No, most of us are driving and enjoying. Not like you with virtually all posting history worrying about the engine. You should be more "super concerned" about your mental health and just buy the GX dammit.
GX 550 V35A Engine Recall Possibly Expanded?
- Thread starter Spearone
- Start date
Spearone, you don’t own a GX do you? If you’re still waiting on the ‘27 in the hope of a new engine, pretty sure you’re going to be disappointed. You’re more worried about this engine than those of us that drive the vehicle. I’d move on to something that doesn’t cause you so much anxiety pre-ownership. Life’s to short amigo.No, most of us are driving and enjoying. Not like you with virtually all posting history worrying about the engine. You should be more "super concerned" about your mental health and just buy the GX dammit.
it was the number 3 bearing.
I'm not concerned at all to this point. I know the Tundra obviously has a lot more volume in terms of vehicles out there, but there are enough GX's out there that people would be posting about issues at least somewhat regularly on here and the facebook groups and I've only seen 2 posts total and both were early models within the existing recall.
Some people sit around at night and wonder if the light in their refrigerator REALLY went out when the door was shut.....
I’m interested in an OT/OT+ and have been doing quite a bit of research. Here’s how I’m looking at it:
don't forget - Toyota has recalled multiple engines in the past, with issues that they later resolved. The engines later became solid - 1MZ-FE, 2AZ-FE, 2GR-FE, etc.
Ultimately, I’d weigh the risk against how you actually plan to use the vehicle. If you’re leasing or trading it in within a few years, your calculus might be very different from someone planning to keep it for a decade and take it deep into remote areas.
Hope this helps, its interesting to me - thanks for letting me nerd-out a bit
- Context matters when asking for advice. There’s nothing wrong with researching the issue, but sharing why you’re interested and how you plan to use the vehicle helps others give more relevant feedback. For example, I don’t tow. I don't keep cars longer than 3–5 years and don’t have kids, but I regularly take long road trips and explore remote parts of the country. Getting stranded wouldn’t be the end of the world, but it would piss me off enough that I’d probably swear off Toyota/Lexus for good. Everyone has different priorities and risk tolerances, so the forum's answers will vary by person/poster. I'd assume stressing the engine with heavy towing likely increases your chances. If you have kids but don't tow - go Land Cruiser 250.
- The issue appears to extend beyond the original recall population. The recall has affected 2024 GXs, but there have also been reports involving replacement engines and 2025 and I believe 2026 models. Toyota attributes the issue to machining debris, but given the continued reports, it’s reasonable to question whether there’s a deeper design issue at play:
- The actual failure rate is difficult to verify. The numbers aren’t fully transparent, reportedly due in part to NDAs. Based on the total recall population and reported engine failures, estimates cite around 7,500 engines have failed out of approximately 270,000 recalled vehicles - less than 3%. Estimate, not confirmed failure rate.
- Toyota has introduced an updated repair procedure and replacement parts. My understanding is that the remedy includes updated engine components, potentially including a revised crankshaft. However, it’s difficult to determine whether this will permanently resolve the issue, particularly given reports involving 2025 models.
- Toyota is using an acoustic AI-based diagnostic tool. The tool analyzes engine sounds to assess the condition of the main bearings and help determine whether an engine qualifies for replacement. Honestly, my take is a way for them to cut costs.. and definitely not how I'd want my car handled. Imagine the tool diagnoses your engine as a non-recall, then it fails outside of your warranty period? omfg lol
- Look at the alternatives, too. GMC, Chevrolet, and Cadillac have current recalls affecting hundreds of thousands of vehicles, Ford has had major engine-related recalls involving models like the Bronco and F-150, and Nissan/Infiniti have had recalls affecting the QX50/QX55. Every manufacturer has its own set of issues. Toyota has historically had one of the strongest reputations for reliability, but unfortunately, shopping in this segment may come down to weighing the risks rather than finding a completely risk-free option.
don't forget - Toyota has recalled multiple engines in the past, with issues that they later resolved. The engines later became solid - 1MZ-FE, 2AZ-FE, 2GR-FE, etc.
Ultimately, I’d weigh the risk against how you actually plan to use the vehicle. If you’re leasing or trading it in within a few years, your calculus might be very different from someone planning to keep it for a decade and take it deep into remote areas.
Hope this helps, its interesting to me - thanks for letting me nerd-out a bit
My view is of the universe on this forum ii has impacted only small % of vehicles made in early 2024 and those made before.. I take all the ‘sky is falling’ YouTube videos as much to to about nothing given there have only been 2ish people on the forum who have presented compelling details.
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Simple question - Do you trust Toyota/Lexus?
For some owners the brand reputation is one of the largest reasons they even bought a GX to begin with. Others it may be looks, style, functionality. What’s your experience w/ Toyota/Lexus?
My experience allows me to say I do not know of any manufacturer I would trust more if a major failure happened. I don’t worry that they create, fire & forget a vehicle/design like some makes. Owning several over the years I’ve seen them continually improve their products, unlike the experiences from owning other makes.
So simple answer for me. Good luck with your decision..
For some owners the brand reputation is one of the largest reasons they even bought a GX to begin with. Others it may be looks, style, functionality. What’s your experience w/ Toyota/Lexus?
My experience allows me to say I do not know of any manufacturer I would trust more if a major failure happened. I don’t worry that they create, fire & forget a vehicle/design like some makes. Owning several over the years I’ve seen them continually improve their products, unlike the experiences from owning other makes.
So simple answer for me. Good luck with your decision..
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Agree - Lexus North America will stand by it and the owner
So just turned out, one of cases reported on this fourm turned out to be a faulty sensor. Not saying it should happen but it is a false alarm in the end. At this point, there is only one known case on this forum related to this specific engine recall. Not saying this problem doesn't exist but I do think it blow a little out of proportion.
This reminds me of the line, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one's there to hear it, does it make a sound?". We tend to only get complaints on social media and forums, and those tend to drown out the praise. I'm NOT minimizing an issue that is mega-serious if it happens -- but I'm also hoping/praying that it never impacts my '26 OT+!
I run a performance shop here in Texas, and got a lightly used 2024 with 21k miles (have 23k now, its been about a month of ownership). Production date is 5/24, so just barely outside of the recall date of 2nd week of April 2024. I had an opportunity to trade this one in for a '27, and decided against it. It's no different and the $$ didn't make sense in this case. I also didn't want to start taking this back to stock any time soon.
That being said, I don't do warranty or aftermarket warranty claims at my shop, so I opted to get the extended warranty through the purchasing dealer good for 100k miles on the cheap. Will I ever need it for a possible 3% failure rate? Not likely, and it doesn't keep me up at night either.
And if eventually they do expand the recalls to other production dates, it will likely include 5/24 and beyond, which is good for the life of the vehicle anyway. Forums are inherently confirmation biased, people will VERY easily come onto a forum or chat platform to complain about their negative experience (mob mentality, and piling on), rather than their positive experiences - most people with positive experiences are too busy to just enjoy the thing in question.
That being said, I don't do warranty or aftermarket warranty claims at my shop, so I opted to get the extended warranty through the purchasing dealer good for 100k miles on the cheap. Will I ever need it for a possible 3% failure rate? Not likely, and it doesn't keep me up at night either.
And if eventually they do expand the recalls to other production dates, it will likely include 5/24 and beyond, which is good for the life of the vehicle anyway. Forums are inherently confirmation biased, people will VERY easily come onto a forum or chat platform to complain about their negative experience (mob mentality, and piling on), rather than their positive experiences - most people with positive experiences are too busy to just enjoy the thing in question.
you sure you're going to be able to warranty with a tune?
They would have to be able to detect the tune, toyota/lexus has no current way to detect it. Easy enough to switch back to stock!
They (Lexus dealer) plugs in the diagnostic system and they own you
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yeah. i heard that story. i'd do a tune tomorrow if I really believed it.
two points to consider-
1. you most likely won't have the opportunity to switch back after an engine failure. most likely it gets towed to a dealer from the highway. i know the new tuners have a phone app, but you'll messing with the car on the side of the highway. maybe, maybe not.
2. they obviously have a way to tell. just the same way you can upload a tune they can download the tune and see it doesn't match the file that's supposed to be there. whether they bother, or whether lexus gives these tools to dealers is another question. pretty sure it depends on the circumstances, and it's unlikely they will bother with an engine they knew is likely to be faulty, but you don't know until you try...
i'm guessing it also depends on how common are tunes on this engine. pretty sure they assume every Supra is tuned.
edit: to clarify- the VF tuners (afaik) uses a direct to ECU connection, not through the standard OBD port, to avoid a log access line in the OBD log file. but it's still a file upload and they can still download it if they want to verify.
They (Toyota Corporate) would have to definitely prove the tune caused the failure either way (just like any warranty claim). They'd fight you tooth and nail, but the fact of the matter is its your own personal risk tolerance. YOLO and all that.
I know with Ford, they look at how many starts you have had. This resets each time you switch your tune. So,, if you have 50,000 miles and 20 starts, they know you changed something. Not sure if Toyota has something similar.
No, ford does have a flash counter and a neat security feature in the IDS that can assist with extraction of whatever tune. Toyota never developed that. (That I know of as of a year ago, when my IS was being used for testing.)
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