Why is there so much hate for the Toyota Tundra?

[TheFrozenTundra]

My 2006 Tundra SR5 has just over 100,000 miles and I only replaced the brakes and tires so far. If you want your truck to last over 200,000 miles you also need to have any scheduled maintenance done as well. I heard it is nothing for a Tundra to get over 200,000 miles. How many domestic trucks can claim that?

[Moppie]

So 3 years later is there still hate for the Tundra, especially given the problems the big 3 yank companies have been having?



Toyota have lots of experience making Utes and commercial vehicles, they have been doing it since the 60s.

[MagicRat]

Any decent marketer will tell you it takes a long time to ruin the reputation of a brand (especially one with a long life-cycle, such as a vehicle) and a long time to rebuild it. Toyota has been accused, somewhat deservedly for resting on their laurels and letting quality slide for quite some time.

A good friend of mine worked at the Toyota plant in Cambridge Ontario for 7 years. He found Toyota was regularly taking quality out of the design and manufacturing process on a regular basis. Processes, such as extra painting steps or other protective coatings were being eliminated. Quality checks were being simplified and component quality sometimes slipped. In many, often very minor ways, the Toyotas were getting worse. He was not at all surprised when Toyota suddenly was found to be having quality problems a couple of years ago. In his opinion, they deserved it.

These Toyota trucks have terrible trouble with rust, especially rusty frames. This is not a big deal where you live, but is a significant problem in much of North America.

Finally, the truck marketplace is very competitive. Big 3 in America do light trucks very well. Pick-up trucks are their number-one selling products, both in terms of units -sold and profitability. So they really focus on delivering highly competitive products and simply make a better, more appealing product than Toyota - at least for now.

I suspect Toyota does not intend to compete directly with the Big 3. The Tundra is not aimed at taking buyers away from the Big 3, so it does not have to be as good in a direct comparision.

It is really aimed at import car buyers who decide they need a truck and do not want to buy from the Big 3, mostly out of brand loyalty or a (somewhat) misplaced distrust of Big 3 products.

[Moppie]

Here in NZ, rust is a HUGE problem, we have some of the rustiest cars in the world given our proximity to the ocean.

Utes have to work hard too, they are the first choice for farmers and most tradesmen, and the most popular ute for as long as I can remember has been the Toyota Hilux, they very rarely get used as private transport and for commuting like they do in the US.
Of course a Hilux would be considered far too small for the US market, hence why you get the Tundra.

Of course all of ours are made in Japan, I wonder if the two different business units are taking a different approach to saving on manufacturing costs.

[MagicRat]

Despite coastal areas, imho winter road salt is the worst. It's like driving THROUGH the ocean 3 months of the year.....

In my limited experience, severe, rapid rust problems are often cause by using incorrectly-refined recycled steel for components. This has affected both Japanese (Datsun) and American (Ford) auto in the 1970's.

Tundra frames seem to be painted when new, but simply rust faster and more severely than other painted frames I have seen, which makes me wonder if the actual materials used are somehow to blame.

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by MagicRat

Tundra frames seem to be painted when new, but simply rust faster and more severely than other painted frames I have seen, which makes me wonder if the actual materials used are somehow to blame.

I once heard that the quality of the steel was a big factor.
The higher the iron content the more prone to rust.

[maxwedge]

Interesting thread, my friend got got a 7k allowance for frame rust on a 97 Tacoma pick up, you could puncture the rear rails with a screw driver, they even gave him a loaner while the deal was completed, no stipulation required that he purchase a Toyota, great deal for a 200k p/u. I don't think any American trucks reached this point, but rust is prevalent here in upstate NY, and I see plenty of bad frames on even newer American 4x4's. No buy back offers either. Of course in NYS that truck and others would fail state inspection if the rust was at or near a suspension component.

[jdmccright]

I don't hate them, but all I'll say is I BOUGHT my '95 Chevy at 199k miles.

Rust happens to any car or truck, it's just a matter of when. Yes, mine has some rust being worked in salty Pennsylvania and Jersey, 16 years after it was built. But it is a damned sight better than the '05 Dakota I had bought in PA a few years back. Only 3 years old and the frame, bumpers, and rear brake rotors were a rusty mess. I cleaned it up underneath (that's my name) and sold it fast.

As of now, the Tundra has only about 8-9 years of history (let's just forget about that T100 experiment that Toyota tried), and this is when things should start to prove out or fail. Rust this early is not on par with GM and Ford trucks, so they're way behind in that department. When the Tundra can show it can last, then it can be compared to the domestics.

Don't call it hate...call it skepticism.