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Are Toyotas becoming junk?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by bobwilson1977, May 27, 2009.

  1. May 28, 2009 at 7:24 PM
    #21
    Ridgerunner

    Ridgerunner Well-Known Member

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    2001 with; cat-back side-swept twin exhaust, elbow mod, Westin bullbar with Hella 450 driving lights, Snugtop XTR camper shell, TRD off-road 2x4-black beauty.
    [​IMG]
    That 1987 Celica GTS behind Rosie was 100% built in Japan under super strict Japanese standards and watchful eye, then shipped here in a container. The impeccable snuff and quality that runs a common thread through every inch of this car is so high that it leaves you saying " I just cannot find a good enough reason to get rid of it". As a result that car and Rosie are inseparable. How many vehicles can you say that about...after 22 years??
    My truck was built here in Fremont, Ca. under still stern Toyota policies and procedures back in 2001, and has LITERALLY been trouble-free for its whole life.
    I think what is happening now is there is WAY more Tacomas being built than ever, with higher expectations in emmissions, efficiency, safety, etc as stated above by techgeekwill, PLUS it is all being done by a workforce culture that is miles removed from that lockstep Japanese ethic where even the lowest parts gopher shared the common passion and belief.
     
  2. May 28, 2009 at 7:27 PM
    #22
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    Well Said! ^^^^^^^^^^
     
  3. May 28, 2009 at 7:28 PM
    #23
    Ridgerunner

    Ridgerunner Well-Known Member

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    2001 with; cat-back side-swept twin exhaust, elbow mod, Westin bullbar with Hella 450 driving lights, Snugtop XTR camper shell, TRD off-road 2x4-black beauty.
    I just ate a salmon burger:D
     
  4. May 28, 2009 at 7:36 PM
    #24
    fletch aka

    fletch aka www.BeLikeBrit.org

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    I sure hope your wrong. When I bought this truck my plan is this to be my last personal vehicle, I will replace my wife's car every five years but for me I hope this is it. I just got rid of my 245 Volvo wagon that I bought new in 84. 265,000 miles, oil changes, tires and brakes, that's the only maintenance money I ever put into that car. I hope the same for this vehicle.
     
  5. May 28, 2009 at 7:49 PM
    #25
    bennyzil1022

    bennyzil1022 Member

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    Benny
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    I got my first toyota a year ago, a 2009 fresh off the assembly line. 4,000 miles later, I need an alignment!! My tires were feathering severely because toe was WAY OFF!! Was this because the factory slipped on quality control? What else can I expect? My expectations are very high, and ofcourse with good reason.
     
  6. May 28, 2009 at 7:55 PM
    #26
    T@co_Pr3runn3r

    T@co_Pr3runn3r XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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    How many mufflers have you put on this car? My wife had an 87 just like that only red instead. I swear the back of the muffler would burn out around the pipe. I musta scavenged every intact used muffler I could after paying for the first replacement new. Went thru at least 5 before she got rid of it. They wouldn't last a year. Maybe hers was a fluke. Other than that it had no problems. She traded it in on a 93 xtra cab 5 spd truck. Loved that truck. I have been involved in Toyotas since 1972 forward & everything that came from japan was far superior than the Tacoma is sadly. It's the first one we've owned from here. The smell when new, the fit, finish, overall feel, paint, just everything noticeably better from Japan. I've been around 72 corona, 76 celica, 77 corolla wagon, 80 corolla, 80 corolla wagon, 81 trekker, 82 truck, 83 celica, 85 4wd xtra cab, 87 celica, 93 xtra cab, had the 82 truck this whole time & now the 05 tacoma. I've had several odd cars like 82 z28, 97 mustang, 88 acura, 66 catalina, 74 280z, 72 cutlass, 03 volvo, 05 volvo, 99 buick sprinkled in there. The other thing I definitely will hold onto, that I have now, because it came from Hiroshima, is my 03 Mazda P5 (323F). Still has new car smell after 6 years. Fit & finish are great but that's another forum. As all have beared witness to, the slide started when other countries started bulding Toyotas instead of Japan. Maybe the big 3 should build cars in Japan & ship them here instead but I wish Toyota would just go back there & build them. At least a couple or few models. They seem more exotic that way rather than something made here too, just a dash more coolness about it besides the better overall product.
     
  7. May 28, 2009 at 8:09 PM
    #27
    Deckplate

    Deckplate Well-Known Member

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    I just traded in a '06 Colorado for my Tacoma. I wanted to like the Colorado but things started to break. Just little stuff like a storage box latch, the tie down for the jack, door hinge came loose, and I would get a ABS fault occasionally. What really pissed me off was rust spots all over my truck even inside the door frames. At this point I had owned my truck for 18 months! My wifes '05 RAV4 is still rinning like the day we drove it off the lot, 100k miles. I bought my Tacoma hoping for the same quality.
     
  8. May 28, 2009 at 8:16 PM
    #28
    Ridgerunner

    Ridgerunner Well-Known Member

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    Frank
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    2001 with; cat-back side-swept twin exhaust, elbow mod, Westin bullbar with Hella 450 driving lights, Snugtop XTR camper shell, TRD off-road 2x4-black beauty.
    T@co-You are like me-I have owned:
    1965 Chrysler 300
    1968 Olds Cutlas
    1968 GTO
    1979 Chevy Malibu California
    1971 Toyota Celica GT
    1972 Olds Delta 88
    1981 Camaro Berlinetta
    1982 Chevy S-10 pickup
    1986 Camaro Sport Coupe
    1986 GMC Jimmy
    1992 Honda Accord Coupe
    2001 Toyota Tacoma
    As you can see, I have had my share of the big two-(never a Ford) and my lot had som cool muscle in it too. You can alo see that I came to my senses with that '92 Accord, which was such a great trouble free car that I banked all the money I was dumping into the others, and I went and paid cash for my truck-which in turn is also troble free, which means the old bank account gets fatter:)
    Rosie's Celica is only on its 2nd muffler. The GTS has that 2-outlet type and this current one seems to have more flow than the original one as it is louder with deep tone and spits gobs of condensation water backwards as she takes off:D so I am guessing they fixed a malady in the first one.
     
  9. May 28, 2009 at 8:22 PM
    #29
    epa4wd

    epa4wd Well-Known Member

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    I've never had a Toyota before, so I can't compare old vs new, however I can say this, if you look at other forums (at least the forum I used to go for my Ranger) you will see A LOT of threads of people seeking help for mechanical problems, from small to big (I would see a new topic daily). Around this forum I don't see much... Biggest thing I see here are the TSBs which people get fixed and go on with their life, other than that I don't see people having any big issues with their trucks.
     
  10. May 28, 2009 at 8:24 PM
    #30
    Ridgerunner

    Ridgerunner Well-Known Member

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    2001 with; cat-back side-swept twin exhaust, elbow mod, Westin bullbar with Hella 450 driving lights, Snugtop XTR camper shell, TRD off-road 2x4-black beauty.
    I remember seeing a documentary on the History channel about Toyota a while back. They held daily morning exercise routines with the car building teams-that really stuck out in my mind. This prepared each and every one of them for quality workmanship. Think they do that here? At the same time the big three were slapping a sexy face on a mechanical nightmare because we the sheeple like bling and we eat it up.
     
  11. May 29, 2009 at 4:05 AM
    #31
    T@co_Pr3runn3r

    T@co_Pr3runn3r XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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    Oh, my wife was just GT. It had the single outlet muffler. Probably same 2.0 with same condensation tendencies, just didn't let it out like the 2 hole muffler did.
     
  12. May 29, 2009 at 6:16 AM
    #32
    WNYTACOMA

    WNYTACOMA Well-Known Member

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    Toyota Nerf steps Bugflector 2 Tool box Weathertech floor liners Wet Okole F/R - Bk/Char
    My 87 Toyota pick up which i bought new was mechanically excellent, but the horizontal seam in the bed wasn't a good idea at all. Those beds would rust out in about 5-6 years around here and you'd start seeing the hillbilly wood platform taking its place.

    My 2000 Tacoma was a very good truck but it did have an annoying dash rattle that would piss me off on a routine basis. Other than that and the chipping paint, i can't complain. Nice truck. ...oh, and that rotted frame issue...

    The 2009 out of the gates has been very good so far. Lots of nice improvements, though the mudflaps don't appreciate backing up in teh deep snow, i have some mystery rattle behind in the area of the drivers side mirror that seems to be winter / ice related, as that had disappeared after the weather improved. Things a champ now.
     
  13. May 29, 2009 at 6:41 AM
    #33
    TacoBo

    TacoBo Active Member

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    I'm on my third Toyota truck and have had similar experiences as you. Each one have had their annoying little rattle, rust spots, etc., but for some reason I just feel like the quality of parts, fit, finish, etc. on my '08 DC is not up to the same level as previous trucks.

    I will say this...I owned a Honda Pilot between my second Toyota truck and this one. If Honda would get their act together and build a real truck (no the Ridgeline is not a real truck) I would trade my Tacoma in on that in a New York minute. Much higher quality vehicle, much more fuel effecient, etc. My wife has a '06 Honda Civic with 60K on it and it runs and drives just as tightly the day we drove it off the lot. People use to say the same thing about Camrys, but you don't even hear those testimonials much anymore.

    You guys can hang me out to dry on this, but it's all true. Just my $.02.
     
  14. May 29, 2009 at 6:46 AM
    #34
    T@co_Pr3runn3r

    T@co_Pr3runn3r XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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    Is what it is bro. Not the same as they was yo.
     
  15. May 29, 2009 at 7:22 AM
    #35
    Kenobe

    Kenobe Well-Known Member

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    Regardless, still better than a danged Dodge :argue:
     
  16. May 29, 2009 at 7:25 AM
    #36
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    X2!
     
  17. May 29, 2009 at 7:51 AM
    #37
    Yuma Taco

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  18. Jun 2, 2009 at 7:47 AM
    #38
    BX1018

    BX1018 Member

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    I'm also on my 3rd Toyota truck. I drive a ton and I've still had good luck with mine.

    Had a 2000 that had 173k on it and never had one issue. It never went back to the dealer for anything (even the clutch was still fine). Only thing I ever did was oil changes and brakes for it. Also had the spark plugs replaced once. That was t-boned by another driver. The damage was pretty bad but that thing still ran.

    Had a 2005 Tacoma that had 103k on it when I was rear ended by a semi which totaled it. Same thing here. No issues at all.

    I now have a 2009 and have ran into my first Tacoma issue (the radio turn off thing). Honestly, I'm not to concerned about that. The radio was a new release and you have to expect some minor things to happen.

    That being said, I don't think Toyota has "less quality" than it did. I just think that all these added features and sensors are causing problems long term. Certainly I'd think junk is a very harsh term. As previously said, since the internet has a way for you to access information from all over the world, it's a lot easier to find people having problems with their automobiles.

    Toyota's still have one of the lowest lemon rates (the best for any truck producer), lowest recall rates, and it's still one of the better rides out there. I drove every truck on the market again and the Taco still seemed to make the most sense for me.
     
  19. Jun 2, 2009 at 10:34 AM
    #39
    T@co_Pr3runn3r

    T@co_Pr3runn3r XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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    Still better than anything out there that isn't at least twice the price!!!!!
     

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