F-150 Reputation Resistant to Rust, Fire, and More. Why?
Jason Lancaster | May 18, 2011 | Comments 26
In the last 5 years, the Toyota Tundra has had some serious quality issues:
- Frame rust problems
- Weak tailgates
- Unintended acceleration recalls
While this list is definitely bad, can anyone honestly argue that it’s worse than the F150’s list of problems?
- 1.5 million trucks recalled for spontaneously exploding airbags
- Faulty cruise control modules that have been linked to dozens of vehicle fires
- 2+ million trucks likely to be recalled for rusting fuel tank straps
Granted, Ford has yet to recall the F-150 for rusting fuel tank straps, but all signs point to an imminent recall.
The question is: In light of all of this info, how can anyone honestly argue that Tundra’s reputation for quality or safety is any worse than the best-selling truck in the industry, the Ford F-150?
How Could Popular Opinion Be So Wrong?
As you probably heard, Toyota recalled a small number of Tundras earlier this week for improperly calibrated tire pressure monitoring systems. The total number of trucks recalled? 1,629. Yet when you look at the comments on that article, you’ll find a number of people who talk about how much of a “POS” the Tundra is. This is my favorite:
The Tundra is an unreliable POS…Why the hell would anyone buy this over a better built American truck.
I find this comment ridiculous because a) the Tundra has won numerous awards for quality and reliability from JD Power, and b) the Tundra is more American than most “American” pickups.
Now compare this comment on a Tundra recall article to comments on this article about the F-150’s rusting fuel tank straps…see anyone calling the F-150 unreliable, poor quality, etc?
How can this be? Toyota recalls 1,600 Tundras for a tire pressure monitoring calibration issue and the peanut gallery erupts. Ford may recall 2.7 million F150s for a potential fire hazard and…crickets.
To be clear, this post isn’t about Tundra vs. F-150…if it were, we’d have to give the F-150 the nod for having better engines and more configuration options, but then we’d have to give the Tundra credit for resale value, quality and reliability ratings, etc.
The question here is this: How is it that the Ford F-150’s reputation for quality is better than the Tundra’s, despite the fact that by any objective measure the F-150 has just as many major quality issues?
Please comment below…I’m really wondering how this can be. F-150 fans and owners are welcome – all I ask is that everyone keeps it civil.
Filed Under: Auto News
I think the simple fact is most Americans want to believe that America makes the best stuff, and honestly don’t WANT to like the Tundra or any foreign car for that matter. I get into the same arguments at a gun forum website I belong to, a good majority all want stuff made in America, despite that some of the best firearms made outside the US.
I want America to build great things and I want Americans to buy those great things. But unfortunately in a lot of cases American companies have turned their backs on quality in order to make a bigger buck. Simply look at the big 3 shipping production to Mexico and Canada for proof. There was a time when you couldn’t beat a good piece of American steel, but that time has passed because is not American steel anymore and some people just have a hard time letting go.
My favorite is the Ford, Chevy, & Dodge guy that have no clue the Tundras are designed in Torrance California and built in the kick ass state of Texas.
Sorry big 3 guys but I just love cramming that down your throat. 🙂
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Jason how can I contact you about plugging a new Tundra related project?
It all boils down to what people are used to. People that say that the Tundra is a POS have probably never even driven one. They have probably always had a Ford and have never, and probably will never, even consider buying anything else.
That’s One of life’s Great questions. The f-series truck doesn’t have a better reputation for quality AT ALL. They are the number one selling line because of the DIRT cheap fleet sales. The Was a study I read a some time ago about Education and vehicle choices. Basically saying that the Less Educated people Seem to make the worst investments on vehicles. Anyway it went into detail and came to the conclusion that the least educated drove fords. SO perhaps the reason there is no rave on the ford recalls online is the other vehicle owners are not to sink to a pissing match level like the Ford owners do…EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Great article Jason. There’s another one brewing for Ford in one of their vehicles that has above all things SUA. Awaiting more info on it. I do agree that’s a funny situation one is a POS and the other “it’s okay to have a recall.”
Jason: It appears you’re harping on the # of vehicles recalled because of a problem. Difference between the F150 & Tundra, is the F-150 sells roughly 3-5 times as many trucks (maybe more) every year than the Tundra. So when a Tundra recall is issued, we’re talking maybe a couple hundred thousand vehicles because that’s all they sold. When you talk about the F150, they sold many millions of trucks over the same time frame. So an F-150 recall is typically larger because they sold so many more vehicles. Doesn’t mean the F150 has more problems, just means there are more F-150’s on the road.
Now if you’re upset about the comments, all you have to do is look at this site, another Tundra site or any Toyota site to see the Ford or F-150 bashing you seek. And comments many times are based on people’s perceptions and/or experiences. Some have had good, some bad with F-150s. Same with the Tundra. Same with any make or model out there. It’s just a fact that in the truck market itself, there are many more people who like the F-150 better for various reasons. There are also many more people out there with good experiences in an F150 than in a Tundra. This is reflected in the sales figures and comments. Doesn’t mean the Tundra is a bad truck, just means more people prefer the F150 is all.
I do find it sad that you attempt to compare the Tundra TPM recall to a Ford recall so large to simply try to prove your point. Why not compare to a similarly impacting recall, say the body control module recall from 12/2010 that impacted roughly 14K 2011 F-Series (1/2, ¾, 1 ton, etc) trucks? But I understand, it wouldn’t help you attempt to prove your point if you did that.
Also, let’s see. The Gen I Tundra’s typically 10yrs old, need their entire frame replaced. The 97-01 (10+yr old) F150s only need the tank strap replaced. Both are critical recalls, but if you ask practically any owner of any model vehicle, I’m sure they’d say the frame replacement is a much worse recall than the tank straps, since if the frame rots out, then there goes everything, including the gas tank. Evidently only the tank straps are rusting out on the F150, whereas the entire under-side of the Tundra is rusting away. Big difference if you ask me, but both legitimate recalls.
Oh and just for perspective. My 2006 F150 has been practically flawless. It had the newest air bag harness, so no recall notice. Hasn’t had any recalls on it in its 5yrs on the road. Has only had 3 warranty items replaced; passenger front speaker (which I blew out with an aftermarket head unit), the message center bulb and the blue oval emblem on the grille was starting to fade. So if many F150 owners have a similar experience as I have had, you can see why their experience is what it is. Oh, and my 2002 F150 prior to my 2006, had no warranties items, and the only recall was the CC switch, which was fixed in 10 minutes during an oil change at the dealer. I’m sure there are Tundra owners who had problems with domestics, which is understandable. But you have those Tundra owners as well jumping ship due to the number of issues they had with their Tundra.
Both are good trucks, just more people out there prefer the F150 for many many different reasons.
people are brainwashed, simple as that.
Just because ford is #1 in sales volume in 1/2 ton trucks, doesn’t really mean diddly to me nor should it to anyone else.
Your question is a little vague in terms of years. I have about 375,000 miles on Ford trucks and their rust issue was no different than anyone else. My Tundra first year in Chicago was not the best and I use this truck for my trucking business. I found by washing more often and using some fluid film on the frame has stopped any rust. I really don’t see any problem having this truck in service for many years. I can tell you this after 40 years in the trucking business and seeing every pickup known to man in yards and in support of drivers that the Chevy 2500 frame seems to be the most resistant to rust not the Fords.
With success comes the critics.
AJ: Are you referring to the F150 or Tundra?
The F-150 has been more successful over the years covering the T100, Gen I and Gen II Tundra’s. So if critics come with success, then there should be many more critics of the F150 than of the Tundra.
Josh – That makes a heck of a lot of sense, but the kicker for me is that the Tundra *is* American. It was designed in the USA and built in the USA, and federally mandated data shows that its’ “more American” than trucks from GM or Chrysler-Fiat.
I’m not arguing of course, I’m just saying that liking the Tundra is liking an American product. 🙂 But good point and thank you.
Dez – The contact form works, as does email: admin@tundraheadquarters.com 🙂
Marc – Good point. Owner loyalty is big in the truck community, and I suspect a big number of people have never even SAT in a Tundra yet bad mouth it.
cater – I remember reading that bit of news too. I’m not sure how true it is, but that might explain why we see dumb comments.
Mickey – Thanks! I hadn’t seen the Ford SUA claims yet, but I’m guessing it’s driver error. It’ almost always is.
Justin – Wasn’t trying to harp on numbers – you’re correct in that Ford recalls more trucks because they build more.
Not sure what you mean when you say that I’m choosing the TPMS recall to compare to a major recall to prove a point. My point: Ford has a fairly major recall brewing and comments were mostly innocous. Toyota has a really minor, stupid little recall, and the comments were over the top.
Are you saying that people are more likely to comment negatively on small issues than they are on big ones?
I agree that Tundra frame replacements are infinitely worse, but the number of Tundras effected is small…it’s mostly limited to trucks in the North East. Doesn’t sound like that’s the case for the F-150. Still, your point that frames are bigger than straps is well taken…my only response is that Toyota’s biggest supposed quality problem in the history of the company was completely make believe.
I agree that both are good trucks, but what I don’t understand is why so many people hate the Tundra in a way that is unique. At least from my perspective.
mk – I wholeheartedly agree sales figures are meaningless, and I say that knowing that the Camry is one of the best-sellers in America.
AJ – Always true. Justin’s point about how you measure success is a good one.
To all: The one answer I didn’t hear – but that I fully expected to hear – is that Toyota makes Ford, GM, and Chrysler-Fiat owners insecure. Toyota’s success in the car market is indisputable, and I believe that many “domestic” truck owners are threatened by that.
Yes, with the success of the tundra comes critics from out of the dark.
mk: It doesn’t have to mean didly to you. But it does mean a lot to the industry, as all truck manufacturers want to get to the level of sales that Ford is at. All auto manufacturers are in the industry to “sale vehicles”, otherwise they’d go out of business. So to say sales don’t mean diddly is a little short sited on your end. And like I’ve stated before, and as Jason likes to refer to (McDonalds), the sales from McDonalds burgers versus the sales of a vehicle are quite different. People will just drop into Mickey D’s for a cheap burger on the go. When people purchase a vehicle, it’s not split decision, on the fly, it’s an investment.
Mickey: Yup, the Freestyle is being investigated. Which the Freestyle was a flop, very low sales figures and why it was replaced rather quickly. My bother owns one though, and I have warned him, even though he’s never experienced said issue. From what I’ve heard from my Ford people, is it deals with the throttle body and a cleaning in the past have cured the problem. But we’ll find out more later. And I won’t defend the vehicle and its flaws, if there is truly a problem, then Ford needs to fix it, no if’s ands or buts.
cater: You may want to check those dirt cheap prices. It’s not always the price. Many times the fleet techs are certified in particular vehicles and the shops have tools for said vehicles. So sometimes to jump from one brand to another would require training the techs and purchase of new tools, which isn’t cheap. Also, the F-150 still appears to sell more than the Tundra, even if you were to exclude all fleet sales. And that article you reference, I think was highlighted in one of Jason’s posts in the past, can’t remember for sure. Problem is, there wasn’t much of any foundational study behind this research to validate their conclusion. So it was a fluff article without any true substance.
Marc: I’ve driven a few 07-09 Tundra’s. They certainly are not POS’s as many of those people are posting. But in my direct comparisons to the F150, I’ve found the F150 to be the better “overall” truck. The Tundra is certainly superior in some area’s, but not all and falls short in many other area’s.
Jason: It just appears that you are showing high volume Ford recalls, but show lower figure Tundra recalls, or fail to show the actual number impacted. Which can make one believe you are attempting to sway your audience.
In your comparison, you used a very minor and recent recall for the Tundra, but a high volume recall on very old trucks for the Ford. Need to compare apples to apples. High volume to high volume, old to old, new to new. You were cherry picking which you wanted to compare to better proove your point is all. Now I won’t defend the comments made by idiots that are Ford biased on many different sites, I can’t control their mind set. Just like you can’t control the idiotic dribble that comes out of many Toyota fans mouths. People are simply going to comment, and as you can tell, there are many more domestic truck owners out there than Tundra, so you’ll simply see more negative comments about the Tundra than about the domestics. It’s the law of averages. Less Tundra owners equals far fewer negative comments from that group.
And how do you know the Tundra frame replacement figure is low? Do you know exactly how many were recalled? And a truck in TX could have come from the NE, so the current region of the vehicle plays no part in where the truck is when the frame is replaced. The NHTSA, from what I’ve seen, has had 38 reports of the F150 fuel tank stap issue. Like the Gen I Tundra, these trucks are a decade old, and you can’t say where the truck originated. So just because someone in CA who currently owns the vehicle had the issue, doesn’t mean the original owner didn’t live in the rust belt for the majority of the trucks life.
People are afraid of competition, and this appears to come across as hate. Personally, I like competition, as this makes all manufacturers up the bar. So while I see negatives about the Tundra, the F150 has it’s own flaws as well. Nothing is perfect, these vehicles are built by humans.
And I’m not insecure, being one of the only domestic owners who posts to this site. I appreciate someone coming in and upping the bar. This to me means the next truck I purchase, from whatever manufacturer that may be, will be that much better because of this!
Agree with your last statement Jason. Being that I owned 2 of the big 3 before my Tundra I can make a statement on the subject.
The Tundra doesn’t sell well because people who test drive before they buy can tell rather quickly that the F-150 is a far superior truck. Hell, you don’t even need a test drive to figure that out.
hey PePe,
people buy the truck they can afford. me the tundra, you the zippo (f150) then down the line to the cheaper ones.
Justin – In your response to mk, you mentioned that people look at vehicles as an investment. I agree. In fact, this is precisely why Ford’s fleet sales are so much stronger than all other manufacturers. From the perspective of lowest overall cost, the F-150 reigns supreme.
To be clear, I’m not saying that the F-150 is bad (it isn’t). However, they sell the most trucks because they’re the *cheapest* trucks. Cheap doesn’t always mean bad, of course, but a typical F150 is less expensive than a Tundra, GM, and even a Chrysler-Fiat. Combined with Ford’s larger dealer base and their large base of loyal consumers, they’re a juggernaut…but NONE of that is proof that Ford makes a better product.
For the record, I’d say the latest generation of F150 has every base covered. I still like the Tundra’s resale value and powertrain, but I must acknowledge that Ford’s fuel economy is better and that isn’t a small difference.
Still, at the end of the day, sales figures are proof of nothing more than sales. Being number one in sales isn’t the same as being number one in quality, value, reliability, etc.
Also, I think you missed my point about the comparison of a relatively minor Tundra recall to a fairly major F-150 recall.
The idea is that the over-the-top reaction to the stupid little Tundra recall is evidence that many more people have a negative attitude about the Tundra. The fact that the recalls are so different only proves my point…people over-react to something stupid because it’s associated with Toyota, yet give Ford a pass for something that’s more significant.
I think your explanation about the number of Ford owners exceeding the number of Tundra owners is a good one.
Also, please keep in mind that I don’t think all F-150 owners are insecure. I think that some domestic truck owners lament the fact that Toyota, Honda, Hyundai etc. have dominated car sales, and fear that these companies will come to dominate truck sales at some point as well. Therefore, they over-react.
…but that’s just one theory. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Pepe – You can tell that one truck is better than another on looks alone? No test drive needed?
If that’s really true, than you need to change careers and start buying used cars at auction…your skills to see into the future would be really valuable to every used car dealer in America.
Just have to sound off, I spent close to 2 months shopping for truck. I have to admit from previous expirence I wouldn’t even consider a GMC product(my 2003 Silverado was in for warrenty work six times in six months, one of the items was replacing rearrotors with less than 20,000 miles on truck)
For those two months I went back and forth inbetween Ford and Toyota. I had been leaning towards the Tundra when I came home for lunch one day and came out of my house anf found my 2001 F-250 Superduty with smoke and flames coming from under the hood. By the time the fire co. got there it was burn’t to the ground.
After doing some searching on the web I found out about the Cruise control recall(which is basically a fire-bomb) which covers many years of Ford trucks. In my research i found out about 144,000 2011 F-150s recalled due to body control module malfuntion which results in “Fire”, after this I started calling the Fords “Fireds” In the article about the recall, they stated two trucks caught on fire before leaving the Dearborn plant.
I am with you Jason, Toyota had been making quality vehicles in the US for close to 50 years with very few recalls(most in the last couple of years). While the “American” companies have recall after recall almost every year on one model or another. You are right, when you are on top people will take the smallest thing and make a mountain out of it.
By the way, the salesman at the Ford dealership didn’t even know about the Body control recall on the 2011 F-150s. You would think if you were selling a truck with 144,000 vehicle recalled in ONE MODEL YEAR, you would know about so you could respond to questions. But if you have recalls all the time, I guess it is considered “normal” to have a recall.
By the way the insurance co finally paid off my “Fired” and I picked up a new 2011 Tundra Dbl Cab TRD. The more i driv e this truck, the more I am impressed.
PS The only reason the Ford has a 6-speed trans, full frame, 2000 lbs payload(2wd ONLY) is because Tundra’s had the tranny and payload first and Ford is trying to beat Toyota….So competition is good, we ge better trucks.
By the way Ford makes great trucks, but Toyota is a better overall deal though!
Jason,
Help Me with the tally,
FORD offical recalls
1 Body control module
2 Air bag deployement
3 Gas tank Straps
4 Cruise control switch
TUNDRA offical recalls
Frame rust ? (is this a recall or a problem)
Drive shaft Yoke (less than 5% affected)
Please correct items on either list, I did not look up, all from memory.
Hayzee: Couple items of note. The F250 was recalled in Aug. 2006 for the CC switch. While this is a faulty Ford part, the vehicle owner also has to take responsibility and accept any consequences for not fixing the issue in nearly 5yrs. I’m surprised the insurance agency didn’t find any negligence in your actions. It’s a quick, 10 minute procedure, or the owner can simply disconnect the CC. So while I’m sorry this occurred, you also share blame in not taking the truck in for the fix. It was well publicized and owners should have got a notification, I know I did on my 2002 F150, heck even my insurance agent sent me a letter. I’d say the same of an owner of any make/model. If the owner fails to have a recall fixed in 2yrs, let alone 5yrs, the owner shares equal blame for any ramifications.
Ford actually had a 6spd prior to Toyota, only Ford was working through the kinks in the Expedition and Navigator. So yes, the Tundra had a 6spd before the F150, but the Tundra isn’t the reason Ford put the 6spd in the F150.
The towing and payload figures, as Jason will also admit to (or at least he has in the past), are all paper numbers, marketing and to one up the other. But the F150 has always had the higher payload, in both 2WD and 4WD. It’s the max tow rating that the Tundra held for a couple years that the F150 recently reclaimed.
And Ford’s frame has been in use for much longer than the Tundra frame, so I have no clue what you are talking about. Fords frame is fully boxed, front to back. The Tundra frame is not, as it is 3 frames put into one. If I remember correctly, it’s a full box up front (engine bay), a slightly smaller box in the middle (cabin) and then a C-channel out back (bed). I’m sure Jason can correct me on this, but both trucks have completely different frame designs, and Fords has been in use since 2003 (as a 2004 model F150).
Regarding the recall of the body control module, it was only 14K units (14,737 to be exact), not 144K units, but thanks for embellishing though. This impacted F-Series trucks (not just the F150) and Edge/MKX vehicles that were built over a week’s time. The majority of the vehicles impacted were still sitting at the plants quality & control sections, and had not shipped to dealers. There was a small percentage that had been delivered and purchased though. And for the dealer not knowing about this can be somewhat expected. Only 14K units impacted, most fixed prior to delivery, so most dealers have never even dealt with this issue.
Hayzee: The Gen I & Gen II Tundra’s have had their fair share of recalls brother, just as the F-Series has. So it’s just as imperfect as any item created by man. Here are a few that I’ve seen over the past few yearts.
1: Floor-mat
2: Gad Pedal
3: Camshaft
4: Ball joint
5: Air bag switch
6: Frame rust (as you stated)
7: Tire pressure monitor
8: Driveshaft (slip-yoke as you stated, multiple recalls)
9: Front & rear propeller shafts
Hayzee Ford had the 6 speed tranny in their Excursions to test it before putting it in the F-150. They had their failures but now the issue is fixed on that. Ford had plenty more recalls and even the same C/C recall for a second time. Like Justin mention the owner has to be responsible and take it in. Just shows you that the Ford owners know more than the manufacturer by having the C/C for a second recall.
Justin I can’t call a floor mat and the camshaft recalls. The gas pedal is still yet to be proved that it was the culprit of the runaways. The propelleor shaft recalls was for the 4×4 only. As for the floormat recall I didn’t even bother with that.
Thanks for all the info to all, as I stated all is from memory.
As to the recall on my truck, I purchased the truck used in 2008 and I never received any thing from Ford. My insurance company did a full investigation and found no-fault on my part.
A lesson learned though, investigate any used vehicle purchase to fullest extent, including web searches for item not reported by manufactuer.
I am sorry to hear about all of the recalls by Toyota. My wife is on her second Prius going on 65,000 miles and no problems (1st went to 107,000 before we sold to friends who have been driving it since 2008) I think the accelerator issue is showing a bigger problem in the US. Drivers today are just that, a “Driver”. What happen to the day when we had “Operators”, people who knew how there vehicle worked and its limitations. What does a operator do when a vehicle accelerates on it’s own, you dis-engage the transmission,ie put into nuetral. This stops the vehicle from accelerating and continues engine power to brakes, steering etc. I personally tried this on my wife’s Prius while accelerating hard and it works. If you do not know how to stop your vehicle, you shouldn’d be operating it.
hayzee: Yeah, the best thing to do when purchasing a used Ford is have a Ford dealer run an OASIS report on the vehicle. It’ll tell the history of the vehicle, including any recalls that may have or not have been performed. I’m sure GM, Toyota and other manufacturer’s have similar databases that’ll give you the same info on their vehicles.
And recalls happen. Remember, automobiles are made by imperfect humans. So no matter who makes the vehicle, the potential for there to be issues is always there. Some manufacturers simply have a lower problem and/or recall rate is all.
We beat the SUA issue to death on this site. And we all came to the same conclusion as you did. People don’t know how to operate their vehicles anymore, they are most just lemmings behind the wheel. And just for some FYI, some vehicles out there today (think some Lexus models) are designed to keep the vehicle in drive if moving at a certain rate of speed or higher, even if the gear selector is put into neutral. The vehicle computer was designed to see this as accidental by the driver and overrides the command. These people truly had to turn the vehicle off as the vehicle would not respond to the change in the gear selector. That’s why it’s always a good idea to read your owners manual, as the manual will inform you of this. But now Toyota has programming the brake override software, so that should help cure any potential SUA.
Mickey: Ford really only had one CC recall, they just kept expanding the recall to cover more and more models and years. They had used the same CC switch all the way back to some late 80’s models up to about 2003. Some model vehicles had never experienced a fault or fire, but because those vehicles had that particular switch in question, Ford was required to install the bypass. Most problems occurred with where Ford located the switch on the F-Series trucks. So no 2nd recall, just an expanded recall to include more, potentially impacted vehicles.
The camshaft recall, no one truly knows how far reaching that was. I know we’ve heard of 20 incidents, but I’m sure there were more. Maybe not a high volume though. Also, the floor-mat recall is a little BS (mostly the drivers fault), but it endangered drivers none the less. In some ways, it’s a little similar to the Ford Air Bag recall in my eyes. From all NHTSA reports on the Fords that had their Air Bag deploy, the owners had stated the air bag light on the dash had been on for quite a while, and there were trip codes in the Fords that showed the air bag lights were on. So for the floormat and air bag issue, some fault needs to go to the driver, as there were signs of an issue that the owners never resolved, with a very bad ending. It wasn’t like the air bags were deploying suddenly without warning.
And if the gas pedal and floor mats weren’t the cause of the runaway Toyota’s, than what was? Are you stating there is a problem that Toyota and the NHTSA hasn’t found out about yet? I’m sure there was/is an issue that caused the SUA, but most accidents occurred because the drivers didn’t know how to react.
Justin what caused the SUA not runaways was the tranny sensors. I had the SUA before my tranny went south. Now that I have a rebuilt one I can’t replicate the SUA at all. Now the runaway was caused by different mats in that vehicle. Of course you know that. The mat recall was put there just to calm people down period. You know as well as I people will not be responsible for their own actions which caused the issues. Example the guy in the so called runaway Prius. Here you have a guy reaching down to his gas pedal trying to pull it back saying he thought that was more safer than taking the shift knob and hitting it to the left and that puts a Prius in neutral. Justin the way it was put out here by the news was the C/C was a second issue of the same recall. No expanding new vehicles. Just that Ford didn’t get many responses on the first recall which was many years before this one last year.
Hayzee the wife has an 07 Prius Pkg 6. Which has 76,000 miles on it. We only replaced tires and both headlight bulbs on it. Needless to say with her 52-59 mpg she gets a day has been a lifesaver for her since she has to drive 45 miles one way. My Tundra has 110,101 miles on it. Only tranny/torque replaced at 96k and 4 warranty issues with 3 of them caused by me. Still on original brake pads with 35% on rear and 40% on the front.
Hayzee – I’m sorry to hear that your SuperDuty had a fire, and I’m happy to hear that no one was hurt and that there wasn’t any further property damage. I also think that your top two options – the F150 and the Tundra – were good ones. It doesn’t shock me that the Ford salesman didn’t know about the recalls – most salespeople (Ford, Toyota, or otherwise) are ignorant of their product.
As for the recall list you provided, the gas tank strap recall isn’t technically official (yet). The Tundra recall list could be longer, but most of the recalls for both vehicles are relatively minor.
Ultimately, I think the choice between the Tundra and the F150 comes down to your personal needs, gas mileage, and resale value. The Tundra’s resale value is best, the F150’s gas mileage is best, and both trucks have different packages that work best for different purposes. I also think choosing either vehicle is a good decision.
Justin – I would agree that all tow ratings prior to the 2011 Tundra’s were as much fiction as they were fact. However, Toyota adopted the new SAE towing standards on the 2011 model and I’d put stock in them. I think the newest F150 also follows the SAE standards as well.