When did Toyota of America start to go downhill?

I keep hearing on here and also with my own experience of dealers and even Toyota corporate fighting me on the super white delamination/flaking off problem on a truck under warranty. I know most people come to forums on like this only when they have a problem so it makes it look like there are more issues than there are but I am curious some of you who have owned toyotas way longer than me when did you see in the US atleast this change to them going from basic and highly reliable to basic and a little better than average reliability and lower build quality? Was it just COVID/supply chain issues?


Or is it just people being dramatic? I remember in the mid 2000s my dad looking for a new SUV and everywhere we went(Ford Chevy Nissan etc) there was games and shitty tactics and Toyota didn't do that to him at the time. Now it seems that's changed as well

 

Didn't know they had gone downhill as I have a 1996 with 415,000 trouble-free miles on it, never went back to the dealer since I drove it off the lot when new and my 2018 will hit 40,000 miles over the next couple days and it's been 100% trouble-free with never a dealer visit.

 

Toyota started going downhill when they started building cars and trucks outside of Japan.

 

It isn’t just Toyota. It every manufacturer.
It is the demand on both sides.
Consumers want cheaper prices, corporate wants more profit.
I guess you can figure out how they “make it happen”.
Cheaper parts……..

 

3rd gen. Nah! 2nd gen... No no no 1st gen.

 

Your threads seem to have a common dark tone.

Bottom line is Toyota sells A LOT of vehicles to many happy customers, most of whom do not come to this site to complain.

The auto industry as a whole has changed post 2020, Toyota is not an exception.

You either deal with the bs or go buy another brand (with other nonsense).

 

Yes I had a blown head gasket and super white flake on my 2022 with 10k miles garage kept so it's hard to be optimistic I haven't ever owned a new vehicle besides a Tacoma everything else was used but yes had a plethora of problems with Ford Nissan Chevy etc

And new vehicle wise I ONLY know the 2020+ market so it's kinda blah experience wise for me.

 

From your previous posts you were just unlucky with your 2022 truck with the head gasket and paint issue. Also, shitty dealer and Toyota Corporate representation while still under warranty.

These defects can happen on mass produce consumer goods. The majority of the nearly 2 million Tacoma's on the road are typical Toyota in terms of QDR. I don't quite understand why you purchased another Tacoma after your recent poor experience.

I know if this happened to me I'd be questioning my next Toyota purchase. Hopefully your next Tacoma is trouble free.

 

Well honestly I was looking at rangers and canyons and went to their forums and it made my problems look minor in comparison to how long their trucks sit at the dealers for repairs.

 

White paint on Toyotas is a known bad, has been for at least a decade.

 

Oh and by the way, My brand new 1992 Extra-Cab V6 3.0-slow 5spd 4X4 Toyota Truck blew the head gaskets twice. Once under warranty and the second time out of warranty. Each time it didn't cost me anything. I went on to enjoy that truck for 14 trouble free years. So this is nothing new.

 

In a way, it makes me nostalgic for the early days of the 3rd gen forum.

I can't put my finger on why

 

A friend of mine worked on cars to earn money while in college. A good mechanic who went on to a science degree. I still remember him saying that he thought the cars made by Nissan were much better than Toyota’s and he just didn’t understand why Toyota had such a great reputation. Oh, this was in the mid-1970’s when those Nissan-made cars were still called Datsuns. I’ve owned about half a dozen Toyota’s starting with a 1993 Corolla and then a ‘93 80 Series LC, a T100 and a Prius all made in Japan, and now a 3rd gen from Tijuana. I think the vehicle quality has been pretty similar across those 25 years.

 

Yeah i think i just got unlucky with COVID being my first new vehicle purchase and everything wacko after that with paint/head gasket etc

 

Is there any company that hasn’t gone downhill? Across any trade?

 

The paint issue, along with the stock transmission tune, 2 unnecessary cats (2 of which are easy to steal), and a whole host of other issues that run up cost and reduce reliability, can be laid at the feet of one particular state and the majority of its voters. Toyota vehicle models sold in other countries, that are not available in the US, are known to be more reliable, durable and capable. Just saying.

 

OP, you just got unlucky and not much else. Sometimes it happens and it sucks. I feel like I've owned more vehicles of more brands than I can remember at this point and so far my Tacoma is the best one. 2nd gen though, so grain of salt. Maybe the biggest fault of yours was that it was build during the pandemic which affected quality in many industries.

Are you saying non-US Toyota vehicles with white paint don't have problems? Please do share more info, I'd like to read facts about that and why you are alluding to California causing paint to be bad. Here's an article of the same thing happening in Australia - who caused their paint to fail?

 

When they put a frame under it that turns to rust dust and blows away while you're driving it down the road.

 

People need to quit buying white toyotas

 

https://www.onallcylinders.com/2015...the-diyers-guide-to-low-voc-automotive-paint/