Toyota's not as perfect as we all thought??

[Welly]

There's been loads on the news recently about Toyota's faults and recalls about accelerators, brakes etc. I don't suppose they'd have made such a fuss about it if we hadn't all been led to believe that the Toyota is the pinnacle of reliability in recent years? I can't imaging the same reaction to a Ford or Vauxhall perhaps?

Our company has a RAV4 petrol with a Slushmatic box and I have to say the Gearbox is now faulty - it loses it's speed data from the ECU and tries to slam it in Park makes all sorts of jerks/noises. Apparently there was a batch of faulty ECU's on the Auto's but the fix aint cheap requiring new ECU(s), new Keys, the lot, and about £2,000.00

I must say the RAV's been faultless other wise and always starts/stops perfectly (but don't all cars nowadays?).

Any of you have any experience of Toyotas?

[STALLED]

We have a Prius at work and as much as everyone bags it out - I friggin love it. Best city car ever, but people don't get the point of it, because they drive it like a normal small car as opposed to a super environmentally friendly happy whale loving amazon rainforest growing hippie machine. I think the fuel figures speak for themselves...

Never had a problem with the brakes on it

Yes, thats 85.60mpg - Driven motorway for 23km.

[Welly]

Funny isn't it - you've got a super high tech information display there but a crappy nasty little digital clock underneath mind you the Japanese don't really do interiors do they?

Do you feel smug driving it?

[Captain Jack]

After the nightmares with my '05 Accord, I have lost all faith in Japanese cars. And now this with Toyotas...

[steve_earwig]

Speaking of Accords....

[Welly]

The carmaker said the inflators were at risk of rupturing, "resulting in metal fragments passing through the airbag cushion material and possibly causing injury or fatality to vehicle occupants".

The fault has already been linked to 11 injuries and one fatality.

Charming, a device designed to save you kills you instead. That'll cost a pretty penny replacing all them airbags (if that's what they have to do).

More proof, if it were needed, that cars are more complex than we are able to keep up with

[mjb]

Yes, thats 85.60mpg - Driven motorway for 23km.

UK or US gallons?

[Doggy]

Don't know if anyone else has discovered, but yer average Prius accelerates bl00dy quickly too.

One tried to pass me on the (single lane) slip road onto the A14 one morning in my old 3.0 Omega. Cheek! I thought, soon sort this out.....

It was glued to my back bumper until about 120

[Welly]

Don't know if anyone else has discovered, but yer average Prius accelerates bl00dy quickly too.

One tried to pass me on the (single lane) slip road onto the A14 one morning in my old 3.0 Omega. Cheek! I thought, soon sort this out.....

It was glued to my back bumper until about 120

That's weird, it's a wheezy 1.5 petrol when 'giving it the beans'

[turbolag]

Why is there nothing in the news about the 308s recalled for headlamps that suddenly switch themselves off at night? Surely the consequences of that could be equally fatal?

And why not more coverage about VW ABS pumps failing from the middle part of the decade? Sure, it's potentially not as immediate an issue safety wise but VW aren't replacing them unless you can prove the brake fluid has been changed every 2 years, even under the original warranty, so the financial implications for thousands of owners are severe.

The press just have the Toyota bit between the teeth, and logic and the reliability failings of other car makers are forgotten in the single minded pursuit of a good story.

We have a Prius at work and as much as everyone bags it out - I friggin love it. Best city car ever, but people don't get the point of it, because they drive it like a normal small car as opposed to a super environmentally friendly happy whale loving amazon rainforest growing hippie machine. I think the fuel figures speak for themselves...

Indeed, but then the Prius costs best part of double that of some of its more conventional rivals. It also has vastly higher emissions, cradle to grave,over any conventional car in production, before it even leaves the showroom. Then there's question mark of the batteries integrity as they age, which has never been satisfactorily addressed by Toyota, and this is worrying as they use fairly low-tech NiMH batteries - so as well as the life of the petrol unit, we need to consider the double whammy of worrying about a brattery pack, which currently costs nearly £3k for the part alone. Wouldn't be so bad but most owners struggle to top 55mpg, whereas my 308 struggles to dip below 50mpg no matter how I drive it. It'll be a long time yet before a hybrid sets any genuine consumption records, though the PSA diesel hybrid due for autumn this year may do it, but then the extra 6 or 8 grand over a similar car probably still won't make a saving over the life of the car.

[Welly]

Well said Turby, it's crazy spending extra dosh on something with a tiny bit less emissions and a tiny bit more mpg - you'd have to do hundreds of thousands of miles before you get an extra £6,000.00 purchase price back (at 5mpg improvement).

I suppose buyers think they're doing 'their bit' for the environment, only they're not really. Someone* said recently that you could run an old V8 landrover for tens of thousands of miles before you even got near the environmental impact of producing a new car

*official source, 'someone' being either something Welly read on the interweb of ballhooks or someone Welly heard on Radio/TV.

[highlander]

Even better, you can take an old V8 Landrover and give it an LPG conversion. Cleaner, cheaper fuel, and V8 power.

[steve_earwig]

The press just have the Toyota bit between the teeth, and logic and the reliability failings of other car makers are forgotten in the single minded pursuit of a good story.

No mention of Merc's recent brake problems or self-opening bonnets either...

[mav]

Even better, you can take an old V8 Landrover and give it an LPG conversion. Cleaner, cheaper fuel, and V8 power.

anyone else now considering an engine transplant?
or is it just me?

[STALLED]

Indeed, but then the Prius costs best part of double that of some of its more conventional rivals. It also has vastly higher emissions, cradle to grave,over any conventional car in production, before it even leaves the showroom. Then there's question mark of the batteries integrity as they age, which has never been satisfactorily addressed by Toyota, and this is worrying as they use fairly low-tech NiMH batteries - so as well as the life of the petrol unit, we need to consider the double whammy of worrying about a brattery pack, which currently costs nearly £3k for the part alone. Wouldn't be so bad but most owners struggle to top 55mpg, whereas my 308 struggles to dip below 50mpg no matter how I drive it. It'll be a long time yet before a hybrid sets any genuine consumption records, though the PSA diesel hybrid due for autumn this year may do it, but then the extra 6 or 8 grand over a similar car probably still won't make a saving over the life of the car.

Agreed - although I didn't buy it. Here they aren't that expensive, costing as much as Golf (34k AUD)...

As for the MPG figures, they really shine in the inner city environment as they are mostly running off the battery. I think the overall average for the car before I reset the trip computer was 4.7L/100km or 60.12mpg in your book - and thats as fleet car - everyone knows as to how they are driven!