Truck Problems... wow

[Coolslice]

I'd say if you know 3 people who have had Toyota's lemon lawed, then you must have a ton of friends. I live 12 miles from the camry plant and about an hour from the Tundra plant. To say that there are a lot of Toyotas running around here would be an understatement of gross proportions. I personally have NEVER heard of a person having a Toyota bought back.



I guess what it comes down to is the old "eye of the beholder" deal. No one can convince me that my experiences mean nothing, just as I cannot convince anyone else of the same. All I can say is that I KNEW Dodge vehicles had a reputation of being suspect in the quality dept. and to this point my experience has proven what I already knew.



No disrepect to those of you who have had thousands of trouble free miles, I envy you. I've just got to let off a little steam knowing that I paid a small fortune for this truck, and sold a truck that was rock solid in the process to end up with mediocre truck. Sorry for my little rant. :-laf

 

[MCrossley]

well the fact that another member here has stated that his tundra had brake problems also would lead me to believe maybe it is not so uncommon... . The person that had 2 lemon law'd had a fully loaded Sequoia, brakes were shot in less than 10k, he had the dealer fix it and in another 10k shot again they screwed with it for a year to no avail, He had it in the shop more than in his driveway; So after a year he had enough it was bought back and he got a new one, much better he got 20k out of these brakes and remeber this is 50k ish top of the line trouble free toyota so anyhow they finally bought that one back too and he went and bought a CTD, at least he does not go through brakes every 10-20k... . The other friend it was a tacoma that kept dying over and over to no avail of repair and the other actually was my aunt and it was her Tacoma that stalled whenever it felt like it, so sorry to disapoint you but the Toyotas are mechanical as well and are not all that perfect.



The comment about toyotas not working hard every day I live in a trailer park and see many makes models of trucks come and go, I have yet to see a Toyota drag a 5th wheel in here... . Although I do see them as delivery trucks all the time; the flower shop down the street has 2

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

Thank you Jesus for blessing me so much



I've had thousands of trouble free miles. A couple of factory TSBs. Only real complaint is premature u-joint wear out on the 04. To me that is a minor problem when compared to the Ford/Chevy diesel problems. I Really like how the Cummins has performed.



I traded a 83 Toyota SR5 on my 98 CTD. I had to rebuild the Toy at 153K. What a tin can POS. The Toy was great for putzing around in the mountains. But what a whimp for hauling firewood. Ever notice how Toys always sag in the rear end with the smallest of loads? IMHO it is because they are toys not trucks. So I thought, "Why am I driving a tin can when I could be driving a full size truck with the same mpg?" Not even tempted to own another Toy - unless they make a real truck and put a diesel in it.



Do I have complaints about the Dodge? Sure, it is not the perfect truck. Steering isn't great on the 2Gs, the metal and chinsy parts on the 3Gs. No factory hubs. Diesel is too heavy. 5speed sucks compared to the 6 speed. CC sucks compared to the 4 door. On and on it goes. I could write a litany of complaints about the other trucks I've owned too - F250, Willys wagon, LandRover 88, and especially the S10 Blazer. No, not perfect - but I'm content with my CTD considering the current market selection.

 

[DNewell]

WOW! Talk about a progressive forum here. I have owned two Toyota's, a 93 and a 97. The 93 was a 4banger and the 97 was the V6. I've also had a 87 chev 3/4. I think that overall build quality on the Toyota is great. For the dollar, you get a well put together vehicle with lots of neat gizmos and excellent reliability. However, these types of trucks are not, nor never were, intended to do the same amount of work that a CTD Dodge does. I can't see someone towing a four place snowmobile trailer with four sleds up a 7% grade for 10 miles without buring something out. I just bought my 98 24v truck, and I honestly think that the overall interior quality as compared to my 97 Toyota is not nearly as good. I love my Dodge and now I wouldn't trade it for the world, unless diesel went to 5. 00/gal.

 

[Coolslice]

Now were getting a little carried away. Somehow we have started comparing small 2wd toyotas to full size 3/4 ton diesels. No kidding.



If we are going to compare capabilities, why not pick vehicles of the same class. Care to compare a V6 Dakota to a V6 Tacoma? :-laf



Of course Toyota's are not perfect, but I would bet anything that the numbers would show that as a whole they have much fewer problems then DC's products. I would think the fact that Toyota is on the verge of being #1 in the world in sales while all others are having a rough time of it speaks towards the quality. How many #1 selling cars or trucks does DC have?



I'm not anti DC obviously since I gave them a ton of money for one of there trucks, but I also know reality. When it comes to quality, Toyota is the benchmark.

 

[10-9jc]

"HE" doesn't work there!

Ol Trail Dog - Jesus doesn't work at the assembly plant!

No disrespect intended - but you may have been simply "blessed"

by having a vehicle NOT built on Monday morning or Friday night!



If you know somebody that works at one of the(car/truck) assembly plants

[you probably don't know anybody at Sautillo. LOL] - ask about

"Monday Morning or Friday Night vehicles!



Would you believe that some cars/trucks are actually turned to junk

due to errors? [Some are "saved" - you don't want those, either].

And - lots of "foreign" cars are built here in the USA.



Back to the original post and question. Recommend "lurking" on the

Ford and Chev (GM) forums. I did!

I'm not brand loyal - in fact the last (ONLY) Chrysler product -[before

it was "D/C"]- I ever had was a '50 Dodge "beater" to use when my '57

Chevy was "down" 'cause I broke something (prob. about '62)!



Having had many Ferds and GM stuff, cars and trucks - they all can

(and do) have problems.

Dealer service can have a lot to do with your "attitude" about your vehicle!

Although I had some Ferds that gave NO grief . . . overall I've had more problems with Ferds than GM.



Lastly, a friend recently toured the Cummins engine plant. LOTS of 5. 9

ISBe's being purchased for use in Japan! What does that tell ya?

JC

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

Ol Trail Dog - Jesus doesn't work at the assembly plant!

I wouldn't be surprised if one wouldn't find a Jesus or two working on the assembly line down south in Sautillo. :-laf



If they are putting those 5. 9s in a Toy they will have to completely resign those POSs to handle the weight. IMHO, of course



Personally, I think DC with the 6. 7 rumor mill, plus Ferd and Chebby, are barking up the wrong tree. I would think there will be a market for a downsized solid built diesel truck. But when isn't Detroit way behind the curve. CTD excepting, or course.

 

[JRMora]

Of course Toyota's are not perfect, but I would bet anything that the numbers would show that as a whole they have much fewer problems then DC's products. I would think the fact that Toyota is on the verge of being #1 in the world in sales while all others are having a rough time of it speaks towards the quality. How many #1 selling cars or trucks does DC have?

Quality is only part of the equation. Honda also has "legendary" quality (though our last two have had many more problems - not little ones but total failures) and they aren't #1. GM pays out over $1900 per car in retiree benefits vs less than $300 for Toyota. GM has something like 40,000 (or was it 400,000?) eligible retirees collecting benefits. If GM did make a car for the same cost as Toyota, they'd already be at a $1600 disadvantage.



I bought my truck to haul and pull heavy - something no Nissan or Toyota can do (at least for now). Given a choice between DC, Ford or GM, I chose DC (I've had Ford's in the past). My '97 Dodge had more serious problems than my '04 (but fewer than my '00 Ford). My current Dodge has 45,000 miles on it and has only been in the shop for tires and oil. I do all my other routine maintenance. It pulls a 14,000# trailer through the mountains, carries 4000# of rock, concrete and paver brick without complaining. I even washed it once this year.



So, two questions:



1. Is a 1/2T Toyota better for hauling groceries than a 1/2T Dodge? Probably. Is the Dodge adequate for the job? Yes.



2. Is the 1T DRW Toyota better for hauling a 36' fifth wheel or 4000 #'s of stuff that the Dodge 1T DRW?



I'll let you know when they make one.



Oh, yeah, if you look at statistics from Consumer's Union, you'll see the newer Dodges are more relable than the older ones. Of course, almost all new cars are more reliable than their older counterparts.



It's called Kaizen - "Continuous Improvement". It's just that the target is always moving and we as consumers are ever demanding more.



Just an opinion



Juan

 

[Coolslice]

Good points. They are improved in many areas, but many problem areas are still the same. There's still a lot of major problem areas that have been around for several years. I don't need to name them. Everyone makes a lemon at times, but most try to fix weak spots. DC has not IMO, they only fix or improve things that they get out done on by Ford and GM. .

 

[GFritsch]

I know how you feel. I've had my truck for almost 2 years and it's starting to have problems on a regular basis. Problems that it shouldn't have at 27k easy, well maintained miles. Lots of guys are content with their trucks to have problems, but thats likely because it's what they are used to.



Coming from owning Toyota's for many years, I have come to expect quality on a differnet level then most Dodge owners that I know. Some people don't want to hear it, but Dodge has some quality issues. What is disturbing is that many problems that Dodge Rams have are problems that they have had for years. For some reason, they refuse to address them. I am giving Dodge a fair shake, but if I continue to have to go to the dealer every 2 months with a $46k truck then I won't be in a Dodge for much longer.



Flame on! :-laf

What are the problems you are having? My truck has 20k on it now and has been used almost exclusivly to carry our camper or haul stuff. So far not a single problem that wasn't fixed for free at the dealer.



1. launch shudder

2. bad stereo speakers

3. milage flash



Driving an 02 PSD for work makes it all so obvious to me how nice our Dodge trucks are.



Did you really pay 46k for your truck? Ouch.

 

[jlasich]

I don't know if I can go along with your opinion of Toyota. I'm not claiming they are trouble free, but there is no comparison in quality between DC and Toyota. I don't think that the big three losing money left and right while Toyota is posting record numbers every year is a coincidence. People have found out what is reality IMO.

DC is the only one of the big 3 making money, lots of money. They are also the only one of the three continuing to increase marketshare. There quality continues to improve and Dieter Zetsche (DC's upcoming CEO in Jan. ) has said that they are working to have Toyota-like quality within the next couple years. Of course, talk isn't action and only time will tell. Unfortunately for the Chrysler Group, they have a weight around their neck due to quality issues in the past. It takes a long, long time to rebuild a tarnished reputation.

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

they are working to have Toyota-like quality

When I compare the quality of the materials, e. g. sheet metal thickness, plastic parts, thin plastic grill, and etc. between the 2Gs I've had and the 3G - I think they are headed in the wrong direction. :-laf



That said, the steering, engine, transmission, axle ratios, springs, four doors on the 04 make it the pick of the litter as far as cruising the blacktop.