The Consumer Reports Reliability crown passes to Toyota thanks to improved Tundra scores despite massive engine failure recalls affecting the 3rd-generation truck.
The influential nonprofit organization says recalls don’t play as large of a role as one might assume.
Toyota Consumer Reports Reliability King
Regaining the crown from Subaru for the first time since 2022, Toyota stands on top of the automotive world for reliability.
This was driven by improvements to numerous models.
Consumer Reports said in a press release its analysts saw, “improved reliability of the Camry, Tacoma, and Tundra, along with a solid initial showing for the redesigned 4Runner, combined to propel Toyota back to the top spot.”
What about the engine failure recalls?
Most consumers watching the truck industry are likely scratching their heads with the 3.4-liter V6 engine in the Tundra being subject to recalls going back to 2022 due to engine failure as well as the new Tacoma having a few hiccups out of the gate with a 106k recalled due a rear hose recall.
With every gasoline powered 2022-2024 Toyota Tundra subject to a recall requiring a new engine, how could it have seen “improved reliability.”
“It is possible,” Steven Elek, Consumer Reports Program Leader, Automotive Data Analytics said in reply to an email. “For reliability, we ask our members not to report recalls, only if they have actually experienced the problem themselves. We also clean our data to remove recall-only responses.
We don’t want to penalize automakers for issuing recalls, but we do report on actual issues experienced by our members. We do see a few instances but so few that it remains average compared to other vehicles of the same model years.”
Looking at the Consumer Reports rankings, the 2022 Tundra had the worst score for reliability while the 2025 Tundra is now middle of the pack for full-size trucks.
Hybrids out perform gas vehicles for reliability
Another factor in the award is hybrid models outperforming gasoline models.
“When it comes to the reliability of electrified powertrains, hybrids continue to stand out,” as stated in a press release. “On average, hybrids have about 15 percent fewer problems than internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, a significant boon to the growing number of Americans who are buying hybrids. “
This is significant for Toyota since they offer a hybrid model in the Tundra, Tacoma and 4Runner. The Tundra hybrid engine is not under recall.
What vehicles were included in the study?
Consumer Reports says its “2026 Automotive Report Card gathered information from car owners on about 380,000 vehicles from model years 2000 to 2025 and early 2026.
One or two years of data will be used if the model was redesigned in 2025 or 2024. CR bases its reliability predictions on data gathered from car owners each year about problems they had with their vehicles in the past 12 months. CR’s team of statisticians, researchers, and testers then analyzed trouble areas and created an overall reliability score for each model and year. Serious problem areas that can lead to expensive repairs are more heavily weighted.”