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Are Toyota's recent quality problems just a glitch? - READ ONLY

835 messages,  Last post on Sep 19, 2007 at 12:35 PM

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Messages Page 80 of 84

#786 of 835 Re: For anyone thinking about buying a Camry... [louiswei] by 210delray

Sep 17, 2007 (9:28 am)

Replying to: louiswei (Sep 17, 2007 8:16 am)
Agreed.
 
Considering that Gary rags so much about Consumer Reports, I can't see how such self-reported, voluntary "consumer reviews" have any statistical validity.
 
Besides the last two cited are laughable:
 
1) Idles too fast - will move down road at 5-6 miles per hour w/o touching gas - very dangerous at stop signs as it will surge forward. 2) Cruise will not hold on hill - set at 65, up to 75 at bottom of hill. 3) Brakes - when brake applied, car surges/jogs forward before taking hold. 4)Poor gas milage 14 to 19 in town; 29 on highway. 5) Poor craftsmanship on interior. Carpets not down right, cap cover for seat track comes off. 6) Shifts hard/jerky 7) Drivers side auto up/down window- cannot put down several inches - goes all the way down or all the way up 8) Upon resuming cruise, it will accelerate so fast you are thrown back in your seat-like being shot out of a gun.
  
I replaced my 2003 Camry with this one and I am deeply dissapointed. First of all the engine is too weak for the mass of the new car. Second the internal comfort id awful. The previous soft seats were replaced with hard cheap ones which are very very uncomfortable and give me back pain. Third the visibility is much worse than on 2003 model. Indeed the engine is slightly quiter, but overal impression is the same as on old model. Inside there is a lot of CHEAP plastic and designer who made the design is obviously does not hold diploma and is amateur. In sum - bad car for the money. I have been Toyota owner for more than 20 years but latest Camry put a break of my loyality to the company.
 
As for "regression to the mean," this term gets bandied around a lot here, but it has no applicability to quality control of the lack thereof. Quality control is rooted in company policy; it's not something subject to random changes such as the weather.

#787 of 835 Re: For anyone thinking about buying a Camry... [imidazol97] by louiswei

Sep 17, 2007 (9:30 am)

Replying to: imidazol97 (Sep 17, 2007 9:28 am)
Yeah, the word is definitely getting out because Toyota is projected to sell close to half a million Camrys for calendar year 2007.

#788 of 835 Re: For anyone thinking about buying a Camry... [louiswei] by imidazol97

Sep 17, 2007 (9:34 am)

Replying to: louiswei (Sep 17, 2007 9:30 am)
And the more they sell the more customers get to see the poor quality to the plastics and the poor fit along with engineering problems we've been discussion.
 
I notice that no longer are the devotees screaming that there aren't really problems, that it's just the mistaken musings of unhappy buyers who haven't adjusted to their cars, etc.
 
WCNC TV newstory
 
Click on the video in middle of page to see online TV report.

#789 of 835 Re: For anyone thinking about buying a Camry... [imidazol97] by 210delray

Sep 17, 2007 (9:40 am)

Replying to: imidazol97 (Sep 17, 2007 9:34 am)
I'm sure you can pick a car, any car, that's reasonably popular, such as the Chrysler 300 (not to pick on Toyota OR GM), and find a raft of problems reported here on Edmunds. What counts are the overall stats, and these won't be found on the "problems and solutions" boards, as the hosts themselves state, nor on the consumer reviews.
 
The two consumer reviews I've picked from Gary's selection, for example, are ludicrous. What auto tranny car doesn't move at the horrendous speed of 5-6 mph at idle? What car can defy gravity when going down a steep enough hill, cruise control or not? Plastic seat track cover that comes off, oh my! If you don't want the car to "rocket" when resuming cruise, accelerate with your foot first, then resume, especially if you're going uphill. Then the other guy says the engine is too weak. The car's only increased in weight by about 100 lbs, and the horsepower for the 4-cylinder is about the same compared to the 2003, so what's up with that?

#790 of 835 Re: For anyone thinking about buying a Camry... [210delray] by imidazol97

Sep 17, 2007 (9:42 am)

Replying to: 210delray (Sep 17, 2007 9:40 am)
>Plastic seat track cover that comes off,
 
Haven't had any plastic track covers come off on my GMs.

#791 of 835 Re: For anyone thinking about buying a Camry... [imidazol97] by 210delray

Sep 17, 2007 (9:46 am)

Replying to: imidazol97 (Sep 17, 2007 9:42 am)
Well, they're only snap-fit on, so if your vacuuming the carpet or using some force, they might come off. Not a big deal; they don't come off by themselves.
 
Surely being about the same age as me, you remember the bad old days when you were glad the car even started on cold mornings! Younger people today don't know how good they've got it!

#792 of 835 Co-worker wanted to buy a used Rendezvous by anythngbutgm

Sep 17, 2007 (9:46 am)

I showed her this
 
link title
 
She came in with a 2005 Highlander Limited this morning.

#793 of 835 Re: For anyone thinking about buying a Camry... [210delray] by imidazol97

Sep 17, 2007 (10:40 am)

Replying to: 210delray (Sep 17, 2007 9:46 am)
You are saying it's a part that just snaps right back on. Probably an aggravation but not a terrible flaw.

#794 of 835 Re: For anyone thinking about buying a Camry... [210delray] by gagrice

Sep 17, 2007 (10:52 am)

Replying to: 210delray (Sep 17, 2007 9:28 am)
Looks like the failure of Toyota to maintain good QC with their fast growth has brought out a lot of deniers. I only posted very recent Camry reviews to put forth the FACT that Toyota has NOT gotten their problems with the transmissions corrected. I am sure I can find 50 or 60 very credible complaints posted on Edmund's reviews if you like reading about unhappy Toyota customers.
 
At least there is a real person on the other end of the review. With CR you are assuming they are dealing fairly.

#795 of 835 Re: For anyone thinking about buying a Camry... [gagrice] by 210delray

Sep 17, 2007 (11:37 am)

Replying to: gagrice (Sep 17, 2007 10:52 am)
I'm not denying squat. Yes, there have been some transmission complaints, mainly for new 6-speed that goes with the V6. But the number of complaints in and of themselves mean nothing when you don't know the denominator (problem rate).
 
But people whining about cars picking up speed going downhill is silly.
 
And as I pointed out, I'm sure you can find 50-60 complaints quite easily on any reasonably popular car; I gave the Chrysler 300 as an example. Now on an Isuzu Ascender, there may be NO complaints, because their sales are in the dumpster.
 
I'm not going to get into the CR ad nauseum debate, but I'm getting a little tired of all the arguments that this outfit is somehow "unfair." Well, check out what could be a better mousetrap here. Better yet, join their panel; I did.

Messages Page 80 of 84

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