Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Are there any reliable 1/2 tons anymore?

Went through a 2018 F150 with 3.5 ecoboost and had endless problems, cam phaser failure twice, antifreeze disappearing who knows where, oil leaks and it goes on so I traded it off and went back to a GMC.

So the 2020 GMC with the 5.3L ran great for a year and a half no issues until now. Had to get a collapsed lifter and bend rod done and after that I’ve had a flashing engine light that comes on for a short period which apparently means a misfire in engine. Back to the shop.

So is there any reliable 1/2 ton a person can drive for years anymore?

Been looking at a tundra right now….

A few years back I sold my last 3/4 ton and went for the smooth ride of a 1/2 ton 4x4. I looked at tundras and apart from fact my 6' 0" body didnt fit in that little cracker box, all the trannys had some unfixable computer defect where they would kick out of OD or something like that.

I went with a Ram 1500 4x4 diesel which a friend had de-smogged and tuned from brand new. At 125k now and not an issue other than one leaking $50 coolant hose that took $1800 in labor to get to and replace!

If I had to do it again would look at a Ram 1500 with the hemi. You dont save on fuel costs after paying the premium for diesel power and repairs, unless you tow all the time.

To answer your question: NO!

Reliable? You almost had it right the first time; F-150 only go with a 5.0

My tundra is only a couple years old but I’ve had exactly zero problems. I expect it will be like my Tacoma, in 11 years and 210k it was nearly flawless, aside from maintenance I lost one rear axle seal and the temp/compass readout stopped working.

No transmission issues kicking out of OD in my tundra, never heard of that issue.

2022 tundra is a totally different rig hopefully it matches the previous tundra generations reliability.

According to Consumer Reports Magazine and other places that track reliability Tundra has been the most reliable 1/2-ton truck the last few years. It has not always been the highest rated truck overall considering all performance factors, but it has been in reliability. Same as the Tacoma and 4 Runner.

I have owned over a period of 32 years 2 Toyota small pickups (before Tacoma was released in 1995.5) and 4 Tacoma's all 4-wheel drive. It has been ridiculous how reliable they have been. A wheel bearing has been my most major repair.

Correct my post above: I was referring to tacoma not tundra.
I would consider a tundra

I don't keep a truck past 200,000.
Every F150 I've had, all have had minor problems. 1995, 1999, 2013. Had a '09 tacoma between the last 2.
Will say the 99 had a few fuel pumps. I made an all day event down to a few hours. Replaced those crap bed bolts with big ole deck bolts, washes and nuts. Right when I sold it, it had that exhaust manifold rot that was common on the late 90's to early 2000's. Friend bought it and had a guy fix it.
2013 had a few more issues, coolant fitting on top of the motor cracked, Some sort of tranny shift module went out as I was going to possibly trade it on another tacoma. Ford covered it thankfully. Lost out on the tacoma though.
Traded it on a 21 Ranger Tremor. 170,000 on it and it still got 20 mpg on average out of the 5.0.

I could say my 2016 has been great (and it has) but anecdotal reports on the Innanet aren't worth much. I'm sure you'll still get lots of the usual suspects saying Toyotas are junk, or no more reliable than any of the Big 3, but actual data certainly doesn't support that.

I'd be leery of the New Gen 3 Tundra fo awhile. But that's just me. First and second year models seem problematic, IMO.

This was Consumer Report's ranking for light passenger truck reliability. 2020 or 2019. Can't remember which.

Consumer Reports are the biggest money whores in the "Review" business. They have zero credibility, and boost the products that send them money.

That said, some people will destroy an anvil with a rubber mallet too....................

Odd how some people get great service out of whatever they drive, and others will have major problems with 3 or 4 different types of vehicle in a row. That should tell you something.........

Daughter has a '21 Tacoma, V6, 6 sp manual, horse trailer, water tank, hay duty, go to work commute etc, she drives like Mario Andretti on meth...totally reliable trouble free truck but light and squirrely with loaded horse trailer.

My 2018 Ram 1500 4x4 has given me zero issue, except for the dead battery, can't blame the truck for that.

2020 Tundra bought new in August of 2019, 45k miles on it now, only thing I've spent on it is fuel.

Well it’s back in shop and I suspect another collapsed lifter so we will see what tomorrow brings when they look at it….looking at some used Tundras.

Interesting opinion, badger. As far as I know CR doesn't except a single advertising dollar, buys their own test vehicles, and doesn't sell 'advertising rights' to the results of their vehicle testing. Do you have any proof or articles that have other information? I'd be interested to learn more about their business model.

Also, if CR isn't credible, who is? There's got to be something better than anecdotal experiences on the Internet...

Sorry Rob. Vehicle troubles are such a pain, and this is a tough time to be forced into used truck shopping. Strange time for used vehicle pricing. Hopefully prices start to moderate soon. Or better yet, GM gets your truck fixed for good.

It’s a tough time to be shopping for a used vehicle. They seem to still want to give precovid trade in prices but new prices for their trucks

Don’t think that’s entirely true, I’m very easy on my trucks. I don’t off road them, rarely drive over the speed limit and I don’t drive them like I stole it. Most of the time it’s backs and forth to work and I don’t even get to the speed limit. So zero abuse but lots of headaches

I have a 2014 Tundra CrewCab with 5.7L V8. Other than expected maintenance (like a battery, brakes, etc.) it has been pretty much trouble-free. I did have to replace a front strut and shock absorber (no, I don't do off road). It is super easy to change the rear-end differential fluid, though if you need to bring it back to the dealer for maintenance, it ain't gonna be cheap. All in all, it has been a good reliable truck. I also had a 2001 Tundra that was 13 years old when I sold it and it too was very relaible.

Good looking truck!

Can't believe anyone pays attention to the communists at consumer reports.