Instead of complaining about the 3rd gen...

A plant can only assemble the parts they're given. If your 4Runner was "better", it was the higher quality parts that went into it.

 

Soooo, you have to BUY the truck first to find out the fluids are low & you're saying stop buying them so you won't complain about low fluids..??

In any event , I think Toyota was a better vehicle & most def. , better customer service when it was made in japan & was strictly an import...

 

Exactly. And a little attention to detail, like putting fluid in the transmission doesn't hurt, either.

 

True. But that was done by the powertrain plant that produced the tranny. The fluid is not added at the actual assembly plant...not that that's any excuse...just saying

 

Only the Limited 4Runner has that feature. The other models are part time just like the Tacoma.
I think that Toyota should have also put that feature in the Limited Tacoma.

 

Must have changed if that's the way it is now.

The 2005 we owned was V6 SR5 and had the VF4AM transfer case, which is multi-mode and allowed 2WD High, 4WD Auto, 4WD High and 4WD Low. The V8 eliminated the 2WD option and was full time 4WD only with the VF4BM transfer case. I'm not sure if the V8 was available in other trim except Limited in the 4th gen 4Runner. That may be why it's different now, I don't think you can get a V8 in a 4Runner at all anymore.

There was a center diff lock switch to the left side of the steering wheel that would put you into regular locked 4WD with the dial in the 4WD High position. The default 4WD was torque split front/rear using the center diff and the owner's manual even stated it's fine to use unlocked on pavement. The V8 trucks would not even have the 2H option on the dial, just 4H and 4L.

The owner's manual transmission section for the 2005:
http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM35843U/pdf/1-7.pdf

 

RJM

 

I have yet to read or have discussed in any forum, any make of vehicle that does not have some issues with some people. There simply is no such thing as a perfect vehicle. Fords Eco Boost engine goes into limp mode at highway speeds, GMs AT has shift issues. The Canyon has over 14,000 complaints to NHTSA.
Unfortunately we live in a time when customer service and quality of merchandise is not a priority. Be it vehicle manufacturers or the counter person at the local Dunkin Donuts.

 

It's mind boggling that Toyota decided to take production to the US - and I'm sure there's a whole heap of reasons why. I doubt they would've done it if it wasn't profitable to do so. Bonus for American jobs. But as you mentioned - there was better mass production overseas.

In a world / economy where businesses take work overseas to save on labor, etc. Toyota came here!!
My own profession / company has taken work to India.

 

Toyota does try to localize manufacturing globally, so with such a big market it's not surprising that they'd want to make cars here. For example, they make Corollas all over the place, Japan, US, Turkey, Brazil, Thailand and probably more destined for their local markets.

Also with pickups there's a significant tariff in place that was designed to protect the Big 3. Early on they built only the bed domestically and imported cab-and-chassis to kind of get around this, but eventually by 1992 they started making complete trucks at NUMMI and those are technically not imported at all. But it's not just final assembly, Aisin, Denso and Toyota have parts supply plants domestically, transmissions are made in North Carolina at Aisin World, engines in TMMAL (Toyota Alabama), etc. A Tacoma really is a domestic (North American anyway) truck.

What I don't understand is why they don't converge the Tacoma and Hilux back into a single utility truck. That would make sense, have one frame for the world, one set of body panels, etc. They already tailor vehicles to markets, the Land Cruiser we get is uber luxury but it's available in a stripped down form in Australia. They could fit a Hilux with sat-nav and power windows and still offer a DLX sort of thing for people who just want a work truck.