Engine Recalled

[Marinna]

The V35A is even older. It was introduced in 2018 Lexus LS. However, due to small sales volume the problem flew under the radar and it wasn't until the engine was rolled out to mass production models like the Tundra that issue became well known and reported. NHTSA pays more attention to issues that affect "average" consumers than a small niche market like luxury sedan buyers.

I’ve noticed that T24A first came out as non-hybrid, and then Toyota start to change the application to hybrid-only on the engine. And then stating from 2024 LC they recommend premium gas to avoid “engine knocking”

You can look at the direction of this change either from the positive side or negative side. For me that spelled as “Your engine is a fine piece of art, but please treat it as a baby”

 

[Vision83]

Did my 1st oil change at 1300 miles...all smooth highway. Oil is at Blackstone now. This on a 7/4/2025 build. Let's see what comes back. Did a very critical visual on that first oil dropped out into a clean oil pan......used bright LED light, overhead light and daylight....oil was pretty damn clean!!!!! No glisten etc. Let's see what comes out........Oil filters are of critical importance if there is any impurity concern and I stuck with my Purolator TL14476 because I want better filtration than OE..btw notice how MOG uses them.......plenty of flow esp cruising on the highway. My dealer is doing my next oil change at 5000 miles........I will determine whether or not we test it again based on these initial results.

So let the test results people report either put folks like Marinna at ease, or put us all on edge. Do we have a post your oil test results thread.

This has all been documented in the thread I referenced.. that is good resource for many of us that have been dealing with this for over 1 year.

We have posted oil results as well and are seeing very high amounts of metal after the initial break in period. This would indicate according to Blackstone high bearing wear.

 

[Sugarloafer80]

So the 2nd and 3rd changes are not suggesting the INITIAL break in has settled in? I will look for this thread now. Found the rattle noise thread, but not the testing results thread....STILL LOOKING...a little help would be appreciated...that noise seems to be the character of this motor as a 4 banger running at low rpms......good to NOT ALWAYS lug the motor......

Marinna, there are 2 different issues of concern with the choice of gasoline. Everybody seems to understand octane.........but IMHO the even more important reason to stick with premium is the superior detergent levels......folks like MOG have been very straightforward on these discussions. It is a weakness of fuel in the USA...esp in diesel. Motor Oil Geek is one of the few You Tube sites I put trust in because his testing protocols are ALWAYS thorough....if you developed the formulation for break in oils for Joe Gibbs racing, and this has carried forward, you probably know your sh!!...and I am in no way a NASCAR fan, but the detail he puts into a discussion is VERY compelling. He has blown quite a few myths out of the water and convinced me to prefill my oil filters...something I was never taught to do, never knew it was a thing, etc.......and he PROVED IT!!!
Wouldn't it be funny if this little issue was the prime culprit of some of these issues based on the engine design that took a bit TOO long for fresh oil to get back to the bearings.......

 

[katekebo]

1) So far there is no evidence that T24A suffers from similar issues. On the contrary, anecdotal evidence from internet sources and JD Power seems to indicate that the T24A has been relatively trouble free during its first 3 years of sales. That said, long term durability is to be seen. We'll see in a few years.

2) The V35A recall saga is a major clusterfuck. If you take the time to read the documents (manufacturer communications) on NHTSA, it is either symptomatic of total incompetence or stinks of corruption. In any case, it does not reflect well on Toyota.

3) While the T34A is not affected, there are other serious Toyota quality/reliability issues. For example, the 8-speed transmission has been problematic, both in its transaxle guise (UA80) as well as it's RWD layout (Tacoma).

Bottom line, ignoring Toyota's quality and reliability issues won't make them go away. Toyota's overall reliability ratings have been going down. Traditionally, Toyota would score at the top of JD Power Dependability and Consumer Reports ratings, but the numerical scores are going down. CR Toyota brand overall reliability score used to be in the 80's, now it's in the low 60's. Still better than average but far cry from what it used to be.

Toyota fan boys will never accept that their beloved Toyotas are nothing less than perfect, but faith can't change reality nor fix engineering problems. No matter how hard you believe something, reality hits harder.

 

[Sugarloafer80]

Due to the ever increasing complexity of vehicles in 2025, HAS ANY ONE BRAND SEEN AN INCREASE IN QUALITY AND RELIABILITY overall, not just relative to their peers?

Of course the fact that EVERY vehicle has a forum that centralizes the issues so EVERY one who is paying attention finds these problems doesn't magnify these issues at all. This is not at all meant to be Smart ass. I am trying not to enter the 'back in the day" portion of my life but..........................then again, you used to trade in a car before 60k (the major service)....then it became under 90K....now vehicles ROUTINELY live deep into the 100k+++mile zone..........some brands routinely good for 200K + with little extreme care. That used to be a real outlier.

 

[Impatient]

I’ve noticed that T24A first came out as non-hybrid, and then Toyota start to change the application to hybrid-only on the engine. And then stating from 2024 LC they recommend premium gas to avoid “engine knocking”

You can look at the direction of this change either from the positive side or negative side. For me that spelled as “Your engine is a fine piece of art, but please treat it as a baby”

Honestly, I think the premium gas requirement has more to do with achieving stated MPG metrics than anything else. In their initial announcements they oversold fuel efficiency, and my understanding is you can gain 1-2 MPG with premium over regular. I don’t think there’s anything else to it.

 

[MSQ]

 

[TakaraLC]

Are we even sure the engines in LC are made in Alabama site? Toyota has several engine assembly sites in Japan, and it would make more sense to build the engines there. This may also explain why GX is not recalled.

 

[hookem512]

Are we even sure the engines in LC are made in Alabama site? Toyota has several engine assembly sites in Japan, and it would make more sense to build the engines there. This may also explain why GX is not recalled.

The GX is part of the recall though?

 

[katekebo]

Are we even sure the engines in LC are made in Alabama site? Toyota has several engine assembly sites in Japan, and it would make more sense to build the engines there. This may also explain why GX is not recalled.

As far as I know, Alabama made engines are used in Tundra and Lexus LX. Lexus LS and GX use Japan-made engines. But the production lines are identical, including all manufacturing steps. Toyota manufacturing process is extremely standardized, so if something has issues in one factory, it usually happens in all plants that make the same product ("monkey sees, monkey does").

 

[Noctilucent]

As far as I can tell Our LC250 engines are made in Japan.

 

[RideWithYanu]

Toyota builds its flagship models at Tahara because it’s the company’s crown jewel plant with the most experienced workforce and the tightest production discipline. Most Land Cruisers (including GXs and LXs) and other top tier Toyota models come out of this facility for that reason. It’s where Toyota keeps its best tier 1 suppliers and its most exacting quality control.

Tundras, Sequoias, and other NAM-only models are made in Texas, which is…not a crown jewel.

 

[loop320]

That is a good argument . So let’s see if they are “unrelated”

According to public information, both engine (2.4l V4 and 3.5l V6) are at least made partly at Toyota’s factory at Huntsville, AL. During the initial recall back in March 2024, it was disclosed that this could be a systematic issue plagued across all engine manufacturing site. I think Toyota blamed the computerized manufacturing configuration at the time.
Also, the engines made on 2024 GX 550 is likely manufactured during 2H 2023 in same “configuration”, which at least early 2024 LC engine was made under similar conditions before Toyota concluded their investigations, and now Toyota proves that the late 2023 investigation was not thorough.

This thread is not an allegation but speculation. Just remember we are only on the 2nd year of this engine on the new 250 so even it is pretty much unproven right now. It look a few years before the “Tundra-gate” was confirmed. So we’ll see. I really hope this stop at speculation since after all I own a LC that has a rather small serial number in my VIN.

The 2.4 isn't a V, and it isn't made in Alabama, it's made in Japan. It also isn't "unproven" as it's been around for awhile in other vehicles.

 

[BlueCruiser]

Toyota has been making 2.4L turbo engines for over 40 years. It is as reliable and successful an engine design as you could find anywhere.

IMHO pairing it with the hybrid was a brilliant decision that promises greater reliability and an even more exciting road map of capability as battery technology improves.

The latest iteration was launched in 2021 and is being used in multiple families of Lexus, Crown, and Toyota branded cars, vans, SUVs and trucks.

That doesnt mean it can't suffer production or QC issues but its proven track record and broad usage should inspire more confidence rather than less.

Link to history if interested.

Toyota Dynamic Force engine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Marinna]

The 2.4 isn't a V, and it isn't made in Alabama, it's made in Japan. It also isn't "unproven" as it's been around for awhile in other vehicles.

I wonder what makes you be so sure they did not make the engine in Alabama? I found no credible source to indicate that. I think they made the engine in Alabama because of this:

Toyota Alabama kicks off production on new engine line after $222 million project - Made in Alabama

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Toyota Alabama announced today that it has started production on its i-FORCE 2.4-liter turbo engine line at its Huntsville engine plant, culminating a $222 million investment project launched in 2022. Toyota Alabama said the new engine line will provide powertrains for the...

www.madeinalabama.com

As whether the engine is already “proven”, that argument has been debated for a few years so I don’t have intention to repeat the whole thing again. Let’s just say it is my personal opinion that it isn’t.

 

[Marinna]

Toyota has been making 2.4L turbo engines for over 40 years. It is as reliable and successful an engine design as you could find anywhere.

IMHO pairing it with the hybrid was a brilliant decision that promises greater reliability and an even more exciting road map of capability as battery technology improves.

The latest iteration was launched in 2021 and is being used in multiple families of Lexus, Crown, and Toyota branded cars, vans, SUVs and trucks.

That doesnt mean it can't suffer production or QC issues but its proven track record and broad usage should inspire more confidence rather than less.

Link to history if interested.

Toyota Dynamic Force engine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I think even the recalled Tundra engine so far everybody still called its design a master piece, I personally have never seen any single opinion challenging that.

Toyota’s official story is manufacturing process defect left debris there in the engine. So whether T24A is good design or not is of less relevance. I would be more interested to know how many process and machinery are shared between these two engines in their factory.

From the original Tundra report, it seems signs showed up at very low mileages, some not even 10K. I haven’t seen similar report here so far, including my 10K miles LC are running very smooth (less so for transmission though). So let’s hope it stays that way years to come.

 

[Vision83]

From the original Tundra report, it seems signs showed up at very low mileages, some not even 10K. I haven’t seen similar report here so far, including my 10K miles LC are running very smooth (less so for transmission though). So let’s hope it stays that way years to come.

The hybrid that can't...

BLUF: Brought in for exhaust leak and i'm being told Toyota is pulling the engine to work on cylinder 1. Update as of Aug 5, 2024: "Hi Brandon, just called Toyota. They are still waiting to hear back from the Product Engineer. Unfortunately, he does not have an ETA yet." Story below: Well...

www.landcruiserforum.com

Cylinder Wall Scoring and misfires

I’m guessing this is goi g to be a new one, but putting it out there… A couple of weeks ago, I was pulling a camper that weighed a maximum of 4000 pounds, up towards the Eisenhower tunnel in Colorado. The LC sputtered a few times and I had a drastic reduction in power, with a warning on the...

www.landcruiserforum.com

Engine Death Wobble

I’m posting here in hopes that someone can help or point me in the right direction. I haven’t seen anything like this on the Facebook groups or this forum so here it goes. I have a 2024 Land Cruiser LC Edition that has about 12,000 miles. Despite some of the things below, I really enjoy driving...

www.landcruiserforum.com

 

[Noctilucent]

I wonder what makes you be so sure they did not make the engine in Alabama? I found no credible source to indicate that. I think they made the engine in Alabama because of this:

Toyota Alabama kicks off production on new engine line after $222 million project - Made in Alabama

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Toyota Alabama announced today that it has started production on its i-FORCE 2.4-liter turbo engine line at its Huntsville engine plant, culminating a $222 million investment project launched in 2022. Toyota Alabama said the new engine line will provide powertrains for the...

www.madeinalabama.com

As whether the engine is already “proven”, that argument has been debated for a few years so I don’t have intention to repeat the whole thing again. Let’s just say it is my personal opinion that it isn’t.

This is from the Alabama Plants website, No mention of the Land Cruiser or 4Runner in there. (and those are two vechiles engines you would def brag about making) The LC and 4R engine is made in Japan. Unless they ship these engines ALLLLL the way across the ocean from Alabama to Japan... lol which I highly doubt, Even then I'm sure the window sticker would have to reflect using USA made parts. which it doesn't. Instead it says 100% Made in Japan Using Japan Parts for the engine etc.

 

[ultane]

This is one of the reason in my “cons” not to buy GX. But to be honest if one day Toyota do decide to start recalling 2024 Land Cruiser engine I wouldn’t be surprised at all. I even did 4 oil changes(1000/4000/7000/10000 miles) in my first 10K just for this reason so I don’t have to worry about these god damn debris when my car gets older.

Yea, it’s also the reason I may never buy a sequoia.

 

[ultane]

Worse case scenario is having to sit through one of TRDJohn’s awful videos.