2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 from North America - Off Topic Comments

05:38 Yeah, okay. A Honda minivan burning up transmissions. Even the kids that run the Civics around at 8000 rpm rarely have transmission troubles. Try using a Dodge like that; after about an hour it'll be spewing out every kind of fluid that it contains, and you'll be shopping for a new engine, transmission, and gears. Please. Just because Dodge was German-owned for a while doesn't mean they learned anything about how to engineer a car so it isn't a piece of garbage.

I once had a new stock Dodge Challenger RT 340 Six Pack 4 speed and drove it very hard without a complaint. Also to run a tuner Civic as you described has a tremendous amount of money under the hood and they still can blow motors. I have a co worker that removed his supercharger and just blew his Civic Turbo up recently... anyway want to stay on topic? The new domestics are simply superior in all respects in my opinion to the current imports in stock form. I consider the drivetrains very suspect.

Yes, obviously Toyota cars are so great that CNN-Money includes them on their "Used Cars to Avoid" list because of the Toyota engine sludging problem.

And surely everybody on this site talking about blown transmissions on their Honda must be lying, right? And not just Honda, but Lexus, too -- read about the RX330, for starters! The Toyota and Honda apologists are funny in trying to cover that up.

They even try to gloss over the fact that Buick, Lincoln, Cadillac, and Mercury continue to be rated higher in quality than Toyota or Honda, even after the cars are three years old, which is close to when most people would be thinking about trading a car in, anyway.

I don't know why somebody would brag about driving a 10-year old Civic -- that's nothing to be proud of.

My friend owns a Tundra and between the engine sludging problems and the almost daily recalls, he has hardly had the chance to use it! Meanwhile my professional grade 1988 GMC half-ton continues to perform flawlessly.

I'm the writer of that 19:36 comment in the 500+ comment thread. I apparently am the only one who knows how to identify a thick frame rail and a thin frame rail. Yeah, Toyota's have thicker frame rails? Get your eyes checked! Buy yourself a measuring tape or ruler and measure the thickness, height, and width of any Toyota frame rail and compare it to any other frame rail on any other truck.

As I have said before, the frame of an S-10 or Ranger are as thick as any 1/2 ton pickup. They're just shorter because the truck is shorter, but the frame is really over-kill for a 1/4 ton truck. Take that measuring tape or ruler and measure the width and thickness of any Toyota leaf spring and see if it's not thinner than any domestic leaf spring, even on a Ranger or S-10. Would you please do this before you comment again?

Mike Row is not bluffing when he talks about Ford's "big, honkin' leaf springs". Their leaf springs are thicker than most trucks and they are three inches wide, which is wider than all 1/2 ton trucks.

Take a look at the crossmembers of the new Tundra and check out all of the quarter-sized holes cut across the cross member. How is a crossmember supposed to hold your frame rails together when half of them have been cut off of the truck? Wouldn't it be smarter to weld big bulky steel arms from one rail to the other, like Ford?

So Chevy, Ford, and Dodge have not figured out how to make a reliable truck in 100 years? I'm pretty sure they figured out that formula in the 70s, which is why my C20 is sitting in my driveway right now with an original engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential, axles, wheel hubs, you name it. Only some sheet metal has been replaced.

So flimsy door handles make a Chevy bad? Whatever! Oh no the door handles are flimsy, it's not able to haul multiple tons because of the door handles. You must be that guy that said Toyota's are better because the tailgate (which never handles a heavy load) and doors (which are light and cave in on impact) shut better than a domestic's doors or tailgate.

I have never questioned whether California produces more agriculture than Kentucky; I question how heavy the "serious" loads these Tacoma's are hauling really are. You seem never to be able to name an actual payload number. Use grams instead of pounds if want to make it sound better. 400 pounds is a serious load for a Tacoma. A Ranger doesn't even know it's there. We haul engines and transmissions with our delivery Rangers and barely squat them with 400+ pounds. Thin leaf springs are useless along with small frame rails. You need to put your metal where your mouth is. I physically have thousands of pounds of steel to back up what I'm saying, you don't.

You say a Tacoma puts a Ranger to shame when it sits next to it. How's that? Are you sure that's not what's going through your mind when YOU see a Tacoma sitting next to a Ranger, simply because you hate Ford? That's just your perspective. I don't see a Ranger being put to shame when it sits next to a Tacoma. Instead, I see a small truck that has such heavier and tougher frame rails, it could bend the Tacoma into a "V" if it rammed it. The metal is there to do this. It's not able to do this simply because I say so, it's able to do this because the metal IS THERE to do this. It's got a bigger frame, bigger control arms, bigger leaf springs, bigger cross-members without a million holes punched through it, more weight and more steel all around. The Mazda B-series is the same exact thing as a Ford Ranger, and they can't keep enough of them on the lot at the Mazda dealership because they sell so fast. Why would Mazda or Ford get rid of that? They are everywhere, where I live.

So 260,000 miles is not good enough for you? How about 294,200 miles? That's what my delivery F-150 has on it as of today. Of course you'll just stretch your numbers to stay on top. If I have 300,000 miles on my Ford, then you have 600,000 miles on your Toyota, and if I have 600,000 miles on my Ford, then you have 1,200,000 miles on your Toyota and on and on.

First, Ford are crap because their drivetrains supposedly only last 50,000 miles before needing replaced, then they're crap because their drivetrains only last 200,000 miles, and now they're crap because their drivetrains only last 300,000 miles. Just keep bending the numbers.

Also, with the recalls: No one argues whether the domestics have had many recalls, but keep in mind how many more millions of vehicles the domestics have sold over the past "say 20 years". If Toyota was already cranking out the numbers in the 80's that it's cranking out now, they would've already had well beyond 3.3 million recalls and so forth. It's easy to make quality vehicles when you don't have to work as hard to crank them out as your competitors.

You think everyone is happy with their Accord's and Camry's and everyone hates their Tauruses and Fusion's? Go check out Yahoo Autos and see what real-world people are saying with their real-world experience. The Fusion and Taurus have an average 4.5 stars, while the Accord and Camry currently have an average 2.5 stars. I think the tides are turning, if you want to keep talking about what "everyone knows".

I loved my '96 Accord, but I turned against it after reading the arrogance of these pro-import comments. That's why I traded it in for a '00 F-150 after watching my '01 delivery F-150 go from 214,000 miles to 294,000 miles, since I started driving it.

10:14:

Here are the facts about Toyota's 'massive' engine sludge problem with the Tundra: As of July of this year, there were TWENTY engine failures reported. That's all. TWENTY. And Toyota replaced the entire engine.

Why don't you mention the THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THOUSAND Grand Cherokees that were just recalled recently? Did that one slip by you? I guess all your attention was focused on the 20 Tundras which are already back on the road with a brand new engine.

Here's another fact: the Tundra is a better truck than anything Ford, GM, or any other manufacturer has yet dreamed about making, and Toyota is the highest quality manufacturer of cars and trucks anywhere on the planet. I'm sure your '88 GMC, has had many repairs done to it.

--Quote--

Here's another fact: the Tundra is a better truck than anything Ford, GM, or any other manufacturer has yet dreamed about making, and Toyota is the highest quality manufacturer of cars and trucks anywhere on the planet. I'm sure your '88 GMC, has had many repairs done to it.

It's a fact that this is your opinion driven by hatred of domestics. You're sure the GMC has had many repairs done to it because of your blind hatred of American products. You don't know anything about this man's truck.

Woooooow, great argument, once again. Look at all of the technical specifications the commenter used to "prove" why Toyota's are better. "They're better because I like them and Ford's are crap because I don't like them." Wow, what infalibillity! How are Toyota's the highest quality?

I suppose they're higher quality because...

They have thinner frame rails.

They have smaller frame rails in width.

They have smaller frame rails in height.

They have fewer cross-members holding the frame together.

The cross-members that they do have, have holes cut all across them.

They have smaller and weaker front control arms.

They have smaller and weaker hub carriers.

They have lighter and weaker material engines (aluminum)

They have thinner and smaller leaf springs.

They use car transmissions in their smaller trucks, and put six speeds in their bigger trucks so there's more gears to tear up.

They have smaller axle shafts.

They have smaller axle housings.

They have thinner bumpers.

They can't pull as much, and are not used to pull as much.

They can't handle payloads beyond 600 pounds without squatting to the ground (small leaf springs)

Yep, they're definitely better.

The domestics are crap because...

They have thicker frame rails.

They have wider frame rails.

They have taller frame rails.

They have heavier duty control arms.

They have heavier duty hub carriers.

They have thicker leaf springs, and Ford's are.5 inches wider.

They have bigger axle shafts.

They have bigger axle housings.

They have many more cross-members. Most cross-members are large pipe-shaped box rails that are welded to the frame rails - Ford welds on both the inside and outside of their fully boxed frame.

They have engines made of extremely hard, heavy, and heat tolerant metal (cast iron)

They have heavier duty transmissions.

They can handle at least 2000-3000 pounds in their bed without squatting all the way down.

They can pull multiple tons and have been used for this purpose for decades.

They have heavier and thicker bumpers.

They can be used to do very heavy work and still run on original drive trains for 30 years.

Yep, they're junk alright. I am very confident that the person with 88 GMC has had to replace nothing on their drivetrain. My Chevy is 10 years older (78) and has everything original underneath the sheet metal and was used to do strenuous work most of its life, even pulling six tons or hauling two tons. It never failed my father and got him through hard times.

I swear this site is the twilight zone. Up is down, black is white, aluminum is tougher than cast iron, and trucks are tougher because they have less steel in their chassis. Tacoma's are real trucks because they can barely pull 3,500 pounds and domestics are wanna-be trucks because they can only pull 10,000 to 12,000 pounds. I guess semi-trucks are really crappy trucks because they have triple the steel in their frames and can only pull 50,000 pounds?

20:38 Yet another long chant about thick frame rails and axle housings that proves nothing. Those frame rails and axle housings look nice sitting in the junkyard, though, I must admit. Meanwhile the Toyota, with it's 'paper thin' framerails, is still on the road, taking abuse.

And, once again, you have attempted to sidestep the facts I presented. You fail to mention the hideous number of recalls I mention for the domestics, because you can't deal with the actual facts that prove you wrong every time.

You type a long list of parts you believe to be heavy duty. Too bad the company that puts them together can't make them work for very long without falling apart, or provide a decent engine to haul them around.

My friend just had his first trouble ever with an 1999 Tacoma that he beats the hell out of; a rear axle seal leaking. He went to TWELVE junkyards, looking for a spare rear axle, and did not find ONE Tacoma in any of them. Not even one that had been in an accident. Plenty of Fords and Chevys from the same year though, with their 'thick frames'. What a riot.

"Here are the facts about Toyota's 'massive' engine sludge problem with the Tundra: As of July of this year, there were TWENTY engine failures reported. That's all. TWENTY. And Toyota replaced the entire engine."

20 ENGINE FAILURES... ARE YOU DREAMING? HERE IS A PETITION OF TOYOTA OWNERS WHO EXPERIENCED SLUDGED ENGINES, ASKING TOYOTA TO TAKE ACTION:

http://www.petitiononline.com/TMC2003/petition.html

THERE ARE A LOT MORE THAN 20 FAILURES. IT LOOKS A LOT MORE LIKE AN EPIDEMIC TO ME.

"Why don't you mention the THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THOUSAND Grand Cherokees that were just recalled recently? Did that one slip by you?"

PROBLEMS WITH ANY VEHICLE ARE BAD, REGARDLESS OF MANUFACTURER. I WILL NOT MAKE EXCUSES FOR JEEP, OR ANYBODY ELSE. BUT, HOW ABOUT THE 2.2 MILLION VEHICLES RECALLED LAST YEAR FOR TOYOTA? DID THAT ONE SLIP BY YOU? HOW ABOUT THE FACT THAT TOYOTA WAS THE INDUSTRY LEADER IN RECALLS LAST YEAR... DID THAT ONE SLIP BY YOU TOO?

"Here's another fact: the Tundra is a better truck than anything Ford, GM, or any other manufacturer has yet dreamed about making, and Toyota is the highest quality manufacturer of cars and trucks anywhere on the planet."

OH REALLY?

11:09, Yes really. Check your 'facts' again. GM, Ford, and Dodge each had more vehicles affected with recalls last year, in fact in any year, than Toyota ever has. NUMBER of recalls, and # of affected vehicles are two different things. Toyota is still the best.

Tacoma man, I've said in several past comments, that the domestics have had more recalls than the imports to this point. But I have also said that the domestics have produced and sold much more than the imports over the past 20 years.

The 3.3 million engines recalled for engine sludge is just foreshadowing of what will happen to Toyota as it takes GM's place. These people are not perfect beings, and they will start to make mistakes and corruption will set in as it did with the big three. When the imports get their chance to mass produce in the numbers that the domestics have done for decades, they too will have recalls out the wazoo.

How does a Toyota take abuse better when it has a thinner chassis? What is this abuse? Oh yeah, you're "flying" through the air. Your Tacoma is light and no one ever buys one to pull massive amounts of weight or to haul massive amounts of weight. Why don't you name some numbers of pounds that you have moved with your big, tough Tacoma? Oh, that's right, you've pulled 3,500 pounds. Ooooooooh, such abuse. How does it do it? I bet a washing machine sitting in your bed would also be considered abuse.

The late 90's Tacoma's didn't sell near at what the domestics sold 10 years ago. Of course there are more domestics trucks in the junk yard, some of them are actually used for work, and millions more have been produced over that past century. Don't you know that Ford has made 48,000,000 F-150's since the 1940's? There's probably barely 1,000,000 Tundra's on the face of the Earth, yet there are 47,000,000 more F-150's on the planet, and you wonder why there are more in the junk yard?

Your Tacoma doesn't scare me nor does it impress me. It's a tiny truck that weighs as little as a car that has nothing underneath it to re-enforce it. I don't care how many miles you have on it or how much it is worth. The value of imports is driven up because the general public listen to idiotic commercials, and are too clueless to ever look underneath a truck (or car) and see what is holding it together.

As I have said before, I can drop my plastic Radio-controlled monster truck from 10 feet in the air and not break one thing on it. That doesn't mean it's tougher than a life-size truck, that means it is lighter. If the "abuse" you are putting this Tacoma through is flopping through the air, then being light and having thin metal components is an advantage, but does not make it tough.

20:38 Yeah, OK. A domestic truck that runs for 30 years on its original drivetrain.

Even if you put only 15,000 miles a year on, that's 450,000 miles in 30 years, and most people put on more miles annually than that. It would take about 5 Fords or Chevy's to get that many miles in 30 years.

See, the thing is, people buy Toyota's to actually drive them every day. It's not a '79 Chevy truck that has sat in a barn under a tarp for 25 years, and then you claim how good of a truck it is.

Edmunds.com has an interesting evaluation of 2007 Silverado, Tundra and Titan pick-ups. I think this re-affirms that almost all of the 2007 pick-ups are quite good.

Here is a link to the full Edmunds.com article:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=119281

Well, I guess we Toyota people have been fools for thinking that even though every single Toyota we've ever owned has had almost zero problems and lasted as long as we kept them have really been deceived. Indeed- Ford and Chevy have been building superior vehicles all along.

All those GM and Ford people who had their cars in the shops all the time were really just kidding. We poor problem-free Toyota people must have been fooled somehow. ALL those magazine and consumer reports are WRONG. Toyotas really aren't reliable, not perfect reliability like they show... why it must be a conspiracy. My Tacoma really can't pull a trailer and bed full of industrial equipment because those thin frame rails might bend. I guess after 220,000 miles I'd better stop driving 80MPH too since surely aluminum must be an inferior metal to make engines out of. I think I'm going to write to MTD and tell them that they're wrong: they need to start making all their weed wackers and lawn mowers out of old-fahioned cast iron. That and that Toyota needs to bring back the hand cranks instead of those good-for-nothing electric starters.

I can throw a toy in the air and it will break because it is made out of plastic. They should make them out of cast iron as well. My argument proves just how BAD toyotas really are.

Hmmm...who won the 2007 Motor Trend Truck of The Year Award? Seems likes it was the Chevy Silverado... NOT the Tundra! One might also ask that if the Tundra is so great, why then do each of the domestic truck makers sell more than Toyota?