What makes Toyotas so reliable?

Lovetheworld

Active member
@vintageracer What is the point that you are trying to make? That we put to much value in (marketing) statements from car manufacturers? And our discussion is not so important, just like which is the fastest car?

Or do you mean to say that transportation from A to B actually requires you to get to B without breaking down, and that it is important?
 

MTVR

Well-known member
The only difference is how much YOU the vehicle owner thinks your crap stinks which leads to what level of comfort, fuel mileage, off-road capability, luxury, style, Glitz/Glamor, snootyness, importance, horsepower, Big ******** Snydrome or any other aspects that makes YOU THINK YOU NEED or DESERVE whatever it is YOU drive. Whatever YOU drive must be the BEST because that's what YOU drive!

Pretty bad in the US when when of the most desired options on any new vehicle sold to day is "Heated Seats".

Thanks for reminding me- I didn't order heated seats either.

And I know that it's not the "best" car- I even ordered it with the manual transmission, knowing that it would make the car slower than if I had ordered it with the PDK
(Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe) transmission.

Again, all this car had to do, was to make ME smile- I don't make enough money to waste any of it trying to impress other people.
 

AbleGuy

Officious Intermeddler
Pretty bad in the US when when of the most desired options on any new vehicle sold to day is ”heated seats". I guess that's what gives buyer's that "Warm and Fuzzy" feeling that they made the right choice for their "Transportation" vehicle.

I think this falls into the “don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it” category.

Our Outback has heated seats, we love ‘me....and we live in the desert!

They are a joyous panacea for tied, old, sore lower backs.

(Post script....On our first Suby that was my wife’s purchase, I didn’t know what the upgrades included. One of the first times I rode in the P seat, I kinda freaked out a bit when without warning my butt suddenly started getting real hot, thought the power seat electronics maybe were malfunctioning, overheating and catching on fire! Turns out in the older models their poor design put the On/Off buttons for the seat heaters located right up against the stationary end of seat belt buckles, and it was way, way, way too stupid easy to hit them with one’s hand when a fat guy like me sat down and buckled up without looking carefully. Geeze-O was that a learning experience!)
 
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Smileyshaun

Observer
I guess I should clarify what I was saying , I wasn’t saying underpowered as a bad thing I know they over engineer their power plants and then dial back the power to keep the power plant happy longer and that’s a good thing . On the new Tacoma specifically I just don’t like where they put in the horsepower and torque they’ve made it a high revving engine so it’s always on the hunt for gears on the freeway or even the slightest of incline will cause it to downshift a gear tOn the new Tacoma specifically I just don’t like where they put in the horsepower and torque they’ve made it a high revving engine so it’s always on the hunt for gears on the freeway or even the slightest of incline will cause it to downshift a gear or two . My comment about vehicles that are available to most the rest of the world was mostly on diesel power plants due to strict EPA regulations and mileage requirements which also is part of the reason our horsepower numbers are always way lower than the rest of the world . Although it does seem that more manufacturers are starting to put diesels in vehicles in the US it’s a trend I hope that keeps up
 

Runner.t4r

New member
I can’t share much knowledge of why they are reliable but I can say in my experience I’ve never been let down by my 2000 4Runner, I daily the truck and use it for work which adds up to about 100-150 miles a day. On the weekends I take it out to the trail and beat it like I’ve got a trailer to take it home on. I keep up with the maintenance and have never broke anything substantial. I’ve had the truck for almost 2 years now and I’ve gotta say I’m continuously impressed with its reliability and capabilities. With 250,000 miles on it she still cruises at 90mph no issue, sure the acceleration is slow but once u get up there it’s not too bad. I’ve considered trading up for something newer with better MPG but seeing all these 3rd gens with 300k-400k+ miles makes me wanna continue maintaining it. In my opinion, I’d recommend a 3rd gen 4runner to anyone over any other late 90s to early 2000s suv in its class.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

BigSwede

The Credible Hulk
I think this falls into the “don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it” category.

Our new Outback has heated seats, we love ‘me....and we live in the desert!

They are a joyous panacea for tied, old, sore lower backs.
I've never had heated seats... and I live in Minnesota!
 

rruff

Explorer
I do agree with the statement that it can feel like pointless to buy a new one.

The resale value on old ones is so good, it seems pointless to buy a *used* one!

But I get what you mean about the lack of latest tech... that's certainly true on the Tundra, and even the Tacoma and 4runner to a degree.
 

XJLI

Adventurer
Heated front and rear seats and steering wheel here. I'm not even that old, but I dont understand why some people are proud do daily uncomfortable cars. I'm all for "back to basics" as the next guy, but heated seats aren't "luxury" items. My base level 2012 Golf had them. I like being comfortable, and having a nice place to put miles down on. I did my time in lifted, vibrate-y, loud, trucks.
 

Titan_Bow

Member
I just replaced a 2012 Nissan Xterra Pro 4x that met its demise against a young mule deer buck. I was surprised that Progressive decided to total it. Anyways, I ended up replacing the Xterra with a 2021 4Runner Venture. I will say the Toyota definitely feels more “quality” and solid than my Xterra. I really like the fact that the technology is “tried and true” on the 4Runner. The same was true with my Xterra. I think Nissan does get a bad wrap sometimes. I had put nearly half a million miles on Nissans, between a 1982 Datsun pickup, a 2004 Nissan Titan, and the 2012 Xterra, all with almost no mechanical failures. That being said, when my Titan had 280k miles when I got rid of it, the seats were trashed, the knobs and buttons were worn, the steering wheel had worn and rubbed placed all over it. It really did not “age” well and while I don’t baby my vehicles, I do take care of them. The Xterra was the same way. At 160k I was already thinking about seat covers, and the interior looked pretty worn out.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
Heated front and rear seats and steering wheel here. I'm not even that old, but I dont understand why some people are proud do daily uncomfortable cars. I'm all for "back to basics" as the next guy, but heated seats aren't "luxury" items. My base level 2012 Golf had them. I like being comfortable, and having a nice place to put miles down on. I did my time in lifted, vibrate-y, loud, trucks.
Lol my 2000 manual transmission Subaru had heated seats. My moms base model cloth seat Subaru has heated seats. LOL if heated seats are absurd luxury what does that make Icon suspension kits? The solid gold toilet equivalent?
Jeeze ?
 
Heated front and rear seats and steering wheel here. I'm not even that old, but I dont understand why some people are proud do daily uncomfortable cars. I'm all for "back to basics" as the next guy, but heated seats aren't "luxury" items. My base level 2012 Golf had them. I like being comfortable, and having a nice place to put miles down on. I did my time in lifted, vibrate-y, loud, trucks.

My new Tundra’s cloth seats are neither ventilated nor heated, and I am not uncomfortable in the slightest. If they were leather, however, I’d be freezing every time I got into my truck in the winter without heaters.

Leather has always been a higher trim level/luxury appointment, and I wouldn’t go for it without heaters at least.

The resale value on old ones is so good, it seems pointless to buy a *used* one!

But I get what you mean about the lack of latest tech... that's certainly true on the Tundra, and even the Tacoma and 4runner to a degree.

This is why I bought new. Hard to find a good price on a low mileage Tundra that was a few years old. Also, mine has CarPlay, dual climate, and all the latest Toyota safety stuff. I’m just glad they let you turn that stuff off.

I do wish it had a better payload rating, but it is fine for my needs. I shopped a long time and strongly considered other half tons, but I spent enough time on all the forums to be scared away from the domestics and Nissan.

If I needed better towing or payload, I would’ve gone with a GMC 2500.
 

Todd n Natalie

OverCamper
Heated front and rear seats and steering wheel here. I'm not even that old, but I dont understand why some people are proud do daily uncomfortable cars. I'm all for "back to basics" as the next guy, but heated seats aren't "luxury" items. My base level 2012 Golf had them. I like being comfortable, and having a nice place to put miles down on. I did my time in lifted, vibrate-y, loud, trucks.
Yep. My pretty basic '09 Jetta TDI had them too. I don't have them now and wish I did. I think the next truck will have them. That and a remote start.

Here where it's winter 11.7/8 months out of the year, they are both nice features.
 

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