is staggering. Here, it's issues (the ubiquitous leaky rear window, transmission problems, weird stuff like insane high revs on startup, the truck completely freaking out electronically, etc...). At the Tundra forum, it's mods and loads of huge off-topic threads (home improvement, hunting, firearms, smoking/grilling, mountain bikes, homemade knives, not to mention the camping, off-roading, and build threads). This just goes to show that once you run out of mods, the topics move to activities that are adjacent to your truck. Many people who sell their Tundras (to move to an HD truck, for example) stay on the forum because it's just a cool place to hang. Most members understand its apparent limitations and don't care if you drive something else. Tundra Pros: • You can see 300-500k miles without ever returning to your dealer. (I do my own maintenance) • Cheaper to own over 5 years than comparable domestic half tons according to Edmunds.com. • My old-ass truck has some modern stuff like CarPlay, dual climate, lane departure warning, smart cruise, etc... • No rattles or squeaks inside or out. Solid. • Extremely tight turning radius for a half ton. Tundra Cons: • Fuel economy • Payload (rated low for a half ton, but owners exceed it daily for years without issue) • Interior styling makes no sense. There are different shades of gray, different textures of black, and CHROME. • Factory stereo is lifeless. • Weak stock leafs. • Interior storage is lacking. I bought a Tundra because I basically wanted to buy a truck and never see my dealer again. It's not guaranteed, but I have the best chance of that with a Tundra. I like the old-schoolness of it. Don't care about mpg because I save a ton every year in maintenance. I use my truck more for off-road adventures than work. I still pretty much only trust Toyota to get me home from the middle of nowhere every time. Our other vehicle is a Yukon. It has been pretty reliable with a few issues that I'd consider more than just minor fixes in its 140k miles (motor mounts, electrical issues, limp mode, P0307 code, prob AFM related). Plus, the interior is so noisy. Rattles everywhere. Seems like I heard and felt the beginnings of that in my 6.2 TB test drive, and that truck only had 16 miles on it.

Two months later, they want to stream ECM diagnostics. Sorry you’re still dealing with this.

Did that fix it?

Here they all are. The red pliers are the front of the engine. #7 looked far worse than all the others.

Well, the Yukon finally threw a code. P0307, misfire in cylinder 7. I bought new plugs and wires and some AC Delco upper engine cleaner. Shot each cylinder full of that stuff and took my youngest to his soccer game. Came back and finished swapping plugs. No more rough idle, no power lag. That cylinder 7 plug was fouled beyond belief. Bought a Range AFM disabler. Hoping our plugs last longer and we don’t consume as much oil.

Well I checked the terminals. Everything was snug, and they didn’t look dirty at all, but I got my terminal brush out and cleaned them again really well. Hooked everything back up, and drove it around a bit. The battery is now showing just over 14V instead of just under. And no acceleration lag. I do still have the slightly lumpy idle though. Maybe it’s time to check spark plugs. It’s VERY irregular, though. Doesn’t feel like I’m missing spark in a cylinder.