How does Toyota stack up?

[Dbone]

How well do you guys think Toyota stacks up against other manufacturers in terms of how many problems they have with their first year redesigns of their vehicles in general? And with the 4runner specifically? Do you guys know if there were a lot of major problems with the first release of the 3rd gen, 4th gen 4runner etc....

I am considering a number of different vehicles to replace my wife's Honda accord when it comes off lease. Unfortunately a lot of them are first year vehicles...Subaru Outback, Audi Q5, Toyota 4runner as examples.

Looking in the some forums for the Outback and Q5 there seem to be a lot of annoying issues that these new owners are dealing with. I find it interesting that I see very little in the way of complaints here about the new 4runner, atleast not yet...

It really sucks when you see a vehicle or vehicles that you like and are faced with the reluctance of purchasing a first year redesign...

Cheers

 

[Quentin]

The V6 is new, but is basically just a revision of the old 1GR, so it should be fairly reliable. I believe the 5AT is the same as the old one. I generally worry about transmission and engine issues more than everything else, but I'd guess that the new 4Runner should be reliable.

Now, the new features and electronics, who knows. I'd like to think that most of this stuff has been hashed out on the previous gen Lexus GX.

The Outback should be fairly reliable as far as the engine. Nothing really new there. The CVT is new, though. I'm not sold on CVT reliability yet. My brother has an 05 Outback XT (turbo) and it has been pretty good reliability wise. Some of the interior pieces have been of suspect quality (rear cupholder cover falls off, HVAC vent adjustment broke), but it has been reliable as far as starting every single time.

As far as the Q5... well, I own an 07 VW GTI as well and it hasn't been stellar. I have no idea if that relates to the Q5 at all. I would imagine suppliers for many of the electronics are the same and that has been my major complaint w/ my GTI.

 

[mikeync]

I owned a remade generation Honda CRV - first year -- 2002
I owned a remade generation Acura TL - first year -- 2004
We now own a remade generation 4Runner limited - first year -- 2010

Not concerned about buying new generation models.......

 

[fins]

You also have to take in cosideration that there are a very small percentage of owners that are memebrs of auto forums. So the problems they post up seem more amplified. Of course some of these problems are warranted and have even caused auto manufacturers to take action. But I think the majority fall in the former....

 

[adoihcj]

You also have to take in cosideration that there are a very small percentage of owners that are memebrs of auto forums. So the problems they post up seem more amplified. Of course some of these problems are warranted and have even caused auto manufacturers to take action. But I think the majority fall in the former....

I agree with your post. What's interesting is that I think people assign problems to first year vehicles without realizing that the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. all have their quirks as well.

 

[toto]

I don't think Toyota is any better or worse than other manufacturers in this respect. A car is a very complicated machine with a lot of moving parts, so there are lots of opportunites for problems.

 

[Dbone]

I don't think Toyota is any better or worse than other manufacturers in this respect. A car is a very complicated machine with a lot of moving parts, so there are lots of opportunites for problems.

Well on this note I expect to see the problem posts start to pour in from the 5th gen purchasers :-(

Should be interesting to see how things unfold.

Cheers

 

[fins]

HORRIBLE RATTLE in center stack! Called my dealer. Told them this problem was ridiculous in a $40k car. They told me to come in. Had a Camry loaner ready for me. Service Manager asked me to ride with him. Duplicated the rattle. He was extremely shocked/embarassed. Couldn't believe it. Never experience this noise beforw. He then removed my sunglasses from it's compartment up top. Rattle gone.

Embarassing moment #1.

 

[sandcrawler]

classic.

 

[qs933]

I owned a 2001 Highlander (first year, first generation) -- no major issues (sold it after 3.5 years and the second owner has had nothing major crop up).

My 2005 4Runner was the third model year of the fourth generation. I had miscellaneous rattles and a bad side airbag sensor repaired in the first year. Again, nothing major.

My 2009 Venza is the first year, first generation of this model. I have had some interior trim issues (bad alignment) and a few rattles, but otherwise nothing major (or any worse than the 4Runner).

For both the Highlander and the Venza, I figured the "first year" risk was minimal given that both used existing engines and transmissions from the Camry.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Nothing commonly reported with the first year of the 3rd gens ('96) or the 4th gens ('03) but some have their bugs but overall Toyota does pretty well with their first years.