3rd Jun 2010, 15:46
I have seen comments about the HUGE recall investigation of the Ford Fusion for accelerators getting caught in the accelerator pedal as a response from Toyota fans defending the multi-million car Toyota recalls. I researched this and discovered that there are 3... THREE... complaints about the Fusion. Nice try Toyota fans, but no points for THAT ONE!!
4th Jun 2010, 12:23
What parent companies engineers designed and spec'ed the parts to a manufacturers approved design? Hmmmmmmmmm...
4th Jun 2010, 19:25
That is exactly what I was thinking even just last month. But now that I am thinking more about what I hear and read, I am realizing the sickness in Toyota goes far beyond just some supplier problems and American workers. Car and Driver magazine saying the new Venza was "un-Toyota like" gave me concern, because I was planning on test driving one soon. But the event that really broke it for me was Consumer Reports giving a "do not buy, vehicle is dangerous" on their new SUV. Even worse was the Toyota spokesman saying they could not understand how the vehicle got through internal approvals because they do the exact same test that Consumer Report was doing (lift foot off accelerator when making somewhat of a too sharp a turn.) Now when I think about the problems over the years, I think about, are these design problems? Senior management problems? Lack of testing? Ignoring reports from drivers? I think if you think carefully about all the things we have been hearing about Toyota, you will come to the same conclusion I have. Toyota in 2010 is just not the same great company it was just 15 years ago.
5th Jun 2010, 11:49
The problem is the import companies have Americanized their companies and Toyota, in particular, has the goal of being the largest company in the world. Mass production and cost cutting measures have severely compromised their quality level. They are doing what GM has done for decades really. GM now has started changing their ways and look... now their cars are topping quality lists and they are selling better.
It's amazing to see the transformation of the auto business. Toyota will probably recover and hopefully they will revert to being a smaller better company that gets back to the quality level they've had in the past.
7th Jun 2010, 09:16
"I doubt Toyota's mission is to downsize."
I doubt it too, but the way they are going has been proven to fail time and again by GM, so they may just want to think twice before falling from first place.
8th Jun 2010, 10:29
Looks like the domestic car companies are once again trying to reclaim the top spot. We now have recalls from Dodge and GM this week!
8th Jun 2010, 11:02
"so they may just want to think twice before falling from first place."
According to sales figures released last week, Toyota has already fallen to THIRD place in the U.S. behind GM and Ford, and posted the WORST sales increase of any major car maker.
Having to recall virtually every car built since 1990 is not helping them.
9th Jun 2010, 09:57
Yes, the recalls aren't helping... Now GM and Dodge better watch out as they both have sizable recalls going on as well.
9th Jun 2010, 19:29
GM's new recall is for vehicles catching on fire (just like Ford!), which is an extremely dangerous problem. The cause? Washer-fluid heaters.
That being said, GM's fix for the problem is ridiculous. GM plans to just remove the part and pay each customer $100. This doesn't even fix the issue!
10th Jun 2010, 07:10
When I hear recall, I want the 100000 mile warranty as standard; no more Hondas for us. It can fail again just out of a flimsy warranty. Low mileage warranties in 2010 does not give us any confidence. I also like voluntary recalls, not forced on manufacturers.
10th Jun 2010, 15:53
I can only imagine you are talking about the "flimsy" 5 year GM warranty as better than the Honda. 5 years is 5 years, and no matter what the mileage interval the warranty offers, 90% or more will never see more than the average 60K miles on their GM car in the first 5 years of ownership, so the warranty becomes EXACTLY the same as the "flimsy" Honda warranty. The only REAL 100K mile warranties belong to Hyundai, Kia and Suzuki as they run 10 years.
I, myself, don't like ANY recalls, forced or not!
11th Jun 2010, 11:26
"I, myself, don't like ANY recalls, forced or not!"
Then you must be a domestic fan. Toyota is recalling (under threat of legal action) virtually every car they've made in the past two DECADES. Honda (out of fear of legal action) just recalled half a million vehicles, as did Nissan. The truth is finally catching up to Japanese vehicles.
12th Jun 2010, 06:06
I owned many new Japanese imports. My first was a 77 Celica GT, and bought later all new ones up (sedans) until a few years ago. I saw quality slipping to average, and then unacceptable. With a short warranty in the beginning, it may be OK to have engine issues and trans problems. But I could not justify keeping any lately beyond 50000 miles.
I drive a lot, and the warranty expires quickly due to mileage, not to time. I am very leery about paying 3-4k for eng/trans repairs out of my pocket. I have had no issues with our domestics, and when the longer warranty expires I will sell the 4th year of ownership vs, in 2 years.
14th Jun 2010, 16:56
I just read that Toyota is now investigating 20-year-old vehicles because of defective metal in the steering rods. Since these vehicles were ALL made in JAPAN, using JAPANESE parts, bashing American workers just won't work on these. The millions Toyota has spent brainwashing car buyers should have been spent on building quality cars that were safe. And it isn't just Toyota. Our Honda was a nightmare. We now drive safe, reliable Ford and GM vehicles with a decent warranty.
15th Jun 2010, 19:00
Please enlighten me as to how these companies "brainwashed" people into buying their cars. This is a bit of a stretch. What, did they lock us all in a room and torture us into believing their cars were so good? Give me a break!... brainwashing... yeah right.
The fact is that 20 years ago, even if Toyota cars had issues, American cars had many more issues. Imports were way higher than domestics for quality until just the past 5 years or so when they completely Americanized their companies. I see so many 15 to 20 year old imports on the road these days, but I hardly EVER see a domestic of the same age... and when I do, it usually is in horrendous condition and running very poorly. For every issue with a Toyota back then, there were 10 with a domestic car.
Ironically, GM has made the best and worst cars for me. I had and old '90 Z24 that was amazing in its quality, but every other GM I have owned since has been a nightmare and costs thousands in repairs just to get to 100K miles.
The only Fords I had were 5.0 Mustangs, and they were pretty solid overall with minor issues.
EVERY import I have owned has been essentially trouble free, other than routine maintenance, including Honda, Toyota and Subaru. I can only think the people that have had SO MANY issues with their imports are just trying to push some argument for domestics.
2nd Jun 2010, 19:46
The irony here is that as soon as they started mass producing Japanese cars with third party American parts, they became unreliable and the recalls started... Hmmmmm...