Author Archive for Jason Lancaster
Jason Lancaster is the editor and founder of TundraHeadquarters.com. He has nearly a decade of experience on the retail side of the auto industry, and another decade of experience of the part and accessory side of the industry.
Nachy Valledor’s AWESOME 07′ Tundra Limited TRD 4×4
We got an email from Nachy a few days ago, and we were amazed when we read about all the equipment he’s put on his truck. The list is crazy — the only thing he’s missing is the proverbial “kitchen sink.”
| PERFORMANCE | EXTERIOR |
| Volant Cold Air Intake | Chrome Westin 3" Bull Bar |
| TRD 16" Big Brakes | Combination bed extender & loading ladder |
| TRD rear sway bar | Pace Edward BedLocker Electric Tonneau Cover |
| Rear Super Springs | Explorer cargo rails and dual Thule Load Rack Bars |
| TRD Dual Exhaust | Bushwacker Fender Flares |
| Weathertech Hood Deflector and Vent Shades | |
| INTERIOR | DIO Running Boards |
| TRD Racing Shifter and Pedals | Stainless Hitch Step w/ Third Brakelight |
| Tundra heavy-duy mats | Lund Hood Scoop (sweet!) |
| Factory NAV system | 20" Factory Aluminum Rims with Falken Ziex Tires |
| Line-X bedliner and Tundra bed mat |
We’ve only got room for a few, but Nachy sent us plenty of photos. You can see them all and get closer detail and explanations.
Even crazier, check out the 152 decible train horn wired into the factory harness that works with the
factory alarm. Yikes! No one is going to steal that truck. Nobody.
Coming soon — TRD Supercharger. As soon as it comes in, Nachy’s going to put it on his truck. Wow. This is the truck we dream about. Really. We dream about trucks. So? Like you don’t.
Nachy — awesome. Just awesome. Our best featured vehicle yet.
New Vehicle Factory Warranties: Toyota Is Last
If you’re considering purchasing a new Toyota, or if you’ve heard anything about Dodge’s new lifetime warranty, you’re probably wondering how Toyota stacks up against the competition.
NOTE: We’ve heard lots of stories about Toyota and others stepping up and replacing parts out of warranty, but since these aren’t official policies they can’t be used as a basis for comparison.
Dodge Factory Warranty: Best Gimmick
In addition to the 3yr/36k mile standard new car warranty, most new Dodges now come with a “Lifetime” powertrain warranty. One reason “Lifetime” is in quote marks is because it’s limited to the first owner. The other reason that “Lifetime” is in quotations is that in order to maintain the warranty, you’re required to have your local Dodge dealership inspect your powertrain exactly every 5 years (at least within 60 days of the purchase date). As if these mandatory inspections weren’t cause for concern, in order to maintain your Dodge “Lifetime” powertrain warranty, quote “It is your responsibility to perform preventative maintenance on your vehicle. You
All Known 2007 Toyota Tundra Problems
Here’s a list of all the known problems with the 2007 Toyota Tundra. We’re not trying to tear the truck down or anything – we love it – we just want to make sure everyone knows what’s going on.
1) 5.7L Camshaft Failures
This is EASILY the most publicized problem with the new Tundra, but we think it was completely been blown out of proportion. Toyota said that this had only happened 20 times. We think it might have been slightly higher than that, but not by much. Since the original news story broke, very little has been heard about any more failures. Many doom sayers predicted the Tundra’s sales would collapse because of this “HUGE” issue, but the Tundra has never sold better. Confidence in Toyota quality remains high, as it should be, and the 5.7 camshaft issue is actually a non-issue.
2) Highway Bed Bounce
This problem is very odd. Because of the specific characteristics of the Tundra’s bed and frame, it is possible to induce a self-amplifying oscillation of the back-end of the truck. Amazingly enough, this can occur at highway speeds as the bed bounces over expansion joints in the roadway. Here’s a video:
Here’s a different video shot on a California highway. At this time, Toyota has not announced a fix. While all trucks exhibit some type of bed bounce on concrete highways with lots of expansion joints, Tundras seem to be worse than normal. Adding weight to the bed and/or a trailer helps, and some other fixes include air suspension and custom leaf springs. The best solution might be to wait and see if Toyota comes up with something official. Finally, if you can drive faster or slower than the harmonic frequency (observed at 55-65 mph) the vibration is vastly reduced. Try using that as an excuse when a cop is writing you a speeding ticket…
3) The stereo shutting off by itself
Of all the problems to have in the world, this one is pretty small. Occasionally, for no apparent reason, a small number of stereos in brand new Tundras have shut off all by themselves. Evidently, this is due to a short in the stereo itself. Toyota is aware of the problem and will replace your stereo as part of the warranty. We’re not 100% sure, but we can’t imagine this problem won’t be fixed in the 2008.
4) One of the air vent’s louvers won’t stay pointed downwards
This problem is actually kind of humorous, so we decided it might be fun to mention. The vent to the right of the driver, due to the effects of air-flow and gravity, has a tendency to creep upwards. In other words, you turn on the A/C, point the vent towards your mid-section, and within a few minutes the louvers have worked themselves upwards so that now the air stream is pointed towards your face. The smartest fix we heard of was to attach a book clip (you know, the black plastic and wire clip) to one of the louvers in such a way to keep it from moving. You could always ask your dealer to fix it, but they would have to remove part of your dash to do so. The book clip seems so much easier.
5) The seatbelt warning chime
A lot of people have complained about the seat belt warning chime. If you take your seat belt off for just a few seconds (say to get out of the truck to get the mail) your warning chime will go off. Also, if you are hauling something in the front passenger seat that weighs more than about 40 lbs, the weight sensor in the passenger seat will think there is a passenger sitting in the seat. If this cargo isn’t buckled in, you’ll get to hear the warning chime. There are lots of solutions to both — check out our article on the Tundra’s annoying seat belt buzzer.
6) Not getting the mileage on the sticker
In our opinion, this issue doesn’t really belong on this list. As long as people buy new vehicles, there will always be some that don’t get the mileage printed on the sticker. First of all, the mileage indicated is an average, meaning half will get more and half will get less. Second, the testing process used to determine those mileage numbers is, well, ridiculous. This isn’t a reflection on Toyota either — the EPA came up with this test nearly 30 years ago. It involves driving VERY slowly with the A/C off and not exceeding 54mph on days ending in “y” with your head cocked at a 17 degree angle…you get the idea. It’s not very applicable to today’s driving. If you’re looking for ways to improve your Tundra’s gas mileage, we wrote about gas mileage earlier this month. But don’t let stories you hear about Tundras getting poor gas mileage scare you off — just know that the mileage printed on the sticker is an estimate.
7) The Tundra is “too nice”
We’ve also heard of new Tundra owners being accused by their relatives (typically domestic truck owning in-laws) of having stuff that was “too nice” and “showing off.” We’re not sure what it is about, but it seems the Tundra gives people the impression that you’re better than them.
Any problems you’ve had that aren’t mentioned here? Tell us about them! We kind of made that last one up btw.
Search terms people used to find this page:
- https://tundraheadquarters com/all-known-2007-toyota-tundra-problems/
- 2007 toyota tundra problems
- 2007 tundra problems
Do After Market Air Intakes REALLY Work?
The modern internal combustion engine is, first and foremost, a pump. It pumps in an air/fuel mixture, and it pumps out power, heat, and combustion byproducts. If you want to improve the efficiency of any pump, one method is to remove any restrictions placed on intake or output. When it comes to most engines, that means intake and exhaust. Since we’ve already covered the Tundra Exhaust System, we’ll focus now on the intake system.
Mario Gilbert’s 2007 Tundra DoubleCab
We got an email from Mario asking us if we would be interested in putting pictures of his 2007 up on the blog. Our answer — of course! Mario has added a few things to his truck. For starters he’s put on a nice chrome bull bar. He’s also got a Ready Lift leveling kit and he’s replaced the stock fog light bulbs with bulbs that have a blue tint. Tinted windows, side steps, a bug shield, and a 4×4 logo round out the mods.
Inside, Mario has a Garmin GPS and a powered sub (not shown). Mario plans to add a MagnaFlow dual exhaust, bigger tires, and a Lear 100XQ topper.
Mario, thank you for sending in these pics. You’ve got a nice looking truck and you’re off to a great start with your mods.
If you want to see your truck on TundraHeadquarters, just contact us! We’re always interested in putting up photos of reader’s rides!
