Toyota has some problems

[rick996]

Originally Posted by why?

how many decades of absolute trash do you need to have before you realize american cars are trash? Seriously a handful of decent years won't erase decades of garbage

I agree. I have never been a fan of American cars, even back in the 60's when muscle cars were in and the term for crap was planned obsolescence . Of the 20 cars I owned, 14 were non-American and six were American. Of the American cars: 1 came with my wife, 1 given to me when I got out of the service and couldn't afford to buy a car, 4 bought (big and old and cheap due to gas crisis 1- "The Big one ") for my wife to ferry the kids around and use for shopping.

Originally Posted by p123456789

I totally agree I'm sick of everyone thinking they have to keep up with the jonses while drowning in debt, I'm probably going to keep my yaris until it can't be driven any longer. I will also never buy a vehicle at a dealership I've worked at a couple and the stuff they won't fix on used cars is sickening they usually let the car go out broken hope the customer won't realize its broken and if they do they blame the customer what crap is that? They sell the car for full blown retail and give you black book trade in which is bs.

Even if you have money it can be used for better things than impressing people. I love YAR1S's quote "Spendin money that I don't have to buy parts that I don't need to impress people that I don't know". Personally I would rather travel and have fun experiences. Cars are for transportation. Drive them until they fall apart around you and all that depreciation money is in your pocket. My last car before the new Yaris was a faded green 1993 Subaru Legacy with duct tape over all the rust holes and not much left of the exhaust (that sound that people pay money for) bought used with 105K on it and driven over 10 years. When a new BMW would pass me and give me a "look" I would think "That person probably went into debt to impress people like us while we just had a blast in Amsterdam. " On the other hand I do feel cool on my Harley (Oh well, nobody's perfect ).

As to dealers, we actually found one great one and I'll put in a plug for them for anyone in the area with a Subaru. Suburban Subaru in Vernon, CT. I have have 4 Subaru's and my son 2. It's the only place I've ever found where you can tell them to do whatever the car needs and walk out feeling safe. We just took my son's 95 Legacy in for stalling, no check engine light. We picked up the car with a bill of $95 for cleaning the gunk in the throttle body. One time I brought the 93 in for the timing belt and walked out with a bill of $0. They looked it up and I had miscalculated.

[frownonfun]

Originally Posted by rick996

Even if you have money it can be used for better things than impressing people. I love YAR1S's quote "Spendin money that I don't have to buy parts that I don't need to impress people that I don't know".

I too like that quote. Of course it kinda makes me feel bad all the money I've spent on my little Yaris but oh well. I see it as a learning experience... both financial and mechanical.

[rick996]

Originally Posted by carnageehw

Yes it will. A car made 10 years ago has little to no bearing on the quality of cars made today. The parts are different, technology has changed, design has changed.

Reasoning stands that if a company has made high quality cars for a decade, they will likely continue to do so, so it is good for peace of mind, I suppose, but it in no way MEANS the company will continue to make great (or poor, for that matter) cars in the future.

Do you honestly think that because a car is "American" it will have problems? Or because it is "Japanese" it will not break down unexpectedly?

You can check any car's reliability at but you have to be a member to see all the good stuff.

[Kioshi]

I dont get some of you who are standing up for Ford and GM now with their new lineup....

Do you already have a confirmation letter or pictures from a time traveler in the future who already owns these GREAT NEW American eco cars..that they really did last beyond the 200k point?!

If not, I'd stop bragging and less bashing on Imports who already have shown their quality to us time after time......

Let the coming years show us HOW GREAT these new american cars are...

[thebarber]

Originally Posted by Kioshi

I dont get some of you who are standing up for Ford and GM now with their new lineup....

Do you already have a confirmation letter or pictures from a time traveler in the future who already owns these GREAT NEW American eco cars..that they really did last beyond the 200k point?!

If not, I'd stop bragging and less bashing on Imports who already have shown their quality to us time after time......

Let the coming years show us HOW GREAT these new american cars are...

im not saying that american cars are perfect, but toyota isnt the be all and end all of automotive perfection. as 1zzfe owners with a 5spd how long their trannies last...

[carnageehw]

Originally Posted by Kioshi

I dont get some of you who are standing up for Ford and GM now with their new lineup....

Why not? They look and drive great. I"m not pretending to know they will last forever.

Do you already have a confirmation letter or pictures from a time traveler in the future who already owns these GREAT NEW American eco cars..that they really did last beyond the 200k point?!

Well, this is a smart, mature comment to make.

No one has cars that are guaranteed to last 200k. Every manufactured product in the world will have problems. Buying a new car from a company just because you have a 10 year old car from that same company that runs fine means nothing.

If not, I'd stop bragging and less bashing on Imports who already have shown their quality to us time after time......

Who here is bashing on imports?

The last two Yari I have driven (both 09) have had problems, but I haven't even mentioned that until now, and you can hardly say that's "bashing imports".

Let the coming years show us HOW GREAT these new american cars are...

What is the point of this attitude? It seems like you want the American cars to be crappy. Why?

[frownonfun]

yeah everyone knows FIAT is the be all and end all of automotive perfection.

[rick996]

There has been a lot of talk about the Ford Fiesta.

This is from TrueDelta (owner reported, for what it's worth )

Trips for repair per year per 100 cars through 12/31/2010 :

2010 Yaris 7 based on 21 cars (not a very large sample) with an average ownership of 8 months and an average of 7900 miles on the odo. Fuelly MPG

2011 Fiesta 88 based on 60 cars with an average ownership of 3 months and an average of 4500 miles on the odo. Fuelly MPG

[.Kevin.]

American vehicles suck and this is coming from me, if people have seen my vehicles youd understand this line.

I don't feel bad for fixing up the Yaris, my goal is to keep it restored like an old muscle car - why not?

[why?]

Originally Posted by carnageehw

Yes it will. A car made 10 years ago has little to no bearing on the quality of cars made today. The parts are different, technology has changed, design has changed.

Reasoning stands that if a company has made high quality cars for a decade, they will likely continue to do so, so it is good for peace of mind, I suppose, but it in no way MEANS the company will continue to make great (or poor, for that matter) cars in the future.

Do you honestly think that because a car is "American" it will have problems? Or because it is "Japanese" it will not break down unexpectedly?

I believe American cars have a horrible reputation. All 3 long standing American brands have long histories of making cars that simply don't last, and have more repairs done than makes logical sense for any company that cares about quality.

I see that a good portion of Americans believe this as well. A reputation as thoroughly terrible as the American automobile industry cannot be healed with a few good cars. It takes a decade of great reliability for a reputation like that to even begin to change.

However that does not mean it cannot be done. Ford especially seems to be pressing the right buttons, especially when they start bringing their phenomenal European vehicles over to the US, finally, after decades of giving us crap. Allen Mulally seems to be a genius at the moment. Great cars, great ads, and great moves. It is a great beginning. Give it a decade with great reliability and Americans will start to really look at ford again.

Chrysler's new ads are great, but that is it. It is owned by a french company, the dealer network has a long history of incompetence, their products have been supremely subpar.

GM could go either way.

The most important thing to remember is people would rather buy American. If I could trust American cars, and if they even made cars that gave the great gas mileage the Yaris did when I bought mine, I would have looked at them instead of completely ignoring them.

The people did not move away from the American car manufacturers, the American car manufacturers repeatedly came out with supremely inferior products for decades on end.

I don't think I can say it enough though. Americans would rather buy American products. But both the manufacturers and the unions have failed miserably.

[frownonfun]

One must admit, why? makes some pretty good points on this one. Maybe I'll call and cancel my appointment for that Toyota tattoo afterall.

I like how we can all agree that Chrysler is crap at least. lol. That makes me feel better.

[ilikerice]

Originally Posted by PK198105

only in the good ole US:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13420798

they need to start putting on all the new car window sticker "car may have defect" cuz of that lawsuit.. LOL

[carnageehw]

Originally Posted by why?

I believe American cars have a horrible reputation. All 3 long standing American brands have long histories of making cars that simply don't last, and have more repairs done than makes logical sense for any company that cares about quality.

I see that a good portion of Americans believe this as well. A reputation as thoroughly terrible as the American automobile industry cannot be healed with a few good cars. It takes a decade of great reliability for a reputation like that to even begin to change.

However that does not mean it cannot be done. Ford especially seems to be pressing the right buttons, especially when they start bringing their phenomenal European vehicles over to the US, finally, after decades of giving us crap. Allen Mulally seems to be a genius at the moment. Great cars, great ads, and great moves. It is a great beginning. Give it a decade with great reliability and Americans will start to really look at ford again.

Chrysler's new ads are great, but that is it. It is owned by a french company, the dealer network has a long history of incompetence, their products have been supremely subpar.

GM could go either way.

The most important thing to remember is people would rather buy American. If I could trust American cars, and if they even made cars that gave the great gas mileage the Yaris did when I bought mine, I would have looked at them instead of completely ignoring them.

The people did not move away from the American car manufacturers, the American car manufacturers repeatedly came out with supremely inferior products for decades on end.

I don't think I can say it enough though. Americans would rather buy American products. But both the manufacturers and the unions have failed miserably.

I agree with everything you are saying about public perception. However, that's just public perception. The fact that domestic companies made crappy cars years ago doesn't mean they are making crappy cars now.

I don't blame someone for not wanting to buy one, because, after all, a car purchase is a huge investment, but it doesn't mean that the cars are bad.

You can only buy a new car based on what you know about the car now. Going with a company with a good reputation will likely give you more piece of mind about your purchase, but (especially in the world of manufacturing, where there's always going to be defects in something) it doesn't REALLY matter.

[yaris2010RS]

id buy a toyota before a chrysler any day!

i currently have a part time contract working for chrysler (driving cars off the line to the local holding lots about 5 - 30 km away) and i can say yes the new lines look impressive and have alot of really cool things, i cannot begin to tell u how many brand new cars with 0 mi on them dont make it to the destination. tranny issues, rad issues, alternator issue is very common, raccoons (that was our fault not the cars). and if all the lights work properly you got a really good car.

i feel toyotas boring line of cars has enough of a background of quality and trust in my family that as lon as they continue to make a car in my price range with what i need from a car, i will always buy toyota.

on the other note....the chrysler 5.7 is epic..... :) and the 6.4 300c awd will take all cars off the line hands down

[why?]

Originally Posted by PK198105

only in the good ole US:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13420798

i'd vote for any political candidate that would make tort reform a high priority. Mainly making it a loser pay system, and if you can't pay you forfeit everything you have and the lawyer is on the hook as well.

Originally Posted by carnageehw

I agree with everything you are saying about public perception. However, that's just public perception. The fact that domestic companies made crappy cars years ago doesn't mean they are making crappy cars now.

I don't blame someone for not wanting to buy one, because, after all, a car purchase is a huge investment, but it doesn't mean that the cars are bad.

You can only buy a new car based on what you know about the car now. Going with a company with a good reputation will likely give you more piece of mind about your purchase, but (especially in the world of manufacturing, where there's always going to be defects in something) it doesn't REALLY matter.

You're right. However public perception is reality. And don't start telling people nothing is guaranteed. Our entire civilization would crumble if people started facing that reality.

I think in the near future we won't be talking about imports as a group anymore. It'll be Ford vs Hyundai. Toyota will always be around, as will GM. But Toyota really needs an image boost, maybe they'll get it from Subaru and the FT-86. Honda is overly expensive and going the wrong way. They only were relevant when the were saying,"this is what we do, take it or leave it." Now they've sold that out to making as much money as possible. Just like VW just did. Of course VW is too overpriced to truly be relevant.

The rest of the Japanese car companies are just too small to matter. Mitsubishi is always on the brink of financial disaster, Subaru won't spend enough money on advertising, Nissan makes a great product, but won't spend enough on ads and their management has made some amazingly stupid decisions.

GM will always be the question mark. They get some thing amazingly right, but they've never done it consistently for more than a few years, or only a handful of models. The Volt is basically doa.

lol, sorry for the rant.

[p123456789]

has anyone here bashing domestics ever owned one? I've had jeeps since I was 18 and I've never had a major repair the 4.0 engine is bullet proof the aw4 transmission (toyota tacoma trans) is bullet proof I've had to rebuilt a couple rearends but other than that its been gaskets and belts. the first week I had my yaris I had to rebuild the transmission the input shaft seal was leaking requiring complete tear down of the trans. I think honda builds some of the poorest quality cars out of all the japanese cars, endless automatic transmission problems seat frames constantly breaking motor mounts and stuts contantly going out. Domestic car companies have made some the most iconic cars and trucks some of them not reliable but not as bad as everyone thinks, as a technician I think gm ford and toyota are on the same level as far as quality gm and ford are styled alot nicer than toyotas line up. Toyota is getting left in the dust in the gas mileage and style department. My point is not all imports are the best thing sliced bread and not all domestics are super unreliable, every car line has that car thats a lemon even toyota.

[thebarber]

Originally Posted by p123456789

has anyone here bashing domestics ever owned one? I've had jeeps since I was 18 and I've never had a major repair the 4.0 engine is bullet proof the aw4 transmission (toyota tacoma trans) is bullet proof I've had to rebuilt a couple rearends but other than that its been gaskets and belts. the first week I had my yaris I had to rebuild the transmission the input shaft seal was leaking requiring complete tear down of the trans. I think honda builds some of the poorest quality cars out of all the japanese cars, endless automatic transmission problems seat frames constantly breaking motor mounts and stuts contantly going out. Domestic car companies have made some the most iconic cars and trucks some of them not reliable but not as bad as everyone thinks, as a technician I think gm ford and toyota are on the same level as far as quality gm and ford are styled alot nicer than toyotas line up. Toyota is getting left in the dust in the gas mileage and style department. My point is not all imports are the best thing sliced bread and not all domestics are super unreliable, every car line has that car thats a lemon even toyota.

well said.

we had a 92 and 93 topaz growing up that never had issues (except that the a/c eventually stopped working in them)

also had a 2000 and a pair of 2003 v6 malibu's.....my parents still have one of them....no major issues with those cars either.

my father had an 06 sierra until last year and never had a problem with it, either.

from MY experience, domestic cars are just as reliable has japanese cars.