Toyota recalls about 62,000 Tundra pickups over engine camshaft that can snap

Here’s the short version: Toyota is recalling about 62,000 Tundra pickups because a camshaft inside the engine can snap while you’re driving. If it breaks at speed, the engine can quit on you. That’s not a convenience problem. That’s a lose-your-power-in-traffic problem.

If you own one of these trucks, keep reading. The odds that your specific truck is affected are low, but the way to know is to get it inspected — not to guess.

What’s actually breaking

The recall covers certain 2022-2023 and 2025-2026 Tundra non-hybrid vehicles. The culprit is an incorrectly manufactured engine camshaft.

Here’s what a camshaft does in plain terms. It’s a shaft with lobes on it that opens and closes the engine’s valves in time with everything else turning. The valves let air and fuel in and exhaust out. If the camshaft is turning right, the engine breathes right and makes power. The camshaft is one of the parts that has to stay in one piece for the engine to run at all.

Now picture that shaft cracking and snapping while you’re rolling down the highway. The valves stop doing their job. The engine loses motive power. According to the Toyota filing, that loss of power at higher speeds is exactly the risk here — and a truck that suddenly can’t pull itself down the road in traffic is a crash waiting to happen.

The good news, if there is any, is in the numbers. Toyota says the bad camshafts come from one production lot from a specific supplier, and the estimate is only about 300 affected camshafts that may have actually been installed. So out of roughly 62,000 trucks in the recall population, only a small handful are expected to have the defective part. The wide net is there because Toyota doesn’t know exactly which trucks got one.

What the filing says

Toyota announced the recall through its newsroom on November 13, 2026. The company says owners will be notified by mid-January 2027.

The remedy is straightforward. Dealers will inspect the camshaft. If it’s from the affected lot, they replace it at no cost to you. If your truck’s part isn’t from that lot, you’re sent on your way. That’s the whole fix — inspect, and replace only if needed.

No charge. That’s how a federal safety recall works, and it’s worth saying plainly because some owners assume a 2022 truck might be “too old” to qualify. It isn’t. A recall repair is free regardless of mileage or how long you’ve owned the vehicle.

What this means if you own one

1. Run your VIN. Don’t assume you’re in the clear and don’t assume you’re doomed. Go to the NHTSA recall lookup or Toyota’s owner site and enter your VIN. That’s the only way to know if your specific 2022 Toyota Tundra or 2025 Toyota Tundra is part of this campaign. With only about 300 bad camshafts out there, most of you will come back clean — but check.

2. Watch for notification by mid-January 2027. Toyota says owner letters go out by then. If you’ve moved or bought the truck used, make sure your address is current with Toyota so the letter actually reaches you.

3. Don’t ignore an engine symptom in the meantime. A camshaft problem can show up as rough running, a knock, a sudden drop in power, or the engine straight-up dying. If your Tundra does anything like that, get it looked at — don’t write it off as “it’ll be fine.” A snapped camshaft isn’t something you nurse along.

4. Get the inspection done when you’re told. This is a quick dealer visit in the big picture. They check whether your camshaft is from the bad lot and replace it if it is. There’s no reason to sit on it.

5. Document everything. Keep the recall letter. Keep the dealer paperwork showing the inspection was done and what, if anything, was replaced. If you ever sell the truck or have a dispute later, that paper trail is your proof the work was handled.

My honest take

This is a small-population problem inside a big-sounding recall number. About 62,000 trucks are getting pulled in, but the real target is roughly 300 camshafts from one bad supplier lot. Toyota casting a wide net is the right call here, because a camshaft that fails at speed is genuinely dangerous — you can lose power in exactly the situation where you least want to.

If you own one of these Tundras, treat it like what it is: a free inspection with a free fix if your part is one of the bad ones. Run your VIN, keep an eye on your mail into mid-January, and get in for the check. The chance your truck is affected is slim, but a snapped camshaft on the highway is bad enough that slim is worth ruling out.

Source: Toyota USA Newsroom.