What does "reliability" mean to you?

Mine was built in Mexico...

What does reliability mean to me? It means no headaches with the vehicle when used as intended...I'll say it again for emphasis as intended.

I had a 1985 Toyota 4x4 4cyl long bed extra cab that went 200K miles with nothing but oil changes, tires, and a tune-up. After that, a 1990 4Runner V6 that also went 200K+ with only 1 issue - a headlight. Next, a 2015 4Runner that I only had for about 160K miles which we traded for this Taco. Zero issues there as well. By comparison, I also had a 1989 Chevy S-10 "Baja" which crapped out every 2-3 months. My daughter's 2017 Jeep Wrangler saw the dealership service floor 8 times in 3 years for all sorts of different issues (ABS failure, bad wheels - it had a damaged rim, bad ECU). The Chevy was never reliable enough to take out past where you could flag someone down on the highway. The Jeep? It left us stranded at the mall & grocery store so many times, I didn't dare take it off-road. All the others have seen extensive use (within reason). We started to log off-road miles in the 2015 4Runner...did a little over 660 miles of it in any combination of 4H, 4L, and rear locked. No headaches when used as as intended - that's reliable.

 

So sounds like reliability was good but durability may be questionable?

 

The opposite of what I experienced with my 3rd gen Tacoma. Never left me stranded but 9 dealer visits for warranty work in a 30K/2 year period is unacceptable. Everything from major oil leak to rust repair.

 

To me Reliability means 414,000 trouble-free miles over 25 years without ever going back to the dealership.

 

Sweet! Well cared for truck!

 

I feel care and reliability go hand in hand.
Acknowledge that every manufacturer builds the occasional problem child. However, if you start out with "a good one" and care for it well it should be reliable.

Most of the vehicles I have purchased came with 100K already, a few 200K. Even though they were cheap and old I picked them carefully, they had been reasonably well cared for and I took good care of them - perhaps even excessive sometimes - however they gave me good service.

I have never worn a vehicle out -- they rust out from under me...

 

Prior to the Taco, I had my ideal garage. My wife has a Forester XT that she loves. I had two motorcycles. One sporttourer and a sidecar motorcycle to get me through the winters and shuttle our daughters around. The sidecar set the wheeling hook that I denied for way too long.

The ST was getting old and having issues, and the new sidecar rig was just a PoS. So, having to wrench to get around was not working for me and was definitely not working for the fam.

Giving up my perfect situation meant the next best thing, an MT Taco. I still have the ST and really want a plated Yamaha enduro. For whatever strange reason, the rest of the fam does not love the Taco, but like it 200% more than the sidecar.

So, reliability means being able to get places and not fix something continuously. It took me about 2.5yrs to finally throw off the shitty feelings about picking up a wrench for fun again. On the vehicle side, that means stayin' Japanese or Korean. No Nissans or Zuks though. I fully expect to get hundreds of Ks out of the Taco.

 

speaking of trouble free miles...

The #1 reason I'm so pumped on the EV trucks is just that. Most parts on an ICE car can cause these "reliability" issues. Few years back I would constantly be told "but there are other thing like batteries which will break or explode , just you wait and see". I think the vast majority of Teslas have show they can go past 200k with 5-10% range drop. It's like maybe the jury was out in like 2016 on these EVs but it's kind of obvious now how much more reliable they can be (not considering anecdotal horror stories). Range and charging is a bit more annoying for off-road trips below 300miles but I mean $$ saved on gas ya? On a road trip towing , I'm sure you will be stopping every 250miles for your charges like a goon. But come on, time wasted charging can't be as shitty vs transmission rebuild, or A/T overheating , or diesel engine care over all the trips. I think all that very much effects "trouble free miles". The issue now is just price for some , but again that price point is right up there with a TRD-PRO lol. For me personally I would just be a little hesitant to take it fast through the woops due to their massive weight. Probably need 3" or larger shocks and supper beefy suspension parts. For overlanding and crawling not as bad I guess. With the 4 motor versions, the "trouble free issues" might be less because there are no T-case/Diffs or lockers mechanism to worry about at all.

 

The RIVIAN is made for off roading

https://youtu.be/hMR6ctl-nf8?t=47

 

Like others have said for me it is peace of mind. Not budgeting money out of my paycheck for premature repairs and unexpected expenses. I would rather devote money to proper maintenance. On my 2nd Tacoma now and the biggest thing I ever had to do was replace a water pump at the suggested mileage. I think like many Tacoma owners I am fine with less power, less tech if it means better reliability. Too many manufacturers try to pack in too much tech before it has been vetted. Often times it makes past the factory warranty, but not much longer.

I also have a 1978 Toyota FJ40 LandCruiser with original engine and has never been rebuilt.

 

I love my third gen, hopefully it holds up as well as my second gen, and my first gen before that. Sold the second gen at 108 k miles. Original brakes front and rear, no repairs needed except for a drivers side rear taillight bulb, a passenger front marker bulb, and a dash bulb for the heating/ac switch panel. Three bulbs, that was it.

 

Reliability to me is the ability to get through the 3 year lease period with only oil changes.

 

Being an engineer, I like the engineering definition of reliability:
“Reliability is defined as the ability of a product or system to perform its required functions without failure for a specified time period and when used under specified conditions.”
In the industry I’m in we clarify further that a critical safety system must perform its critical functions even with a single failure. We use terms like mean time to failure and mean time between failures on both the component and system level.
For me that means my Tacoma must get me there... and back, every time, to be considered reliable.

 

I’ve owned Toyota’s and Subaru’s (and motorcycles). The value in a car/truck for me is longevity (200k+ miles) and not needing to spend time/money outside of routine maintenance.

I take a lot of road trips and have never had to worry about my subarus or Toyota’s and that’s everything to me

 

I was a bit excited for it, but it is full sized. Maybe the 5th Gen Taco will have an EV option?