I don't buy cars very often. In the last 12 years, I bought a Nissan pickup, Dodge Neon, Honda Odessey, and last month a TCH, all new cars. Despite the TCH being the most sophisticated vehicle I've purchased yet, it's the only one that has had no problems. Zero. Nada. Everything works. There are no rattles, no shakes, no electrical gremlins, nothing out of alignment, no wierd wind noises, no door problems, no radio glitches...all of these I've had on the previous three new cars. Maybe it's where the car is made. The Nissan and Dodge were made in the States, the Honda was made in Canada, the TCH made in Japan...until later this year. I'll be interested to see how well the US assembled TCH performs.

Although mine is only days old, so far 100% in all areas. My 04 Sienna was built in the US and came with 2 minor assembly errors (last row mid seat shoulder beat installed backwards, plastic liner on front fender poking out a bit instead of under the lip of the fender). After 3 yrs it has not had a single malfunction.

My last GM vehicle (I used to be dedicated GM buyer because I live in the area of an assembly plant, support the local economy stuff) before switching to Toyota died on the very first day. Took the dealer two days to track down a poorly done electrical connection. The day I returned it after 3 yrs on lease, there was a woman at the dealer complaining loudly of the exact same problem; first day she had the car is died on raidroad tracks.

How can one determine where a TCH was assembled? By VIN? So instead of starting with J (Japan), it would be 1 or 4 (US)?

"Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known."
-Garrison Keillor

If you do a VIN check, like with Carfax, it should be able to tell you. It'll also tell you how many records there are. I don't think you can pull them up without paying for it though. Hope this helps!

Exactly. But all of the Camry Hybrids are being produced in Japan since the Kentucky plant isn't ready yet. It will start pumping out hybrids around October.

Easy, just open the driver's door and look at the manufacturer's label. It will clearly say where the car was made.

Two climate control systems, one inside and the other at the tailpipe.

2007 Camry Hybrid (in service June 2006)
FE: 6.77L/100km (34.8 mpg) over 37750km (23450mi)
75% city - Ave trip 20 min - 2 Winters

Cool. Thanks!

"Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known."
-Garrison Keillor

Mine has "Made in Japan" on the label inside the driver's door.

Mine says, "Hecho en Japón."

Steve Villatoro
www.stevenvillatoro.com
“An enlightened guide to small business mastery.”