Toyota is well-known for how reliable its cars and trucks are, and the Tundra isn’t an exception. With that said, the Tundra isn’t a perfect truck, and it does have its fair share of problems. In particular, some model years of the Tundra suffer from a frustrating issue that affects one of the Tundra’s primary features.

The radio doesn’t work

When the current generation of the Tundra was introduced in 2007, the Tundra experienced some technical difficulties. To be fair to Toyota and the Tundra, it’s very common for the newest designs of a car or a truck to have some issues and flaws immediately after it’s introduced. 

In short, the radio just didn’t work at times, according to Car Complaints. This issue was common on two model years of the Tundra, the 2007 model year and the 2008 model year. Some drivers, especially in the 2007 model year, also had issues with the Tundra’s CD player. The CDs would get stuck inside the CD player and the driver had to take it to the mechanic to free those CDs.

In both the 2007 and 2008 model years, sometimes the radio would just turn off by itself. Other times, according to Car Complaints, the radio would get stuck at the highest volume. Overall, this was a very annoying problem since the Tundra in those model years didn’t have many features. The radio was what most Tundra owners used to entertain themselves, and when it stopped working, drivers simply lost their entertainment. 

This radio issue wasn’t just isolated to the Tundra, either. The Tundra’s smaller sibling, the Tacoma, also had a similar radio issue in similar model years. That said, Car Complaints reports that the average mileage of these Tundras were about 50,000 to 70,000 miles. On top of that, the average repair costs were relatively cheap at just $200. 

It’s fixed now

Fortunately for Toyota fans or folks looking to buy a used pickup truck, the Tundra, after the 2008 model year, no longer suffers from this issue. Additionally, in the model years after 2008, the Tundra has had less and less complaints on Car Complaints. For example, in 2007, the Tundra had the most complaints of every model year at 69 total complaints. 

The 2008 model year had 47 total complaints, and every model year after that has had less than 30 complaints. That said, Car Complaints labeled the 2012 model year of the Tundra as the worst model year. This is largely due to its engine problems. But once again, even in that model year, the Tundra’s radio was working fine.

The features on the newest Toyota Tundras

The 2007 and 2008 model years of the Tundra didn’t have many features, as high tech features weren’t common back then. However, as with any automaker, as the years went on, Toyota added more and more features to the Tundra. 

The latest 2020 Tundra comes with many standard features. U.S. News reports that the Tundra has a 7-inch touchscreen, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and Amazon Alexa compatibility, a well-functioning satellite radio that’s connected to a six-speaker stereo system, three USB ports, Bluetooth compatibility, as well as a WiFi hotspot. 

Furthermore, because it’s a Toyota, the 2020 Tundra also has a lot of standard smart safety features. U.S. News says that these include forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, a pedestrian detection system, and adaptive cruise control. 

Toyota also offers premium upgrades which includes an 8-inch touchscreen, a 12-speaker stereo system, and blind spot monitoring. However, because of how new the 2020 Tundra is, it’s not currently possible to determine how reliable these features are. But given the Tundra’s relatively clean record since the 2007 and 2008 model years, these new features should be very reliable.