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Right now, in another forum the CRV's are being attacked for A/C compressor problems. To read that thread, one would think that EVERY CRV has or will have a failed compressor!
In reality, we have seen VERY few in our shop that have needed replacement.
I'm not trying here to make light of people's problems but troubles have a way of getting overblown in these forums.
sure the RX350 has a 5-speed tranny instead of
the 6-speed tranny. I don't know if this would
affect the outcome in our situation. I've
noticed the "right-turn phenomenon" seems to
occur only at a certain speed, and I'm not even
sure what the "speed" is. It seems if I'm making the turn somewhat slower, I'm not experiencing the "lack of pick-up/power" when I accelerate.
But the other day, I was making a turn that
involved a little more speed and when I came
out of the turn, damn if I didn't have to
stomp on the pedal to get the car to go. I
was cursing like a sailor on this one because it really is annoying! The car just felt like it was completely braking on its own! I'm still working through this and trying to give it the benefit of the doubt, as it is such a nice car in all other respects!!!
When I test drive the car, what should I be doing to or look for to see if the car has the problems identified in this 'Woes' forum?
Also, if I find out what month the car was was manufactured, does that tell me if some of the 'woes' will be fixed.
thanks
For whatever reason, first ilovecars, and now, you, are stating (or seeming to imply) that I stated that Toyota "changed automatic transmission vendors". I didn't. From what I've been able to ferret out on the ether, Toyota designs, builds, and has always built, all of their own passenger car and light truck automatic transmissions, even though most other Japanese automakers (except Honda) were sourcing a Ford co-designed automatic transmission from a Japanese inter-automaker consortium, "JATCO" (Japan Automatic Transmission Company) when they began installing automatics for world (read that, "American") markets. At one time, Toyota was selected to supply their internally designed and manufactured automatic transmissions to no less than Volvo. If anyone has a verified source that Toyota is using contract vendors to build and/or design current or future Toyota automatic transmissions, please post it - I'd very much appreciate investigating it.
(Toyota does source certain heavy duty clutches, manual transmissions, and transfer cases from Aisin-Warner, though.)
For whatever reason, first ilovecars, and now, you, are stating (or seeming to imply) that I stated that Toyota "changed automatic transmission vendors
I guess due to your poorly worded post some of us were under the impression that is what you meant. Sometimes I post something knowing what I want to say or mean but it doesn't always come out user friendly. Sorry to imply you said that but thats the way it goes when someone isn't completely clear on their post.
" My car makes a slight buzzing sound at exactly 47 MPH"
" Oh, man, I just checked my car and (horrors)I noticed the same thing".
A few years ago, some guy was griping that the black paint, of all things was peeling off one of the mufflers on his 1999 Accord V-6 coupe.
At the time, that is exactly the car I owned so the next time I thought of it, I got down on my haunches, and, sure enough, I had the same dreadful "problem"!
A five second shot of heat resistant flat black paint solved this.
I don't doubt that some of these issues are for real and I think these forums are a good thing. I do see, however a certain "Chicken Little" mentality sometimes.
That was my only point.
So to you people that think that all we are here to do is to convince people not buy toyota, your wrong. We are just letting you Know our experiences with Toyota and how I have been treated like I have a bad virus that nobody wants to admitt is out there. I am sure it is a easy fix,but they have to admit they have a problem with the car first. My camry is doing well since the weather has changed except for it shifting gears all the time.
The camry is a very nice car but beware they are issues with the car to. THanks
In the year 2001:
Toyota: market share = 42.1% share of recalls = 1.4%
Nissan: market share = 17.9% share of recalls = 11.9%
Honda: market share = 14.9% share of recalls = 21.9%
In the year 2005:
Toyota: market share = 44.0% share of recalls = 34%
Nissan: market share = 18.4% share of recalls = 3.5%
Honda: market share = 11.8% share of recalls = 3.6%
Yes that is a 34 not a 3.4!!
Toyota has a real image problem that it is trying hard to disguise. One of the big selling points over the years has been QUALITY if they are now known for poor quality they will suffer.
I bought a 2007 Camry LE six months ago and had the front dashboard extensively repaired due to poor assembly. I also have a transmission that hesitates at various times and does more or less what it wants to not what I want it to do!
The Toyota people at 1-800-331=4331 will not talk to me. The dealer and district reps.tell me to call the 1-800 number. You can see that besides having poor quality they now have, as far as I am concerned, NO concern for their customers. Even if they come up with a fix and bring my car up to standards I will never purchase another Toyota
Kindly quote or reference the post number of the "poorly worded post" rather than dropping a non-specific allegation bomb. Thank you.
I love look,ride and quality of material. Even tires are michelline made.
P.S. I don't have a Camry, but I'm sure everyone who is having a problem appreciates your good luck wish.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Aisin_transmissions
During the initial 2,000 miles we experienced no issues other than paint/or finish (discussed later). One June 28th, at 2,138 miles we had mud flaps installed hoping this would minimize a paint chipping issue.
Other issues became noticeable after 2,000 miles: The most serious issue is that the car began to hesitate under quick acceleration in all speed ranges up to roughly 45 mph. Initially it was occasional, but gradually became more frequent and more dramatic. For example on occasion in mid-August the car hesitated, and then accelerated only to ‘falter’ back to a lower mph. Sometimes, the car hesitates or falters, and then surges ahead.
On 8/21/06, with 3900 miles I dropped the car off to address this and other issues. On the hesitation issue the tech noted “Could not duplicate”, but I was told by my service guy, “You are not the first person to complain about this, but until there is a TSB, there’s nothing we can do.”
At my request the service team leader, test drove my 2007 Camry and then compared it with a test drive of brand new 2007 Camry with no miles. He was able to duplicate the described problem (I was a passenger) in my Camry, but not with the Camry off the lot (there was a hint of hesitation once, but it could not be repeated). He said that he would describe the issue to distributor (Gulf States) and would call me once he found out how they wanted to proceed.
I called on 8/25/06 and was told that the tech hadn’t been able get Gulf States on the phone-“they are real busy and aren’t answering their phone”, however later someone got through was told that Gulf States wanted the team leader to take it for another test drive with a scanner attached so he could send them the data. So a few hours later I took my car back to the dealer and the team leader took it for a second test drive with the scanner attached. For a variety of reasons, as of 9/25/06 there has been no feedback from the distributor. I don't fault the dealer or their service department. I was told informally that they (Gulf States) are receiving similar complaints, but Toyota is still looking at the data. No one knows when or if they will confirm the issue and find a fix.
Other issues:
1. Shifting: Transmission seems to constantly shift (slip?) up and down as though it is searching for the right gear. Especially noticeable between 55 and 65 mph when car seems to downshift and up shift independent of pressure on accelerator.
2. AC seems underpowered. Only the high fan/high AC seems to barely cool the interior which never gets “too cold” on hot Texas days. In my opinion this may be a design issue partly related to the slant of the front window and heat gain in the wider flat dash area matched with an AC unit that is not able to compensate. I will note the AC in our three previous Camry’s was able to keep the car cold under similar Texas weather conditions.
I have also experienced an intermittent vibration in the steering wheel and a cruise control that either under or over compensates for minor changes in elevation. Again, the dealer found these issues to be within specs. Please note that Camry test drives may not reveal the hesitation issue. Certainly, ours didn’t. I bought this car to replace a wrecked 97 Camry that was totaled when I was rear-ended. I love the looks of the 2007 Camry, but our safety is more important and I believe that the hesitation issue is a safety issue.
In the United States, Toyota's largest market, the number of vehicles recalled soared to 2.2 million last year. That was double the number of vehicles recalled in 2004, and more than 10 times the 200,000 cars it recalled in 2003, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In Japan, the number of recalled vehicles has jumped 41-fold since 2001, to 1.9 million last year. And because many of the recalls are for vehicles that are more than 10 years old, analysts fear that another wave of bad quality news may be in store
Snippet from Inside Line:
About 35,000 Dodge Durangos from the 2001-'03 model years are being recalled because of potential fires between the front seats. Dealers will clean and shield a wiring connector that could be shorted out by liquid spilled from the vehicle's cupholder.
One might expect that in the life of a vehicle now every one might have several recalls. In the past the issues often were just fixed under 'campaigns' via TSB's.
It's a different political and legal climate now since Firestorm. This is good for everyone, it's just different.
Every single morning when I start to drive there is a CLUNK that comes from the driver's side when the car goes from 1st to 2nd gear. The CLUNK occurs right after the car has shifted to 2nd gear. It sounds like it is coming from underneath the hood or deep inside the dash. It ranges from a pretty loud CLUNK to a softer CLUNK. It always occurs when the car is shifting from 1st to 2nd. 90% of the time the car will not make anymore CLUNKS during the same trip. If I park and let it sit for a hile it happens again. The time required to sit can range from minutes up to hours. BUT it always occurrs every morning after it has been sitting for 8 plus hours.
Dealer was able to reproduce but due to the fact that you have to let it sit each time between CLUNKS they said that they needed to wait until the toyota rep came in this month to determine how to address the issue.
Has anyone else had this happen? It concerns me because no new car should be making this loud of a clunk and having it come when the car is shifting gears can't be good.
Please help!!! Thank You.
My wife's carpeting on the Highlander has to be better-secured!! Huh??
All of this actually in my mind confirms what I wrote above. From now on every itty-bitty niggling detail that has to be 'adjusted' will be the object of a recall. The onus then is on the owner to get it done - or not. I am sure that the product liability lawyers inside and outside of Toyota, and every other vehicle maker, are telling top management to do this.
'Issue the recall as soon as a potential issue arises. You're going to fix them anyway. Just get it out into the public and let the public be responsible for getting the work done.'
I tell my wife 'Toyota's quality is slipping .. we gotta get the carpeting fixed in your Highlander.' Her reaction: 'Are you nuts?'
perhaps toyota like other manufacturers are hitting the wall. maybe there's an inflection point, a local maxima that they've passed through on the benefits of their quality management process, or maybe they've lost controls on some aspect of their sourcing of some critical items. who knows?
but anyway, you had to pay extra for that unsecured driver's side mat didn't you? :surprise:
The carpet issue is a safety recall (!! ) so it's free of charge.
i think you are right about the increasing complexity introduction over the past few years. luckily i can still identify a few pieces / parts in the engine compartment - even change my own oil if so inclined.
i can see a future where we'll be at the mercy of some computer hackers to reverse engineer the ECU/TCM/ABS/VSC software to tell us what the heck these things have been designed to do when something doesn't appear to work properly as we would expect. the manufacturer isn't going to release intellectual property for all to consume.
i also sense, and I could be wrong about this, there's probably some good OEM engineers on the inside of the company (toyota or other) who don't have access to the ECU/TCM firmware source code...
i'm in an analog industry which is heavily controls based and i see this sort of compartmentalization of knowlege in the context of increasing complexity and integration becomming more and more pervasive.
"The poor response you described typically surfaces either when the accelerator is depressed fully to the floor or when depressed an aggressive manner. The newer version of the Camry has transitioned from a manual throttle linkage to an electronic throttle control system. The electronic throttle control monitors the everyday driving habits of the operator and then tailors itself to make the most efficient gearshifts. On rare occasions when the operator fully depresses the pedal or depresses the pedal in an aggressive manner, the system may experience a delay in determining how to make the optimal gearshift.
At this time Toyota has no plans to make changes to the shift characteristics of the transmission. To minimize this condition, we recommend trying a firm yet gradual application of the accelerator.
Your feedback is appreciated; it is through communications such as yours that we become aware of our customers' expectations and reactions. It also provides us with valuable insight when planning and developing future products and services to increase our customers' satisfaction.
Your email has been documented at our National Headquarters under file #XXXXXXXXX. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.
Toyota Customer Experience "
posted a valid defect or problem with their Camry. I'm not sure which phase of grief you are
experiencing by the demise of Toyota's quality control rating. I think it is a combination of denial
and anger judging by the tone and subject matter you write. Maybe it is because you post your
messages so early in the morning after your night shift at the Toyota plant.
What address did they give you? The only address the public has is the 1-800 number. I like the way they sign the letter "Toyota Customer Experience" I sure have an experience dealing with them!!
Keep the original copy and check those headers.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
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