12th Feb 2007, 22:37
Annoying rattles. You can feel that the body is about to come apart from the frame. Big v8 hp and torque figures left in the dust of a Dakota.
12th Feb 2007, 22:41
No full boxed frame here. Tailgate one to see how the bed is working more than the suspension!
13th Feb 2007, 01:34
As far as your complaint about the tires, check out the Yokohama Geolander AT line. Great tread pattern, and an excellent price. I live in upstate NY, and these tires are excellent in the snow.
31st Mar 2007, 20:26
No full boxed frame for the same reason people don't make wheels out of stone anymore; technology and progress show us how to build a stronger frame using less metal and therefore less dead weight. Don't make me laugh, a Ford guy saying Toyota's flex going down the road? You apparently have not driven both a Toyota truck and a Ford truck, or you wouldn't say something like that.
1st Apr 2007, 11:34
Comment 20:26 really got a laugh out of me.
Some years back I bought a little flimsy Japanese car. It had 80,000 miles on it, but had never been in an accident or abused in any way. It pulled terribly to the left, so I assumed it just needed an alignment. I took it to my alignment shop and was informed that it had what the service manager referred to as the "Japanese flimsies". He explained that Japanese car companies cut corners so drastically that even the FRAME MEMBERS were too weak to hold the weight of the car for more than a few thousand miles without bending. My front frame rail had literally TWISTED, allowing the front wheel to sag out of alignment. I was advised that I'd have to have a frame shop repair.
Being worried that the rest of the car would fall apart soon, I ran as fast as I could to Ford and traded for a solid, reliable Mustang. A few months after getting the Mustang, I hit a 6-inch high curb head-on while dodging another car. I was doing 50mph at the time. I hit very hard with the right front wheel. I took the car in to have it checked out, as the jolt was so severe it knocked my glasses off, but was told it was not even knocked out of alignment!! Had I still been driving my "Japanese Flimsy" I would have left most of the front frame and suspension lying on the road. To say the Tundra is "better" because it is built very cheaply is LAUGHABLE!!
1st Apr 2007, 22:02
I've driven both a Tundra and an F-150. There is NO comparison. The F-150 is far more solid, flexes much less on rugged terrain and can handle both rough terrain and heavy loads much better than the lighter, flimsier Tundra. It also will last much longer without having to have the brakes, steering, front suspension and transmission repaired.
2nd Apr 2007, 14:37
11:34 and 22:02: Wrong, and wrong again.
Whatever you may buy, other than a Toyota, will break off road before my Tacoma will if you try to follow me. I have proven this to many people with Rangers, Blazers, S-10's (watching an S-10 trying to follow a Toyota over rough terrain is hilarious), Dakota's, and other full size trucks from the Big three. I've embarrassed them all.
The only ones that can follow me and not get stuck or break are other Toyota's and Jeeps. I've jumped a stock Toyota truck (completely airborne) more than once, and nothing bends or breaks. Doesn't even go out of alignment. Try that in your Ford.
2nd Apr 2007, 18:03
Your mechanic saw you coming and said whatever he thought would get the most money out of you.
I've owned over 30 imports from Japan and Korea and NEVER have I experienced what you described, and I've beaten the hell out of a lot of them.
You OBVIOUSLY bought a car that had previous frame damage and you simply won't admit that, unlike most people, you didn't have the car properly inspected before buying it. ANY car buying website will tell you the #1 thing to look for is a car that pulls as that indicates frame damage caused by a severe accident.
Face it, you bought a car that was in a bad accident and the seller saw you coming.
3rd Apr 2007, 18:45
No Japanese company uses frame components of a proper size. Look at ANY domestic and you will find that all frame and sub-frame members are nearly twice as large and far better reinforced than import vehicle frames. And YES, the Japanese car's frame components WILL sag of the car's own weight after a few years.
4th Apr 2007, 11:35
18:45 You are completely incorrect. It is exactly the opposite of how you think it is. If you put any other make of truck next to a Toyota and abuse them off road or haul with them, the other truck will sag noticeably where the bed meets the cab. The Toyota will not.
Friends and I used to get them airborne off road and come down hard. They DO NOT sag, or twist like a Ranger, an S-10, or ANYTHING else would under the same treatment year after year.
There is no truth whatsoever to saying that a Japanese car's frame will sag under it's own weight. This doesn't happen, ever. And for you guys that think that a Toyota's truck's frame is not as strong as a domestic's, you are wrong, too.
Now of course, I'm not talking about putting a Tacoma next to an F-350, we're talking trucks comparable in size. A Tundra's frame is at least as well made as an F-150. In fact, I see many F-150's on the road that sag noticeably between the bed and cab, and it doesn't look like it's from a lot of heavy hauling either, according to the good condition of the bed.
I have yet to see ONE Toyota truck of any size that rides down the road looking like that. And I've been in some that were bounced to hell and back for much of their lives off road. They still don't sag.
Fully boxed frame doesn't mean anything. Why not make it twice as thick and fill it with cement, too? Will that help?
31st May 2007, 07:52
Only 4 stars crash test, the worst in the market, this is how Japanese make fuel efficiency cars and trucks.
13th Aug 2007, 16:19
10:05 Well, I guess your 'superior box frame' in your Ford isn't built very well if it's BENT, now is it? You disprove your own statements!
I already said, I've loaded mine until the suspension was bottomed and the tires were almost flattening and my truck is as straight as day one. Yeah, it's tough, not light. And, as for the 'light weight' issue; they're not 'light' at all, and they're a hell of a lot tougher than a Ford of the same size. AND they perform off road better because they're designed better. Got anything else?
26th Jan 2007, 13:01
Good luck having that wonderful GM warranty honored. Just read the reviews on this site about how GM dealers "respect" their customers and warranty claims. But I guess the benefit of owning a GM vehicle is that you get to hear "they all do that" with each service visit.