Toyota is slipping, Consumer Reports says

[Psephos]

Consumer Reports magazine reports that the quality of cars made by Toyota, long the benchmark for reliability among automotive brands, has slipped so much that the organization no longer will automatically recommend them.

...

For Ford, the news was positive. The magazine said 93% of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models scored average or better, allowing a "Recommended" designation.

"Ford continues to improve," said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports' Auto Test Center. "The reliability of their cars has steadily improved over the years and is showing consistency." He added, "We believe Toyota is aware of its issues and is trying to fix problems quickly."


http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/Advice/ToyotaIsSlippingConsumerReportsSays.aspx

[LiberalEsto]

1. There's some truth in this

My family has owned a number of Toyotas, starting in 1989. The older ones were well built and reliable, and stood up well to time.

That hasn't been the case with our 2001 Camry or 2005 Matrix.

- the exterior paint on both the Camry and Matrix are shoddy. They get scratched very easily. That wasn't the case with the 1989 or 1992 Corollas or the 1997 Corolla.

- The 2001 Camry has had repeated transmission and engine problems. The entire engine died a couple of years ago and we ended up having a rebuilt engine installed at our own expense. Lots of other problems too.

- The Matrix has lousy interior durability. The cheap plastic in the back of the car cracks very easily.

When my daughter's car got totaled earlier this year, we got her a 2000 Honda Civic.

[Selatius]

3. I still see Toyotas from the late 1980s pretty often. They're often more fuel efficient than...

some of the Toyotas built today, but that's largely because of larger bodies. A 1989 Toyota camry is much smaller than a 2006 Camry.

[AlCzervik]

2. what pisses me off so much is the fact that CR used to automatically rec them? WTF is with that?

we owned 2 Toyota's, a truck and a camry and they were both fine but no or should be giving any brand an automatic thumbs up.

[seabeyond]

4. well sheeeit. i have been looking to buy a car that will last forever.

like a last auto purchase. and though toyota jacks up the price for name recognition alone i was willing ot purchase an avalon cause that was going to be it. the way i drive could last me a long time. i was looking thru consumer reports and was so discouraged how low the rating was. turned me off buying a new car. i didnt find any of the higher end priced cars to be high in rating. seems like you are confirming what i found out last week.

thanks for this

[Jacobin]

5. I've rented some recent model Toyotas lately

while my older one with a zillion miles on it has been in the shop for routine maintenance.

I didn't like the new ones. Didn't seem to have the same 'fit and finish' as the older ones and drove in a way that didn't seem as good as the older ones.

That's a bummer, because I really like my older Toyotas. And they will wear out eventually

[shireen]

6. my 2003 corolla has been very well-behaved.

as another person said, it does scratch easily but that doesn't bother me so much considering all the external damage I've already done to it. Looks awful on the outside, but has been running really well.

[Mongrelkoi]

7. I owned Toy trucks for 17 years and just bought my first chevy truck

2 Machi Model, 2 Tacomas and 2 Tundras all 4WDs. My wife has driven Camrys and and an Avalon since we got married. Toyota has gotten cheap in just the past few years. I hate to say it but Too Americanized and way too greedy.

[seabeyond]

8. thanks for your post

again i was considering an avalon. a lot of money for cheap and greedy. i will stick with my saturn for a while longer until i see a car i really like that gets rave reviews.