Whats up with all the Toyota recalls

Chapdog

Abreast of the situations
seriously this is crazy. Up till this year Toyota and Honda brands including acura and Lexus are the only cars I would consider buying due to the fact that I dislike having to pay thousands of dollars on repairs that you get with other manufacturers. I have had a Toyota that lasted over 200k miles with barely any repairs and then when the frame started rusting they gave me 16K.

Is it me or does all this seem to be strangely timed with the govt takeover of GM?
 
Carrolla next, they got fat dumb and happy.
I bought some ford about a month ago, hopefully a quick profit on Toyota's woe's.
 
yah well i bet the next year model of Toyota's out are legit and relatively well priced. 2011 or 2012.. I still wouldn't buy a ford or gm unless i wanted a commercial truck.
 
Carrolla next, they got fat dumb and happy.
I bought some ford about a month ago, hopefully a quick profit on Toyota's woe's.

agreed. i have two toyotas, great cars, both 80% built in japan and not part of any recall. i think toyota thought they were bullet proof. at first i defended toyota, but now it seems they have known about these problems for quite some time.

from the looks of things, the guy in charge of their NA division screwed up, he should do the honorable thing and commit seppaku

j/k
 
They will speed up the release of thier next SmugMobile(PriusII), so assclown dems can pay 40% too much and claim they are saving the planet with thier extra driving Hybrid style.
 
When they first came out in the 70's Toyotas were basically shitty cars. They must have paid off Consumer reports to get good ratings. Back then I had an old Ford that my father drove for 40K miles then gave it to me. I owned it for 9 more years and put another 95K miles on it before I sold it. Yeah it had a lot of rust on it and even some frame damage but that was the rust belt and they used salt on the roads 6 months of the year. Consumer reports rated it below Toyota but I knew better. In its last accident two Jap cars had to be towed out and probably scrapped but my Ford was still idling and was driven away normally.

Since then I've owned all Fords except one GM which was an gas-hog POS in comparison. Each has gotten better and better. I've drive a friends Toyota 4-Runner but it doesn't compare at all with my last Explorer, and the Expedition that I have now is the ultimate luxury SUV that hauls anything up any grade over snow and ice in quiet comfort, and gets about the same highway mileage as the much smaller 4-Runner.
 
seriously this is crazy. Up till this year Toyota and Honda brands including acura and Lexus are the only cars I would consider buying due to the fact that I dislike having to pay thousands of dollars on repairs that you get with other manufacturers. I have had a Toyota that lasted over 200k miles with barely any repairs and then when the frame started rusting they gave me 16K.

Is it me or does all this seem to be strangely timed with the govt takeover of GM?
Divine intervention on behalf of American brands. That's the only way to explain it.
 
When they first came out in the 70's Toyotas were basically shitty cars. They must have paid off Consumer reports to get good ratings. Back then I had an old Ford that my father drove for 40K miles then gave it to me. I owned it for 9 more years and put another 95K miles on it before I sold it. Yeah it had a lot of rust on it and even some frame damage but that was the rust belt and they used salt on the roads 6 months of the year. Consumer reports rated it below Toyota but I knew better. In its last accident two Jap cars had to be towed out and probably scrapped but my Ford was still idling and was driven away normally.

Since then I've owned all Fords except one GM which was an gas-hog POS in comparison. Each has gotten better and better. I've drive a friends Toyota 4-Runner but it doesn't compare at all with my last Explorer, and the Expedition that I have now is the ultimate luxury SUV that hauls anything up any grade over snow and ice in quiet comfort, and gets about the same highway mileage as the much smaller 4-Runner.

I was taught to buy American by my Ford-loving dad and my GM-loving best friend's dad. My first car (still) is a 1994 Lincoln Continental (basically, my dad's kind of car) which I got for like 2G with only 80k miles. It was a steal, but now I'm sufforing from HORRIBLE service from Ford. Everytime something breaks down (like the suspension system), replacement parts are conveniently not available, and I have to pay for a conversion fix. I'm happy with the standard suspension system conversion I had done, because the air system Ford originally built into it was an impractical pipe dream of early 90s "luxury" idealism, but everything else has really pissed me off.
 
I was taught to buy American by my Ford-loving dad and my GM-loving best friend's dad. My first car (still) is a 1994 Lincoln Continental (basically, my dad's kind of car) which I got for like 2G with only 80k miles. It was a steal, but now I'm sufforing from HORRIBLE service from Ford. Everytime something breaks down (like the suspension system), replacement parts are conveniently not available, and I have to pay for a conversion fix. I'm happy with the standard suspension system conversion I had done, because the air system Ford originally built into it was an impractical pipe dream of early 90s "luxury" idealism, but everything else has really pissed me off.

We've been through this before 3D, you can't get dealer service for an old car. They are in the business to sell you a new car and keep it running until you pay off the loan and then sell you a new one. Since the longest car loan is typically 5 years don't expect to get service for a six year old car. It doesn't matter if its Ford, GM, Toyota or Microsoft, large corporations are only your "friend" at the sale and then for a short time beyond.

I kept my first Ford running through high school, 7.5 years of college and then a full year into my first real job before I saved enough for a down payment and bought my first new one. I did that by reading my Chilton's manual (although today Haynes is far superior) to figure out how to do all my own maintenance and repairs. I quickly learned that most times I could buy the tools that I needed for about the same as hiring an independent mechanic and after I completed the job I had the tools for the next time. I always bought Craftsman or some other lifetime warranty tool so by the time I was done with my self-automotive edumacation I've collected tools for most everything (which I still own). In fact I made a little money in college fixing other guy's cars, as well as impressed many young females with my resourcefulness under the hood.

Even if you don't do your own work by reading Haynes you'll be able to diagnose many problems so you wont become a ripped off dummy when you pay someone else to fix it for you.

The other thing going for you is the internet. Back in my day to locate a chassis part for an old car was a much more time consuming and difficult task that putting the sucker in. I'd typically have to call around to parts dealers and junk yards who didn't want to talk to a dumb novice then drive around town (in the broken car) to get parts then fork over your hard-earned dough not knowing if you got a fair price. Today you can google a part name and compare prices, enter your credit card info and have the part shipped to your front door.
 
We've been through this before 3D, you can't get dealer service for an old car. They are in the business to sell you a new car and keep it running until you pay off the loan and then sell you a new one. Since the longest car loan is typically 5 years don't expect to get service for a six year old car. It doesn't matter if its Ford, GM, Toyota or Microsoft, large corporations are only your "friend" at the sale and then for a short time beyond.

I kept my first Ford running through high school, 7.5 years of college and then a full year into my first real job before I saved enough for a down payment and bought my first new one. I did that by reading my Chilton's manual (although today Haynes is far superior) to figure out how to do all my own maintenance and repairs. I quickly learned that most times I could buy the tools that I needed for about the same as hiring an independent mechanic and after I completed the job I had the tools for the next time. I always bought Craftsman or some other lifetime warranty tool so by the time I was done with my self-automotive edumacation I've collected tools for most everything (which I still own). In fact I made a little money in college fixing other guy's cars, as well as impressed many young females with my resourcefulness under the hood.

Even if you don't do your own work by reading Haynes you'll be able to diagnose many problems so you wont become a ripped off dummy when you pay someone else to fix it for you.

The other thing going for you is the internet. Back in my day to locate a chassis part for an old car was a much more time consuming and difficult task that putting the sucker in. I'd typically have to call around to parts dealers and junk yards who didn't want to talk to a dumb novice then drive around town (in the broken car) to get parts then fork over your hard-earned dough not knowing if you got a fair price. Today you can google a part name and compare prices, enter your credit card info and have the part shipped to your front door.

Don't forget that you can go on E-Bay and if you take your time, you can buy an entire Shop grade parts and repair set of books.
I bought a 3 book set for my 1998 Chevy Astro and it covers everything.
Paid $9.99 for it and $6.00 shipping.
 
Don't forget that you can go on E-Bay and if you take your time, you can buy an entire Shop grade parts and repair set of books.
I bought a 3 book set for my 1998 Chevy Astro and it covers everything.
Paid $9.99 for it and $6.00 shipping.

Back in the 70's we had Chiltons, and all they had was one book to cover all Ford Cars. It was mostly reprints from factory manuals. When Haynes came out in the 80's it was amazing, since they had a book for most cars and was based not just on diagrams but actual tear-down of most of the vehicle.

I used to be able to go to the Watertown, Mass library and they lent out specialty tools just like books.
 
We've been through this before 3D, you can't get dealer service for an old car. They are in the business to sell you a new car and keep it running until you pay off the loan and then sell you a new one. Since the longest car loan is typically 5 years don't expect to get service for a six year old car. It doesn't matter if its Ford, GM, Toyota or Microsoft, large corporations are only your "friend" at the sale and then for a short time beyond.

Three believes big businesses are morally pure. he believes they should have free speech, citizenship and the right to ass rape him then give his job to a mexican.
 
Back in the 70's we had Chiltons, and all they had was one book to cover all Ford Cars. It was mostly reprints from factory manuals. When Haynes came out in the 80's it was amazing, since they had a book for most cars and was based not just on diagrams but actual tear-down of most of the vehicle.

I used to be able to go to the Watertown, Mass library and they lent out specialty tools just like books.

In Arizona, Checkers Auto Store does the same.
You leave a deposit and when you bring the tool back, you get your deposit back.
 
Back in the 70's we had Chiltons, and all they had was one book to cover all Ford Cars. It was mostly reprints from factory manuals. When Haynes came out in the 80's it was amazing, since they had a book for most cars and was based not just on diagrams but actual tear-down of most of the vehicle.

I used to be able to go to the Watertown, Mass library and they lent out specialty tools just like books.

My fist independent auto repair was using a "Chilton's". I had a 67 Ford Mustang Fastback with double vents with a 289. I had to replace the timing belt and chain. It required removing the radiator...in November in 40 degree weather in the driveway! I was miserable, but proud when I completed the job and had success!

In high school myself and 2 girlfriends took a semester of auto shop to be with the guys...so I knew all the basics.
 
My fist independent auto repair was using a "Chilton's". I had a 67 Ford Mustang Fastback with double vents with a 289. I had to replace the timing belt and chain. It required removing the radiator...in November in 40 degree weather in the driveway! I was miserable, but proud when I completed the job and had success!

In high school myself and 2 girlfriends took a semester of auto shop to be with the guys...so I knew all the basics.

The Ford small block 260/ 289/ 302/ 351W had a timing chain to the block-mounted cam, not a simple job. You had to take off the water pump then you probably had a lot of belt-drive stuff in the way.

My Ford had the 351W, and the only thing I did to the engine was a head rebuild, changed the oil pan gasket, and carb work. I did a lot of that stuff in a dark, pot-holed asphalt driveway in the cold and damp. None of that was easy; your timing chain job was harder.
:good4u:

When I lived in CT there was a old gas station that you could rent a bay with a hydraulic lift after they closed for $4/ hour. I rebuilt an exhaust system in there once. It would have been impossible in the driveway with ramps and jack stands.
 
That's awesome and good business. They probably sell a lot of parts because of that policy. :clink:

Auto Zone started it and then Checkers followed suit.
These are the two biggest parts stores in Arizona.
I think NAPA is next; but they do a lot of dealer and farm contracts.
 
Auto Zone started it and then Checkers followed suit.
These are the two biggest parts stores in Arizona.
I think NAPA is next; but they do a lot of dealer and farm contracts.
I've found NAPA to be expensive. Here we have Advance and Auto Zone, along with two independents.

I don't understand the independents seemingly uniform and long-held policy of not having prices on their very limited self-service shelf stock. The prices are competitive and the counter staff knowledgeable but I like to know what the price is before the gal rings it up for me.
 
I've found NAPA to be expensive. Here we have Advance and Auto Zone, along with two independents.

I don't understand the independents seemingly uniform and long-held policy of not having prices on their very limited self-service shelf stock. The prices are competitive and the counter staff knowledgeable but I like to know what the price is before the gal rings it up for me.

When you buy NAPA, you're paying for the name also.
 
The Ford small block 260/ 289/ 302/ 351W had a timing chain to the block-mounted cam, not a simple job. You had to take off the water pump then you probably had a lot of belt-drive stuff in the way.

My Ford had the 351W, and the only thing I did to the engine was a head rebuild, changed the oil pan gasket, and carb work. I did a lot of that stuff in a dark, pot-holed asphalt driveway in the cold and damp. None of that was easy; your timing chain job was harder.
:good4u:

When I lived in CT there was a old gas station that you could rent a bay with a hydraulic lift after they closed for $4/ hour. I rebuilt an exhaust system in there once. It would have been impossible in the driveway with ramps and jack stands.

I remember cold, bloody, frozen knucles! My roomie helped me lift out the radiator. I do believe I had to remove the water pump~~~

Speaking of which my 1996 Montero just bit the dust w/212k; water pump froze-up and my mechanic thought there was also likely valve damage 1,100.00 just to see if she'd start up and run. I wasn't going to say so given the title of the thread, but I bought a used Prius...and surprise I LOVE it!
 
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