OK I shoudl have learned by now and I will never buy a year 1 car again. I find the TCH interior fit and finihs to be sub par and well below anything I woudl expect from Toyota. Squaely center console took me 2 attempts to get quiet. The rear deck buzzes badly under fair amount of bass and I have tried twice to quiet it, looks like I need to pull the rear seats to pull the rear deck and will pad and put in bushings to see if that helps. Now I have some mystery sound that appears to be inside above the overhead glasses and homelink area. Also a few minor squeals from left and right B pillars and the passenger door. I thought my 04 TL was a haunted house with all the squeaks and creaks, but this TCH is not far behind. I also find the rear seat bottom to be rather flimsy in construction and sturdiness. And the drivers seats padding seems to be sagginga bit or compressed casuing the leather to sag. I rememrb my 93 Camry XLE, it was built like a tank and was tight and top quality, seems to keep costs in line Toyota may have shaved a little too much form their quality. Not to mention the crappy ergonomics of the HVAC and JBL.

 

Sounds like you need to trade that TCH in on something you might like better. No one should drive a car they feel is so poorly constructed.

Better luck on your next one !!

 

Trust me, if I coudl get decent money for it I would trade it. I just expected more from Toyota. Wondering if anyone else is seeing the same creaks, buzzes and rattles.

 

dude, I hear you. I have the same squeeks, rattles, and they are making me nuts. The overhead rattle at the eyeglass holder is a constant nuisance. I need a fix!

 

Maybe 'Yota's mistake with the 2007 TCH was

making it so quiet

because with such a quiet car, the normal (and abnormal) rattles/bumps/squeaks/shakes are more pronounced.

 

I put 11 years on a '93 Camry LE wagon, and 9 years on a '98 Lexus GS300, have 2 years on my '05 Siena Limited, and about 8K miles on my half year old TCH.

My TCH has had the center console squeak, which was mostly eliminated by the dealer at the first oil change. All else has been near perfect. My Siena had two minor interior trim pieces replaced that were DOA (a latch and a cup holder insert) and has otherwise been without problem. My Lexus had the radio display go out in the first year, but not another non-scheduled repair for about 5 years, and about four total non-scheduled repairs over nine years (radiator overflow tank cracked, steering wheel position memory module failure, interior blower motor replaced, ONE battery replacement!!!!). My '93 Camry had a radio volume **** crack, the electric antenna fail, both front U-joints replaced, and the passenger window regulator was repaired three times between years 5 and 7.

Other cars I've owned that have been similarly wonderful maintenance wise: '73 Pinto Wagon (5 yrs), '78 Accord LX (6 yrs), and a '86 Saab 900S (11 yrs). I've also owned three cars that were maintenance nightmares to the tune of multiple non-trivial failures every year: '88 Aerostar (6 yrs - most problems in first three), '94 Volvo 850S (7 yrs), and the worst POS that I will never touch the brand again in my life, a '88 Mercedes 300 TD-T. The Volvo, Lexus, and this TCH were all first year new designs. All my vehicles get 10-12K miles/year.

In my opinion, Toyota (and Lexus!) take reliability very seriously, and have minimum misses. Toyotas are not 100% perfect, but your odds of getting a bad one are very low. My problem with MB was disgustingly bad design with respect to reliability. The long list of failures due to poor design is very long. All my other cars were designed pretty well, if not constructed perfectly.

I almost did not buy my first Toyota because I felt the interior was full of cheap plastic that would not hold up. I bit my tongue and trusted the company reputation, and found that the appearance of cheap plastic was completely wrong. The only crack or rattle that first Camry ever got from a piece of plastic was the radio volume ****. I've shied away from GM, Chrysler, and VW products because my parents had many, and all had interiors that did not hold up well at all, and all had a fair amount of unscheduled maintenance.

Six months with this TCH has been the most wonderful experience I have ever had with a car, and I expect it to be typically "Toyota" reliable for many, many years. My Volvo was by far the most fun to push to the limits, the Saab the most comfortable for very long trips, the Lexus the most luxurious, but this TCH has been an overall GREAT experience.

-- Alan

 

I had the rattle at the eyeglass holder in my Prius - it was my glasses. Just pad it with a piece of cloth and the rattling will stop. (I used a cleaning cloth that I already had.)

 

I've only had mine for about 6 weeks. So far the car is perfect. No squeeks or rattles. Maybe I haven't owned the car long enough? How long had you owned it before these problems became apparent?

 

I am a poor judge after owning 10 Lexuses thru the years and still own a GX470. The qulity of the Lexus is top notch compared to the toyota products period. of all the ones I have had, we have yet to return one for anything but putting the licence plates on. My TCH has not had any rattles or squeaks and no problems but has low miles. I have observed the fit ect of both lexus and toyota and there is not much comparison. The TCH is what it is and you did not pay $50K for it like you would have to have a Lexus with its fine fitting non squeeking interior.
Please save the flames!

 

I have a few weird squeaks and so does my mom's 07 XLE. I do find that the fit and finish is better on my 01 Highlander. The interior is put together better. There are no rattles or squeaks. My mom had an 03 Camry SE and there were NO squeaks or rattles.