2002 Toyota Tundra SR5 from North America - All Comments

There is not now, and never has been, any truly reliable data, such as frequency of repair records, that indicate imports are any more reliable than domestics, past or present.

In addition, anyone who has not so much as sat in a domestic in SEVENTEEN YEARS is hardly qualified as an "expert" on the reliability of domestics.

I have never replaced an engine or transmission in ANY domestic vehicle. As for repairs (other than brakes and other routine maintenance) my Dodge cost me a whopping $8 in repairs in 240,000+ miles (one heater hose). None of our Fords has ever cost us over $40 in repairs in 100,000+ miles, and my family's Buick LeSabre cost exactly ZERO in repairs in 277,000 miles.

Using the same reasoning as the commenter who has not sat in a domestic in 17 years uses, I can just as easily staunchly maintain that imports are crap (which, in my opinion they ARE).

There are those here that make it sound like the economy of the entire United States is based on U.S. automakers. What the Big 3 do or don't do is a tiny blip on the radar in the grand scheme of things, so no one is going to convince me into buying junk from them ever again.

It's a matter of their philosophies. Ford, Chevy, and Dodge, in their earliest days, made good vehicles. As time progressed, they made billions of dollars, and with no foreign competition. Then, the fact is, they got greedy. They started cutting corners as much as possible to pocket more money on each car sold, and still charged the same prices.

Think about domestic cars made in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. The 80's were the low point. Domestic vehicles were absolute disposable junk. A decade or two before that, foreign automakers like Toyota and Honda saw this, set out to make well-crafted, rock solid vehicles that offered American auto consumers a much better car, and that's exactly what they accomplished.

Park ANY domestic vehicle from the 80's, or a decade on either side of that next to ANY Toyota or Honda. The huge difference in build quality is obvious, and should embarrass the Big 3, and did. So people starter buying them, and those foreign companies grew to the stature that they continue to build today.

Only now, after making decades of pitiful junk, when threatened by foreign companies, do the Big 3 just BEGIN to give some thought to long-term reliability in an automobile.

You domestic owners out there buying new cars have Toyota and Honda to thank for the fact that they aren't as terrible as they used to be. If not for them raising the bar, you'd still be driving crap like mid 80's Cavaliers and so forth. At least with the Camry and Accord setting the standard for the last decade and a half, there's at least a chance that the Big 3 will recognize how a car is supposed to be designed and built, and maybe even start trying things the right way. They have yet to make anything that's close, but at least they're improving.

The longest lasting vehicle of any kind that we ever owned was built in 1975. It went over 300,000 miles with virtually NO repairs. It was a Ford.

The biggest nightmare we ever encountered was an '89 Civic. It started having major problems at 40,000 miles and was sold to a junk dealer with just under 100,000 miles on it with a blown engine.

Our Japanese-built Mazda managed only 85,000 before numerous problems forced us to trade it (for a Ford).

Our Toyota Celica was very reliable for 100,000 miles, but was more expensive to service and repair, and was traded 100,000 miles (for a Mustang GT) because we didn't find it any better built or reliable than our domestics, and it was basically pretty boring.

In almost half a century of driving all sorts of cars, nothing has ever given me any indication that any import is better than any domestic, past or present.

Excellent comment. Very well written and RIGHT ON Point. Toyota is heading right where US big 3 were. Complacent attitudes will lose Toyota market share. Just try to buy one. The Toyota dealers are arrogant and lack service. They will lose in the long run.

I also agree that imports have become crap and not what they were. No import owner seems willing to go over to consumeraffairs.com and actually read where I am coming from. I went the other direction to domestics, only because engine problems and transmission issues on late model Japanese imports is unacceptable. I am not about to buy a larger Tundra either.

The world economy and who flies helicopters and jets around has no bearing on why I now drive new domestics. It was taking a very loyal import owner and not having the prior level of quality as before. I went down the street and bought

2 new domestic vehicles within a 8 month period. The import dealer I had will perhaps take notice or perhaps not with our limited amount of vehicles. But maybe they will miss the dozen or more new vehicles they use to get from us over time. Quality and service is what retains customers; the import myth is over in our household. The honeymoon is over.

Gosh, if Camry is "setting the standard" we'll all soon be driving the new and improved Yugo.

17:24 How would you know about what happens if you try to buy one? Did you? Sounds like you're a staunch 'domestic' owner... why were you trying to buy a Toyota then? Maybe when you found out that Toyota dealers don't have to bend over backwards (like GM salesmen) to sell their cars, you were upset?

Here's the deal: you can't buy a good car like a Toyota for the same price as a rattletrap GM or Ford. Toyota salesmen don't HAVE to deal on price, because people know what great cars and trucks they are, and will pay Toyota's price to have one rather than a few thousand less for a domestic car that will accumulate half (or less) as many miles before it sits in a junkyard. If you want quality, you will pay for it. If you don't, go buy a GM.

I'd drive a Yugo before a Ford.

Oh, and by the way, I just looked up recent Motor Trend reviews for 07, 08, and the new '09 Camry. (The Camry was MT's car of the year in '07, '08, and easily deserves to be in '09 as well). It said, roughly quoted, that Toyota has delivered another fantastic car, it's still in the top selling spot in the United States, (has been for 11 consecutive years), followed only by the Honda Accord, and they even made a point of saying that more Camry's were sold last year than ALL Dodge cars COMBINED. I'd say that's 'setting the industry standard'. Now what were you guys saying about Ford's and Chevy's??

As mentioned above, Dodge really isn't even worth mentioning anymore, I shouldn't have wasted the words on them. I know Toyota makes the best cars on the road, and so does most everyone else, which is why we buy more of them than any other car in the country.

Let's see, a manufacturer that people are currently flocking to over MPG is not totally indicative of a strictly quality comment. If there's a waiting list for a Prius... is it the MPG factor or is it only because individuals that care only about quality and absolutely no need for high MPG?

I see increased sales as about high gas pricing being the true factor at the moment. Everything cost more home expenses, electricity, heating etc. and it's tiring hearing about it's quality only that is why people buy a vehicle like a Prius.

I am unimpressed and would rather drive a nicer vehicle, nicer ride and warranty... I bought new high end Japanese imports and the mechanical durability was lousy. I am not alone as many on consumeraffairs.com have seen the light as well.

If you want to wait in line for a 50 mpg Hybrid go for it... but I would keep a few grand set aside for issues. My opinion is pay a little more, get a nicer vehicle up front, and not 100% over the gas pump.

00:28 That's great. Did you also look up full size trucks? Anyone buying a full size truck like the topic of this review may be spending over $30K for a well equipped model. I did a lot of research and testing as well. When you are shopping for a full size, the criteria is most likely capability, load towing capability, room, handling, comfort and warranty. Since the Tundra did not have all the elements present in this price level, I bought a better GM full size.

What relevance small cars have on here baffles the imagination. If you are shopping for a larger truck and are spending more for fuel... it's likely not the same as a Camry shopper.

I have never bought a full size truck ever with a car viewpoint... maybe if it was 1 bag of mulch and a small pickup/car trunk analogy, maybe that has merit for you. As far as larger truck sales, with as great as Toyota is supposed to be... why are Tundra sales down? Should be leading the pack over the great car conclusion you have.

Maybe it's less about quality and what manufacturer has the most small fuel oriented vehicles, hybrids and otherwise, to conclude that they sell in the current depressed economy. Anyway, full size truck owners that need one are not rushing out to buy less function, less capability and certainly a far less warranty as I see it. I have had zero issues with my last 2 new domestic full size trucks.

"Oh, and by the way, I just looked up recent Motor Trend reviews for 07, 08, and the new '09 Camry (The Camry was MT's car of the year in '07, '08, and easily deserves to be in '09"

The Camry WAS Motor Trend's Car of the Year in 2007 due to the introduction of a V-6 that finally gave it performance comparable to domestics V-6's. However, in 2008 a domestic (The Cadillac CTS) was Car of the Year, NOT Camry. This may have been due to the numerous problems that plagued the new V-6 Camrys (and Tundras), causing Consumer Reports to drop them from their list of "recommended" vehicles.

Over half of Ford's entire line-up now carries a "recommended" listing. GM is taking on the world (and coming out on top) with the CTS, Pontiac G8 (most powerful sports sedan on the planet for under $30,000), and the Ferrari-eating Corvette. Since entering the international arena, the Corvette has boasted a 300% increase in sales outside the U.S. in the past 7 years.

The Tundra has proven to be anything but reliable, has a very poor warranty (the second worst in the auto industry) and not shown any indication of having solved the problems plaguing it since its introduction.

To forego the world's best selling truck for 3 decades (the F-150) and the award-winning Silverado for one of these takes a bit of illogical reasoning.

23:35 Wow. Over HALF of Ford cars carry a 'recommended' rating. I am not impressed. Take a look at the lineup of Toyota cars each year for the last ten, and see how many were recommended. Generally, every single one of them. They've only slipped up a few times. Ford considers itself lucky to have greater than half of what it makes on that list... not impressed. (And of course, it used to be much worse for them).

The ironic thing about all of this, is that from what I still see, the majority of the folks out there who buy full size trucks are stereotypically what I'd call "good ole' boys" who regardless of whatever other choices exist out there will never-ever consider anything that doesn't have an American nameplate on it.

So in other words, having an argument about whether foreign cars are good or bad seems rather pointless. People who drive Toyotas are never going to convince someone who has patriotic favoritism branded into their brains that anything other than Ford or Chevy will do, even if the thing falls apart around them.

In any case, buying a full size truck, regardless of the brand or whether its " foreign" or "domestic" is financially foolhardy since we are in fact in a recession and gas prices are only going to inflate themselves even more.

I could care less if you drive a Ford or Chevy. Let's see your wallet after owning it for a few years which after then, I assume you're likely going to be selling it and quietly buy a smaller, more efficient car or truck.

15:02 care to compare the Tundra the subject of this review?

Sorry I was absolutely unimpressed when I could have a new GM or Ford full size truck. Do you own a Tundra and why did you buy it?