2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 from North America - Off Topic Comments

This review however is not about small light trucks... I had 2 of them at one time and would never own one again. Ford has a complete line of trucks; small, and also F-250 and above that address every need of the American consumer. I feel GM also has much more to offer.

I feel individuals are more discerning that purchase trucks, especially ones that have bought new ones before. Small trucks are a compromise, and many times I had to call friends with bigger trucks. I also own a new domestic SUV that actually is capable of doing everything my small trucks once did; keep the contents dry, locked up, and has superior towing capability as well than the small trucks.

18:52, My dad has a 2001 Tundra that he uses as a REAL work truck. Yes-He he pulls more than 12,000 pounds with it, in this case a 32 foot 5th wheel trailer. He uses it for landscape work as well. The new Tundra will haul even more.

In regards to these 'puny' little trucks you refer to, as I mentioned earlier, Ford and Chevy and probably Chrysler before long have totally lost the small truck market. The Ranger is soon going to be discontinued. The model was never updated simply because Ford concentrated on building disposable junk in the 90's, like Explorers, Expeditions, and that huge school bus looking SUV, the Excursion. These clunky SUVs could be sold for 30-40k and made Ford a lot of money since they were cheaper than cars to manufacture. It is well known in the US auto industry that small trucks are referred to as "bottom feeders" Hence Ford and Chevy made zero investments into improving their designs. At least Chevy updated theirs. That said, I went and looked at a new Colorado when they first came out and frankly, the truck isn't worth the cheap plastic and tin its made out of.

Toyota and Nissan not only improved their smaller trucks, but they also listened to what consumers wanted. They wanted more choices in that segment. So the Tacoma now comes in two sizes: a smaller 4 banger econo-truck and a mid sized v6. More fine touches were added. These trucks just about blow Ford and Chevy out of the water. Don't even try to tell me that the Ranger or Colorado even have a chance at being classified in the same bracket because they aren't.The reason Ford is dropping the Ranger is because they have totally lost that market and the sales volume is too small, especially given Ford's current financial situation.

By the way, we had two smaller 80's Toyota trucks that we used to haul a trailer loaded with 2,000 pounds of flea market junk as well as a bed full of junk. We hauled this, along with me, my mom and dad all across the Southeast. Considering that this truck had a tiny 4 cylinder engine yet hauled all 3,500 pounds of our stuff for years tells me that it not only worked hard, but worked well.

In regards to California, well being the state that produces more produce and agricultural goods than all the other states combined, I can't tell you how many fields I pass every single day that have these old beater toyota trucks being used for "real" work.

The question that I think that some of you need to ask yourselves is what will happen once Toyota and Nissan start making some serious inroads on the domestic truck market. If you look at how Toyota works, they test products and listen to what the consumer wants. If they don't get it right the first time (the T-100 and maybe the first gen Tundra) they will eventually. They did it with the small car market (Corolla) mid sized market (Camry) the small truck market (Tacoma). The large truck market is next.

So instead of scoffing at what a company like Toyota does and does right, how can companies like Ford and Chevy prevent themselves from losing another segement? Perhaps you as consumers can actually step in and tell them what you like in a truck and they'll make it better. There is a reason why Toyota is successful.

Uhm no, the Ranger is not doing anything for Ford. I live in St. Paul and the plant is scheduled to close soon. My brother owns one of the last 2007 Rangers and the only thing going for it is the brand new freshness. Sorry to burst your bubble.

GM also makes fantastic marine engines that you can order with your new GM Silverado and have a great boat engine to tow behind a great truck. I'd rather be out water skiing, fishing etc besides playing in mud, but to each his/her own.

--Quote--

"I find it interesting that while Ford or GM might have to recall MILLIONS of cars and trucks, if either Toyota or Honda have even ONE, the anti-import go crazy and put these up as 'proof' of how bad Toyotas and Hondas are. Ironic because even they know the truth, and are don't like to admit it."

Do you have a selective memory? Imports are ALSO having to recall millions of vehicles. Does the number 3,300,000 ring a bell? (Engine sludge) Once again, it's no big deal for the imports to have massive recalls, but it's an atrocity for domestics to have them. As far as the domestics having more recalls over the years, keep in mind that the domestics have sold millions upon millions more over the past decade than Toyota. If or when Toyota gets as many vehicles out there as the domestic, they will have recalls and lemons all over the place as well. Producing 900,000 trucks worldwide is an overwhelming task, and Ford has done it, but Toyota hasn't.

ONCE MORE: LET TOYOTA PRODUCE 900,000 TUNDRA'S WORLDWIDE IN ONE YEAR AND SEE HOW PERFECT ALL OF THEM ARE.

With the first 30,000 new ones made, there's already a camshaft scare. Who's to say that more camshafts won't go to breaking? If Ford only sold a little over 100,000 F-150's last year, there would be a whole lot less bad ones and good ones.

Another thing to remember is Ford and Chevy may have been more willing to go ahead and do the recalls when Toyota just kept blaming the owners for their complaints. How many recalls did Toyota do over the notorious 3.0L V6 head gasket ordeal?

Also, I don't remember the news announcing Toyota having to recall Tundra's for warping brake rotors. Is it a big deal for a Ford to be at risk of catching fire, but not a big deal for a Tundra to not be able to stop itself?

Oh yeah, my grandpa never changed the oil in his '77 C10, and we did real work with it, instead of playing in mud.

So step up to a F250... check them all and then buy one.

18:19 Yeah, as if Ford and Chevy willingly issue recalls, or even handle them properly.

It's my experience that they deny that there even IS a problem until they get sued by everybody. And by the way, the camshaft issue had nothing to do with Toyota. It was the manufacturer of the camshaft at fault, and it's long since been remedied. Also, the number of affected vehicles was WAY less than you guys are making it out to be.

I'd be curious to know how many vehicles were subject to the lemon laws throughout the country, Ford's and Toyota's. I have no doubt that, as usual, Ford has a ridiculous number of them and Toyota has very few. I'll write back with the numbers to prove it when I find them.

There must be some people out there who haven't bothered to check JD Powers lately, or they'd know that Lincoln, Cadillac, Buick, and Mercury are rated higher in quality than Honda or Toyota, including Acura. They would also know that Ford and Chevy, although rated slightly below Toyota and Honda quality, meet or exceed the quality of Toyotas and Hondas built in US plants.

The perceived quality gap is gone, people. This leaves me wondering why anyone would pay the $5,000 markup for a Toyota to achieve extra quality that isn't there anymore...

Sorry to burst the fantasy that any circa 1985 domestic truck still on the road must have been rebuilt 3 times, but my 1985 Dodge Ram has 260,000 miles on the original 318. It finally needed a timing chain at 250,000 miles, but I guess that's better than replacing the timing belt on a Toyota every 50,000 miles.

6:52.

Why isn't Toyota naming the camshaft "supplier?"

If Toyota was so free of guilt, wouldn't naming the supplier be a way of publicly vindicating them? Certainly if it was an American supplier, they would name them immediately, just like they instinctively blame all of their design/engineering problems of their vehicles on the workers that assemble them, if they were built in the USA. But that is just a cop out, because Toyota's quality problems are world-wide, not just in the US.

Why would you take Toyota at their word and assume they are telling the truth about there even being a supplier? Toyota is notorious for lying. They lied trying to cover up for the sludge problem in their engines by blaming the problem on their customers. They lied about the emissions systems components to allow their vehicles to be sold in the US, and got caught. They lie about the horsepower ratings of their cars and just got caught about it. They lie about the MPG ratings of the Prius and got caught. Their arrogance and bold in-your-face lying is mind boggling, yet you take their word as Gospel.

My guess is there is no supplier, and Toyota botched the camshafts up all by themselves. Their track record gives me no reason to think they will tell the truth about anything. If there was a supplier, Toyota would immediately want to name them, to get themselves off the hook. Yet whether they have a supplier or not, it is still Toyota's responsibility to verify the quality of the vehicles they put out. Why do you make excuses for them? If this were an American company having this problem, I bet you would be crucifying them.

It is still very early in the production of the new Tundra. We'll see how many camshafts really go bad in the coming months/years. You will be a very busy guy having to make excuses for Toyota then.

I'll stick to domestic trucks. They have 100+ years experience and a PROVEN track record of reliability behind them, not a myth that is becoming more and more discredited every day.

09:39, Yeah, Ford and Chevy are still beneath Honda and Toyota, right where they'll stay. And I guess you forgot to mention Lexus, which has taken the top spot for 13 years running, only now sharing it with Buick, for the first time. And since I can buy a Corolla for thousands less than a Buick, and get twice the gas mileage and twice the miles out of it, I'll stay with Toyota. Thanks for proving my point, from a Toyota owner's perspective.

And since when do Lincoln's and Cadillac's cost less than Toyota's? Get your facts straight. Of course, they'll show you that Toyota is clearly still the best buy, so I doubt you'll admit it.

If you think a 32FT trailer weighs 12,000 pounds, you're dreamin'! Most trailers empty weigh maybe a ton at best. Simply guessing a number to build up your truck's strength does not work. When you borrow a fertilizer buggy loaded with fertilizer, they weigh it to know how much to charge you; and when you take a load of tobacco to a warehouse, they also weigh that to know how much to pay you. These numbers are precise measurements and are not arbitrary. Yours however, seems to be.

If that Tundra is a 99-06 model, I'd like to see that thing stop a 12,000 pound trailer, unless it has its own brakes. Tuck 'n' roll, because you're not stopping that thing. If the Tundra's front brake rotors were notorious for warping with no load on them, I could only imagine 12,000 lbs pushing on them.

Oh yeah, wow 3,500 pounds behind a Toyota Tacoma I4? Ooooh my, how does it do it? That's less weight than what my father has sat in my Chevy's bed, yet you were pulling it on a trailer. It's miraculous! I imagine that S-10 I saw on West KY70 a month back was pulling more than that when it had a fertilizer buggy attached to the back of it. I also imagine that if 3,500 pounds is impressive for a Tacoma, then 10,000 pounds of fertilizer is impressive for an 80's model Ranger with a 2.9L V6 to pull up steep hills, as my brother-in-law has done with his father's truck years ago. (His father still has the truck.)

I would also be impressed to see a Tacoma pull 3,500 pounds; it's a rare thing to see. But I'm not impressed to see a Ranger pull that load, mainly because the frame rails of a Ranger are as thick as any 1/2 ton pickup's, where a Tacoma's are paper thin. The S-10 also had thick frame rails like a 1/2 ton pickup, but unfortunately the Colorado's are thinner like a Tacoma's. I guess they wussied it up a little to save on gas and to give it a supple ride. LOL!

So what are these agricultural loads in California that these Toyota's are pulling? 500 lbs of carrots or tomatoes? It doesn't matter to me what food is grown in California; compressed tobacco bails are much heavier and tobacco is Kentucky's main crop and you never see Toyota's hauling tobacco bails because they can't handle the extreme weight. Unless these Toyota's are hauling 3,800 pounds of vegetables in their bed, put me down as unimpressed.

12:12 Domestic trucks have a 'proven' track record of being junk; I know, I've owned too many, until I wised up and bought a Toyota.

Do you know anything at all about assembly plants? I guess Toyota has it's own steel mill on site and pours casts or machines their own camshafts now?

If every Tundra on the road were to blow up because of a bad camshaft, Toyota would still be ahead of GM and Ford for recalls and major malfunctions. Why do you think it is that you can buy parts so cheap for a Chevy 350, and they practically sell them at K-mart? They make so many because the demand is so high for parts, because that junk engine breaks constantly.

And to the person who is impressed with 260,000 on their Dodge; so what? Every Toyota on the road is capable of doing that, it's to be expected when you buy one. Big deal, if it's even true.

Do you anti-Toyota people ever read the endless list of major problems that Ford and Chevy have had in the last... let's say 20 years, even though they've always been junk? You guys put Toyota's issues under a microscope, almost always completely exaggerate the numbers. A list of Ford's major problems in the last 20 years would be a MUCH, MUCH, thicker book than Toyota's for the last 20. But you won't admit that knowing it is without question completely true. If you think it's not, you're just plain old WRONG.

The difference is, you THINK your Ford's are as good as a Toyota, but I KNOW that Toyota puts them to shame when you're talking about overall quality of the product.

16:05, are you disputing the fact that Buick is rated No. 1 in initial quality? Are you disputing that Cadillac, Lincoln, and Mercury are rated above Toyota, Acura and Honda in initial quality? Are you disputing the fact that Buick, Lincoln, Mercury, and Cadillac continue to be rated higher in quality than Toyota, Honda, and Acura even after the cars are three years old? Are you disputing the fact that Ford and Chevy meets or exceeds the quality of Toyota and Honda built in the US?

You can try to twist and obscure these facts any way you like, but it only shows your blind loyalty to Japan and indicates the bias and unreliability of your comments. In other words, you are what you accuse the die-hard domestic loyalists of being. Except now the domestic loyalists are fully justified in their loyalty, as domestics are as good as or better than Japanese cars.

Sorry it hurts you so much to see that Toyota and Honda have slipped, and were just a flash in the pan not qualified to occupy the top slots. It's not an attack on your personal beliefs, it's just the way it is.

The top corners of the 2007 tundra tailgate outside sheetmetal are not attached to anything. You can see right inside. This is not a good design. Also the tailgate is higher than the bed when the tailgate is in the down position. This puts more weight on the tailgate when hauling a long load such as lumber longer than the bed and tailgate. My tailgate came apart in the corners after hauling lumber as described above.

It was a good half ton load of 8 to 10-foot long lumber. My dealer replaced the tailgate at no charge, thankfully, with an identical one except without the bead sealer that the original one had. Not sure of the purpose of the bead sealer. Check your corners and you will see gaps in the top corners. I've had many pickups and used this same method of hauling long loads without any damage. I do have the toyota bedliner in it. This is advertised as a working man's truck and that is all that I was using it for. This is my only complaint with the 2007 tundra.