12th Jul 2011, 09:48
Until I start routinely hearing everyday people casually mention that their domestic cars and trucks last 200,000+ miles without major issues on a regular basis, I will continue to believe in the so-called "Myth" that Toyota and Honda build better products. Call it a "Myth" if you want, but fact has a way of presenting easy choices, and as long as those facts prove beneficial to me - the consumer - I will continue to buy Hondas and Toyotas, because I for one dislike wasting money on slipshod products.
12th Jul 2011, 16:51
I always get a laugh out of comments praising the virtues of Consumer Reports and J.D. Power when they agree with import owners, and saying they are "subjective" and "don't matter" when they rank domestics high.
In 2010 J.D. Powers ranked Ford ahead of Honda and Toyota (wayyyy ahead of disgraced Toyota) in Initial Quality, and Ford's Lincoln topped all other cars in long-term reliability. Of course then those studies were "biased", "subjective" and "didn't matter".
As for parts "falling off", the only car that this has ever happened to us in was a brand-new Toyota Highlander we test-drove in 2003. A piece of interior trim literally fell off in my lap. In addition, the car lurched violently to the left every time the brakes were applied, and even with the V-6 it was so sluggish it was dangerous merging onto a freeway. We got it back to the dealer's lot as soon as possible, and quickly drove to a GM dealership where we bought a reliable and well-built GM SUV. That vehicle just had a 100,000 mile bumper-bumper-check up and is as good as brand new. It has never had a single repair. Not even brake pads.
Out of lots of new domestics over the past 40 years, we have never replaced (or repaired) any engine, transmission, or any other part of the vehicles before 100,000 miles. I never bother to check oil between changes, and often don't bother to checks fluids before 50,000 miles. At 100,000 miles our current GM has never had brake fluid, power steering fluid, differential lubricant or freon added. I don't check the oil between the 10,000 mile change intervals, because it doesn't use a drop still.
The only thing I have ever missed about my imports is the hobby they provided. I am a car enthusiast, and they kept me busy doing repairs on them virtually every weekend.
13th Jul 2011, 09:58
Sorry, but Toyota is far from "disgraced". Repeating over and over and over again, that somehow, car companies that made utter pieces of garbage for decades on end, with perhaps some marked improvement over the last few years, are now miraculously flawless and perfect in every single way, while totally denying the fact that companies like Toyota and Honda built their reputation of making highly dependable products, in a country that had no prior knowledge or experience with them, is pointless and ineffective. Toyota and Honda have for decades - and today - been synonymous with quality. That isn't going to change. Simply put, Toyota and Honda still build some of the best vehicles on the planet, and continue to do so. That hasn't changed. End of story.
14th Jul 2011, 01:33
Well both CR and JD Power is pretty clear on Long Term Reliability, both Toyota, Lexus and Honda shines. True that Toyota suffers in the IQS, but that's peoples impression after 90 days of ownership, while the other survey is after 3 years of ownership. That's more important, at least for me. But it does make me glad that manufacturers like Ford are improving, starting to manufacture quality cars. Maybe I'll switch back some day if they continue their good work.
Also, I make my own assessment. We had 15 or so cars from Detroit in the 80's, 90's and up to 2002 when we switched to Toyotas. We've had 8 in a row without a single major problem. In my book Toyota quality is no myth, it's just plain facts based on personal experience. The one that really shines is a 1995 Camry we still have that is still being used regularly with 340K miles on it. The build quality on that car is simply awesome.
On the other side: I could probably write a book about all my problems with the Detroit made cars in the past, but I'll let that one go. I won't bother folks about problems in the past.
14th Jul 2011, 16:44
8 Toyotas since 2002??? No wonder they are always flawless. That's nearly 1 every year. Most any car will last a year!!
14th Jul 2011, 20:04
Flawed brakes on the Prius model, bad transmissions on Camrys and RAV 4s, rotting frames on early Tundras and some Tacomas, sludge filled 6 and 4cyl engines due to a faulty PCV system, problems with the run flat tires, also great acceleration... whether you want it or not! What more could you ask for from the best built cars on the planet.
15th Jul 2011, 11:01
All of those problems affected an extremely minute, tiny percentage of Toyota's products, and of those, the so-called "faulty transmissions" on Camrys was resolved 5 years ago. Give it up. Toyota builds the best cars on the planet. Nuff' said.
15th Jul 2011, 17:37
Go to consumeraffairs.com and read Toyota owner issues. I drive a new Ford Edge SEL AWD crossover; no issues. I am sick of imports; too expensive and trouble prone.
15th Jul 2011, 18:06
5 years ago huh? I guess that's why my 08 Camry's transmission has a mind of its own. I just love the excuses from all Toyota fans who are in denial. Maybe you have had good luck with them; I, along with many others sure as hell have not.
16th Jul 2011, 18:13
It's encouraging to see more and more people speaking up about the myth of Japanese car quality. We drove imports in the 80's and early 90's and they were total garbage then. So much for the "Japan made them better" argument. ALL of them were made in Japan then. The quality has steadily gone down over the past decade. While domestic car makers were issuing non-safety-related recalls voluntarily as a service to their customers, Toyota had to be forced by law to issue recalls dealing with very serious safety issues. After having recalled over 22 million cars, I don't see how anyone can seriously defend Toyota "quality". I certainly won't be buying one.
12th Jul 2011, 01:15
Yes, it's a myth that CR and JD Power consistently rate manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, Lexus above GM and Ford, and that these manufacturers always dominates the top 10 in reliability, and that it has been so as far as anybody can remember. Yes that's certainly a myth. It's also a myth that GM, Ford made poor cars, and in many instances still do. That's a myth too. Those sorry souls buying those Fords, GMs with parts falling off, transmissions failing after 50K, engines stalling after a couple of years, they are simply imagining things. All that never happened, see. Rewriting history in the making; Detroit never made any bad cars. That never happened.