2012 Toyota Tundra problems
Owners have filed 217 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Toyota Tundra. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 28% of complaints. Next are fuel system (12%) and drivetrain & axles (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 217 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 28% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 11 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 162 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 30 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 11 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 14 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 26 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 42 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 20 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 6 |
What the data shows
Of the 162 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 80,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 81,000 miles (48 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 11 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 10 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 21st most-complained-about out of 27 model years of the Toyota Tundra with enough data (72 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
The engine leaks oil in front of the faulty designed cam tower seal and leaks on the manifold. This caused smoke to come from the oil burning off.
Product almost set my car on fire, luckily I was stop at a car wash when one the cleaning crew members noticed smoke coming out from under my hood my hood , I opened the hood and the actual light bulb was on fire, it burnt my original hardness of my vehicle and the housing of my head light
I was driving my 212 tundra crewmax and when I reached a traffic light--red, I pressed the brakes and the truck started to pull up and the rpm's went high. Even when I pressed the brakes real hard it was still moving forward. I prompted to put the transmission in park and turned the engine off. Restarted it and shifted into drive, the truck pulled up real fast because the rpm's were high, but in about two or three seconds went to normal.
Check engine light illuminated as I departed my driveway. I called toyota service to schedule an appointment which occurred three days later. Toyota service department determined that the air pump, which is part of the emissions system, failed. I was advised the truck could not be driven. As of today (12/17/12) the part has still not arrived at boch toyota south. Will the defective air pump cause premature failure of the catalytic converter?