What's up with Toyota

[lgibson]

About two months ago I saw a Tacoma trying to pass a line of vehicles because his lane ended. He never made it. A large blusish cloud of smoke came out from his hood and oil all over his windshield. He did have a lot of RPM's when he passed me. The truck still had a dealers sticker on it.



Yesterday I was at the river and some young kids brought out a newer tacoma and a chevy sprit. The kids just paid $100 dollars for the chevy and decided to trash it off road. That little 3 banger ran all over the place and never got stuck, only overheated a lot. The 4x4 toyota never got stuck and went everywhere that little chevy car went. The only thing was that Toyota was going down the road sideways when they were done. I could see the driver side door, front finder and all from standing directly behind it as it drove away. So what happend to Toyota Quality? I must say both were driven hard but not too hard.

 

[TPCDrafting]

When did they have quality?

 

[NVR FNSH]

I don't seem to remember hearing anyone complain about Toyotas eating trac bars, pulling to the left... then the right... . then the left, transfer pumps failing, transmissions spitting off 5th gear nuts, 6spd sticks not shifting or any other malady that we put up with on our Dodge's.



Are they rated for 20K GCWR? No. Do they have the Cummins available? No. Do they do what they were designed to do and last for freaking every? Yep. Toyotas are not in same class as a CTD because they are not designed to be. The issues most of us have with Toyota's vehicles are DESIGN issues NOT Quality issues.



Brian

 

[lgibson]

I am not against Toyotas. My grandfather will not drive anything else. The Toyota 22RE is one of the best 4 bangers out there. The Land Crusier I-6 is also very good. I think they messed up with putting V-8 in Land Crusiers. Back in 1995 I was a mechanic at AAMCO Trans and we started seeing more and more Toyotas come in. From 1989 and up we have had more Toyota transmissions go out with less than 100,000 miles. Had quite a few with less than 60,000. This is on both cars and trucks that did not look like they have been abused. I talked to a lady in Vegas who had a LX 450 with one of the first V-8s. It rode rougher than my 3500 and she has had many electronic problems with it. Last time I talked to her she was going to buy a CTD. I know technology has grown, so more is likely to go wrong. Also at the time Japan was having economic problems.

The only bad thing about Toyota trucks is that they try to hard to look like Fords and you have to just about sit on the floor with your legs stright out for the pedals. Also they still have that bench seat that has the bar that runs right across your back and no padding. T-100 were dependable but way under powered for street use or hauling. Would I own a Toyota? Yes, a 1980 4x4 short bed with the 22r engine.

 

[illflem]

Pre '85 Toyotas were great, I still have one with 300k+. After that they seemed cheaper quality, maybe because they started building some in the US. New Toyotas seem to have just as many problems as a...



Dodge.

 

[Steve M]

The only car I ever lemon lawed was a Toyota. It was the only Toyota I've ever owned. I've owned three Dodge Cummins trucks and many Chrysler vehicles. When do the problems start that I keep hearing about? I've had great service out of our Mopars. The only good thing I've seen come from Japan is an Isuzu diesel.

What's a Lexus? A Mercedes with a Toyota motor. I don't get the hype...

 

[Pit Bull]

Originally posted by lgibson



. I talked to a lady in Vegas who had a LX 450 with one of the first V-8s. It rode rougher than my 3500 and she has had many electronic problems with it. Last time I talked to her she was going to buy a CTD.

If she had a LX450 she had a inline 6 in it . One of the most dependable engines ever made.



I own a 1995 Toyota Landcruiser. It now has over 115K miles on it and looks and runs like new. I have had zero problem with it. The Landcruiser is built like a TANK and rides almost like a Tank . It has full floating solid axles and locking diff's front and rear. It is a "real" 4 wheel drive vehicle. I belonged to a Landcruiser club where members owned FJ80 and FZJ80 Landcruisers, thats 1990 thru 1997 Landcruisers. It was not uncommon to see LC's with over 300K miles and no major problems. This is not mall cruising, these are vehicles that have spent a lot of their life off road. If Dodge could build a truck like my Landcruiser it would be the last truck you would ever need to own.

 

[lgibson]

Pit Bull

It was a V-8 and it was only locked in the rear. I know it was a Lexus but not sure what model. I thought it was a 450. What was the ones with the V-8s and only had a rear locker?

 

[Pit Bull]

Re: Pit Bull

Originally posted by lgibson

It was a V-8 and it was only locked in the rear. I know it was a Lexus but not sure what model. I thought it was a 450. What was the ones with the V-8s and only had a rear locker?

LX470, is the new body style V-8. LX450 is the old body style with the solid axles front and rear and the inline 6 engine. I would love to have one of the new ones. But it would be the Landcruiser. Why pay another $10K for the Lexus badges? When they went to the new body style they were no longer real 4 wheel drive vehicles. If I paid $70K for a new vehicle it would not go off road for 10 years

 

[TPCDrafting]

I've only had a few experiences with Toyota trucks. The in-laws had a late 70's model 2wd. Last year it had a grand total of 80,000 miles on it. It acted like it had 480k on the OD. The body was shot although it was garaged, the motor ran like crap (hard to start, wouldn't idle, no power, loud, smelly, barely passed emissions testing, poor mileage, etc, etc) And to top it off it was the squirliest thing I ever drove. Mom in-law wanted to paint "WILD THING" on the side. They finally took it to one of those push pull or drag trade-in sales and bought a mini-van. Back in '94 ish I worked for a contractor who paid $17k for a stripped down "key and heater" that had the v6, 4wd, 5spd. You had to have baby fingers to work any of the controls they were so small. The brakes were shot after 15,000 miles. I took it once to run errands and broke the microscopic gas pedal with my work boot. The best he could get was 14 mpg. At the time, Dad had the same year truck, but it was a Chevy s10 with the 4. 3L v6 and an automatic. He would get 25-26 mpg and had more power I thought. My boss hated for me to tell him that as he was a Boulderite to the max (if you're from COLO, you know what one is) and insisted you couldn't buy an American vehicle that was remotely close to his Toy. Just my experiences, but I must say I also knew some folks that have extremely high mileage toys and are happy with them.

 

[LandShark]

The best part of our trucks is the engine and it's far from perfect (KDP etc... ).



On the other hand, I own a 93 Toyota Tercel that I bought new and now has about 85,000 miles. Other than normal maintance, I've replaced the water pump... ... period! The car has never been recalled (my Dodge truck is recalled about once a year). 'Normal maintance' includes 1 battery , 1 set of tires, 2 fuel filters. I haven't spent even $100 on this car since new for maintance suprises and it still get 35 to 40 mpg!



Now, do I have enough space to describe Dodge maintance? NO... But, here's a short list: Front axel u-joints, rear drive shaft u-joint, 2 track bars, fuel tank sender, fuel return line, 2 key switches, window switch... . bla, bla, bla.



If Toyota made a pickup with a medium speed diesel that could carry my camper, I'd trade in a second and never look back!

 

[Steve M]

That's fantastic life for a Tercel. An '89 Tercel was my downfall with Toyota. It had a CV carburetor that didn't work well even with the tech tips and mods they tried on it. The carb alone was over $600 thier cost. In 1990 the Tercels got fuel injection. Problem solved but too late for ours. My ex wife got to keep it. My '98 12v 2500 Dodge Cummins had 89,000 and a few miles when I traded it in on my 01. 5 for the long bed and quad cab. Other than filters and oil and one set of Michelins, I had to have the evaporator replaced at the tune of $700. ~. It had the origional brakes with alot of miles left on them.

My '95 was good too. It needed the same evaporator replaced at 54k miles and a fuel sending unit. It pulled to the right a little but I never was bothered by it. I traded it on the '98 for the 5spd and 4. 10 ratio that I didn't really need.

I don't know why Toyota doesn't make a real full sized truck. A co-worker paid $31000 for his Tundra 4X4 with all the bells and whistles. It seems small and chincy inside for the same money I paid for my Dodge Cummins. 3600 lbs would crush a Tundra. I think the kind of service you expect from a pickup would take it's toll on a Toyota too. But with Toyota fixing to produce what they call a One Ton Tundra, we might see it capable of carrying 2000 lbs. :-laf

 

[NVR FNSH]

Should have mentioned this earlier.



I recently acquired a '85 Toyota 4wd P/U from my sister. My dad was the original owner. It has ~165K on it - 3rd gear doesn't work. Synchros is my best guess. Other than that it's been dead nuts reliable. I think it's getting better mileage than my CTD.....



Could I get by with just a Toyota Tundra as my daily driver/only vehicle? No - unless I sell my 36ft 5th wheel. If not for the towing issue I would have bought a Tundra.



The best thing about having the Toyota? I will be able to drive it into my back yard with a bed full of top soil instead of having to wheelbarrow it all. The Dodge is too big to fit between the flower bed/lemon tree & the wooden deck. Might take two trips in Toyota.....



The best truck depends on the application(s) it's going to be used in.



Brian

 

[DGFoster]

Check this out,makes you wonder

http://www.msnbc.com/news/759355.asp#BODY

 

[Steve M]

So statistically speaking... With my Dodge I an expect to have 1. 4 problems and if I traded it off for a Toyota I could expect to have only one problem? I can see why there's such a mad rush to throw our money to Japan.

 

[Will24]

my current daily driver is a 93 toyota sr5 v6 4x4 5 spd pickup, if I had a choice I'd have a CTD dodge but I am about to graduate high school so it's not an option. However in an average week I see about 19 mpg no problems, in 95k miles the only thing done to my truck is brakes twice, timing belt, tires and cap/rotor/plugs (once!) that's it. As much as I do love mopars my dad's 98 concorde has 101k highway miles and it has had... .



1 transmission

1 COMPLETE $1300 engine harness

10! sets of complete brakes due to rotor warpage

etc etc, make fun of my daily beater all ya want...

 

[Pit Bull]

I had a 2001 Tundra with the V-8. I traded it in for the Dodge CTD. I only need a daily driver no towing. I traded because I love the CTD and I love the looks of the Dodge and the Dodge has personality and the Tundra has no personality. I love my Toyota Landcruiser and will keep it but it also has personality. Personality goes a long way in my book

 

[NVR FNSH]

Yeah, my CTD has a personality too. Unfortunately, it's a split personality It can be a real PITA when it wants to - like in the morning when it really won't shift worth a darn.....



Brian

 

[DGFoster]

Well with me it is Dodge CTD or NOTHING