2012 Toyota Tundra: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Aug 8, 2024 · Engine, Fuel system · NJ

Wife was driving truck and immediately went into limp mode on the highway. Check engine light came on, no accelerating then died. Had to get it towed. This is the 3rd incident with this issue.

Filed Sep 29, 2022 · Acceleration, Electrical · PA

Secondary air injection pump has high rate of failure, recalls in older models. Has caused truck to go into limp mode. Could cause serious accident/fatality if vehicle suddenly goes into limp mode on highway. This has happened on multiple occasions in forums I’ve read. Known problem by Toyota that isn’t being addressed.

Filed Mar 20, 2022 · Engine · IL

Secondary air injection system failed May 2019. ALL dash warning lights came on. Researched on-line and found truck would not have accelerated past “limp mode” (25-30 mph). Had to have vehicle towed to local Toyota dealer as I was over 40 miles from home (all highway). Toyota dealer diagnosed secondary air injection system failure. Cost to repair OVER $3000. Toyota has acknowledged this is a KNOWN design problem on the Tundra “big” V8s but refuses to recognize this is a design problem on the 2012 4.6L V8 models. Local dealer stated “we have lots of these lying around the shop so no problem getting the part.” Indicating this is a common problem/repair. Spoke directly with Toyota Corporate office who refused to acknowledge design fault or reimburse for repair. This is a HUGE safety issue caused by a known Toyota design problem that needs to be investigated by the federal safety agency. Toyota MUST be help accountable for this problem and made to correct the problem with a "recall".

Filed Feb 21, 2022 · Engine · TX

Secondary air injection system failed June 2018. Vehicle went into limp mode on highway, a dangerous situation as you go from 70 to 30 MPH rather suddenly. Alamo Toyota dealership in San Antonio stated code PO418 and needs to have air pumps and valves replaced. Cost estimate of $3362.57. Toyota has acknowledged this is a design problem on certain Toyota Tundras but fails to recognize this is an issue on the 2012 4.6L V8 models. Toyota needs to take responsibility that this is still an issue with the 2012 4.6L V8 models.

Filed Sep 28, 2021 · Engine · GA

Check engine light which when checked revealed Air pump and air control valve failures. This is a known problem with 2006-2011 Tundras that Toyota issued an extended warranty for 10 years or 150,000 to replace these parts. There was additional extended warranty for 2012 with 5.7 Liter engine but not the 4.6 liter engine. Safety issue is when total failure occurs vehicle goes into limp mode with max speed of 25MPH which would be bad at highway speeds. Code was run by repair facility and copy is enclosed. Email was sent to Toyota corporate and upon phone call follow up, Toyota refused to do anything towards the defect.

Filed Oct 20, 2020 · Driver assistance · 105,000 miles · MA

I was merging into traffic on to mass 93 highway when my check engine light, trac off light and blinking 4 loe came on. The engine went into limp mode greatly reducing my power and I lost control and. I had to pull off the lane. I was able to make it to the next exit and get to a mechanics shop. They hooked up a analysis computer and came back with maintenance code p2432, secondary air pumps and secondary air pump valves. I found out that this has been an ongoing issue with toyota tundras going back to 2007 models. The warranty has been extended on 2007 - 2010 models but not newer models which are still experiencing the same problem.I feel this problem constitutes a potentially dangerous safety hazard due to the drastic reduction in power which could cause an accident depending on when the parts in question fail.

Filed Aug 21, 2020 · Engine · 130,000 miles · ME

'12 toyota tundra appears to go into limp mode, brought it to the dealer ship, a recall was listed for something, didn't fix the issue. Had to have about $1,500of work done. Fixed the issue....for 1.5 months. Back at the dealership again, throwing all the same codes for all the same parts. Clearly the parts being used aren't a fix to the problem, and seems like more than just is are having the same issue. At this point it's playing with peoples lives. Toyota dealt with this with earlier models but anything 2012 and up , nothing is being done. Someone is going to get killed if these trucks go into limp mode on a highway and they get hit at 70-80 miles an hour from something out of the drivers control, that toyota knows about. When will a recall condo this, something needs to be done.

Filed Aug 21, 2020 · Fuel system, Transmission · 87,000 miles · NJ

Very serious malfunction with air injection pump. This happened to occur after filling up the gas tank. Multiple dashboard lights came on and the truck went into limp mode. This could have caused a serious accident while on the highway. $2000 plus in repairs for a very dangerous and apparently well known problem with recalls issued in previous model years of tundra and other models of toyota trucks.

Filed Aug 11, 2020 · Engine · 70,500 miles · GA

After filling up with gas and pulling onto highway there was no power like truck was in limp mode and tractor trailor had to swerve off of road to prevent severe accident. The secondary air injection has a severe mal function which toyota only recognized in earlier models and they extended warranty to 10 year and 150,000 miles. This is a severe problem I wish someone would investigate before it's too late and lives are lost. There is not much response time to make a quick decision during this moment. Thank you

Filed Jul 15, 2020 · Fuel system · 101,000 miles · VA

2012 toyota tundra 4.6 l at 101,000 miles went into limp mode causing a lack of power and acceleration during city driving which could have resulted in a rear end collision. Was able to limp vehicle to nearby toyota dealer who diagnosed that the secondary air injection system was faulty. Cost to repair was more than I wanted to pay beingthat I had just purchased the truck within the past month or so. Toyota did not cover the repair so a bypass kit was installed at my expense to get the truck back under power. Contacted toyota and they advised that the system was not covered however it should be noted that on 2010 models and others the warranty on the system was extended to 150,000 but not on the 2012 4.6l engines that have the same problems as the others.

Filed Jun 30, 2020 · 88,000 miles · GA

When in motion the vehicle enters limp mode and loses power. Acceleration by pedal does not function, the engine only revs and does not speed up. The vehicle slows down to anywhere from 25 to 5 miles per hour on its own without stepping on the brake and the transmission doesn't shift. This happens anywhere, highway, street, driving straight, turning, etc. No warning. I almost got rear ended because this problem equates to someone driving on the highway and slamming on their brakes with no brake lights!! I could have lost my life today! Toyota is aware and has been aware since 2007 of the problem and is playing with peoples lives!!

Filed May 13, 2020 · Engine · 107,126 miles · NY

My 2012 tundra with 107k displayed the check engine, 4lo, and traction control warning lights and would only drive in 'limp mode'. Luckily this happened at startup when I was leaving work one afternoon, and not as I was driving at highway speed. I 'limped' to the local dealer using back roads and left the truck for diagnosis. I was notified that the truck was exhibiting code 'p2440' for a faulty secondary air injection system valve, and that both secondary air pumps and valves would need to be replaced to correct the issue. The repair would cost $2500, but "luckily" the dealer had the parts in stock because this was a common problem. Since I needed the truck to get back and forth to work each day, and I am not ready to replace it, I authorized the repair and picked it up the next day. Subsequent research on-line showed that this has been a known issue for years. Toyota extended the warranty on these parts for my 2007-2011, and later for certain 2012 vehicles as well. Unfortunately, it appears that only the 2012s with the 5.7l engine are covered (mine is a 4.6l). From my research, it seems that the pumps/valves in my truck are the exact same parts that are known to fail (and are covered) in other model years. I called toyota customer service, and of course they advised that they would 'log' the issue and contact me should the warranty be extended to cover my truck. Judging by the number of complaints here, I feel that it warrants an investigation and perhaps applying some 'external' pressure to persuade toyota to do the right thing and cover all of the affected vehicles. Not only is this an emissions issue, but could be a serious safety issue if the truck were to go into limp mode while driving.