Toyota CEO Admits Toyota Marketed Camry With Bad Transmissions

Toyota CEO Admits Toyota Marketed Camry With Bad Transmissions
Consumer Reports’ decision not to recommend three Toyota vehicles does not signal an end to the company’s bulletproof quality reputation, Toyota’s U.S. sales chief told Automotive News today.

Lentz said that despite the high-profile rebuff by the respected magazine, the Japanese automaker still placed first in reliability in six of eight categories, and 44 percent of the magazine’s recommended vehicles are Toyotas.

“The bad news from our perspective is we never want to see vehicles on the ‘not recommend’ list,” he said.

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.

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M35MTM35MT - 10/18/2007 4:06:15 PM
-2 Boost
Do you search for bad Toyota PR all day?


M35MTM35MT - 10/18/2007 4:13:02 PM
+1 Boost
009's Recent Submission:

Toyota CEO Admits Toyota Marketed Camry With Bad Transmissions
Has Consumer Reports Tarnished Toyota's Reputation?
Has The Mercedes S63 AMG Knocked The Lexus LS460 Off The Top Rung?
Recall Wednesday: Toyota Recalls 470,000 Japanese Vehicles

You should call it "Toyotaspies.com" ;)



w209w114w209w114 - 10/18/2007 4:44:19 PM
+3 Boost
Its ok 009... I actually really appreciate your bold posts. The truth needs to be put out there to bring the "toyo/lex supremacy" group down from their quality cloud.


answeranswer - 10/18/2007 5:54:31 PM
+4 Boost
Since Toyota/Lexus is still doing quite well compared to other brands even with a slide in current rankings, what does that say for the other guys though?

That "cloud" you speak of might not be so much higher than other companies now, but there was a time it most certainly was.


answeranswer - 10/18/2007 5:57:26 PM
+6 Boost
Sorry, I do have to speak up for 009 though.

I used to think he was pretty biased for posting all the negative Toyota stuff, but if you really look at his postings in whole, he isn't that bad at all.

He just seems to post the most stuff in general, Toyota-related or not.


M35MTM35MT - 10/19/2007 8:42:11 AM
+2 Boost
w209,

I dont think Toyota/Lexus is all that supreme, for the following reasons:

No one has yet to de-throne the 3 series
MB has more panache and cache than Lexus
Land Rovers look much better than Toyota's SUVs
That Camry is ugly! I dont care what you think!
The tC could be a better performer in the sub compact segment
No affordable AWD options other than SUV's


Agent009Agent009 - 10/19/2007 9:02:00 AM
+2 Boost
I see we have a few insecure people out there. I post articles about all makes usually in waves as it does in the press.

The only people that EVER get bent are the Toyota/Lexus boys.

So what could be the issue?


Agent009Agent009 - 10/19/2007 9:06:21 AM
+2 Boost
answer- Thanks for noticing. But you are correct I am probably the top poster so you will see the most pro and con posts from me.

Human nature is to pick out the negatives. For instance this was a bad PR week for Toyota (sorry but true). But two weeks ago is was a banner week for the IS-F. The others fans were talking about how pro Lexus/Toyota were were for covering it.

So you can't really win when it comes to pleasing everyone. It all ebbs and flows but in the end it balances out.

If Fiat were number one and Toyota was number 5 then all of the press would be about Fiat.


EnnNorakEnnNorak - 10/19/2007 10:23:44 AM
+1 Boost
I'd rather buy GM. At least they deliver on the promise of the brand as far as transmissions are concerned. It takes a real crook to pawn off a whole production run of cars with bad trannys on unsuspecting consumers. I say jail the bastards.


LJ745LJ745 - 10/18/2007 4:41:56 PM
+2 Boost
I think Toyota, in its bid for the top, cut a lot of corners, over-extended itself financially, and compromised its origninal values. They are simply now facing the reality of those decisions.


w209w114w209w114 - 10/18/2007 4:46:40 PM
+1 Boost
Exactly!

Well said LJ745. I said the same thing quite a few months ago and everyone was offended and argued with me that Toyota was not like GM because they had always put quality before production.


Agent009Agent009 - 10/19/2007 9:08:56 AM
+1 Boost
Exactly, They went to production and when they figured out, rather than go public that there was an issue they just let it ride.

This probably was not a safety issue though.


PorschinatorPorschinator - 10/18/2007 5:51:47 PM
0 Boost
When it rains it pours...lol. I guess 009 is trying to cover all angles...hehe. Well it is hard to be #1, see GM. hate to say it but a part of the problem may be the US workers building the cars. Typically US auto workers prefer high wages and benefits over loyalty and quality.


Will_Will_ - 10/18/2007 6:02:07 PM
+2 Boost
Toyota needs to stop focusing on world domination and keep its focus on quality, which it knows how to do better than anyone. And due to that, even with these slip-ups, their quality is still above average. I think they'll refocus before they end up like...say..GM or Mercedes.


Will_Will_ - 10/18/2007 10:10:09 PM
0 Boost
I'm not worried one bit.


StarStar - 10/18/2007 10:18:01 PM
+1 Boost
You are right, Toyota will never end up like Mercedes, but that's because no matter how hard they try they will never be able to build cars at such high level of quality and performance. Toyota will always be the car for the blind masses, the cheap appliance made for people who don't care what they drive.


M35MTM35MT - 10/19/2007 8:44:30 AM
+3 Boost
When will we begin to associate 'quality' with reliability? If you buy a couch and it snaps in half, but was $5000 imported from Italy, is it still 'quality'? No.


XYZZXYZZ - 10/20/2007 2:13:09 AM
+1 Boost

LOL!

excellent point! for all the "quality," mbs are NOT anywhere as reliable as TOYOTAS, to say nothing of lexuses.




XYZZXYZZ - 10/20/2007 2:19:36 AM
+2 Boost

for the record, from the 04/07 CR auto issue:

average test score of all toyotas (including lexi) tested: 70
percentage of models recommended: 85

average score of MBs tested: 77
percentage of models recommended: 0




EL34EL34 - 10/18/2007 6:19:49 PM
-2 Boost
This type of thing happens to many companies when they grow to big for their britches.

I have been playing the guitar for decades and one guitar I would never buy is a Gibson guitar and the reason is they charge a lot and they move them like McDonalds hamburgers down the assembly line.

That's why I play Thorn guitars, all hand made and everyone sounds great and made in the USA.

http://www.thornguitars.com/


AntiHybridAntiHybrid - 10/18/2007 6:30:36 PM
+1 Boost
Has Toyota started outsourcing to China??? That would be ironic!


speedmasterspeedmaster - 10/18/2007 6:35:04 PM
+6 Boost
I am still reconciling over the fact that a high level Toyota exec made the statement,

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


truckmentruckmen - 10/18/2007 7:55:30 PM
+1 Boost
Toy has been slipping for a while! I can't wait until they improve! Honda is the best!


EL34EL34 - 10/18/2007 11:03:06 PM
-1 Boost
Oh what a tangled web Toyota weaved, When first Toyota practised to deceive!

I feel sad now.

:(


XYZZXYZZ - 10/20/2007 2:26:39 AM
+1 Boost

a key phrase conveniently ignored by the bashers: "...the problem was with design, not manufacturing, and was quickly corrected."

contrasted some makers, who take YEARS to correct some problems.





EnnNorakEnnNorak - 10/26/2007 12:09:25 PM
+2 Boost
Who cares if it is design, manufacturing, or problems in the supply chain and faulty selection of component suppliers -- the bottom line is that Toyota screwed up royally and should be punished for it. A public apology with crocodile tears is simply not good enough.


DieselRulesDieselRules - 10/20/2007 3:16:30 AM
+2 Boost
Yes, but when you pay tens of thousands of dollars for a product, you expect it to be tested.
Toyota saves piles of dollars by letting the consumers test their cars, a lesson they learned from the consumer electronics companies, who only spot-test items off the production line (if your iPod or digital camera doesn't work out of the box, you just take it back on warantee).
I would never buy the 1st year of a new model Toyota, because they let the defects surface in the market.
However, they DO fix the problems quickly, and by the 3rd year they are very solid indeed.
At least they've become very predictable in what is crap and what is good :)


XYZZXYZZ - 10/20/2007 5:28:54 AM
+1 Boost

ALL mfgrs tend to have more problems with the first year's production of a new model. toyota (and honda) do tend to work out the bugs a lot quicker than others.

in the past, when chrysler was struggling, they laid off a bunch of engineers BEFORE some cars were fully debugged, and left it for the customers and dealers to sort 'em out.
in the well written up case of the pontiac fiero, gm even let a foundry CONTINUE to crank out engine blocks with a KNOWN 40% defect rate, so as not to lose out on the sales momentum. they "justified" this by saying the warranties will handle the problem later.


DieselRulesDieselRules - 10/20/2007 12:47:48 PM
+2 Boost
" they "justified" this by saying the warranties will handle the problem later."
I love that! "We can't afford to fix it now ... let's wait till it costs 10 times as much to fix" :)
Sounds like an upper-management decision.


XYZZXYZZ - 10/21/2007 12:55:09 AM
+2 Boost

you would be surprised--and MIGHTILY AMUSED-- at all the upper mgmt decisions behind the pontiac fiero.

1. gm HQ initially prohibited pontiac from offering a v6 in it, for fear of that setup stealing sales from corvette. pontiac only got approval by pushing it as basically a 4-cyl "commuter" car.

2. to shoehorn the Iron Duke 4 in the engine bay, it was given a smaller oil pan. along with a screw up in the orientation of a cooling fan, the engine tended to run hot. sometimes, VERY HOT.

3. with the delay in resolving the hairline cracks in the engine blocks, many of the engines BLEW and spewed HOT engine oil, which would IGNITE and set the car afire. the car being plastic (fiberglas), often the cars would BURN DOWN TO THE TIRE RIMS!

4. it was calculated that if all the pontiac fieros were on the Jersy Turnpike at the same time, the no. of potential firebombs were such that, you'd see a BURNING FIERO every 1/4 MILE and people running around like crazy all over the place!

5. gm's cheapo "lawyers' fix:" they printed up a decal that dealers were to install on the gas filler caps. it basically advised owners to CHECK THE OIL on each fillup.




XYZZXYZZ - 10/21/2007 1:10:40 AM
+1 Boost

at it's initial price point, the fieros sold very well. which is why gm DID NOT WANT to delay production by taking care of the foundry problem.

however, DESPITE it's army of beancounters, they screwed up and priced it too low. when they EVENTUALLY became aware of this and repriced the cars so they could at least break even, if not make a profit, the public was most reluctant to pay the higher prices.
this, along with all the initial problems gettin publicized, put a severe damper on sales.

gm eventually got all the problems resolved. but by the time the car was finally put right, gm decided to just pull the plug on it.

when a union plant rep was given the news, he wailed: "This morning the car was merely sick. Now you're telling me it's DEAD!?"



610looper610looper - 10/20/2007 4:00:09 PM
0 Boost
You mean Toyota, which has built its reputation on reliability, didn't design their transmissions to be reliable, they would not defraud the public for car sales, not cute, cudly, never do anything wrong Toyota


XYZZXYZZ - 10/21/2007 5:28:13 PM
+1 Boost
...


XYZZXYZZ - 10/28/2007 8:35:05 AM
+1 Boost

no, their engine engineers simply ran ahead of the tranny engineers, squeezing 268 horses out of 3.5 v6.

note, there were NO problems with trannies for the I4.

and, the tranny is new, and likely not made robust enuff this 1st year.


XYZZXYZZ - 10/28/2007 8:39:24 AM
+1 Boost

what was so bad about demonstrating they can build BETTER obsolescent engines than detroit, even though their forte is state-of-the-art dohc engines?

they got into nascar 'cuz there was NO COMPETITION from detroit in CART and IRL, where they whipped 'em in their FIRST YEAR. and which the domestics have since abandoned.
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