Welcome to My Lemon Page - Who's Gen 2 is this?

[silversurfer220]

I know how he feels with a problem car. Except, my car wont start- put the key in the ignition, turn it, no nothing- no lights, radio, nav, beeps, nothing! I can pull the key out, put it in, try again, no go. I have taken it in many times, the dealership can't seem to duplicate the problem, so they accuse me of lying about it. Once the vehicle did just shut off in the middle of traffic, and wouldnt restart- I was really excited with that. The dealership that I take it to now refuses to look at the vehicle.

Besides that, mine has had the left drift issue, was fine until my tires were rotated, then it came right back. I'm also on my 3rd nav unit, since they keep breaking and not working properly.

I too agree with the guy whose page that is- I will go back to GM in a second. I have had 1 problem with my 2003 Grand Am GT- and it was something simple. I wish I knew what I was thinking when I bought the Toyota. What suckered me in was the sweet body style of the car- now i'm stuck!

[Down2TheC]

Maybe Toyota's going downhill or maybe it's new model growing pains. But the fam has had 3 Camry's, 2 Avalons, 2 Corolla's and never had any of this kind of stuff. So the track record is there. We'll see how the new Avalon performs... Maybe they just lost their touch. (Mind you, I'm happy with my SLE and I'll keep it as long as she drives.)

[pantharen]

I too agree with the guy whose page that is- I will go back to GM in a second. I have had 1 problem with my 2003 Grand Am GT- and it was something simple. I wish I knew what I was thinking when I bought the Toyota. What suckered me in was the sweet body style of the car- now i'm stuck!

Your not stuck, do as my Friend Brian is doing, and sue the dealership, tell them you want your money back, on my forum, I will post a lemon picture, and you too can join the bandwagon.

Toyota has to stop "sweeping" the porblems under the rug and fix the damn problems. The problems not only lie with just the Camry line, but the whole shooting match.

See my signature for my links. I added cjb.net as Brian wanted toyota-lemon instead, and I wasn't going to make another webpage.

[Astro]

You guys talk like every Toyota car on the road is a lemon. I don't think so. I've driven 3 Toyotas and NEVER had any problems. Why is this? Because not every single car will be perfect. I'd like to see you all make 10k, 20k, or even 30k things and make them all perfect. ALL MANUFACTURERS HAVE THEIR PROBLEMS. I'd like to see info on any manufacturer who's made every car in one model year w/o any problems.

[pantharen]

You guys talk like every Toyota car on the road is a lemon. I don't think so. I've driven 3 Toyotas and NEVER had any problems. Why is this? Because not every single car will be perfect. I'd like to see you all make 10k, 20k, or even 30k things and make them all perfect. ALL MANUFACTURERS HAVE THEIR PROBLEMS. I'd like to see info on any manufacturer who's made every car in one model year w/o any problems.

Why is it that the Solara has been plagued with the exact same problems since 1999? Why hasnt Toyota bothered to fix these problems? Why is it that when a toyota developes a problem, the dealers dont give a damn, and try to ignore the problem and hope it will go away on it's own.

Other manufactures make an attempt to fix the problem. Would you like me to post the thousands of pages of defective Toyota's I have found, all of which have the exact same problems.

Toyota use to be rock solid, however since moving the manufacturing out of Japan, their quality isn't the same. Which is too bad really, because they do make nice cars.

[Astro]

Toyota has addressed many problems with their TSB's. Have you ever checked their list of TSB's? Most Dealerships are stupid when it comes to repairs/fixes, I know, most don't even know about their own TSB's. I don't know about you, but I know a lot of people here have had their problems taken care of.

[dvdchris45]

You must have had a really bad experience with Toyotas. We've owned 3 generations of Camrys and they've all held up 10x better than American cars. Maybe its because they set up that assmebly plant in Kentucky the quality of the cars are iffy (but I'm content).

I'm hoping Toyota is saving all these issues and rants and issue a few service bulletins during mid-year. Hopefully at the end of the year the '06s will at least have these issues resolved [damn my car will be 2 years old then]. If Toyota ever goes down to the horrible quality of Ford and Dodge cars then I'm jumping to Honda.

Fun fact: Ford is the only car compnay that doesnt address mechanical problem with their cars AND I think the Ford Focus holds the record of most Service Bulletins which were issued in 2000 (a few months after the car began production)

[pantharen]

You must have had a really bad experience with Toyotas. We've owned 3 generations of Camrys and they've all held up 10x better than American cars. Maybe its because they set up that assmebly plant in Kentucky the quality of the cars are iffy (but I'm content).

Actually:
My last car was a 1986 Toyota Corolla GTS, it was a
great car, I bought it in 1989, drove it for 10 years
til it died finally at 750,000 klms. However it did
have more rust than body, and every time I hit a bump
something new fell off...

and my current car is a 1988 Suzuki Forsa, with gas prices in Canada nearing $5 p/gallon, I like getting 50 mpg, and only having to fill my 6 gallon gas tank twice a month. ( http://www.bcgasprices.com/ gas prices are in liters, and approx 4 liters to a gallon)

The only North american vehicals I have owned have all been pre-1970. My first car was a 1961 VW Bug.

DVDChris if you visit my webpage you might notice that I am only the webmaster, and that the car actually belongs to a friend of my family. However I personally wont own another Toyota that isn't at least 15 years old.

[Down2TheC]

Just to be a dick... VW is not North American.

[Down2TheC]

Check out the latest Consumer Reports. The other Toyota's still have the recommended "red dots" but Solara lost it. So it's not Toyota as a whole, just a bad product rollout for the G2. So no need to run to GM folks. I've been down that road and it's littered with repair bills and disappointment.

[mmcdonald]

I consider it the pains of a first year production car.

silversurfer, it sounds like you have a chronic intermittent electrical problem. That would account for the bad nav units. That is going to require some extensive diagnostics.

I can't get my Toyo dealer to answer the phone, so I am taking my ride to a local repair shop that is very excellent, along with a copy of the left drift TSB. I know they will fix it. I am prepared to pay for it myself just to have it resolved.

But really folks, I know a lot of you can say some good things about the gen 2 Solara. I love mine, even with the left drift (that hasn't caused me any back pain or unusual tread wear.)

Anywho, if that lemon dude HAD stuck with his GM car, then he might have had a better experience for the first three years, and then it would die on him. I have never had a good experience with a GM product (made after 1970), which is why US automakers have lost 44% of the market, and it is still shrinking. Most of the remaining US production market is SUVs and pick ups. Heck, I work on Capitol Hill where the folks are required to buy American for goods and services, and more than 50% of the cars in Congressional garages are foreign (I counted them). (Okay, some were german, which is just as bad as american, but there are some posers.)

[mmcdonald]

GM announced it will get rid of damaged brands Buick and Pontiac, and GM and Ford continue to lose sales over Japanese imports.

See msn, automotive news.

[silversurfer220]

GM announced it will get rid of damaged brands Buick and Pontiac, and GM and Ford continue to lose sales over Japanese imports.

See msn, automotive news.

They announced that they MIGHT get rid of Pontiac OR Buick, but nothing is for sure yet. It will take a long time to phase out another GM brand. Pontiac is releasing 2 new vehicles this summer- that will definately help them out- the G6 coupe, which looks almost exactly like a solara, and the Solstice. We'll see how they do.

[cablemn]

GM announced it will get rid of damaged brands Buick and Pontiac, and GM and Ford continue to lose sales over Japanese imports.

See msn, automotive news.

They announced that they MIGHT get rid of Pontiac OR Buick, but nothing is for sure yet. It will take a long time to phase out another GM brand. Pontiac is releasing 2 new vehicles this summer- that will definately help them out- the G6 coupe, which looks almost exactly like a solara, and the Solstice. We'll see how they do.

Looks almost exactly like the solara?????? I want what youre drinking! The g6 isnt even a coupe. And the lines of the car are very straight compared to the flowing lines of the solara.Besides, its not the way pontiacs or gms for that matter look. Its the way they run thats the problem. And that reflects on their resale value which sux. The other day i noticed a pontiac 6000 or chevy lumina, like it makes a difference, and it was about 10 years old. And i was thinking to myself, hmmm, still runnin. Then i looked at it, sittin there in front of the deli engine gurgling, front end all low and in need of a never ending alignment. The rust slowing spreading like cancer. The interior falling apart probably from day one. Blue oily smoke spitting out of the hanging exhaust. And i realized this is most likely the way this car has been from the second year of its life. Thats the way GMs are. Thats why they have no resale. You pay top money for em and then hate the damn thing for the rest of the time you own it, which is probably a long time because you take a bath due to poor resale. Its not that they dont run, its that they dont run good. After a while you fell like your driving a shi&box. Thats whats gonna kill GM. I dont care how you package sh*t, or what you name it.....its still sh*t.
One last example...
If you go buy a great watch like a Tag-Hauer you'll notice how nice it feels on your hand. The quality of the stainless steel band, how it doesn't scratch you, the attention to the smallest detail, it makes the experience of ownership a very pleasant one. You can also buy a timex. And you'll notice the stamped stainless steel, the sharp unburnished edges, the balky way the second hands does its sweep and the crappy wristband that breaks every year. While they both tell time, the tag does it so much better. Oh and when you get tired of it you can find someone to buy it from you. The Timex goes in the trash.
BTW can you tell that i've been hittin the Jack Daniels tonight?