Oh what a feeling: Toyota issues massive recall

[murphyc]

I'm thinking the Toyota Camry may lose the title of best-selling car in the U.S. after this slight stumble:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100127/ap_on_bi_ge/as_toyota_recall

Thing is, to most of America this will be a shock because Toyota has such a strong reputation for quality. The Japanese nameplates, Toyota and Honda in particular (and their affiliated offshoots) have become synonymous with quality and reliability, while the American nameplates have the opposite stigma. But this isn't the first time Toyota's had issues, just google "Toyota oil sludge settlement" and you'll see.

 

[Football_Bat]

It'll be good for Ford and GM, but may be a tad late for the latter. The GM dealer in my town shut down last week -- lock, stock and Silverados.

 

[Bubbler]

When I had to buy a car last summer, I was not impressed with Toyota's at all. Glad I steered clear.

Because of their rep, Toyota's are slightly over-priced too. I imagine this might have a dampening effect on that.

 

[dreunc1542]

Just another reason to buy a Honda.

The thing is, last year at this time when I was looking at buying a car, Toyota's rep had already started taking a hit.

 

[JR]

Toyota is where Chrysler, Ford & GM were a decade or so ago: riding on their laurels, figuring they were bullet-proof. I had a '94 Camry which I loved. We rented a 2009 Camry Hybrid last summer in Vancouver. Nice car but not worth the $40 or so K.

Up here anyway, GM is going right after the Camry with their Malibu.

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

When I bought a new car a year or so ago, I went with Nissan. Had a '95 camry you would not get me to say a bad word about, but will echo the sentiment here that Toyotas have become overpriced.

BTW, when was the last time a Detroit automaker shut down production to address a problem? (it may have happened recently, I'm just not aware)

 

[imjustagirl]

I loved my Nissan Sentra. When I can get this monstrosity paid off I'm driving now, I'll be 90 percent sure to get another Nissan. Loved it.

 

[qtlaw]

Bought our Sienna in '96 and it still runs like a top and held up extremely well. However, at that time, Toyota was at the top of the heap reputation-wise but not that high a premium. Also had a '98 Camry which was great and resold for top dollar. Still love them. Recall would change the game somewhat.

We also have an Infinity G35 and love that so guess Nissan is a pretty good maker.

Even though had Mustangs for almost 20 years, hard to go back to an American brand.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Cannot go wrong with Toyota, Nissan or Honda. Have driven a pair of Nissan and am now in a Honda product. Can vouch for those two manufacturers.

One mechanic whose word is near-gospel to me will tell anyone that if you were to consider just one manufacturer, it's Toyota. Yeah, this is a goof, but it's not exploding gasoline tanks. Toyota will be fine.

 

[Oscar Gamble]

It will be interesting to see if this destroys Toyota sales like the bogus 'sudden acceleration' charges against Audi by Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes, Alice Weinstein and her Audi Victims Network did 23 years ago. Audi's sales dropped 60% after 60 Minutes broadcasted the bogus charges. Later it was proven that 'sudden acceleration' was caused by driver error and not a design flaw in the Audi 5000 vehicles.

For those too young to remember that case see:

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cjm_18.htm

http://www.businessandmedia.org/specialreports/2008/MediaMyth/NineWorst/NineWorstStoriesFull4.asp

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Point taken, Oscar, but did people stop buying Fords after the exploding gasoline tanks issue with the Pinto?

 

[murphyc]

Toyota is where Chrysler, Ford & GM were a decade or so ago: riding on their laurels, figuring they were bullet-proof. I had a '94 Camry which I loved. We rented a 2009 Camry Hybrid last summer in Vancouver. Nice car but not worth the $40 or so K.

Up here anyway, GM is going right after the Camry with their Malibu.

The Big 3 were resting on their laurels in the 1970s, not a decade ago. It's also not a coincidence that many American cars from the 1970s were crap, both in terms of engineering and quality.
I like the looks of the current Malibu, much better looking than the '05 Malibu Maxx we own. But knowing about the steering and suspension issues that have long plagued GM front drive sedans (including ours, which the dealer claimed was not the same as the steering issue that led to a quiet recall), I'm not in any rush to buy a new Malibu even if I did have the money to do so.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

ESPN's David Newton ferreted the root cause out yesterday. As he noted on Twitter, it's "those dang JGR magnets again."

 

[jambalaya]

Own a 'Yota myself. Have had success with them, but I've seen the company's dealer-run service really decline over the past few years. Used to have full confidence in Toyota service. Not so much now and good service goes far in my buying criteria.

Anyone seen similar drop off?

 

[MacDaddy]

This could be the tip of an ugly iceberg for Toyota. The L.A. Times' story about Toyota hiding defects and such was pretty damning.

I also love Toyota saying that suspending sales of cars affected by the recall was voluntary even though it is required by law. Nice spin.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Not their year, I guess.<blockquote>The Japanese government said Wednesday that it had ordered Toyota to investigate a possible defect in its newest Prius hybrid model after receiving 14 reports of brake trouble, another blow for an automaker already embroiled in its biggest-ever recall.

The drivers have complained that the brakes on their Priuses have momentarily stopped working when driving at low speeds, especially on slippery surfaces, said Kenji Sato, a transport ministry official in charge of recall policy.

In one incident in July 2009 in Japan, a Prius collided with another vehicle at an intersection, hurting two people. Ten of the 14 complaints in Japan about the new Prius, which went on sale here last May, came in January.

In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has logged 111 complaints about the brakes on the 2010 Prius. Many are from drivers who say the vehicle surged forward or temporarily lost braking after driving over a pothole or other uneven surface, and many say it is a recurring problem.</blockquote>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/global/04prius.html

 

[Lugnuts]

Own a 'Yota myself. Have had success with them, but I've seen the company's dealer-run service really decline over the past few years. Used to have full confidence in Toyota service. Not so much now and good service goes far in my buying criteria.

Anyone seen similar drop off?

YES! I'll stop just short of saying they are "making up" or "creating" problems to fix. The jury's still out.

 

[playthrough]

ESPN's David Newton ferreted the root cause out yesterday. As he noted on Twitter, it's "those dang JGR magnets again."

How good would it be to see a Toyota win the Daytona 500 and the driver make some crack about how it was easy 'cause the pedal was stuck to the floor.

 

[Boom_70]

ESPN's David Newton ferreted the root cause out yesterday. As he noted on Twitter, it's "those dang JGR magnets again."

How good would it be to see a Toyota win the Daytona 500 and the driver make some crack about how it was easy 'cause the pedal was stuck to the floor.

How about if it could not break and keep going around until it ran out of gas.

 

[westcoastvol]

Moving forward-whether you want to or not!