Anyone See The December 07 Consumer Reports?

6 cylinder Camry- problems with 6 speed auto.

Tundra V-8 4WD - problems with 4 wheel drive system and power accessories

Lexus GS V-6 AWD - Audio system

The Camry and Lexus problems seem fairly insignificant and I'm not aware of the Tundra problems.

....just so out of character for CR to report negatively on Toyota that it could do significant damage to the somewhat unblemished reputation that Toyota has enjoyed for many years.

6 cylinder Camry- problems with 6 speed auto.

Tundra V-8 4WD - problems with 4 wheel drive system and power accessories

Lexus GS V-6 AWD - Audio system

The Camry and Lexus problems seem fairly insignificant and I'm not aware of the Tundra problems.

....just so out of character for CR to report negatively on Toyota that it could do significant damage to the somewhat unblemished reputation that Toyota has enjoyed for many years.

Toyota is making more cars then ever before and trying to out sell GM. With so many cars, they are going to have problems. I kind of wish Toyota would take a step back and remember what got them to where they are. It was quality, not quantity.

Good thing most of us have Corollas!

I remember the disasterous recall they had last year of the V8 Tundras which had camshaft problems. I've also been reading about this new problem with the V6 Camry transmission. Apparently, the 2nd and 6th gear have trouble and can jolt or even stop functioning due to poor fastening. Since the summer of 2007, they've addressed this issue on their assembly line, improving the transmission's fasteners. According to Toyota, its affected 90 out of 5800 V6 Camrys. Since most Camrys are sold with the I4 engine, its not as big an issue. Luckily, this problem didn't infect the ES350 (which only comes in the V6) since that car's production began later and Toyota was able to catch it early.

I would agree that a lot of these problems seem to stem from Toyota's ambition to become the largest automanufacturer, but I wouldn't say they haven't had problems in the past. Many cars have problems right after a redesign. I think that now Toyota is producing so many cars, the problem is being projected that much greater. The V6 Camrys make a rather small fraction of the total Camry sales and only about 1.5% of those V6 Camrys are affected, but when they sell them by the thousands everyday, it gets reported that much greater.

My advise to anyone buying a new car is the same with buying a new Windows OS or a gaming platform when it just comes out; wait about a year after it comes out until all the bugs and errors are fixed.

If everyone waited for the second year of production for a new model, then none of the first year models would be sold.

Someone has to purchase them and find the bugs. Just get a good warranty and constantly bring it in for repairs.

I agree Brendon. I've always recommended the same. Let someone else weed out the bugs in new models or redesigns. It also seems to me that a car tends to get better looking after the first year or so.....better options, color schemes, wheels, powerplants etc.

Maybe they just wear on me as I see more of them on the road. A good example in my mind is the BMW Z4. The more I see them the more I like them.

This is probably not something I will have to deal with personally as I tend to buy "previously depreciated" vehicles. When I finally get them they have a history that can be investigated.

My advise to anyone buying a new car is the same with buying a new Windows OS or a gaming platform when it just comes out; wait about a year after it comes out until all the bugs and errors are fixed.