Toyota Quality

[Bignate603]

That's why even basic features like projector headlights and LED tail lights are standard on these cars like Fusion and Malibu right? Oh wait, no, they're not.

Guess what, they're not standard on the Japanese cars they're competing against either.

 

[MJinZ]

LED tails were on the Fusion I was behind on the freeway today (2010 model)

Better get your eyes checked.

 

[MJinZ]

Guess what, they're not standard on the Japanese cars they're competing against either.

Standard on Camry.
Standard on Mazda 6, optional LED tails.
Standard on Nissan (Maxima)
Standard on VWs

 

[MJinZ]

I think the Fusion and Malibu also have an accelerator that wont kill you also, thats a pretty good standard feature

Are you implying Honda, Nissan, VWs, Mazdas have accelerators that do? If you're not, then they have no advantage.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Are you implying Honda, Nissan, VWs, Mazdas have accelerators that do? If you're not, then they have no advantage.

Press the accelerator and the brake at the same time on any VW built since like 97+ (Mk4 and B4 platform) and see what happens.

 

[MJinZ]

Press the accelerator and the brake at the same time on any VW built since like 97+ (Mk4 and B4 platform) and see what happens.

Brake over-ride? What does that have to do with accelerators that kill you?

 

[kornphlake]

That's why even basic features like projector headlights and LED tail lights are standard on these cars like Fusion and Malibu right? Oh wait, no, they're not.

What do headlights have to do with quality?

My Toyota has been a POS, leaky rear hatch left me with mildew in the carpet that had to be ripped out. Both the drivers and passengers side door handles broke, the rear power windows work sometimes, often just one or the other, fan belt chips incessantly, the injectors are noisy, the dash rattles, the factory JBL stereo cooked the tweeters, the steering wheel mounted audio controls don't work, the power steering feels like it can't keep up if I'm making quick turns at idle (parallel parking.) There seems to be a power problem, the lights flicker even after buying a new battery and replacing the alternator and voltage regulator, who knows what other problems that's causing. The P0420 code that can't be repaired is the biggest issue, I won't be able to pass smog next year and I won't be able to register the vehicle. I'm so glad I paid it off last month, it's going on the auction block as soon as I get the title from the bank.

 

[Squisher]

I really wasn't going to get into this argument about taillights and headlights, but both seeming upgrades seem totally unnecessary, and I would definitely prefer a vehicle without LED taillights. The cost of replacing that extravagance is factored into your insurance rate. LED taillights might last forever, but the cost of replacement for something in harms way during most accidents vs. their appeal just doesn't seem equitable.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Your average bozo uses consumer reports to choose car. It has more to do with each specific model than an entire brand. Every car maker has good models and bad models, the trick is learning the good ones.

Consumer reports features model breakdowns too. Usually people just post that main image that ranks the brands, but almost every model and the history is featured in that issue.

Of course then there's those who believe CR is terrible, but while it may have bias and whatever, it's not exactly like the the rankings are flip flopped 180. There's some truth in the reliability reviews. And it's not like you can do any better with another survey.

 

[MJinZ]

What do headlights have to do with quality?

My Toyota has been a POS, leaky rear hatch left me with mildew in the carpet that had to be ripped out. Both the drivers and passengers side door handles broke, the rear power windows work sometimes, often just one or the other, fan belt chips incessantly, the injectors are noisy, the dash rattles, the factory JBL stereo cooked the tweeters, the steering wheel mounted audio controls don't work, the power steering feels like it can't keep up if I'm making quick turns at idle (parallel parking.) There seems to be a power problem, the lights flicker even after buying a new battery and replacing the alternator and voltage regulator, who knows what other problems that's causing. The P0420 code that can't be repaired is the biggest issue, I won't be able to pass smog next year and I won't be able to register the vehicle. I'm so glad I paid it off last month, it's going on the auction block as soon as I get the title from the bank.

Headlights don't have to do with quality, who said they did?

 

[MJinZ]

I really wasn't going to get into this argument about taillights and headlights, but both seeming upgrades seem totally unnecessary, and I would definitely prefer a vehicle without LED taillights. The cost of replacing that extravagance is factored into your insurance rate. LED taillights might last forever, but the cost of replacement for something in harms way during most accidents vs. their appeal just doesn't seem equitable.

LED Tail lights are brighter and more noticeable. This translates to safer, even to a small degree.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

LED Tail lights are brighter and more noticeable. This translates to safer, even to a small degree.

exactly. plus the fail rate of LEDs is very low. sometimes you just get a bad bulb. i made a 20 min drive to Home Depot once for a bulb, and it burnt out as I turned the light on. WTF. Made the trek all over again and bought TWO instead. Well, that new bulb lasted me 2+ years and is still going. Yeah it was a PITA to drive that far and buy one and replace, and so I bought 2 instead just in case something's up with teh fail rate of these bulbs. Turns out the first bulb I got was just bad.

Same with LEDs. They should last forever. Maybe you got a bad one to begin with. Will suck to replace, but one you do it, it should go on forever...

 

[LTC8K6]

I though LED brake lights were safer because they reach full brightness much quicker. They just pop right up instantly compared to regular bulbs which fade on.

 

[Eugene86]

Headlights don't have to do with quality, who said they did?

I don't know how it is in the US, but here in Canada, the difference in price of domestic cars and imports with similar features usually equates to a few thousand dollars more for the imports.
Considering that the quality of domestics is mostly on par, if not better, than some of the imports these days, have lower repair costs, AND offer better financing and leasing rates, I don't see how you can be such a Toyota, Honda, etc fanboy.

 

[ElFenix]

Headlights don't have to do with quality, who said they did?

the whole discussion was about quality.

 

[Gibson486]

exactly. plus the fail rate of LEDs is very low. sometimes you just get a bad bulb. i made a 20 min drive to Home Depot once for a bulb, and it burnt out as I turned the light on. WTF. Made the trek all over again and bought TWO instead. Well, that new bulb lasted me 2+ years and is still going. Yeah it was a PITA to drive that far and buy one and replace, and so I bought 2 instead just in case something's up with teh fail rate of these bulbs. Turns out the first bulb I got was just bad.

Same with LEDs. They should last forever. Maybe you got a bad one to begin with. Will suck to replace, but one you do it, it should go on forever...

Also, LEDs have a faster response time.

 

[MJinZ]

the whole discussion was about quality.

Not entirely, that part of the discussion was about being "behind in many aspects".

 

[MJinZ]

I don't know how it is in the US, but here in Canada, the difference in price of domestic cars and imports with similar features usually equates to a few thousand dollars more for the imports.
Considering that the quality of domestics is mostly on par, if not better, than some of the imports these days, have lower repair costs, AND offer better financing and leasing rates, I don't see how you can be such a Toyota, Honda, etc fanboy.

Canadian cars are insanely priced, so I don't blame you.

Domestic cars here are in fact cheaper than the imports. But people have gotten used to buying an import that runs for 20 years as opposed to domestics that don't last past the initial warranty. This is changing as you see, with Toyota going down and the imports catching up (but still not caught up yet).

 

[ElFenix]

Not entirely, that part of the discussion was about being "behind in many aspects".

the reasonable assumption when you state 'behind in many aspects' when responding to a post about quality is that you're not talking about quality?

 

[LTC8K6]

I don't know about the quality, but it looks like ABC has been busted on the Camry acceleration demo...

http://jalopnik.com/5488464/the-mechanics-of-abc-news-unintended-toyota-acceleration-hoax

 

[Arkaign]

Canadian cars are insanely priced, so I don't blame you.

Domestic cars here are in fact cheaper than the imports. But people have gotten used to buying an import that runs for 20 years as opposed to domestics that don't last past the initial warranty. This is changing as you see, with Toyota going down and the imports catching up (but still not caught up yet).

Only in your opinion. You forget to take many things into account :

Many imports do NOT last "20 years". Some in fact are flamingly unreliable after only a handful of years of average use. Of course the same is true of many domestics.

Most domestics should easily outlast the initial warranty. A well-taken care of import or domestic should last 150k+ miles on the original drivetrain with only minor component replacements (maybe a starter, an alternator, a radiator, or a combination of a couple of similar things), timing belt and fluid changes.

It is when a car CANNOT be reliable during that very reasonable range, and develops severe engine or transmission trouble, that a car should be dismissed as 'unreliable'.

If a car cannot even escape the warranty period without having substantial problems, then it's a certifiable disaster.

FWIW, I have an '08 Focus that was hit by an Altima and very nearly totaled (the Altima had it's radiator jammed into the engine, and the engine broke off of at least two motor mounts), it is fixed and back on the road. Other than the downtime during repair, it's been bulletproof for almost 40k mostly city miles now, nothing more than tires, oil, and gas. How does 'zero' issues compare to the issues you describe in the OP?

Only someone with unsubstantiated or outdated biases could honestly say that domestics are better than imports, or vice versa, as a whole.

It's a make by make, model by model, option by option level of granularity. That's how deep you have to get before you can pass some kind of definitive statement about a car's relative value/reliability/etc.

 

[kornphlake]

I though LED brake lights were safer because they reach full brightness much quicker. They just pop right up instantly compared to regular bulbs which fade on.

I hate it when I'm following a car too close and they stomp on the brakes, I always think to my self "man if only that car had LED lights that come on instantly I wouldn't be running into it right now." Honestly, who has a reaction time so quick that the fraction of a second it takes for a brake light to come up makes any difference?

 

[LTC8K6]

I hate it when I'm following a car too close and they stomp on the brakes, I always think to my self "man if only that car had LED lights that come on instantly I wouldn't be running into it right now." Honestly, who has a reaction time so quick that the fraction of a second it takes for a brake light to come up makes any difference?

It can be a difference at highway speeds. 1/4 sec is about 25 feet at 70mph...

If you notice the brake light 1/4sec faster, you have 25 more feet...

 

[MJinZ]

the reasonable assumption when you state 'behind in many aspects' when responding to a post about quality is that you're not talking about quality?

No, because the text is the clarifier when indicating "many aspects". Quality is only one aspect.

 

[LTC8K6]

From wiki:

LEDs also offer a significant safety performance benefit when employed in brake lights, for when power is applied they rise to full intensity approximately 200 milliseconds (0.2 seconds) faster than incandescent bulbs. This fast rise time not only improves the attentional conspicuity of the brake lamp, but also provides following drivers with increased time in which to react to the appearance of the brake lamps.