Toyota Tundra V35A Engine Recall — When the Bearings Can Give Out

Home › Recalls › Toyota › Tundra

Written and legally reviewed by Steven Nassi, Founder & Managing Partner, RockPoint Law P.C. · Published November 6, 2025 · Updated June 8, 2026 · Source: NHTSA Campaign 25V767000

The official NHTSA filing

Can I keep driving while I wait for the repair?

Manufacturing debris in the engine, and bearings that can fail

The main bearings carry the crankshaft as it spins, and they have to run clean to survive the loads a truck engine puts on them. In this recall, Toyota concedes that across these Tundra and Lexus vehicles “debris from the manufacturing process may contaminate the engine and cause the main bearings to fail, which can result in an engine stall and loss of drive power.” Contamination left in the engine when it was assembled is a defect built into the vehicle before it ever reached the owner.

Toyota's filing states the consequence plainly: “a loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.” An engine that stalls without warning , on the highway, while towing, or in traffic, takes away the driver's control at the worst possible moment. Across more than 126,000 trucks and SUVs, that is a defect with a wide reach.

Two facts deepen the concern. First, the remedy is still under development — Toyota acknowledged the defect with interim letters in December 2025 but had no repair to offer, with the final fix anticipated in July or August 2026. Second, this campaign “expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V381” — a sign the V35A engine problem has grown beyond what Toyota first recalled. A widening engine defect a manufacturer can't yet repair is exactly the kind of issue a Lemon Law claim is built to test.

Why an engine recall with no available fix raises the stakes

Owners are right to be uneasy about an engine that might quit without warning — especially when the manufacturer has acknowledged the defect but has no repair to offer and has already had to expand the recall once. That unease is also the legal core of a Lemon Law claim: safety, value, and trust in the vehicle.

A recall obligates Toyota to attempt a free repair — nothing more, and here Toyota has admitted it can't even do that yet. It does not refund you, replace your Tundra or Lexus, or compensate you for owning a vehicle whose engine you can no longer trust. A Lemon Law claim is your personal right to a real remedy when the repair comes up short or comes too late. A recall documents the problem; a claim is what makes the manufacturer pay for it.

State Lemon Laws and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act share three core requirements, and an engine recall with no available remedy helps satisfy the first two before you ever reach the dealer:

• A substantial defect — V35A main bearings that can fail and stall the engine strike at whether the vehicle can be driven safely at all.
• The manufacturer's knowledge — recall 25V767000 is Toyota's written admission, on the record, that manufacturing debris may cause the main bearings to fail — a defect already expanded from recall 24V381.
• A reasonable number of failed repair attempts — this is the part the situation may build for you — because the remedy isn't available yet, time spent driving a known-defective vehicle without a fix can itself become part of the claim.

Protect the vehicle, and the record

The best outcomes go to owners who treat each visit as part of the record. Follow this path to keep your options open:

1. Step 1 · Confirm

   Verify your VIN and watch for the remedy letter

   Check your 17-digit VIN at NHTSA.gov or call Toyota at 1-800-331-4331 (Toyota 25TB14/25TA14; Lexus 25LB07/25LA07). Interim letters were mailed December 16, 2025; a second letter is expected once the final remedy is available, anticipated July or August 2026.

2. Step 2 · Document

   Log every stall or engine symptom — in writing

   Each time you notice an engine stall, hesitation, abnormal noise, or warning light, note the date, mileage, and circumstances. Keep every interim letter and any dealer paperwork referencing recall 25V767000 (or the earlier 24V381).

3. Step 3 · Observe

   Track how long you're left without a fix

   Because the remedy isn't available yet, the time you spend driving a vehicle Toyota has flagged as defective — with no repair offered — is itself worth documenting. Note when you reported any problem and how the dealer responded.

4. Step 4 · Act

   If Toyota can't make it right, call counsel

   If the fix is delayed, the eventual repair doesn't resolve the problem, or you're left driving a defective vehicle too long, you may qualify for a buyback, replacement, or cash. That's when you hand the matter to RockPoint Law.