I think they tarnished there own reputation. I was about to send in my subscription renew but I think they Are going to loose me as a customer..JOE http://www.autospies.com/news/Toyota...issions-21942/ http://www.gm.com/shop/?cmp=OLA_GMVS..._090907_092207 Any comments??

 

It looks like the gas models are impacted, not the hybrids. Having just returned from the Georgetown plant tour, I'm surprised the Solara was not also mentioned. I'm hoping Toyota gets to the bottom of the problem quickly and hope that the Georgetown plant was not the source.

Bob Wilson

 

begin snippet -- "Lentz said that because of problems Toyota found with an automatic transmission, he was not surprised the V-6 Camry failed to make the recommended list. He said the problem was with design, not manufacturing, and was quickly corrected.

“We knew in the very beginning we had a transmission issue with that vehicle,” he said.

The problem caused the vehicle to either get stuck in second gear or shift past second gear roughly. The problem can be traced to a snap ring that holds the transmission housing together.

“I don’t think it’s going to have a long-term impact on the overall view of Toyota as a reliable product,” Lentz said. -- end snippet

Toyota did a bad thing, here, and it's somehow Consumer Reports' fault for pointing it out? I have had plenty of issues with Consumer Reports, but I'm firmly WITH THEM on this one. You should renew your subscription - if that's the only reason you are waffling now.

We need more watch-dog-like journalism like this. Not "suck-up-to-the-great-Japanese-product" typical journalism. I believe Toyota to be the most reliable car company out there, but they are not infallible. Some of their older trucks were just average, with the Nissan trucks of the time being FAR better-built.

Toyota KNEW about this problem ahead of time, and released the defective cars anyway. How can you have a DESIGN problem, that you knew about (from the very beginning), and then not address it BEFORE manufacturing? Answer: they didn't want to spend the money to fix it up front, thinking that the defect would not bother enough people severely enough to hurt their reputation - a bean-counter's gamble, that has now backfired.
Not only that, but this Lentz idiot thinks the public won't hold this defect against Toyota long-term. Well, if they keep thinking like this, more defects will be released upon us. Lovely. Good for CR for kicking these particular Toyota models to the curb. I remember stuff like this. My Civic Hybrid has a stupid spoiler paint issue that is a design defect. From the beginning of the 2006 model all the way through the end of the 2007 model it persisted. Honda is IGNORING the issue, hoping many of us won't complain (or even notice). This is another bean-counter gamble. It should be a forced recall, but since it's cosmetic, nothing will be done. Honda could EASILY and cheaply have stopped the problem by now, but it must be cheaper still to do nothing, except maybe fix it for those few of us that complain. Sad.

I, too, am surprised the Solara didn't make the avoid-list. But it's probably because of fewer CR responses. The V6 versions have the same engine and tranny, right. so I suspect they have the same tranny defect.

 

They also pulled the tundra from the list? Well I just bought a new 5.7 with twin over head cams and 32 valves. The truck is remarkable and truly is years ahead of the compatition.( I have a 3/4 ton chevy too) I love this truck and in disbelieve that it is taken off the recomended list? Hence no renew for consumer reports.

 

As for Consumer Reports, they have made mistakes in the past but they have corrected them. For example, they failed to include the Federal Tax credit when calculating 'pay back' on the Prius. But a flood of reader letters led to them correcting the problem within weeks of the error.

I don't expect any company to be perfect and they will screw up from time to time. But what is telling is whether or not the company 'does the right thing' and corrects the error.

Bob Wilson

 

We were originally considering an ICE Camry until I did a search http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complai...aintsearch.cfm and found hundreds of complaints filed about the Camry, most about the AT. By far the worst I saw of any car I investigated. On the Edmunds.com website, the ICE Camrys were poorly rated by customers as well. Our final choice was between the Camry Hybrid and a Ford Focus. Only 5k miles on our TCH so far, but we've had zero problems and enjoy the quiet ride and power.

I've seen Consumers Reports screw up before (usually with high tech, which they don't seem to know anything about!) but I think they are right on with this one.

 

Why blame CR-they just count/measure things. Folks on this site frequently bellyache about CRs city loop numbers.CR doesn't say ,"you will get these numbers if you drive in a city." They are clear," if you drive exactly like our test,you will get very close to these numbers." Their city loop is rough-no doubt about that-but it isn't unrealistic. In our pure city driving-no in the city expressway driving,and plenty of very short trips with the engine cold-we get close to their numbers.If we lived in a colder climate,I suspect that our city driving would match theirs.
Almost everyone on this forum has a fair amount of fully warmed up 35-60 mpg in the city expressway/interstate mixed into their "city" driving.
I'm off topic-sorry.CR just measures things,and reports the numbers.
Charlie

 

I think it's pretty clear that Toyota tarnished their own reputation. CR just reported it, which is their job.

 

Some Toyota fans are jumping on the same anti-CR bandwagon that most big 3 fans have been on since CR began.

 

Well how could they recomend any new Fords which have the highest history of recall,service bullitins,complaints,investigations,fires,and they have about 5-6 different parts for each model ie.starter motors ect. Thats my gripe!!