These are some nit picks or rare things I've seen on the 2.5 Gen Tundras
2019-2020 Aux Cooler removal.Toyota tested the AB60F transmission and somehow decided an aux transmission cooler wasn't needed.
It has a tiny hockey puck sized "cooler" that routes engine coolant, upstream of the heater core, down to this cooler. So the coolant is super hot going down to the cooler. It used to be called a heater, now they call it a cooler.
These transmission temps, when towing, in high ambient temps were sitting at 275-285F. With no load the temps would be around 235-245 F.
The alarm for high transmission temp is at 302F. lmao.
The good news is that there are very few instances of heat related transmission failures, or failures of any type, in 4 years since this change was made.
Further good news is that this situation is easily solved with a kit from
Genuine Cooling Systems .
They are a bit pricey but it has a great cooler and is all oem replacement parts. It is also fairly easy to install. Plenty of youtube videos.
Front differential needle bearings .Across Tacoma, 4Runner, Tundra, the needle bearings used in the front differential are known to be a problem with lifts over 1".
Even with stock vehicles these have been known to fail. It isn't common, but it isn't unheard of.
The good news is that they are somewhat easy to replace. Changing to a premium gear oil like royal purple or amsoil also seems to improve longevity.
But if you want to get rid of the issue all together, you can upgrade to a heavier duty bushing from East Coast Gear Supply
East Coast Gear SupplyCam Tower Oil LeaksOil leaks from a section of the cylinder head that has a structural tower for the camshafts. The bad part of this is some trucks leak sooner than others. And it is random across model years. Although it seems like the newer trucks have less occurances.
As mentioned above this is quite a job to do.
Fuel pump recallToyota recalled about every fuel pump from every model going 10 years back (in case of some Lexus models)
I've seen maybe one or two instances of the exact failure mode described in the recall on 4runner.org and tundras.com in approximately 8 years of regular participation.
Headlight wiring harnessSome models had an issue with the headlight wiring harness overheating after extreme use.
These are rare issues. Relative to the other OEMs this is an astonishingly short list of issues.
I would buy a 16-20 Tundra with conviction. I'm actually looking at getting either a second Tundra (have a 2019 now) or a second 5th gen 4runner.
EDIT: if you think a new truck is better, I agree with Buck...the Titan Pro4x is a fantastic option as well.