Consumer Reports most reliable midsize

The more stuff [options] you cram into a truck, the more things can go wrong. The more things you tie electronically together, the greater the chance for multiple part/equipment failures when one part goes bad.

Redundancy is used when things HAVE to work. [Mil equipment/vehicles for example or the duel brake systems we now use, if a line or seal blows in the back brake system, the front brakes still work and vice versa]

 

A lot of the "new" tech has been previously featured on more expensive (Lexus) products. Is the 4g 14" display technologically more prone to failure than the 3g 8"/10" displays? Our fear of tech is often unjustified.

 

I agree with this as a general principle, however a lot of the “complexity” we complain about ironically targets items that Toyota specifically designed to enhance longevity. D4S is a relatively complex redundancy of fuel systems whose purpose in part is to reduce the carbon buildup on valves, thus enhancing longevity. Other manufacturers’ DI motor designs don’t even bother addressing that issue (looking at you, Nissan…) despite what their own engineers already know.

As far as simplicity = reliability, worth noting that nickel metal hydride is a simpler-case use for the hybrid. Toyota goes simple where there’s an advantage, uses complexity where it extends life. Smart.

 

It's not the tech itself, it's how it's bundled, wired, and tied in with other systems which all go down when one goes down.

I would MUCH rather have a separate HVAC control system and a separate touch screen/entertainment system then one touch screen that wipes out a huge portion of the different systems if it fails. Heck, it would be easy to run the 4wd system off it also but I'd bet people would start balking at that and the expense..........ouch if you ever had to do repairs.

 

All the rating places are scams

 

Just my personal take, but I was waiting to get into a Tacoma after having Ford trucks for business use. The rest of the family always had Toyota or Lexus vehicles with little to no repairs required over a long life. The only reason I bought Ford trucks was because Toyota doesn't offer a 3/4 ton or larger and I got a deep discount buying more than nine trucks at a time. Ive had a few recent generation Rangers and they needed attention within warranty for electrical and mechanical.