In the face of increasing quality problems, Jim Press, president of Toyota North America, revealed at the recent Chicago Auto Show that no discussions have taken place within Toyota about increasing its new or used vehicle warranty coverage. Speaking about the topic to Automotive News, Press said, "It's something you need as a solution to a problem." Hmm... a problem like this, this, or this? AN reports that the company has recalled 3.4 million vehicles since 2005, 2.2 million of which occurred in 2005 alone.
It's perfectly valid to wonder if Toyota should increase its warranty coverage and follow the lead of General Motors and Ford, both of which have increased their warranty coverage recently. We don't dispute Press's claim that such increases are meant to solve a problem, but in the case of these two domestics, it's not because of increasing recalls and rising warranty claims. Rather, the domestics are seeking a solution to their image problem. GM and Ford have both been dogged with poor reputations for quality despite steadily improving the durability and build quality of their cars. Neither is admitting they have quality problems by increasing their warranties, rather they're both showing customers that they're willing to put up or shut up about their increased quality. Frankly, if Press believes that his company doesn't have "reliability issues that go beyond our normal warranty," as he says, then what's the harm in extending the warranty to prove it?
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
far jr @ Feb 19th 2007 1:19PM
Unless I looked up the wrong information, Toyata and Honda seem to match Ford already.
http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/warranty/warranty.html
Chrysler seems to be the real looser since dropping the 7/70 powertrain warranty for the same 3/36 as the Basic warranty.
akintz @ Feb 19th 2007 1:27PM
So if there have been 3.4 mil since 2005. Of which 2.2 mil were from 2005... that at least makes it appear that 2006 was a better year (since 1.2 mil or less were 2006) and if that's starting a trend, 2007 could be good as well.
Of course you can't chalk it ALL up to one bad year (2005), but maybe it was sort of a fluke year?
That being said... recalls don't always mean unreliable and needing an longer warranty, IMO.
sp @ Feb 19th 2007 1:31PM
Lol, John does it again... Why does every Toyota article on autoblog.com in recent months has to be biased against Toyota?
For example, you could have mentioned the fact that recalls are handled outside of the warranty period, as well issues such as V6 engine sludge (Warranty was extended 4-5 years ago).
Or, maybe mention how despite recalls, Toyota is still most reliable non-luxury brand in US and Lexus is most reliable luxury brand in the USA?
And that their recalls are still 2x-3x smaller in numbers than big3 recalls?
Or you can write some highschool-quality piece on how world is treating big3 unfair... which is what you usually do.
Tool @ Feb 19th 2007 1:37PM
There's no need for Toyota to increase its warranty coverage--at least yet.
GM and Ford's moves were made to reinforce the fact that their quality has improved and to show that they were willing to back that up with a very strong warranty. Of course, with better quality, the increased warranty costs of such coverage will remain the same or shrink as quality continues to improve.
porker @ Feb 19th 2007 1:44PM
I for one hope that toytoa never increases the warranty on its cars and so-called trucks. That way, toyota will go the way of Studebaker and Cord, as toyota so richly deserves. They build junk with junk engines that don't last, but pump things up with a PR machine second to none. Even NASCAR could learn from toyota's PR machine.
Jim Sanders @ Feb 19th 2007 1:49PM
Toyota nissan have had 5yr/60,000 mile powertrain warranty forever.
Ford just recently increased their warranty to match.
Chrysler is still lagging with their pathetic 3 year/36,000 mile.
Recalls are 100% paid for repairs, FREE to the customer. Adding a warranty to something that is FREE is... pointless.
King @ Feb 19th 2007 1:53PM
Could you please change the name from Autoblog to BashToyotablog. This way we will see and knowwho you really are.
Jim Sanders @ Feb 19th 2007 1:53PM
Of course, as a customer, it would be nice to have free 70 year/1,000,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty for free.
Howie @ Feb 19th 2007 1:54PM
Who has the most recalls for 2006? TOYOTA.......Why give a warranty when idiots keep buying there junk.
Howie @ Feb 19th 2007 1:55PM
Who has the most recalls for 2006? TOYOTA.......Why give a warranty when idiots keep buying there junk.
akintz @ Feb 19th 2007 1:55PM
Hey porker... do you put down your beer when you hit your wife?
No, really though... where is ANY information to back up your claims of "junk"? And geez... even bringing up NASCAR? Wow... dug deep for that one.
Get a clue and come out of your shack.
Reuben @ Feb 19th 2007 2:00PM
It's good to see that at least some parts of the market are aware of the FACT that toyota's reliability isn't all it's cracked up to be. And I don't mean to descrimintate, it's not only toyota, we can throw in honda (to a lesser extent I find), nissan, and countless others. (I'm NOT talking about recalls, but countless forums, friend owners, reports, studies, and more) Toyota's reliability is good..damn good, but its going down (look up the avalon) while GM in particular is going up. The real problem is ignorant consumer's perceptions and I'm grateful that this site acknowledges that.
porker @ Feb 19th 2007 2:08PM
I don't drink alcohol in any form, and my wife of 32 years reports that I've never, ever raised a hand against her. Keep your personal attacks off the pages of this blog. Where's the moderator when he's needed?
The toyota I owned sludged up its engine and threw a rod out the side of its block This has been a problem for the toyotas for many, many years. They're junk.
Jim Sanders @ Feb 19th 2007 2:14PM
Stop it with your USA vs Japan rivalry!
From this day on, everyone buy German!
paul34 @ Feb 19th 2007 2:18PM
#14: The difference is, though, Jim, that I would actually like to be able to drive my car and not have it in the shop all the time for electrical problems and other "gremlins."
heh, I know you were just kidding, just thought I'd just in on the fun :D
The Dearborn Observer @ Feb 19th 2007 2:20PM
I was astonsished to read about Toyota's recient recall for engine oil sludging. Addressing this issue has been part of basic engine development for US manufacturers for the last 50 years. Is Toyota becoming more americanized by cutting engineering, testing, and prototypes in order to cut near term costs and goose up profits for Wall street? Ford, GM, and Chrysler should get down on their knees and that god that the Harvard Finance MBAs they used to hire have all gone to work for Toyota.
Gardiner Westbound @ Feb 19th 2007 2:28PM
My auto broker, for the first time ever, counseled against purchasing a Toyota product, specifically the Avalon. He further suggested avoiding Toyota and Lexus cars for at least the first year of production.
david @ Feb 19th 2007 2:28PM
i've been lying in wait for this issue to come up. i'm looking to replace four of my eleven pickups within this year and my son and i attended the chicago auto show with the sole purpose to look at trucks. my trucks do double duty, concrete contracting and snowplowing so a warranty is a big plus for me. toyota 60 month 60K powertrain does NOT match gm's 60 month 100K. in the toyota display, they had a white regular cab with a boss plow attatched. now at first glance, we noticed the front end was exceptionaly low to the floor, giving way to about four inches of clearance for the frame mounted attatchments. if you plow snow, you would know that this is not good. we asked the factory rep if he would raise the plow, and as we suspected, there was now only a two inch clearance and the killer was the gap between the cab and box. imo, definatley not a truck intended for a plow. then we talked about warranty vs. gm's. he was so proud to tell us that toyota does not need to extend it's warranty because toyota's never break down. (cough) my question to him was if they don't break than what's the harm in matching gm's? if you're so sure of your product, and if the warranty is not needed, than what's the harm in giving it. his reply was to walk away from us.
we continued to look at the tundra's, fit and finish was not up to "toyota's standards" and quite frankly, we thought the interior was rather cheap and not to mention the rear c frame.
now gm plans to give the 100k warranty on certified used cars from 2002 to 2006. so let's think about that one. if resale values are as bad for gm as many of you like to gloat about, then i might be able to buy a used 06 caddy sls for about the same price as a new camry. and my warranty would be longer. gee, that's a no brainer. a caddy vs. a car that looks like a wart?
read what you want into toyota's statement. if they had the confidence that gm now has, they would have done it first.
hands down the silverado by a long shot is the better of the two, but i gotta tell you, the ford was a very close second.
PuffyC @ Feb 19th 2007 2:38PM
For the record, Buick, Mercury and Cadillac all have better long term dependability than Toyota. The big difference is that in the case of GM the quality is getting better while the quality at Toyota continues to fall.
Like the article says, this is simply a "put up or shut up" type of thing. Is Toyota willing to stand behind their products and guarantee them to be as dependable and reliable as GM? They won't because they know better than anyone that their quality is poor and getting worse every day.
Stevie'sDad @ Feb 19th 2007 3:04PM
Toyota for years had been taking care of their problems "in-house" and never informing the press or the government, therefore having an almost perfect record on recalls. Well guess what, their little secret has been found out and reported, now they have to do as GM, Ford and every other auto manufacturer has been doing for years, they are forced to report recalls. Their reputation for quality is a reputation that for the most part is unjustified, they have been "cheating".
Their problems caught up with them and lawsuits followed, now they must contend with their mistakes just as if they were mortal, they must have recalls. Sometimes perfection is not what it seems.