Worker: 'Toyota Way' Ignored at Factory

I am a service manager and one of my customers is NUMMI. A few years back they were on top of there yearly servicing. But in the last year, they have been pretty lazy. It seems liked nobody wanted to work hard to get the job done. I got that sense of

toto said:

Hate to be picky, but the Tacoma is made at the NUMMI plant in California.

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I drive up and down I-5 in California a lot (main interstate from No. Cal to So. Cal) and I see a lot of semi trucks hauling Tacoma truck beds from Mexico to the NUMMI plant. I guess its cheaper to make then in Mexico then the US. On one trip I counted up to 12 semi

Thai said:

You do realize that this equals to one defect per vehicle...not a bad ratio IMHO. I assume that you got this number from JD Powers...what was Nissan's number??

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Wish my Tahoe was like that , but then again if it was I wouldn't have a 4R .

004Gunner said:

How unfortunate for a once great company to fall victim to corporate greed and the "American Way". Has anyone else felt that this decline in quality carried over to their customer service as well?

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Yes. $3k in repairs later, my 2-year old 4runner is gone.

I'm in a nice reasonable BMW.

That 2007 JD Powers nameplate ratings is a 3 year rating for cars made in 2004. The fact is that most Toyota and Lexus design after 2004 have been very dispointing. There are rattle issue in the whole Lexus Sedan line up. Numbers of issue with the new Camry, new RAV and Avalon. Even the mighty Tundra had its share of problems. I think the biggest issue is growing pain on Toyota's part and the fact that anytime you start to add more and more new features and safety device into new designs, you will have more problems.

Boston_Runner said:

That 2007 JD Powers nameplate ratings is a 3 year rating for cars made in 2004. The fact is that most Toyota and Lexus design after 2004 have been very dispointing. There are rattle issue in the whole Lexus Sedan line up. Numbers of issue with the new Camry, new RAV and Avalon. Even the mighty Tundra had its share of problems. I think the biggest issue is growing pain on Toyota's part and the fact that anytime you start to add more and more new features and safety device into new designs, you will have more problems.

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Shhh...don't type out loud...Koz may hear you and reply back with blind enthusiasm for Toyota!

Toyota is selling vehicles based on a reputation it built on decades ago, not quality in vehicles today.

Regardless of recent MINOR problems, the fact is Toyota makes the best selling and most reliable vehicles in the WORLD. Also Lexus is the best selling luxury vehicle line in the US, period. Instead of giving personal opinions LETS SEE SOME FACTS!

Koz

Koz said:

Regardless of recent MINOR problems, the fact is Toyota makes the best selling and most reliable vehicles in the WORLD. Also Lexus is the best selling luxury vehicle line in the US, period. Instead of giving personal opinions LETS SEE SOME FACTS!

Koz

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Uhhh...isn't FIRST-HAND information above not enough for you?? Facts are that Toyota recent offerings have suffered from quality issues UNCHARACTERISTIC of Toyota.

:iagree:

Regardless of what stats say/show or reports, even President Wantabe admitting Toyota is having quality issues that's fact from the horse's mouth.

It's my own personal experience with Toyota's current offerings and products that will ultimately determine whether or not I'll step foot into a Toyota dealership again. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way about Toyota, maybe I'm just more vocal about it. Certainly it's a complicated piece of machinery, but my 2004, 05 and 06 Toyotas are NO WHERE near the 1990 Truck we had. The thing was solid, the three now doesn't even hold a candle to it.

Toyota no longer earning a default recommended from Consumer Reports is evident they're slipping and they're no longer at the top of the game. Once again, they are selling vehicles based on a past reputation. Heck, I can honestly say, my three current Toyotas are based on a past Toyota and 10-15 years from now, I can say it is past experience with Toyota why I may no longer be in a Toyota (if they don't get their act together, giving them a chance and not tossing them under the bus over one little incident).

Further proof, Toyota doesn't even stand by their products. I have more rust under my less than three year old Tacoma than my 15 year old Mazda. The dealership says it's because I live too close to the Pacific Ocean when my rims has the blistering on the finish and the rear bumper is rusting AGAIN. Please, I wasn't born last night... they could've said, Toyota is no longer what it once was in it's quest to be #1. Much more acceptable answer.

Chalk another for Toyota, 90k Highlanders being recalled.

Yeah, i forgot about the rust buckets they called Tacomas!

Don't forget that a high up TOYOTA executive fully admitted that Toyota has lost it's ways recently in terms of quality.

But, no...Koz is just not seeing why everyone (including Toyota executives themselves!) is concerned.

Don't get me wrong, Toyota still makes among the best vehicles currently, but the quality is not as good as it was in the past.

Thai said:

Don't get me wrong, Toyota still makes among the best vehicles currently, but the quality is not as good as it was in the past.

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Exactly Thai... not to beat a dead horse, others are catching up to Toyota, but they are not quite there yet. If Toyota doesn't change their ways fast and when others get there, I will have a lot more options.

Don't forget that a high up TOYOTA executive fully admitted that Toyota has lost it's ways recently in terms of quality.[/B]

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Admitting the problem is the first step toward a solution.

The newer CEO of Honda admitted a few years ago that their quality had slipped. He stated that Honda's goal was no longer growing the company, but rather going back to building quality vehicles.
I'm sure the Ridgeline owners who have had their floors fill up with water are happy to hear it :

I think the quality issue is a natural cycle that almost any company will go through. Although I don't think Sony will ever come out of their quality slump because they seem to be happy to just ride on their reputation from a couple of decades ago. I sure hope Toyota doesn't do the same. We'll see if Honda really cares about quality with the next Pilot.

These are FACTS:

Quote "In the nameplate rankings, luxury Japanese brand Lexus ranks highest for an eighth consecutive year, receiving a customer satisfaction score of 866. Lexus continues to perform particularly well in three of four key measures: quality/reliability, service satisfaction and vehicle appeal."

http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2008047

Koz

Koz said:

These are FACTS:

Quote "In the nameplate rankings, luxury Japanese brand Lexus ranks highest for an eighth consecutive year, receiving a customer satisfaction score of 866. Lexus continues to perform particularly well in three of four key measures: quality/reliability, service satisfaction and vehicle appeal."

http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2008047

Koz

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FACTS...you still can't comprehend what most of us are trying to say.

FACTS...the JD Power link is about UK'S ratings, not US.

Again, hate to beat this over you, you need to comprehend what other people are trying to tell you, Koz. Otherwise, you sound like a fanboy with little comprehension skills.

Thai said:

FACTS...you still can't comprehend what most of us are trying to say.

FACTS...the JD Power link is about UK'S ratings, not US.

Again, hate to beat this over you, you need to comprehend what other people are trying to tell you, Koz. Otherwise, you sound like a fanboy with little comprehension skills.

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What does it matter if its UK. Does that change the FACT? Lexus is the BEST selling luxury brand in the US, period! Address the FACTS and stop the personal attacks, they're your rules!

Koz

Koz said:

What does it matter if its UK. Does that change the FACT? Lexus is the BEST selling luxury brand in the US, period! Address the FACTS and stop the personal attacks, they're your rules!

Koz

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Fanboy...are you talking about UK or US?? You say UK one sentence, then US the next.

Personal attacks? Uhh, it's the truth frankly. You clearly don't seem to understand what I (and other members) have been saying. READ AGAIN what we wrote.

Hint: Best selling does not always go along with quality/reliability. Ford Explorer or Taurus was #1 for many moons, but you won't ever see anyone say that it had the best quality, right?

Thai said:

Fanboy...are you talking about UK or US?? You say UK one sentence, then US the next.

Personal attacks? Uhh, it's the truth frankly. You clearly don't seem to understand what I (and other members) have been saying. READ AGAIN what we wrote.

Hint: Best selling does not always go along with quality/reliability. Ford Explorer or Taurus was #1 for many moons, but you won't ever see anyone say that it had the best quality, right?

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Lets see some FACTS, not meaningless BS!

Let me give YOU a hint;

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/MostDependableCar.aspx

Lexus #1 in quality
Toyota # 4

Out of the 20 vehicle catagories they won 10!

Now do you see what facts mean?

Facts not BS!

Koz

Koz said:

Lets see some FACTS, not meaningless BS!

Let me give YOU a hint;

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/MostDependableCar.aspx

Lexus #1 in quality
Toyota # 4

Out of the 20 vehicle catagories they won 10!

Now do you see what facts mean?

Facts not BS!

Koz

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Fanboy...when did i ever say that Toyota/Lexus was bad in quality or quantity?? Show me. Let me restate what many on this forum have said: Toyota quality is not what it used to be. This has been CONFIRMED by both internal employee (see original post) and by Toyota executive.

Fanboy, you need to learn to READ and UNDERSTAND before pushing the reply button. :bash:

BTW, that article stated this at the very top: "For the first time in 12 years, Toyota's luxury brand shares the top spot in a vehicle-dependability survey. GM and Ford brands captured three of the top five spots."