05, 06, 07 LC/LX lower quality?

[JJ_SC]

Seems like a bunch of speculation to me. Does any one have any real evidence that the late models are any less reliable?

 

[flyfish4life]

True, but CR is something to read on mass-produced, mass-purchased items. Considering the low #'s of LC/LX bought, I would think talking to twenty owners would be far more accurate than opinion polls based on the few people who had problems that were annoyed enough to report them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that's the case, but I can tell you that from working in the car business that talking to owners of low production vehicles (NSXs, BMW 8s, etc) is a much better indicator than talking to a service dept. That's just me, though, and my approach towards buying personal vehicles.

Maybe low production nowadays, but they were churning out upwards of 15K US units through 2003 (including the LX) and more so during 1998-2002. I have read numerous complaints on here about the pre 2003s that seemed minor to me (dash rattles, electronics issues, etc) and some not so minor (starter contacts, exhaust manifolds, etc.). This is the same plant that churns out ~200K units annually worldwide, so I find it hard to believe that they would have turned the plant over to a bunch of newbies without there being more widespread issues.

 

[calamaridog]

Seems like a bunch of speculation to me. Does any one have any real evidence that the late models are any less reliable?

Exactly. Just a bunch of guessing.

At least they are still build in Japan!

And they've sold about 15,000 UZJ100 units per year since 1998 in the US. I haven't seen any stats for 06 yet.

 

[flyfish4life]

Exactly. Just a bunch of guessing.

At least they are still build in Japan!

And they've sold about 15,000 UZJ100 units per year since 1998 in the US. I haven't seen any stats for 06 yet.

My sentiments exactly. Not to be anit-American, but I will always opt for a Japan built Toyota than that Sequoia POS I formerly had. I may be proven wrong (hope I'm not) but I have had an affection for true Japan-built Toyotas all my life starting with the '82 Corolla I had as my first car.

 

[r3run33]

hey i know lots of you guys thnk that we 06 guys are just complaining about bells a whistle stuff but my 99 had 80k miles on it and was a solid rock; going over pot holes etc a simple uneven pavement no creaks groans or crap etc. my 06 is 1 year old and sounds like crap going over these same roads (yes i still live in the same house) one thing i have to say the basic truck is great i have gone off roading and it works great; have traveled to florida going 80 to 90 mph for 18 hours strght etc etc but little things which tend to creak and rattle with age should not be doing this stuff at 1 year the quality is crap all the effort has gone to the new ls and gs models

 

[flyfish4life]

Wonder if that has anything to do with the 18" wheels and minimal tire sidewall absorption. Just guessing, but the bumps are noticeable, more so than my wife's '05 GX 470 with 17"ers produced from the same plant.

 

[a990dna]

I'm sure most of you read this article several months ago... speculation or not the quality issues are real and increasing at a rapid pace.

full article

A dent in Toyota quality?

By Micheline Maynard and Martin Fackler The New York Times

Published: August 4, 2006

DETROIT The news arrives in letters that no car owner wants to receive. The power steering of their hard-to-get hybrid could fail, some learn, while others are told the tires on the small pickups could bulge and possibly burst. Still more owners find out their airbags may not inflate during a crash.

These recall notices are not from an American carmaker, but from Toyota of Japan, long known as the crème de la crème when it comes to quality.

Just as Toyota appears poised to pass General Motors and become the world's largest automaker, it has a growing problem with recalls that is sullying its carefully honed image.

In the United States, Toyota's largest market, the number of vehicles recalled soared to 2.2 million last year. That was double the number of vehicles recalled in 2004, and more than 10 times the 200,000 cars it recalled in 2003, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In Japan, the number of recalled vehicles has jumped 41-fold since 2001, to 1.9 million last year. And because many of the recalls are for vehicles that are more than 10 years old, analysts fear that another wave of bad quality news may be in store.

[snip]

 

[JJ_SC]

hey i know lots of you guys thnk that we 06 guys are just complaining about bells a whistle stuff but my 99 had 80k miles on it and was a solid rock; going over pot holes etc a simple uneven pavement no creaks groans or crap etc. my 06 is 1 year old and sounds like crap going over these same roads (yes i still live in the same house) one thing i have to say the basic truck is great i have gone off roading and it works great; have traveled to florida going 80 to 90 mph for 18 hours strght etc etc but little things which tend to creak and rattle with age should not be doing this stuff at 1 year the quality is crap all the effort has gone to the new ls and gs models

My 06 is solid as a rock on all or those surfaces. The only things that seems to rattle are the un-used seat belts. So again, I think it's just probabilities. With Toyota, you still have a pretty good chance of a solid car. Maybe you won the lotto on the 06? Got the one in 15000 that squeaks?

I did read that article (or one like it) and none of the problems mentioned had to do with the Land Cruiser. I think the Tundra had issues and the Camery. But no mention of the Cruiser...

 

[calamaridog]

Quality control has gotten worse as more Toyota vehicles are designed and built in the US, with higher US parts content?

Say it isn't so!!!

 

[SR.GRINGO]

Wonder if that has anything to do with the 18" wheels and minimal tire sidewall absorption. Just guessing, but the bumps are noticeable, more so than my wife's '05 GX 470 with 17"ers produced from the same plant.

This is an interesting statement--in Mexico the roads are full of holes. Toyota brings the LC in with 17" wheels here. Too bad the LX's come with 18" wheels.

 

[Jim_Chow]

You can buy 16" OEM lexus wheels on Ebay for cheap.

 

[1loudLX]

the question is, do the 16" wheels fit on a LX/LC that came with 18" orginally. Wasnt someone saying they put a slightly larger caliper or something on the front?

 

[Jim_Chow]

I thought someone on this board had tried it (16" wheels on a '03+ LC) and said it fit. The '03's front calipers are different; not sure if they are physically larger or if the pistons are just larger. Pads also changed (again, not sure if the pads are the same physical size w/ different compound or just larger). The rotors are the same size, though.

 

[dnp]

Man, I hate to hear this even being discussed! I have been anxiously awaiting the new body style LC/LX, as I don't want to replace mine with the same body. However, this thread makes me wonder if I might be buying into more problems with if quality "may" be going down, coupled with the 1st model year of a new run......So far (sound of knocking on wood), my 99 LX, now with 120,000 miles on it, it as rock stable and reliable as can be. All I've done is replace the starter (at 93K) and timing belt (at 105K), and it's been running great.......

I suppose it's too early to guess what the new LX's will be like, huh?