Toyota Quality ?

As in "receiver-dryer", also known as "filter-dryer", functionally equivalent to a variant of the concept known as "accumulator". It catches and sequesters moisture in the A/C system so it cannot circulate and react with the refrigerant and the metal components to form corrosive compounds that detroy expensive components. It also filters the refrigerant so any errant floaters do not reach and damage the compressor or clog the orifice or expansion valve. The receiver-filter-dryer-accumulator MUST be replaced each and every time the A/C system is opened -- the desiccant saturates within minutes of being exposed to ambient atmosphere in any but the most highly arid climates.

If the original poster was for real, which I doubt, and he actually found a "mechanic" who would replace the condenser without replacing the receiver (dryer etc.), he's buying himself further A/C woes.

DS

I bought a Dodge Durango in 1998. It was in the shop 0 times. At the very end, before I traded it in, in 2003, I started to notice the tranny slip. I was not sure, but I wanted to be safe and traded it in on a 2003 4 runner. Since I bought the Toyota, I was in the shop 5 times with it. 2 times for rattling noizes, once because the windshield wipers stopped working, , once because the window was cracked (from the factory - small crack that was noticed 2 days after and the dealer acknowledged 2 other 4 runners with the same exact crack). So far the 4 runner has been great mechanically (except for the damn sulfur smell when you step on it, but everyone is blaming the gas companies on that one).

If they didn't have the receiver in the system to act as a storage tank, they would be balancing a very fine line between undercharging the system (no cooling) and overcharging the system and flooding the condenser coil with liquid refrigerant, meaning there would be no room left in the coils to cool off the hot gas refrigerant coming out of the compressor. The receiver gives them a storage tank for a pound or so of liquid refrigerant, which should last at least 2 or 3 years (hopefully 5 to 10) between service visits before the system leaks and gets low.

And the receiver/drier also has a filter (or at least a screen) for getting dirt and wear contaminants out of the refrigerant, and a bag of silica gel or other dessicant to absorb any moisture that may have gotten in and didn't get sucked out by pulling a vacuum before charging with refrigerant.

The silica gel doesn't have much water capacity (just a few drops) and can't be dried out in place, so the whole receiver/drier unit needs to be replaced whenever the system has leaked down to zero or been open to the atmosphere (broken line) for any length of time. Luckily, they are not expensive.

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Hyundai and Kia make good cars, but *terrible* engines.

Look at the HP versus displacement compared to gas mileage. They are worse than most 80's cars - just horrible mileage compared to the competition.

If their cars are THAT reliable, why not just increase the warranty for marketing purposes?

They last about as long as a Dodge tansmission.

Japanese manufacturers have tried long than standard warranties in the past and it bit them in the ass. Almost put Yamaha out of business. Honda was replacing corroded parts on east coast cars that would have been headed for the scrap yard had they not still been under warranty. Time will tell Hyundai comes out ahead.

Personally I don't think the fact that KIA offers a 10 year warranty says anything about their quality. I don't expect them to be around in

Because there a little thing called extended warranties that often make more money for manufacturers than the car itself. Hyundai hasn't clued into this.

Because people will actually keep their toyotas that long. Not true of the cheap cars with long warranties. It's like "lifetime" brake pads, or "lifetime" mufflers. They are betting you won't keep the car that long.

Stainless exhaust systems do last nearly forever, though.

If your 2003 4runner was built in North America, you should check for PCV hoses leaks. I had the bad exhaust smell in my 99 Sienna. After tracing it for more than 2 weeks and I found the cause was the aging hoses. The leaks also led to failed emission test on high NOx.

SNIP

And what about that Chrysler peeling paint too!?!?!?!?!?!? My minivan was peeling. It made me look at other Chryslers on the road just to see if my vehicule was an exception. Not so. More the rule than exception.

JP

All 4runners are built in Japan. But thanks for the tip.

But if you look at the latest jd powers and consumer reports, at least American cars are ahead of most European models in terms of quality and reliability. So I believe Detroit is doing something, thanks to the competition from Toyota and Honda(because I still feel Mitsubishi, Mazda and maybe Nissan are very unreliable brands)

LOL... Midas replaced many mufflers on my old 70 Maverick...

I kept that thing for almost 200,000 miles and a bunch of mufflers..

Scott in Florida

You got it wrong by a factor of 3 ya dumb prick. Amazes me when these psychic psycho madams like d*****ad here make presumptions. They are never close.

Dickhead, why don't you go suck yourself.

Now, that's funny.

OK Back to topic. IF you'd believe all the hype of the commercials and ads (like a rock, quality is job 1, etc.), then ALL the big automakers should have a bumper to bumper 10 year, 100k miles as standard. But no, the from-nowhere Korean brands must build a better machine, right? Come on Toyota, raise the bar. What are you afraid of?

QUITE the opposite. Warranties are sales tools ... a "confidence" game. If vehicles were truely "like a rock, or job 1" and buyers found that to be true, what need would there be anything but the shortest of warranties ... say 15-25k miles?

Extended warranties are a car manufacturers' *reaction* to consumers who found the product wanting in percieved quality or value.

Exactly. "Confidence game" is the long form of what is more commonly known as a "con", as in "con artist" (or perhaps "con sumer"?). It works the same whether you're selling cars or carburetors: Offer a long (or "lifetime") warranty, and idiot consumers will buy on that basis alone, even when the product is of extremely poor quality.