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New Tundra Pickup Stumbles in NHTSA Safety Test

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

March 20, 2007

Toyota Tundra • Engine problems • Brake problems • Misc. problems --- News • Toyota Recalls Some 2007 Tundra Pickups • Camshaft Flaw in New Tundra Pickup • New Tundra Pickup Stumbles in NHTSA Safety Test • Toyota Recalls 533,000 Trucks for Failed Ball Joints • NHTSA Probes 600,000 Toyota Trucks and Vans • Toyota Tundra Recalled to Disable Front Passenger Airbag Switch --- • Toyota Trucks

The new Toyota Tundra, on the market since early February, was unable to achieve a top rating for frontal crash safety achieved by U.S. pickups.

The new truck fell one star short of the perfect five-star rating for driver safety in head-on collisions in a test by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The full-sized pickups from General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. all earned five stars and the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra and Dodge Ram are all basking in the glow of their victory.

Missing by one star is bad news for Toyota as the Japanese automaker battles with GM and Ford for U.S. pickup sales supremacy. It's big money too. Pickups accounted for three of the five best-selling vehicles in 2006.

Vehicles get a top frontal-crash rating from NHTSA when they are judged to have a 10 percent or less possibility of a driver injury requiring immediate hospitalization in a head-on collision at 35 miles per hour. A four-star rating means an injury risk of 11 percent to 20 percent.

The full-sized Toyota Tundra has been criticized for lacking a fully-boxed frame. The Internet is buzzing with Toyota truck critics as both regular and double-cab Tundras designed for the U.S. market missed getting the top spot in the NHTSA tests.

The Tundra's performance with NHTSA is likely to refocus scrutiny on the truck's frame. The frame is split into three parts with the front piece boxed. The frame under the cab and bed are C-channeled and are also affected by a frontal crash.

Ford, GM and Dodge now have some ammo to aim back at the Tundra as the pickup truck wars rage on.

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