I constantly receive letters from Toyota Owners that are valuable in their content.

I want to share these with you in an effort to serve as a forum for Toyota Owners.

I will make it policy not to post extremely negative letters since the facts cannot be verified.

I feel that many of you have opinions that Toyota Motor Company needs to see.

If you have a point to make, suggestion for improvement or even an "attaboy" for some Toyota dealer let me know.

 

 

7/99
I have now owned my '97 Land Cruiser (FZJ-80) for about a year now and am well aware
of how quickly the rotors and pads wear! At the time I purchased it, at 17k miles, the front
pads and rotors required replacment. I enquired on the various TLC lists about the problem
and was quickly informed this is "normal" for Land Cruiser's - it's a heavy vehicle, it's a
truck, it's a special 4WD, etc. In fact, Toyota sent a not back informing me that 17k is not
that bad for Toyota products.
I noticed that the Q&A form down section on this website says the same thing, basically. I have owned
several full size vans and trucks, all domestic, including a 10,000 lb cargo truck, and have
never (I mean never) seen rotors needing total replacement under 90k miles! Yet, these are big
heavy trucks, with a load capacity exceeding that of my Land Cruiser! This also bears out with
other full-size truck owners I have talked with. Why then these statements that this is "normal"
for the Cruiser?? This is not normal, rather, it seems to me, that the Land Cruiser has rather
small rotors and pads for its size and is in grave need of an upgrade. To me it is would be
better to say that, yes, the Cruiser has a poor brake system, but that 15k to 30k is "normal"
for the Toyota Land Cruiser, and the Land Cruiser only - and then begin asking for an upgrade
path to improve the system via the after-market, such as can be done for the Toyota 4WD pickups.
Perhaps, by stop perpetuating this myth, future Cruiser owners will see an improvement from the
factory and current owners can find a better brake system and retrofit as budget permits.
Again, I really like my TLC, but is embarrising to me when family and friends notice that the
brakes in my 1/2 ton '83 Ford E150 Van are significantly better than the Cruiser's. AND, the
upkeep on the TLC's brake are 3 times than that on the Ford van (used to carry far more people
and cargo than the TLC.)!

Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to post this msg!

Phil
 
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This is a growing comment from many Toyota Truck, 4Runner or T-100 owners regarding the repeat Headgasket failure after the update.
9/99
I had the head gasket replaced under the special warranty program(like everyone else in the world)
back in October of 1996. I have maintained the vehicle meticulously.
All of a sudden, about a week ago, I have the same problem, blown head gasket. I bought this
vehicle slightly used, and was aware of the widespread head gasket problem in advance. From what
I had heard, Toyota had an excellent customer service record, and was well aware of this head
gasket problem, and was in some cases replacing the entire engine to correct the problem. Therefore,
when the head gasket did go out the first time, I almost expected it, and brought the vehicle
in to my local Toyota dealership in CA. They made the necessary repairs,
and I thought that was the end of it. When it went out a week ago, I couldn't believe it. I
thought this problem was corrected! I had moved in the meantime, and therefore took it to
the local dealer still in CA. Ken, the service manager, checked out
the vehicle, and did confirm that it was a head gasket problem. This problem has also caused
engine block damage, and Ken estimated the repair cost at $5,500. He said that this would not
be covered under the warranty, but that I could take my case to Toyota directly. I called the
800-331-4331 number, and have been in contact with a rep there, LG. She had me fax
her the repair record from the original head gasket job. She informed me this morning that
Toyota's warranty obligation has been fulfilled, and that I was basically out of luck. This
was not the sort of customer service I had grown accustomed to with my Toyota vehicle. Ken,
the service manager at the dealer, stated that he had never seen this head gasket problem happen
twice. Now LG wants me to fax her all of my repair records done at a Toyota
dealership since I have owned the vehicle. I do not have a problem doing this, but, from
Lenie's tone on the phone, it does not sound encouraging to me at this point that Toyota is
willing to do anything. It seems to me that Toyota has made good on this head gasket problem
in the past, and now all of a sudden they are giving me a problem with this. Again, I have
maintained the vehicle well, and I am not trying to get away with anything. I do think Toyota
has an obligation to stand by their vehicles, and head gaskets just don't blow for no reason.
Anything you can do at this point to resolve this would be appreciated. I have
always recommended Toyota vehicles to my friends & family, and have always been happy with the
reliability of Toyotas, but this one episode that I currently face is making me rethink the
whole Toyota experience. Thanks, E J W, Jr..