2002 Toyota Tundra SR5 from North America - All Comments

My Dad has actually had a Ford F-150, a Chevy Silverado, and now a 2002 Tundra - the Truck in this review. My Dad lives out in the sticks, heats his house with firewood, has a gravel driveway that has to get new gravel every few years, owns a tractor with a trailer to haul it with, a camper, and other heavy pieces of equipment.

His truck has well over 215,000 miles thus far. It has yet to give him major issues. I find that impressive given that GM, Ford, and Chrysler have had well over 90 years to "get it right" thus should have the most perfect trucks on the planet by now, yet my Dad's Tundra has proven every bit as capable, much more reliable, and much better handling than any of the domestically produced trucks he's owned.

An extremely rare Tundra that makes 200,000 miles is an exception to the rule. Comment 15:33 is far more characteristic of the Tundras I know of personally. None of our friends who bought early Tundras has bought a second Tundra. All have gone back to domestics for just the reason cited in comment 15:33 (ESPECIALLY brakes and steering issues).

As for commenting on small trucks, that is because ONE import fanatic owns a 16-year-old Tacoma and bases ALL his opinions on ONE Ford he once once owned that had a minor problem at 200,000 miles. He has never even DRIVEN a full-sized truck.

But now it's 2009...what year domestics are we commenting on? My dad has also kept cars way too long (sentimentality). He had a VW bug that had high mileage on it, but he could have bought a new one instead of repairing it. Had high mileage on it.

I had a Mercedes Turbo Diesel at one time, could have 500,000 miles on it now... the repair bills were astronomical when it went in though.

Personally I did not like the new Tundra or its ride and handling. Maybe the 2002 ride,handling is better than a 2009 I guess.

00:07, Well.. Toyota obviously has enough experience in the full size truck market to build one that embarrasses Ford, Chevy, and Dodge's comparably sized trucks. They're Toyota... they do their homework and then build a great vehicle, like always. They're not Chevy... slap together a cheap, haphazard truck and overprice it by $15,000. Toyota has enough experience building automobiles to actually understand that if you build them RIGHT, people will buy them. A lesson that Ford, Chevy, and Dodge have yet to learn.

21:47...what embarrassment. Tundra vs. Silverado... Tundra had a worse ride, worse handling, less interior room, weak poor warranty, less load and towing capability. So am I to buy one anyway? Hardly. Find me up a new diesel 3/4 Ton Tundra loaded and I'll test it thoroughly.

"00:07, Well.. Toyota obviously has enough experience in the full size truck market to build one that embarrasses Ford, Chevy, and Dodge's comparably sized trucks."

The sales figures for January just came. The two TOP SELLERS?? Ford F-series and Chevy Silverado. Tundra was noticeably absent from ANY of the top 10 slots. I bet Ford and Chevy just LOVE being "embarrassed" like that. Even the Dodge Ram made the top 10.

11:29 I believe you are referring to me and my comment... I base my opinions (facts also) about Ford (and GM/Dodge) on a few different things:

1. For the last two or three decades, they've received far lower ratings in quality and reliability than almost any import, and certainly MUCH lower than Toyota or Honda.

2. They don't hold their value nearly as well as a Toyota. The reason for this is clear and simple: at high mileage, they are worth less because they have FAR less 'life' left in them than a Toyota.

3. My Ford did NOT have only minor problems at 200,000. First off, it didn't approach anything close to 200,000 miles before it went to the scrapyard, and it had a few major and COUNTLESS minor issues long before that. I've owned only ONE Ford, as the reason for that is that once I discover that a product is junk, I never buy it again. I put several hundred, if not a few thousand dollars into that nightmare of a truck to keep it running. I should have sold it as soon as I fixed it the first time.

4. This is the most important reason I stay away from Ford: real world truths and experience. Although this will no doubt be countered by tales citing the exact opposite, practically EVERYONE I've known that owned a Ford had trouble with it on a regular basis. I'm talking about a LOT of specific instances I could cite here. Real world experience has shown me that they just aren't well built and break down often. Especially their cars. You couldn't give me a car with a Ford emblem on it.

5. I only made the mistake of buying a domestic once more after this Ford, which was a '95 Dodge Dakota, which truthfully, wasn't that bad of a truck. Outside of the horrid gas mileage and the cheap body construction (premature rust in spite of consistent washing and care) it was fairly reliable. The 318, as far as reliability, was not a bad engine. Although, when it met its end (someone crashed into me) it was starting to have transmission issues, which '95 Dakota's are noted for. At only 115,000 miles.

6. After that, I switched to Toyota's exclusively, and it's plain to see that I made the right choice. ONE single repair over the life of three vehicles, all of which I traded in running perfectly. $98 for a starter in my Tacoma is the complete list of repairs outside of maintenance for three Toyota's. With the Ford, I was probably spending $98 or more a month to keep that piece of garbage running. Not smoothly, just able to haul itself down the road empty, which is a lot to ask of a Ford.

"Toyota obviously has enough experience in the full size truck market to build one that embarrasses Ford, Chevy, and Dodge's comparably sized trucks."

Is that why Ford, Chevy and Dodge Trucks each outsell Toyota many times over are all on the 10 best seller list (unlike the Tundra), and the Ford F-150 has been the best selling vehicle in America by far for 27 years?

Is the Tundra's superiority why Toyota is discontinuing the model cause of poor sales? Not that I put any stock in Consumer Reports (gag), but for anyone that does, why does Consumer Reports rate the Tundra Reliability as much worse than average?

Is that why the mean and tough Tundra cannot even drive down the road without bending itself out of shape?

Why do I see so many Tundra's in the used vehicle sections of domestic truck manufacturers that have been traded in? My neighbor for instance "tried" a new Tundra and had serious valve train problems with the engine, and brake and suspension problems. He went right back to a domestic.

"You couldn't give me a car with a Ford emblem on it."

OK you could give it to me :) Next comment:

"Not that I put any stock in Consumer Reports (gag), but for anyone that does, why does Consumer Reports rate the Tundra Reliability as much worse than average?"

They don't. It is currently rated average. The 07 had trouble, though. I'm sure that's what you are referring to. Still, though, the Silverado has been pretty reliable as a viable alternative. If you want something different, try truedelta.com. You can join for free if you post info on your own vehicles. Like someone else said, most of the results are in line with what CR says but they actually post the repair numbers.

"An extremely rare Tundra that makes 200,000 miles is an exception to the rule."

Nope. Not rare at all. You see, I worked at a lumber yard for a number of years out here in California, where Japanese vehicles are more accepted and have had a large market share for decades now. When the Tundra came out, the contractors that I dealt with began buying them like mad, and more importantly, felt they were more modern, better built, and altogether better capable of providing years of trouble-free service. Many of these guys drove A LOT. Hence I knew MANY of them with well over 200,000 miles of real life usage with little to no problems.

But let's back up for just a second. California has almost 40 million people. Considering that the US is around 300 million, then close to 1/6th of the US population lives in this state. Japanese vehicles by and large are the most popular vehicles. Additionally, the avg commute here is longer and further than the avg American's. So Toyota and Hondas get used on a much more abusive scale than elsewhere. Yet it's very common to see a 20-25 year old Toyota still going strong down the freeway. I've been at local junk yards and seen untold numbers of Hondas and Toyotas with 500,000 miles or more on the speedometers, and in many cases, the cars are totaled and not just worn-out.

All the little stories, cherry-picked consumer reports about initial quality, or whatever will convince me what I see with my own eyes, and that is that by and large, you can't argue with success. The facts, overwhelming number of trouble free cars and trucks, and devoted owners with little reason to consider domestic cars and trucks are all reason enough to justify the claims that so many of you with Fords and GM's so desperately want to convince us of otherwise. We already know the truth.

I feel the best way to comment on a manufacturer is "I owned 1 Ford specific model and it was not satisfactory". I cannot comment on past or current models, or the entire Ford line up as I have zero basis of comparison to do so. It would also help to indicate that your comments are also based not on the exact model or size but a smaller nameplate from an earlier date of the review that has been satisfactory again as a 1 time personal experience or observation. (Tacoma) In my own personal experience I have owned many vehicles and am not so broad based to comment on a brand so freely... maybe a few different models within that brand only.

The Tundra bends just driving down the road. Sure.

For your information, it has more horsepower, torque, and towing capacity than the F-150.

As far as sales, that doesn't mean much either. The domestics have been making full size trucks for several decades, people unfortunately still buy them out of habit, as there were no other choices till recently. That's changing for the better, which is why the Big 3 are all on their way out and Toyota only grows stronger over the years. Old (bad) habits die hard.

Want to talk about Consumer Reports ratings? Japanese automobiles are still the most reliable out there... their words, to paraphrase roughly.

Your friend traded in a Toyota for a domestic? Who cares. If your 'friend' did this, then it's his loss and his mistake.

The Tundra is a more capable, better built, more reliable, much higher quality truck than the F-150 (an outdated dinosaur), the Silverado (not worth looking at), or the Dodge Ram. If you're not driving a Toyota, you're driving something of lesser quality. Period. Unless it's a Honda...

Sales don't mean anything. More cheeseburgers are sold than health foods; that doesn't mean they're better...

All other comments on here are opinion, other than those that present the facts: those facts, to repeat again, are that all the experts, from every major auto. publication, STILL rate Japanese automobiles as the most reliable. That's something you domestic owners can't talk your way around, and that's the facts. Refusing to believe it or arguing against it doesn't change anything. Japanese auto's are number ONE in reliability.

Having owned 4 Ford trucks and 1 Dodge, and never having spent one penny on repairs on any of them, I doubt that I'll be gambling on a foreign company that has never built trucks before for a dependable work truck or personal vehicle.

Incidentally, with the January figures, the F-150 is now the top selling truck for twenty-EIGHT years in a row. Nissan tried to compete with the world's best truck with the pathetic Titan and failed. Now Toyota has done the same and the Tundra is (thankfully) biting the dust too.

"The Tundra bends just driving down the road. Sure."

I guess these photographs and the petitions going around for Toyota to address the problem are just people's imaginations:

http://www.bodyshopzone.com/editorial/about_Toyota/Tundra_quality_problem.html

"All other comments on here are opinion, other than those that present the facts: those facts, to repeat again, are that all the experts, from every major auto. publication, STILL rate Japanese automobiles as the most reliable."

Those same "experts" (Consumer Reports) who had to do an about face with their tails between their legs and renege on their ratings of the Camry and Tundra, and admit that their reliabilities are actually much worse than average as opposed to their pompous assumptions that they would be better than average. Never mind the fact that all the while, none of their ratings were ever corresponding to the actual real world experience of people outside of their brain washed subscribers, who seem to think Consumer Reports is God's visible organization on Earth and adjust their evaluations to agree with (and preach) whatever Consumer Reports has trained them to believe.

I do not mean this as an offense to you, but the organization (s) you consider to be "expert," I consider to be a joke.

I have never had any problems with my domestics, but have seen friends of mine countless very serious problems with their imports, ESPECIALLY TOYOTA's. In science, which is my profession, a theory (e.g., the notion of Toyota's being reliable) is tested by experiment (e.g., real world ownership experience). Experimental results always take precedence over theory. If the experimental results agree with the theory, the theory is validated. If the experimental results disagree with the theory, the theory is considered to be proven wrong.

Based on my real world observations, and that of countless other people on this thread, your "experts," and their theory that Toyota's are reliable, are wrong.