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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / General Car Topics / November 2005American and Japanese quality
I really hate to say this, but I'm a little concerned about the quality of the new Corolla I'm buying. Tonight I learned that the machines are assembled in Fremont, California, and not Japan. We have a great, INCREDIBLE country, but unfortunately we're not particularly known for high quality automobile manufacturing anymore. And probably because of that, GM and Ford are teetering on bankruptcy with huge long-term debt to equity ratios of roughly 20 to 1 I think. Perhaps nobody builds Rockets, spacecraft, and airplanes as good as us, but when it comes to cars, we seem to have dropped the quality ball for some reason. Not quite sure why. The VIN of my 10-year-old automatic DX Tercel starts with a "J" which someone told me means the car was built in Japan. That car never gave me even a moment of problems. One durable and lovable machine. I hope I can expect the same of the Fremont-assembled Corollas? Are the engines and parts, at least, made by our good friends in Japan? For some reason, they have car building down to a science. I guess that's one reason I'm buying a Corolla instead of say a Hyundai Elantra--although the Koreans are catching up fast in quality it seems. >I really hate to say this, but I'm a little concerned about > the quality of the new Corolla I'm buying. Tonight I learned [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > of say a Hyundai Elantra--although the Koreans are > catching up fast in quality it seems. I have a Fremont-assembled 93 Corolla with 207,000 miles on it. The only real problem I've had is the US-built alternator. Replaced it with a ND and haven't had problems since. Charles of Kankakee > I really hate to say this, but I'm a little concerned about > the quality of the new Corolla I'm buying. Tonight I learned [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > of say a Hyundai Elantra--although the Koreans are > catching up fast in quality it seems. My 94 Camry was built in US. My 97 Camry was built in Japan. The build quality and the materials (other than seals) of the 94 were superior to my 97.  Signature"The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing." -- Phyllis Diller > I really hate to say this, but I'm a little concerned about > the quality of the new Corolla I'm buying. Tonight I learned [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > of say a Hyundai Elantra--although the Koreans are > catching up fast in quality it seems. There is a sticker on the driver's side rear door window. It is called an 'origin' sticker and will list where the major parts came from and where the car was assembled. The dealer will remove this sticker and throw it away before you pick the car up. If you're really concerned, look at the car again before the detailers get it. It will show where the car was assembled, the percentage of parts origin, and where the engine and transmission were made. And, chances are, you will get one of those nasty Delphi alternators... Delphi isn't in trouble for nothing... > I really hate to say this, but I'm a little concerned about > the quality of the new Corolla I'm buying. Tonight I learned > that the machines are assembled in Fremont, California, and > not Japan. You have nothing to worry about. The quality of a Toyota is the same regardless of where it is made. Corollas have been made in Fremont, CA and Cambridge, Ontario for years, and it is still one of the most reliable cars around. > I really hate to say this, but I'm a little concerned about > the quality of the new Corolla I'm buying. Tonight I learned [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > made by our good friends in Japan? For some reason, > they have car building down to a science. Don't worry about it---my wife's 95 Corolla was made at the NUMMI plant and I don't think it's ever going to quit running. It's rolling up on 150 K miles and has been hit by 2 other cars and 4 deer. We just pound out the dents and keep rolling. And if you knew how little maintainance it had received before we married you would be even more inpressed. >I really hate to say this, but I'm a little concerned about >the quality of the new Corolla I'm buying. Tonight I learned [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] >of say a Hyundai Elantra--although the Koreans are >catching up fast in quality it seems. We have a '93 USA assembled Camry bought new. My cost for non-maintenance parts to date is about $100. At some point we'll almost certainly replace it with another Camry unless the quality of domestically produced Camrys has declined. >I really hate to say this, but I'm a little concerned about > the quality of the new Corolla I'm buying. Tonight I learned [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > of say a Hyundai Elantra--although the Koreans are > catching up fast in quality it seems. Americans can build very well. The issue with GM and Ford are cheap parts and lack of clear leadership. >I really hate to say this, but I'm a little concerned about > the quality of the new Corolla I'm buying. Tonight I learned [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > of say a Hyundai Elantra--although the Koreans are > catching up fast in quality it seems. Have no fear. Remember that is the Toyota engineers who determine the methods and procedures for assembly, as well as quality control. Rest assured that those methods are idiot-proof, so that it doesn't matter who is doing the assembly. > Have no fear. Remember that is the Toyota engineers who determine the > methods and procedures for assembly, as well as quality control. Rest > assured that those methods are idiot-proof, so that it doesn't matter who is > doing the assembly. I highly doubt that, if it was idiot proof it would probably be done by a robot. All the none idiot proof assembly is relegated to humans. I've been to Japan and their culture is just different, bus drivers cleaning their buses when they have a few minutes of spare time, for instance, is something you would just never see in the US. >> Have no fear. Remember that is the Toyota engineers who determine the >> methods and procedures for assembly, as well as quality control. Rest [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > cleaning their buses when they have a few minutes of spare time, for > instance, is something you would just never see in the US. Nope, it depends on the job. You may have visited Japan, but I worked in a Sony manufacturing facility for 13 years. I started on the assembly line, worked as a QC inspector, and finally a maintenance technician. I concur about the cleaning aspect. During downtime or a gap in the production flow, housekeeping duties were mandatory. It was also an area that was rated on annual employee reviews. My US built Avalon is crap. So was a friend's. On the other hand, I had 3 Japanese built Tercels and they were excellent. You should be concerned. >I really hate to say this, but I'm a little concerned about > the quality of the new Corolla I'm buying. Tonight I learned [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > of say a Hyundai Elantra--although the Koreans are > catching up fast in quality it seems. In a recent article , "Art" wrote: > My US built Avalon is crap. So was a friend's. On the other hand, I > had 3 Japanese built Tercels and they were excellent. You should be > concerned. Where was the Avalon assembled? > In a recent article , "Art" wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Where was the Avalon assembled? My '98 was built in Kentucky. It's been excellent in form and function. Brent > My US built Avalon is crap. So was a friend's. On the other hand, I had > 3 Japanese built Tercels and they were excellent. You should be > concerned. So is it your feeling that it is not the design, engineering, or management philosophy that makes Toyota so good? Is it just the work force actually assembling the cars? If Chevy's were assembled in Japan in a Toyota factory, would they be as good as a Toyota? Or maybe even better? Ed The Avalon is designed in the US. That may be one problem with it. Although it uses many standard components like the annoying seatbelt retractors in every Toyota I've been in lately. They just don't work. Other people have complained about the auto climate control in their Lexus so I would assume that is a standard component too that is poorly implemented. On several Toyota models, including mine, people have complained about clicking in cold weather from the bottom of the windshield. It is easy to see why it happens. The plastic trim over the wipers is not screwed down tightly so in can hit the bottom of the windshield. THey used a cheap clip fastenenr. On my 300M it is tightly screwed down with 8 large screws. Recently I hit pothole and damaged a strut on my 300m. The wiper assemble and cowl trim has to be removed to replace the struts. When they reinstalled it they overtightened the screws and ruined the retainers holding the screws tight. The trim started clicking against the windshield just like on my Avalon. I complained to the Chrysler dealer and they ordered new fasteners and now it is tight again. The Avalon will never be and will continue to click in cold weather because it cannot be fixed. >> My US built Avalon is crap. So was a friend's. On the other hand, I had >> 3 Japanese built Tercels and they were excellent. You should be [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Ed |
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