Toyota Tundra Engine Recall: What to Check Before Buying a Used 2022-2024 Tundra

If you are shopping a non-hybrid 2022, 2023 or 2024 Toyota Tundra, assume it is inside one of Toyota's V35A engine recalls until a VIN check proves otherwise, and get the dealer's repair record in your hand before you pay. The defect is machining debris left inside the twin-turbo V6 that can wreck the main bearings, and the fix ranges from a brand-new engine to a software-driven inspection depending on which campaign the truck falls under.

That is a lot to sort out on a truck that often still costs well into five figures. So here is how the recalls break down, what each fix actually was, and the questions I would ask a seller in November 2026.

What the Tundra engine recall is about

The problem sits in the bottom end of the engine. According to Toyota's Part 573 safety recall report for campaign 24V-381, debris of a particular size and amount may not have been cleared from certain V35A engines during manufacturing. If that debris sticks to the crankshaft main bearings and the engine keeps working at higher loads over time, the bearings can fail. Toyota lists the symptoms as knocking, rough running, a no-start, or a stall, and a stall at speed means a loss of motive power, which is the crash risk that made this a safety recall.

The first campaign covered 2022-2023 Tundras built from November 2, 2021 to February 13, 2023, with 102,092 vehicles listed as potentially involved. Toyota also admitted it could not estimate how many of those engines actually contain debris, and the report says outright that its "1 percent" figure means unknown. Honestly, that line bothers me more than the headline number. It means no one can tell you a given truck is fine just because it drives fine today.

One defect, more than one campaign

This is where used buyers get tripped up. In November 2025, Toyota filed campaign 25V-767, which expanded the earlier recall. NHTSA's acknowledgment letter lists 2022-2024 Tundra, 2022-2024 Lexus LX and 2024 Lexus GX, with 126,691 units, and says the remedy was still under development at filing. Toyota's own newsroom release said roughly 127,000 conventional gas vehicles were involved and that hybrids were not.

Then in June 2026, Pickup Truck Talk reported Toyota's plan for the expanded group: dealers use inspection software and the truck's drive data to judge the No. 1 main bearing, and if the software cannot confirm the bearing is free of abnormal wear, the engine gets replaced at no cost. If it passes, no new engine. That same report put owner letters starting July 6, 2026. So two trucks of the same year can have very different paperwork, one with a new engine and one with a passed inspection, and both can be "recall complete."

How to check a specific truck

Start with the 17-character VIN, not the window sticker or the ad. Run it at NHTSA and on Toyota's owner site, and do it the day you plan to buy. Our Toyota recall check by VIN post shows where each lookup lives. If the result shows an open campaign, the remedy may or may not be available yet at a given dealer, and our guide to recalls with no remedy available covers what that status means for a buyer.

If the lookup shows nothing open, do not stop there. A completed recall drops off the open list, and the seller should be able to show you what was done. Ask for:

• The dealer repair order with the campaign code and the date. For the first campaign Toyota's dealer bulletin listed 24TA07; the later Toyota codes are 25TA14 and 25TB14.
• Whether the remedy was a full engine replacement or an inspection that passed. They are different outcomes and should be priced differently.
• Mileage at the time of the repair, so you can see how many miles the current engine has on it.
• Any towing history. The failure is tied to higher loads over time, so a truck that pulled a trailer every weekend deserves a closer listen.

Our post on how to check whether a recall was completed walks through reading a repair order if you have never done it.

Symptoms worth walking away over

On a test drive, listen at idle with the hood up and again under light acceleration. A knock from the bottom of the engine, rough running, or a hesitant start on a truck with an open campaign is not something to negotiate around in the driveway. Toyota itself says owners with knocking, rough running, power loss or a no-start should contact a dealer right away. I would rather lose the truck to another buyer than drive home on a bearing that is already going.

One odd detail I noticed in the first-campaign dealer bulletin: it lists the recall as eligible for salvage-title vehicles, and the engine replacement labor time at 13.6 hours. So a rebuilt-title Tundra can still get the fix, but it also means you will see these trucks at salvage auctions with "engine replaced" notes and no way to verify the work without the paperwork.

Pricing and the history report angle

A Tundra that already got a new engine under the first campaign is, in some ways, the cleanest of the bunch, because the suspect block is gone. A truck that passed the software inspection carries a bit more uncertainty, and one with an open campaign is a waiting game. I would not pay the same for all three, whatever the listing says. Check values in our used Toyota Tundra buying guide, then adjust for recall status.

A vehicle history report is useful here because dealer service visits, including big ones like an engine swap, often show up with dates and mileage. It will not replace the repair order, though. CarVins sells CARFAX and AutoCheck reports as an independent licensed reseller, not affiliated with either company or with Experian, and nobody gives away full official reports for free. Our price is usually a few dollars against a retail price several times higher; prices shift, so confirm at checkout. Lexus shoppers should run the same drill with the Lexus recall check by VIN, since the LX and GX are in the expanded campaign.

Sources

• NHTSA: Toyota Part 573 Safety Recall Report 24V-381
• NHTSA: Toyota dealer bulletin for Safety Recall 24TA07
• NHTSA: Recall acknowledgment 25V-767
• Toyota Newsroom: Toyota recalls certain Tundra and Lexus GX and LX vehicles (Nov. 6, 2025)
• Pickup Truck Talk: Toyota won't replace every recalled Tundra engine (June 2026)