The a/c failed on my 2000 Sienna with only 50K miles. It is the second time it failed since last summer. The dealer replaced an "O-ring and a tubing" last time, and this time they want $1,000 for a new condenser and receiver. No way man. I took it to an independent shop and they said the receiver is fine and all they need to do is to replace the condenser for $400.
My feeling is that the whole air conditioning system in this car is junk. I thought I paid big bucks for toyota quality. Should have bought a Caravan with an extended warranty and have some money spared for repairs down the road.
Has anyone here, besides me, ever noticed that trolls from hotmail always appear suddenly to badmouth Toyota, pump up Chrysler, then disappear never to be seen again?
Hmm. Hotmail. Free. Interesting.
------------------------------------------------- "I wish they had a delete button on Lexis-Nexis." - John F. Kerry
How much is Chrysler paying you to troll this crap. I will never buy another Chrysler, I have experienced their quality. Hell, I'll buy a Kia first. Better quality, better warranty, and cheaper.
--
Dick #1349
Damn it . . . Don't you dare ask God to help me.
To her housekeeper, who had begun to pray aloud.
~~ Joan Crawford, actress, d. May 10, 1977
Home Page: dickcr.iwarp.com
email: dickcr@comcast.net
Ditto. Although Hyundai isn't too bad either. WAAAAY better than Dodge by any measure. And argueably better than GM or Ford products, at any price. Got to make you wonder though, why doesn't Toyota offer a super warranty like the Korean guys? I don't think it would hurt them at all to do it. It would prove that their product is superior and at the same time win more customers. Whatya say Toyota? Do it and even make it retroactive. What have you got to lose?
From what I have observed over my many years in the automobile business, Toyotas so called superiority has always been more a thing of myth than fact. However it would be wrong to conclude that all Toyotas are going to be problematic simply because the one you bought has had problems. Many buyers make the mistake of judging all of a manufactures products, good or bad, on the one they once owned. Toyota like every other manufacture builds some that are not up to their expected quality standards on occasion. When Toyotas were selling in small numbers the defective ones were small in number as well. Now that they are selling in the hundreds of thousands one can expect to see more of the defective ones emerging. From what we see in our business there is little difference among manufactures is overall quality. They all breakdown that is why they all have a warranty. The only real difference we see in our business, servicing large fleets of vehicles of all types and brands, is style and price. Look at the Vibe/Matrix pair. People buy the Toyota at a much higher price thinking they are getting a better car when in reality they are the same vehicle. According to 'Automotive News,' content wise the Vibe MSRP is about $1,500 cheaper. In addition Pontiac offers a $2,000 rebate as well as ZERO interest. Toyota offers a $400 rebate and 2.9% interest. Why would any astute buyer buy the Toyota version for over $5,000 more? Go figure
(By the way seems to me, if what you say is true, that second compressor should have been cover by the replacement parts warranty.)
There are numerous statistical studies, not to mention consumer buying power, that would disagree with you. Japanese carmakers didn't spank the American car makers just because of marketing..far from it. Which Detroit prophet once said words to the effect "It doesn't matter what you build, marketing is what sells cars." Circa 1980 I believe...
AFAIK Consumer's Report is the only source that surveys a large population over much of the life of a product, is nonprofit, and accepts no advertising or manufacture's donations. If they say a GM product is a piece of junk, I believe them for I have no counter example. If they say Chrysler is . . . The truth is Detroit downsized their engineering departments shortly after the military contracts from WW2 ran out (they created their own engineering school so they could claim otherwise, but the truth is in the product, not framed on the wall). Since then they have used the savings to enlarge the styling department and to buy up as much of the competition as they could. If not for Dr. Demming and his Japanese students, by now they would have reduced the world's quality standards to throw away every three years.
So what's the name of your dealership?
snipped-for-privacy@att.net Rochester Minnesota USA
I would totally disagree with this statement. American cars are not great, but much better than anything from Korea! Did you drive in a Kia? They sound like there is no floor panneling.
Well FIRST OFF... you need to educate yourself about the various components and what they do as their part of a system. The receiver/drier has two functions: (a) it is the system's filter for all mechanical debris and (b) it is the water separator (using the term loosely) because you cannot have moisture being pumped around through places that dip WELL below the freezing point of water without having a cessation of refrigerant flow. Anytime you replace a component (hose with O-ringed fittings, compressor, evaporator, condenser, expansion valve, etc) the receiver/dry must be replaced too. No butts.
Now WHY is your condenser in question? The condenser is mounted IN FRONT of the radiator where IT IS exposed to flying ROCKS and collisions with other vehicles. Punctures are not unheard of and that's not the car manufacturer's fault regardless of who that manufacturer is. For this diagnosis, the shop HAD to have performed a Halide leak test for escaping refrigerant and pinpointed the leak. Condensers do NOT clog up UNLESS the moisture absorbing bladder in the receiver/drier has ruptured (does happen). Start asking INFORMED questions of your shop and ask them to show you.
The 10/100,000 warranties are generally put forth by those companies trying to prove their reliability. Toyota is well established as having reliable vehicles and so doesn't need to push heavy warranties.
As if a troll like you has any credibility in the matter, "Mike Hunt". The millions who have actually owned Toyotas (and are not stupid trolls like you) have first-hand experience with what is probably the best car manufacturer in the world.
Yes, I have driven a Kia. But, my comment was not aimed at American built cars in general. It was aimed at Chrysler products. Chrysler has some interesting designs. Unfortunately, they do not have either the workmanship or quality to make it worthwhile to buy one.
--
Dick #1349
Damn it . . . Don't you dare ask God to help me.
To her housekeeper, who had begun to pray aloud.
~~ Joan Crawford, actress, d. May 10, 1977
Home Page: dickcr.iwarp.com
email: dickcr@comcast.net
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