The Dings and Dents of Toyota

[dascrow]

It might seem odd to suggest that a 70-year-old company is going through growing pains, especially one with $183 billion in annual sales. But 2007 has been a difficult year for Toyota. Its reputation for building high-quality vehicles has been tarnished, most recently by the decision by Consumer Reports to stop automatically giving a “recommended” label to all its cars and trucks. Toyota’s sales growth, which has been in the double-digit range in recent years, has slowed more in the United States than the company expected, causing it to lose its grip on the biggest-automaker title it took from General Motors last spring. And it has seen some of its most talented American executives return to Detroit, notably James Press, who left the company’s highest-ranking job in North America to join Chrysler.

That run of bad news may provide some breathing room for competitors from whom Toyota has been steadily stealing market share. Yet Toyota has a long track record of learning from such challenges and mistakes. And with Detroit companies still curtailing their operations, including the 11,000 job cuts that Chrysler announced Thursday, Toyota has some breathing room to fix itself. Indeed, some longtime industry observers say that the negative news about Toyota is unlikely to affect its prospects drastically. “Toyota’s short-term problems are exaggerated,” said James P. Womack, a manufacturing expert and co-author of “The Machine That Changed the World,” the 1990 book that examined Japanese plants in the United States.

But Mr. Womack said he was concerned that Toyota might be losing its laserlike focus, just as it marked two important anniversaries this year: its 70th birthday as an automobile company, and its 50th year selling cars in the United States. “Toyota has to rethink its purpose in life,” Mr. Womack said. The company remains on track to achieve its 2010 goal of owning 15 percent of the global car market (its market share in the United States was 16.2 percent through October). But biggest is not necessarily the same as being the world’s best car company, which was long Toyota’s main objective, he said. A focus on volume, for example, can easily lead to missteps with product introductions or slips in quality. “The dog has caught the car,” he said. “But what was the point?”

Passing G.M. in the spring as the biggest automaker seemed a major accomplishment for Toyota at the time. It appeared to have shaken off quality problems that dogged it in 2006, when it reported double the number of recalls it had 2005. Through October, its recalls in the United States and Japan have fallen by about half from 2006, when it recalled 2.1 million vehicles. But Toyota shares fell last month when it recalled about 470,000 vehicles in Japan, its fifth recall there this year. None of those vehicles was shipped to the United States, however.

Last year’s run of quality glitches prompted Toyota’s chief executive, Katsuaki Watanabe, to appoint an executive in charge of quality and to dispatch engineers throughout the company to work on improving its cars. Inside Toyota, “everyone, and I mean everyone,” is focused on improving quality, said Jeffrey Liker, professor of engineering at the University of Michigan and author of “The Toyota Way,” a study of the company’s management philosophy. “Quality is how they have built their competitive advantage.”
But the effort could not head off the decision by Consumer Reports magazine last month to no longer automatically give new or restyled Toyota vehicles a recommended rating. That leaves only Subaru and Honda with those bragging rights.

In particular, Consumer Reports cited problems on three models, including versions of the Camry sedan, the Tundra pickup and the Lexus GS luxury car. Consumer Reports will require a year’s worth of reliability data, as it does for other carmakers, before deciding whether it can recommend a Toyota car. Despite Toyota’s track record, Consumer Reports did not hesitate to pull the automatic ranking, said David Champion, the magazine’s senior director of automotive testing. “It takes a long time to earn that reputation, but it doesn’t take long to lose it,” Mr. Champion said.

“We have no issue with that,” said Mike Michels, a Toyota spokesman, of the magazine’s decision. “We don’t think anybody is entitled to an automatic recommendation.” But the step was a clear setback for Toyota, which built its brand with help from the magazine’s high ratings for its small cars. “It matters,” said James Lentz, executive vice president at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., its American marketing arm. The timing of the Consumer Reports announcement was hardly ideal — it coincided with the dinner at which Toyota’s honorary chairman, Shoichiro Toyoda, was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Mich.
http://www.allworldauto.com/blogs/20...nts-of-toyota/

[Georgenfla]

When Toyota and if Toyota loses its quality, which I have NOT noticed in my 2006 Matrix XRS and 06 Tacoma, I will move to Honda. I will remain loyal to the Toyota products until that time. For me, Honda has always been a close second to Toyota.

[2000le4cyl]

Quality is his life.
toyota has been reliable for all his 70 yrs life.
price of his parts made him healthy.
better average but not the over kill is in his spirit.
just a little bit better of all concern is Quality.

[100$ GUY]

[quote=dascrow;2049115]

But biggest is not necessarily the same as being the world’s best car company, which was long Toyota’s main objective, he said. A focus on volume, for example, can easily lead to missteps with product introductions or slips in quality. “The dog has caught the car,” he said. “But what was the point?”

Through October, its recalls in the United States and Japan have fallen by about half from 2006, when it recalled 2.1 million vehicles. But Toyota shares fell last month when it recalled about 470,000 vehicles in Japan, its fifth recall there this year.

said Jeffrey Liker, professor of engineering at the University of Michigan and author of “The Toyota Way,” a study of the company’s management philosophy. “Quality is how they have built their competitive advantage.”
But the effort could not head off the decision by Consumer Reports magazine last month to no longer automatically give new or restyled Toyota vehicles a recommended rating.

“It matters,” said James Lentz, executive vice president at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., its American marketing arm.

well, this is for u doggy.....

Yeah, those recalls are becoming common , too bad.... one can say, well, thats good, cause they are taking care of it, but in the other hand, those big numbers of vehicles recalled doesnt seem like good publicity, and quality control is slipping, so taking care of it is the least they can do to disguise the damage of their image.

Of course the decision by consumer reports is critical, and it matters as they said, cause one thing is for sure, its not moving forward, .......

Yes, a good reputation can be lost fairly easily, but still, if the marketing people keep the good work, toyota will be still know for its great reliable and dependable cars many years ahead....

[DonP]

Nah I think its way too early to single Toyota's demise. Look how long it has taken for GM and Ford to fall off. And as mentioned theres always Honda.

[strickland]

I have a 2005 tacoma with 62,000 miles on it. Not a single problem yet, I cannot say that about some of my friends domestic trucks!!!!!!!

[OldStyle]

Or better yet, tell my 08 Highlander whose dash squeaks and whose mirror rattles below 32 deg. F. This all stated on my drive home from the dealer. My LAST Toyota for sure. Never again.

[toytruck89]

you might reconsider when you're 08 hits the 300k club

[hevster1]

Toyota lost its focus years ago when the company founder died. He was a mechanic and insisted upon honoring the mechanics down to the dealership level. This gave them pride in what they do. They also took any suggestions very seriously and often put them into production. Their cars were the best in quality by far. Since his demise the focus has changed to sales. Most of the awards and accolades are given to sales. The service managers have changed from the top technician in the dealership to the marketing guru who is concerned with only one thing, money. Very few dealers wish to retain their older experienced technicians. It is easier and far more profitable for them to go out and hire inexperienced kids at cheap rates and keep maybe one overworked and underpaid master technician who does only the hardest work. After a while they get tired of making sh** and move on. The good technicians now get even less respect than before. Most retire or change professions (I did). It is nearly impossible to even get respect from the corporate technical department which has also become a joke, especially the help line.
Now the recalls are at an all time high, Toyota is building cars without having quality as the number one priority and the dealers are incapable of fixing them or just don't care. We used to laugh about GM. Now we are becoming GM.
BTW, I have had several Toyota's pass the 300k mark. The new ones(say 04 and up) are a step down in the quality scale. Some of the 90's cars had problems as well(Paseo convertibles leaking, weak 4runner transmissions, 4runner TPS, head gaskets, sludge issues etc). The vehicles built in the mid-late 80's were top quality. The head gasket problems of the early-mid 90's followed by the sludge issues(most of which were caused by lack of basic maintenance coupled with crappy valve seals and sometimes even block issues)and trans issues(tundra, Sequoia) which still occur could have been avoided by better quality control and testing. I didn't even mention Prius batteries, power steering, fuel tank, ecm issues, Toyota's hybrid obsession which will bite them in the ass eventually and electronics issues from ECM's improperly programmed to faulty o2 sensors, wiring, etc. The cat converter issues are a problem as well
For example, Before the new Millenium I had replaced 3 ECM's. 2 had been fried from jump starting backward. Since then I have replaced at least 50 and reprogrammed hundreds more. Of the replaced units about 9 were main ecm's and the rest were body ecm's, abs ecm's etc. the only time I ever had to rebuild or replace a rear diff on any Toyota was from abuse. I had to replace several Tundra units under warranty due to faulty spider gear shims. Dash rattles in Rav-4's caused me so much grief. Now I see the issue has returned with the Camry. Sequoia A/C units exploding and then Toyota deciding to not pay the technician to properly perform the repair were a big issue a few years ago. Cat Converter issues across the board are costing customers hundreds if not thousands as they seem to fail just out of warranty. These are just some examples of build quality issues I have seen.

[OldStyle]

It's called attention to detail. Toyota's used to have the best fit and finish. Not anymore, my 08 HL has "average" fit and finish for an auto made in Japan. That lack of attention likely transfers over to other parts of the car, say like the engine.

[ryannel2003]

It's all about arrogance, a bug that Toyota has been dealing with for the past 3-4 years. When they realized its possible they could overtake GM for the #1 position, they put the quality control aside and said "Dammit, lets just catch up to GM". That they did, but in the process have lost that absolute quality that made them the brand to recommend. I've been inside many of the new Toyota's and come away with an overall feeling of disappointment. Comparing the '08 Camry to my '00 yields similar results: cheaper materials, fit and finish issues, lots of rattles, etc. My biggest turn off of the Gen 5 and 6 Camry is the junk sounding door slam. My car has a really heavy door, and pretty much need to slam it shut. It makes a very nice "thunk" sound. However, the newer models have a tinny sound that really is quite disappointing.

Ok so the average consumer will never notice this, but when comparing the two cars is just something I've noticed. Along with that, the carpet is also cardboard thin and isn't plush as mine. I know, i'm picky. But i'm not the average consumer, I like details. I love being able to set my headlights and when i open the door, they automatically cut off. I love how after 7 1/2 years my leather looks slightly worn and just clean overall.

However, Toyota isn't the only automaker to deal with these issues. The newer Honda's also aren't as meticulously detailed as previous years. The Civic is a great example: that interior is disgusting, and the materials just don't inspire me. Same with the Accord: I find that interior cheaper feeling than the newer Camry. GM is finally starting to catch up with Toyota, along with Ford. If Toyota could return to their roots and build the ultimate reliable machine, the American's wouldn't have a chance.

Can Toyota reverse this? I believe they can; the new Corolla looks promising, save for a slightly cheap headliner. Sales for the Camry are stronger than ever, so it looks like the public hasn't taken much of a notice to the slipping quality. Look I love Toyota, and my car has been amazing (save for a broken sunroof; can happen to anybody and I don't blame Toyota). When i start seriously looking at cars in the next couple of years, I will start with the Camry. To be honest, I'll probably end up with another one. I'm sure by that time the issues will be worked out.

[wisky]

I have posted details under the latest generation Corolla section. I am tired of hearing about Toyota Quality and Service. I am in the middle of a situation where my delivered 2009 Corolla S has a list of problems right from the factory. The dealer says it's a Toyota problem not a dealer problem. Almost like the name Toyota appears nowhere on their property. Toyota Canada has yet to respond to the first two issues (of many). Case files have been submitted, or so I'm told.

I have owned Toyota products previously. The build quality of both those vehicles (late 70's Corolla and late 80's 4Runner) were far superior to the current product I am experiencing.

On a brand new Corolla S, fresh the factory, I have a paint problem, a headliner problem, a rattle that can't be repaired, greasy fingerprints and scratches that will "eventually" be fixed, a good utility knife scratch and a small crack in the plastic rear deck. As my car was literally days old when the problems first were found, I requested a replacement vehicle. The dealer washed their hands of it. Said it's a Toyota Canada problem now. Funny how thing's change when they have your money.

I too saw all these Toyota executives addressing the quality control problems. And sucker that I am, I believed them.

TOYOTA IS NOT BACK. FAR FROM IT.

[blacken]

all you people complaining about these little things >.>
its all about the motor
roar long live the motor
as long as the motor keeps turning its a toyota
the day toyota motor goes kaplut then ill pay attention untill then your all whiney little babys

babys want a bottle
got poopie in your daipy?

[wisky]

Originally Posted by blacken

all you people complaining about these little things >.>
its all about the motor
roar long live the motor
as long as the motor keeps turning its a toyota
the day toyota motor goes kaplut then ill pay attention untill then your all whiney little babys

babys want a bottle
got poopie in your daipy?

Roar long live the motor? Brilliant.

Kaplut? Babys?

How can I argue with that?

[wisky]

little blacky? Lady Tiamat? LOL