[HN Gopher] Toyota launches groundbreaking 10-year warranty (in UK)
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Toyota launches groundbreaking 10-year warranty (in UK)
        
       Author : vanburen
       Score  : 109 points
       Date   : 2021-06-03 18:39 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.autoexpress.co.uk)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.autoexpress.co.uk)
        
       | flowerlad wrote:
       | Looks like only in UK. Not available in the US.
        
         | wing-_-nuts wrote:
         | Where'd you see that? I didn't see it mentioned in the article.
        
           | slashdot2008 wrote:
           | https://www.toyota-europe.com/service-and-
           | accessories/servic...
           | 
           | No mention of it on Toyota Canada or US websites
        
       | jayflux wrote:
       | So both Hyundai and Kia have offered 10-year warranty for a long
       | time now, but what Toyota are doing here seems a little
       | different, although I don't think it's better?
       | 
       | They're basically giving you a year warranty every time you
       | service your car with them at an official dealership, this
       | basically keeps going until the car does 10 years or 100,000
       | miles. So 10 years with 10 services.
       | 
       | The Kia/Hyundai one is just a bog standard 10 (maybe 7 now)
       | years, without needing to do an annual service. You can also pass
       | it on when you sell it. Seems to me like theirs is still a better
       | deal
        
         | kipchak wrote:
         | I think the 10/10k Kia/Hyundai powertrain warranty only
         | transfers on CPOs, otherwise you get the 5-year/60k bumper to
         | bumper only, which I think this program would be the equivalent
         | of.
        
         | gnabgib wrote:
         | Agreed, and Mitsubishi. But perhaps this is a North America vs
         | UK thing? Or perhaps Toyota as a sponsor of AutoExpress.
         | Perhaps Hugo Griffiths at AutoExpress was just one of the ten
         | thousand [0] on Tuesday.
         | 
         | [0]: https://xkcd.com/1053/
        
         | sjg007 wrote:
         | In the USA, the Kia 10 year 100k limited powertrain warranty
         | only applies to the first owner. Otherwise, it reverts at that
         | point to the 5 year 60k one. You can usually buy a certified
         | pre-owned though and that ups it back to 100k though.
        
           | londons_explore wrote:
           | Can't you just keep in touch with the first owner, and get
           | them to take it in for any major warranty work?
        
             | avgDev wrote:
             | Why would the first owner want to waste his time when you
             | need warranty work. After I sell my cars I don't want to be
             | bothered.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | ghaff wrote:
       | It's really remarkable how vehicle reliability has improved. I
       | can remember how hitting 100K miles was this rather remarkable
       | thing that probably required a lot of tender loving care. Now
       | it's mostly routine.
       | 
       | Mind you, if you live in a place with a lot of snow, rust still
       | probably starts to take a toll after about 15 years or so but
       | that's still a big improvement over cars in those places maybe
       | lasting 5 years and 50K miles.
        
         | yread wrote:
         | Indeed, there is this guy with 250k miles (in 3 years!) and not
         | having to do a lot of maintenance on the car (he's escorting
         | oversized loads)
         | 
         | https://www.kianiroforum.com/threads/250k-miles-in-3-years.9...
        
         | rodgerd wrote:
         | > It's really remarkable how vehicle reliability has improved.
         | 
         | When I was a child, run-in periods and 2 year warranties were
         | the norm. It was a big deal when the Japanese manufacturers
         | started doing standard 3 year warranties.
         | 
         | It really is quite astonishing. And, as cars are loaded up with
         | more and more fragile electronics it will be even more
         | important, I think: when your side mirrors are cameras and
         | screens, for examples, it's pretty important that you don't
         | have a failure taking down your car's usability. Similarly,
         | will it apply to a bug in the ABS firmware?
        
         | tibbydudeza wrote:
         | In the olden days you needed to do a engine overhaul at 100,000
         | km because the rings would be shot and it would be smoking.
         | 
         | Now I see 1990's Camry's and other cars happily @ 250,000 km
         | without any major engine work.
        
           | radicaldreamer wrote:
           | In Southern California, it's common to see ancient cars
           | rolling around without overhauls, probably due to the mild
           | weather. A little less common in the Bay Area, but I still
           | see 20+ year old beaters and 90s Camry's almost every day.
        
             | ghaff wrote:
             | Largely taking rust out of the equation makes a big
             | difference. In New England, where I live, if you drive a
             | car in the winter you're probably still looking at around
             | 15 years max.
             | 
             | I had a Honda del Sol from the last year they were made and
             | I had garaged it in the winter for the last 10 years or so.
             | It got to the point that the dealer's mechanics would
             | gather around it when I brought it in because basically
             | none of the cars (which weren't that common anyway) were
             | still on the roads if they were driven in the winter.
        
               | UI_at_80x24 wrote:
               | Del Sol's are really sweet. It's a looker even from the
               | factory.
        
               | ghaff wrote:
               | They really were. Honda wasn't really successful with
               | them. I suppose they were too impractical for a Honda
               | buyer and too Honda for a "sports car" buyer.
               | 
               | I enjoyed it for a long time as a second vehicle. It was
               | also the most reliable vehicle I had owned up to that
               | point. But as I stopped commuting and ended up traveling
               | a lot more I just wasn't using it enough to justify the
               | insurance/registration/etc. cost especially as it hit
               | 170K miles or so and I didn't really rust it for long
               | trips at that point.
        
               | rodgerd wrote:
               | Had it been a front/rear layout like the S2000 I would
               | have thought it be a slam-dunk; as is, the front/front
               | combo knocked it out as an MX-5 competitor.
        
               | ghaff wrote:
               | I think you're making my point. You would have wanted a
               | "real" sports car like the S2000--which also didn't do
               | great. Whereas I wanted a fun but very practical two
               | seater. (The del Sol also actually had a pretty good
               | trunk.)
        
           | ghaff wrote:
           | I fortuitously got rid of a 20+ year old Honda with about
           | 170K miles shortly before the pandemic hit. It was starting
           | to show some age and needed some maintenance--which is why I
           | decided to get rid of it (in addition to not driving it
           | much)--but I'm pretty sure it never had significant engine
           | work other than a pro-active timing belt replacement.
           | 
           | (I hadn't driven it in the winter for years.)
        
         | duffyjp wrote:
         | The 1980s domestic cars I drove in my youth had odometers with
         | only 5 digits. That tells you a lot.
        
       | rblatz wrote:
       | I don't know if I'd call it groundbreaking. Hyundai has been
       | doing 10 year 100,000 mile warranties for basically their entire
       | existence. Plus they don't require you to play the extend your
       | warranty game by taking it to a dealership every year for
       | maintenance.
        
         | wanderr wrote:
         | Sure, but in my experience they then find excuses to not fix
         | problems. I had an Elantra (don't remember which year) in which
         | the passenger air bag would turn off if my passenger shifted
         | their weight just a little bit at any point during the trip,
         | and would not turn back on until I turned the car off and on
         | again. Dealer repeatedly insisted that it was working as
         | intended. I always wondered if the airbag would even work in
         | the case of an accident since my passenger's weight would
         | surely shift.
        
         | vturner wrote:
         | Agreed, I'll have to check but I'm fairly confident my 2009 Kia
         | Soul had 10 years and 100,000 miles
        
           | programmertote wrote:
           | Just out of curiosity, do you like your Kia? I see that cars
           | from Korean manufacturers tend to be very competitive in
           | terms of pricing and/or feature. But I am not sure if they
           | are as reliable compared to, say, Japanese cars.
           | 
           | An anecdote of why I'm asking -- I have Samsung dishwasher,
           | for example, and it broke less than two years for very, very
           | minimal use (I use it like once every two weeks). Based on
           | that experience and having owned a Samsung galaxy phone that
           | slowed down significantly after about 2-3 years (again, I
           | installed almost no apps other than essential ones like Gmail
           | and a couple of bank apps), I am not sure if Korean
           | manufacturing has matured enough for me to consider buying a
           | car made by one of the Korean manufacturers. This is, of
           | course, not to diss on Korean manufacturers. Just wanted to
           | explain why I am asking this question to begin with.
        
             | rootusrootus wrote:
             | > Samsung dishwasher
             | 
             | Forgive me for getting up on my soapbox, but ... I
             | _strongly_ recommend avoiding Samsung appliances like the
             | plague. I have had nothing but bad luck with Samsung
             | appliances that were not TVs or computer-related. My washer
             | and dryer both failed the first time after less than a year
             | of use. My fridge lasted about two years before the control
             | panel started losing LEDs, and now I replace that control
             | panel periodically -- the replacements start burning out
             | LEDs again typically within a matter of months. LEDs!
             | Burning out! WTF.
             | 
             | To their credit, the mechanical bits of the fridge have
             | been flawless so far (9 years later) but the control panel
             | issue makes me hot under the collar. It's always a guess
             | now as to whether the dispenser is about to give you cubed
             | ice, crushed ice, or water. And judging by the volume of
             | complaints online, I'm not the only one who has this exact
             | experience with their refrigerators.
             | 
             | I even bought my washer and dryer specifically on the
             | recommendation of Consumer Reports. The first time I can
             | remember where they led me astray.
        
               | sys_64738 wrote:
               | My Samsung TV died after 3 years. LCD panel died. Never
               | again.
        
               | leoedin wrote:
               | If it's literally just burning out LEDs, you could
               | probably do some fairly simple modifications to protect
               | those LEDs. It's not exactly ideal, but a simple resistor
               | in line with each LED would almost certainly solve the
               | issue.
        
             | UI_at_80x24 wrote:
             | I am in the same boat. Looking at getting a new vehicle and
             | Kia is near the top of the list because of warranty. I'd
             | love to hear about personal experiences with the brand.
             | 
             | I've owned GM, Honda, Ford, VW, and Chrysler. I've been
             | very disappointed in all of them.
        
               | avgDev wrote:
               | My father has 2012 Sonata with a 2.4 Theta II engine,
               | which has failed at 70k miles. Dealer replaced with no
               | fuss and he had a nice loaner for 2 months. Initially, he
               | had to pay for a loaner before dealer inspected it.
               | Hyundai corporate was a pleasure to work with to get his
               | money back.
               | 
               | I bought a 2019 santa fe with the same engine. As these
               | engines are now covered under lifetime warranty. I had 0
               | problems with the car in the last 2 years, and honestly I
               | am quite amazed with how much of car I got for 34k with
               | 0% financing. I have the highest trim with AWD, which had
               | original MSRP of $39k, so I did get a decent deal.
               | 
               | IMO, hyundai/kia is a great buy, Toyota/Honda used to be
               | a good deal some years ago but right now their cars are
               | overpriced, toyota especially.
               | 
               | Toyota does still retain value quite well. However,
               | carmax offered me $32k for my car, so almost what I paid.
               | This most likely due to the chip shortage so that value
               | would probably be lower normally.
        
               | sjg007 wrote:
               | You have to check the model and engine specifics. Kia had
               | a bad run of V4 turbos due to metal shavings in the
               | manufacturing process. I think the electric Hyundai is on
               | recall in South Korea because it overcharges and catches
               | on fire. That is sort of a national scandal over there as
               | far as I can tell which will probably lead to positive
               | changes in their manufacturing processes. It also took a
               | lot of hassle of those V4 Kia owners to get warranty
               | coverage.
               | 
               | That being said the V6 lambda engines are very nice and
               | considered reliable. They started with the Genesis which
               | was an important flagship vehicle. I have a V6 and have
               | had no issues approaching 100k. But I am the type of
               | person that wants to get 200k out of my vehicles, I have
               | no idea if that will happen. I'd be upset if the car
               | failed before 10 years as well.
               | 
               | There are forums where you can get an idea, especially if
               | you look at previous model years.
        
               | frogblast wrote:
               | I have a 2 year old Niro EV with 20K miles. It is a
               | fantastic little car, no issues or defects with it all so
               | far. The dealership experience sucked, but that's not the
               | car's fault.
        
             | vvillena wrote:
             | I own a Kia (a 2nd gen Cee'd, the EU hatchback) and it's
             | awesome. Zero issues.
        
             | bigbillheck wrote:
             | I used to own a 2006 Hyundai and it was very reliable. I
             | only sold it because I sustained a foot injury and could no
             | longer operate a manual transmission, even the extremely
             | forgiving one in that car.
             | 
             | I would prefer to never buy another car (and would
             | absolutely not buy a Samsung car) but Hyundai's absolutely
             | on my 'consider again' list.
        
         | rgbrenner wrote:
         | If you bought it new. Toyota is applying this to used vehicles
         | too.
        
           | jayflux wrote:
           | As are Kia/Hyundai? You still get the warranty on a used car,
           | it just keeps ticking over until 7-10 years. They're no
           | different in this regard.
        
             | rgbrenner wrote:
             | No. Buy a used Hyundai and it immediately turns into a 5
             | year/60k warranty when the title changes hands.
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | abfan1127 wrote:
       | I owned a 07 Toyota Camry. In the 10 years I owned it, it
       | required a sun visor replacement and a CV axle (and oil changes
       | and tires). I also bought the extended warranty because I was
       | young and dumb. That was the most expensive CV axle and sun visor
       | I ever bought.
        
       | legitster wrote:
       | > Residual values are also likely to increase, and with PCP deals
       | paying off depreciation, over time this could theoretically have
       | a positive impact on new-car finance.
       | 
       | I can't imagine warranties actually have that much of an effect
       | when it comes to depreciation.
       | 
       | However, given how much dealerships are pushing longer and longer
       | loan terms as a way of achieving those magical monthly payment
       | numbers, I assume this is a way to justify the practice even
       | further.
        
         | dotancohen wrote:
         | Hyundai had a horrible reputation twenty years ago, well
         | deserved. Resale values matched that reputation. They only got
         | their reputation - and resale values - back up when they
         | introduced their own 10 year warranty sometime (I think) around
         | 2006 or so.
         | 
         | Nowadays, Hyundai has about as average a reputation as they
         | come. And not surprisingly, resale value to match.
        
           | legitster wrote:
           | Hyundai backed it up by actually genuinely improving build
           | quality.
           | 
           | In comparison, Chrysler has toyed with 10-year warranties by
           | just treating it as a marketing expense. But in their efforts
           | they never really improved in build quality and resale value
           | showed it.
        
       | datavirtue wrote:
       | Groundbreaking? It is a 100k mile warrantee. Nevermind the
       | 10-year marketing speak. Most decent vehicals come with 60k and
       | can upgrade to 100k for $2k or less with me servicing gimmicks.
        
       | Shadonototro wrote:
       | Peugeot 12 year warranty
       | 
       | https://www.peugeot.co.uk/owners/assistance-warranty/warrant...
       | 
       | Why lie to people?
        
         | acchow wrote:
         | I read some details on that page. It says "Defective parts" are
         | covered for 3 years, paintwork 2 years, perforation 12 years,
         | electric/hybrid battery 8 years.
        
       | mfer wrote:
       | This is quite a method to drive people away from independent
       | repair shops and to those controlled by the manufacturer.
       | 
       | I wonder if they intentionally took inspiration from tech
       | companies who skirt repairability
        
         | BoorishBears wrote:
         | All of this paranoia would be warranted if this wasn't
         | something that only applied _after your main warranty is up_
         | 
         | The main warranty is kept if you can show any maintenance
         | records, even receipts for your own oil change materials is
         | enough.
         | 
         | And once a year makes it obvious they want it in a dealership
         | to make sure they're not bankrolling engine replacements for
         | people who'd otherwise let basic maintenance intervals go
         | indefinitely...
        
       | rachelbythebay wrote:
       | And yet, if your car had a 3G telematics system involved (the SOS
       | button, among other things), you're out of luck next year.
       | They're doing NOTHING about it.
       | 
       | They sold 2017 cars with a time bomb that goes off in 2022, and
       | nothing to do about it. LTE capable devices were around for years
       | at that point.
        
         | OldHand2018 wrote:
         | You may have just sold a lot of 2017 Toyotas with that piece of
         | information!
        
       | arberx wrote:
       | Toyota is the last automaker (historically) to integrate "new"
       | tech into their vehicles. If you look at their current offering
       | of transmissions, engines, or batteries they use really old tech.
       | 
       | However, this gives them a huge advantage in the reliability
       | field as what is put into their cars is known/proven/shown to be
       | extremely reliable.
        
         | anm89 wrote:
         | I would consider this a feature. Most new cars would be non
         | starters for me based on being crammed with junk tech that
         | presents long term maintenance issues.
        
         | tibbydudeza wrote:
         | While VW/Audi goes absolutely bezonkers and then your car
         | spends extended periods in the workshop because the engine had
         | a major design flaw and killed itself (1.4L TSI Twincharger
         | which was discontinued quickly).
        
           | ggamecrazy wrote:
           | Inversely I'm kinda confused how Porsche (owned by VW) seems
           | to get very good reliability scores[1]. Down to 9/26 from
           | last years 4/26. Compared to VW's 24/26 that's quite a large
           | delta.
           | 
           | I always chalked up reliability as a function of new tech
           | introduction + focus on reliability. I figured Porsche gets
           | decent numbers because of how relatively low-tech they are
           | and the ridiculous prices they charge for optioning-in that
           | tech (basic things like ACC or memory seats).
           | 
           | Is there something else organizationally, process or product
           | wise that Porsche does differently than the VW group? I do
           | know that they have a separate factory w/ seperate
           | engineering departments (:cough VW engineers design
           | Lamborghini's).
           | 
           | 1: https://i.imgur.com/81MoQI2.png
        
             | Glawen wrote:
             | I know engineers who worked for Porsche, they are doing
             | things independently from VW. The only thing they took from
             | VW was the cayenne chassis and it's diesel engine. They
             | were absolutely pissed by the diesel gate as they were
             | unaware of it and quickly removed diesel from their lineup.
             | 
             | They share some functions like brake SW or ACC, but they do
             | their own engine and chassis.
             | 
             | Otherwise they source their stuff alone, and due to the low
             | sales number they struggle to find willing suppliers.
        
             | benjohnson wrote:
             | I kid you not - Porsche copied Toyota and the Toyota
             | Production System for good effect.
             | 
             | https://blog.grabcad.com/blog/2018/10/08/porsche-and-lean-
             | ma...
        
               | Glawen wrote:
               | Everyone one copied the Toyota production system
        
               | benjohnson wrote:
               | It's fair to say GM did copy it well in the Saturn
               | experiment, but failed to bring it fully to the whole
               | company. VW can't help themselves from making complicated
               | things. Honda is onboard, but Nissan still thinks in
               | terms of supply side and will churn out garbage to meet
               | next quarter targets.
               | 
               | That being said, Tesla went back to early Ford for the
               | full top-down flow system - and it's working for them. So
               | while I love the TPS system and use it in my company, I'm
               | willing to keep on learning.
        
               | ggamecrazy wrote:
               | Curious if this is just marketing from Porsche. Makes no
               | sense why VW wouldn't adopt the system for similar
               | effects. I'm not sure I buy the reasoning but I'll keep a
               | open mind.
        
             | radicaldreamer wrote:
             | Porsche has a bifurcated product offering... their sports
             | lineup is extremely reliable, but their SUVs and more
             | mainstream products are certainly not (these also tend to
             | have brand new equipment which doesn't filter to the 911
             | for years)
        
               | tibbydudeza wrote:
               | Flat boxer engines in the sportscars are their own design
               | - if it is V6 in the SUV's then it is Audi/VW.
        
               | ethbr0 wrote:
               | Porsche sports also spend a ton of time racing, at
               | various levels, which I'd imagine back permeates into the
               | corporate culture and increases reliability.
               | 
               | There's a lot of weaknesses that show up a lot quicker
               | when you're holding an engine at redline.
        
             | ed_balls wrote:
             | What the score? (paywall)
        
               | ggamecrazy wrote:
               | Sorry! Here it is: https://i.imgur.com/81MoQI2.png
               | 
               | Down to 9/26 from last years 4/26. Compared to VW's 24/26
               | that's quite a large delta.
               | 
               | TBH some of ranking on the list makes anecdotal sense
               | (Toyota is #2). Others do not (Mazda as #1?!).
               | 
               | I'm questioning Consumer Reports methodology, how far
               | back do they look? If it's only a sliding window of <3yrs
               | I do not believe thats enough data.
        
             | wampwampwhat wrote:
             | I have no evidence to support this, but I'd theorize that
             | some of it has to do with enthusiast owners (porsche)
             | keeping up with recommended maintenance intervals, while
             | budget owners (vw) and ignorant owners (audi) skip
             | maintenance, causing nightmares down the line.
        
               | TheCapn wrote:
               | That's _exactly_ the sentiment being shared on the reddit
               | thread I _just_ came here from:
               | 
               | https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/nr4awu/which_expen
               | siv...
               | 
               | As a personal anecdote: my 2003 VW (1.8T GTI) had
               | 330,000km when I sold it to a friend (it continues to run
               | strong, but not sure the KMs). I did all the work myself
               | and I did it on time. Biggest repair was AC Compressor,
               | the rest was just routine maintenance and a couple $50
               | sensors. If a CEL came on I addressed it as soon as
               | possible. At the same time, I had a friend with a similar
               | year Jetta TDI which lit on fire around the 290k mark.
               | Every time I was in her car the CEL was on, and I
               | remember driving it home on a road trip once where you'd
               | hold the pedal to the floor the whole way just to keep it
               | at the highway speed limit.
        
             | rodgerd wrote:
             | > Inversely I'm kinda confused how Porsche (owned by VW)
             | seems to get very good reliability scores[1]. Down to 9/26
             | from last years 4/26. Compared to VW's 24/26 that's quite a
             | large delta.
             | 
             | Reliability was always a selling point for Porsches
             | relative to their competitor. You could buy a 308 and be
             | constantly fixing it, or a 911 and (so long as you didn't
             | put it in a ditch) you'd have an everyday driver.
             | 
             | The fact that it's dropping suggests that they're feeling
             | the effects of VW's ownership, crapping their designs up.
        
         | rodgerd wrote:
         | > Toyota is the last automaker (historically) to integrate
         | "new" tech into their vehicles.
         | 
         | The Prius was ground-breaking work; had Chevron not killed NiMH
         | batteries, they would have been shipping mainstream electric
         | RAV4s in the 90s. Toyota are very happy to innovate where they
         | think they can deliver to a high standard.
        
         | skeletal88 wrote:
         | The latest RAV4 model didn't have Android Auto/Apple whatever
         | for a year after coming out. Now same with wireless version for
         | that, all other car manufacturers have it on their cars, but
         | not Toyota. It's not like a transmission or engine, it's
         | software..
        
         | gnicholas wrote:
         | One really surprising thing: if you want the Camry hybrid with
         | the best mileage, you have to get the low-end model (no rims,
         | most options not available). It has a different type of battery
         | than the higher trim levels, and it gets 6-7 more MPG. I was
         | shocked that this was the case in 2020, and strangely it is
         | still the case in 2021. None of the dealers I spoke with could
         | explain why this happened, or why it persisted across model
         | years.
         | 
         | You'd think that people would be willing to pay more for better
         | mileage (and no, it's not due to weight differences of the
         | premium equipment). I know my relative who was looking at
         | hybrid Camrys would have been happy to pay more to have both
         | the best MPG and various other features. Instead, they got the
         | cheap model and added the blind spot monitors and called it a
         | day.
        
           | BorgHunter wrote:
           | This is a trick more than one automaker does in the interests
           | of creating a "green" (or "eco") trim, and usually they do it
           | by speccing tires that are all-in on prioritizing fuel
           | efficiency, sometimes with a higher recommended tire pressure
           | too. The tradeoff is that they sacrifice some traction, and
           | either have to go with smaller wheels (big wheels = luxury =
           | $$$, for some reason--Toyota does this with the Camry Hybrid,
           | putting 16" steelies on the cheap LE trim but 18" or 19"
           | alloys on the others) to keep the same ride quality, or just
           | accept a stiffer ride.
           | 
           | It's worth noting, though, that as fuel efficiency goes up
           | each increment in mpg is less valuable, so 6-7 mpg on a car
           | that already gets 50 mpg is not as useful as 6-7 mpg on a car
           | that gets 20 mpg. This is because the thing you're trying to
           | minimize (fuel burned) is in the denominator of the measure.
           | Countries that measure fuel economy in L/100km don't have
           | this problem. Engineering Explained does a good job of
           | showing how the math works out:
           | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLQmwOX6Xds
        
             | gnicholas wrote:
             | They do tire tricks, but here it was actually a different
             | battery chemistry that made the biggest difference.
             | 
             | I completely agree with your assessment of the MPG
             | difference. I tried explaining this to my relative, to no
             | avail. The number for one vehicle was under 50 MPG and the
             | number for the other vehicle was over 50 MPG, so it was a
             | mental sticking point that I could not overcome.
        
         | dotancohen wrote:
         | I don't think that this is true. The Prius was a ground-breaker
         | in not only hybrid propulsion, but other tech aspects as well.
         | And lets not forget the often-problematic but very advanced
         | "robotic" transmission, which was really a microcontroller-and-
         | servo-operated manual transmission that felt to the driver like
         | an automatic.
        
           | post_break wrote:
           | Tundra used the same engine and trans for ages. Same with
           | Tacoma. 4runner I believe still only has a 5 speed auto. They
           | were one of the last big ones to offer android auto and
           | carplay. They are extremely slow to changes.
        
             | ghaff wrote:
             | The 4Runner is a pretty old design at this point. I don't
             | need its "real" 4WD features but I do like the sight lines
             | and other more traditional SUV design. Not in a big hurry
             | but would be interested to see what a real redesign looks
             | like.
        
               | rodgerd wrote:
               | I would be surprised if the audience for those vehicles
               | _want_ lots of modern updates, as well.
        
               | ghaff wrote:
               | Assistive driving and infotainment is still nice given
               | how vehicles are used day-to-day.
        
           | kipchak wrote:
           | The Prius/THS/HSD was definitely groundbreaking, but it's
           | also been mostly refined versus refined since it's 1997
           | release, and is now stuck in everything from luxury sedans to
           | SUVs and the LC500h. For comparison Honda has/is
           | experimenting with i-DCD (pancake motor) i-MMD (paralell
           | system) SH-AWD (Through the road hybrid). Arguably this
           | experimenting has resulted in a simpler system for Honda
           | versus the planetary gearset in the Toyota system.
           | 
           | Not to say that Toyota hasn't also experimented with stranger
           | drivetrains, but they generally seem to have branched out
           | less than Honda as an example.
        
       | californical wrote:
       | Interesting that they also mention that you need to get your
       | vehicle serviced at a Toyota dealership to extend your warranty
       | up by a year each time (up to the 10yr).
       | 
       | I didn't see it in the article, but I wonder if that includes
       | getting all of the dealerships "suggested maintenance" if you
       | want the warranty extension to apply. I've had lots of sketchy
       | dealership overcharging experiences, and if you need 5 dealership
       | service visits to get up to the full 10 years, I can see this
       | "warranty" costing thousands of dollars in unnecessary/fake
       | maintenance. I'm sure that there are good actors out there, at
       | dealerships too, but it is easy to be abused.
       | 
       | This seems like a tactic to bring in more money, not one that
       | Toyota is just doing for the sake of standing behind their
       | products. Most cars can last beyond 10yr / 100k miles, so I don't
       | think this costs them much. But to get the dealerships to charge
       | you $300 for a cabin air filter a few times will probably make
       | them more than they lose.
        
         | mtnGoat wrote:
         | as an owner of multiple toyota's and a member of the related
         | forums... i can say that toyota dealers' service departments
         | can be hit or miss, but toyota does listen to customer
         | complaints and takes them very seriously(personal experience).
         | additionally toyota has a lot of dealerships, so if the one
         | closest to you is acting poorly you can go to another. they are
         | aware of this and it tends to keep them mostly honest. plus
         | with a large and vocal community around almost every model they
         | make, its pretty easy to avoid the bad dealers.
         | 
         | my current 4runner warranty/service plan covers all scheduled
         | maintenance, filters, lubricants, etc. for the first 100k
         | miles. However, I do have to bring it in yearly, even if the
         | next oil change isn't due based on milage alone.
         | 
         | its certainly a money play, but also keeping their vehicles in
         | good working order helps with a lot of metrics like resell
         | value, longevity, etc that car buyers look at. i think toyota
         | is the largest buyer of used toyotas.
        
           | e40 wrote:
           | Dealer service centers may be hit or miss, but I've had way
           | more misses with non-dealer repair shops. A recent one I went
           | to ended up being more than the quoted price from the dealer.
           | 
           | Having said that, I recently took my Acura (Honda) to a local
           | service station because the timing belt was quoted at near
           | $2k and I got it done for ~$900 at a local service station.
           | New water pump and another belt were included (as they would
           | have been at the dealer).
           | 
           | What really frustrated me was the messages I was getting from
           | the dealer. When should the timing belt be replaced? First it
           | was 90k miles, then it was 60k miles, and because I was below
           | both it was after 7 years (it's been 10). The other thing,
           | for my model, some sources said "if it breaks, your engine
           | will be damaged" but the dealer wouldn't tell me either way.
           | I even contact Acura USA and they wouldn't contradict the
           | dealer. Whole thing left me wanting a Toyota/Lexis.
        
           | radicaldreamer wrote:
           | This ^^ I've found Toyota Marin to be fantastic for the Bay
           | Area but when we were in Albuquerque for a while last year,
           | the local dealership's service dept was much worse, doing
           | only the basics and with a low attention to detail.
        
             | failwhaleshark wrote:
             | TBH, Albuquerque is a hole in the ground adjacent to
             | Atlantic City, Detroit, and east LA. I think anywhere else
             | would be better.
             | 
             |  _If you 're going to the dealer for anything other than
             | warranty or free repairs, then you have too much money and
             | need to be relieved of it._
             | 
             | - My late grandfather who was a master mechanic retired
             | from a dealership who once sold horses and buggies in the
             | SF Bay Area.
        
             | actualanswer wrote:
             | I should check out the Marin shop. Toyota SF was really
             | good service but their prices/charges are outrageous. I
             | ended up going to ToyShop which isn't too far from the
             | dealership and they are solid (they work primarily on
             | Toyotas hence ToyShop)
        
           | dharmab wrote:
           | Changing oil annually is recommended for pretty much every
           | ICE driven vehicle. Oil reacts with the metals in an engine
           | and becomes acidic over time.
        
           | meowster wrote:
           | Toyota ignored me when a dealership did a 10k service that I
           | did not agree to (there was only 2k miles on the car at the
           | time). Thus when I went to to a dealerahip for my 10k service
           | (with an actual 10k miles on the car), they wouldn't do the
           | free 10k service that came with the purchase of the vehicle.
           | 
           | Toyota has good vehicles as far as I can tell, but their
           | ignoring of me has put me off of them.
           | 
           | For my next vehicle, I chose a different brand, and the
           | vehicle had some issues, but that manufacturer made things
           | right with no hassle.
           | 
           | I don't know which is better: a vehicle that will most likely
           | be good with a company that doesn't care, or a vehicle that
           | has some issues but with a company that does care and fixes
           | it.
        
             | failwhaleshark wrote:
             | Uh, if a shop or a dealer does service you didn't agree to,
             | you don't sign for or pay for it.
             | 
             | https://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2016/02/5-times-
             | you-c...
             | 
             | https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/21528/what-
             | rep...
             | 
             | If you have a specific problem that they refuse to fix,
             | then there's Lemon law.
        
               | meowster wrote:
               | It wasn't worth escalating for me, and I have no idea if
               | it fell through the cracks on Toyota's end, or they bet
               | that either I didn't know the law or wasn't going to take
               | action. (I appreciate you mentioning that in case anyone
               | else reading this in the U.S. doesn't know that aspect of
               | the law, but I was aware of it.)
        
               | failwhaleshark wrote:
               | Write a professional, respectful letter to corporate
               | (office of the CEO) including as many details as you can.
               | No, seriously. No one gets letters anymore. Someone will
               | see it because snail mail is so rare.
        
             | pc86 wrote:
             | Your singular anecdote aside, "a company that doesn't care"
             | is not a description that could be applied to Toyota in any
             | aggregate. It's simply not true.
        
           | sharkweek wrote:
           | I'm pretty dealer agnostic, but Toyota has been cemented in
           | my mind as the car brand I can trust the most. Have been in
           | Toyotas my whole life (first car was an 89 Camry Wagon, rip),
           | now I drive a 4Runner old enough to drink, and my partner is
           | in a Highlander.
           | 
           | No matter how many times we look elsewhere, we always end up
           | back in Toyotas. Hoping their EV R&D shows promise soon.
        
             | failwhaleshark wrote:
             | Scotty [0] would tell you to buy his Toyota Celica or maybe
             | a used Toyota Corolla, but "all the new ones today are
             | plastic crap."
             | 
             | 0. Scotty Kilmer - internet famous mechanic in Houston TX -
             | https://www.youtube.com/user/scottykilmer
             | 
             | Well, they did come up with the Prius, so I think they
             | might have a shot at EVs.
        
             | steve_adams_86 wrote:
             | Likewise, Toyota has been a rock in my car experience.
             | 
             | We got a 2017 highlander and apart from the god awful
             | infotainment system it has been amazing. Sort of like
             | computers these days, I find myself wondering when I'd need
             | or even want to upgrade.
             | 
             | It hasn't really needed service yet after 80,000km.
             | Everything is running well. My mechanic says I must be
             | taking excellent care of it, but I'm not doing anything I
             | haven't before. This thing just seems to be better designed
             | than any VW or Ford I've had.
             | 
             | Our previous Toyota was OLD but similarly rock solid. I've
             | come to like their cars a lot. A friend has a 4 runner as
             | well that has been going strong for around 15 years.
             | 
             | I think what's remarkable isn't necessarily having
             | something incredible to say about their cars. It's more so
             | that I just have nothing to complain about.
        
               | datavirtue wrote:
               | The reliability stems from not touching the power train
               | design (for 20+ years). It is also the cause of the
               | dreadful effeciency one experiences with a Toyota.
               | 
               | I shopped Toyota for a trucks several times and was
               | appalled by the MPG ratings. When a Tacoma is getting far
               | worse MPG than a F-150 it's time for an update.
        
               | lightsighter wrote:
               | In my experience, the whole 10 year warranty seems a bit
               | excessive for vehicles that are nigh close to
               | indestructible [1,2,3]. My parents have had multiple
               | Toyotas that made it to 300K-400K miles. My brother's
               | Corolla was rear-ended by a semi doing 30mph and wasn't
               | even close to being totaled. Eight years later and he's
               | still driving it through swamps in south Florida. They
               | are impeccable feats of engineering.
               | 
               | [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnWKz7Cthkk [2]
               | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTPnIpjodA8 [3]
               | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFnVZXQD5_k
        
               | sharkweek wrote:
               | As a Toyota owner, one of my favorite Onion articles:
               | 
               |  _Toyota Recalls 1993 Camry Due To Fact That Owners
               | Really Should Have Bought Something New By Now_
               | 
               | https://www.theonion.com/toyota-recalls-1993-camry-due-
               | to-fa...
        
         | ska wrote:
         | I seem to remember somewhere Toyota offering (shorter than 10
         | yr) warrantees optionally priced with basic services included -
         | e.g. pay $X, you are covered for 5 year with 7 standard
         | services in that time. If $X is reasonable, that's not a bad
         | way to manage it.
        
         | mulmen wrote:
         | I was in the waiting room of a Toyota dealer and heard a
         | service writer tell a woman that she would have to pay for a
         | new oil pan because the drain plug was stripped out and service
         | related damage was not covered under warranty.
         | 
         | She said the car was always serviced at that dealer and the
         | service writer said there is no way to prove that.
        
           | gambiting wrote:
           | I mean.....surely she would have been given an invoice every
           | time so she can prove the vehicle was serviced there?
        
             | bitshiftfaced wrote:
             | How would that prove no one else ever worked on it?
        
               | BoorishBears wrote:
               | The only reason a dealer would push back against the
               | argument is if they felt they had a pushover
               | 
               | I mean by that logic no work can ever be warrantied, who
               | knows if someone went and opened up your oil drain plug
               | if 10 miles out of the shop your car dies and it looks
               | like someone forgot to fill it back up with oil?
               | 
               | Literally the only benefit I can think of for dealer
               | visits outside of exotics is that they're _usually_ high
               | volume enough that in cases like this they can come up to
               | bat for a regular. That 's it.
        
               | avgDev wrote:
               | Well in the case presented, since when she got to the
               | dealership oil was still in the engine, there is no way
               | the oil pan was stripped before the service, as oil would
               | immediately leave the engine without the drain bolt.
               | 
               | It doesn't really matter if someone else worked on it or
               | not. It would be highly unlikely the engine would still
               | be running without oil, and the dealer would immediately
               | tell her she came with no oil in the engine, not that her
               | oil pan is stripped.
        
               | gambiting wrote:
               | You're right, it doesn't prove no one else hasn't worked
               | on it- however there is absolutely 0 chance the
               | dealership would win this in court, and I speak from
               | experience of having to gone to court for similar issues.
               | If she testified in front of the court that she only had
               | the car serviced there AND had the documents documenting
               | those services, the onus would be on the dealership to
               | prove they haven't done the damage. They could defend
               | themselves maybe by saying they use a special wrench that
               | is physically incapable of stripping the screw(and having
               | an expert's testimony to prove that), or any other
               | physical or electronic signs of someone else having
               | worked on the car - but if they can't demonstrate that
               | then there's no way they would win such a case. Zero.
        
         | deeblering4 wrote:
         | Ugh yeah after having a dealer try to diagnose my failed struts
         | as "these old Toyotas just drive like that", bill me a $150
         | diagnostic fee and then try to sell me a new car...
         | 
         | An independent mechanic found and fixed the issue with no
         | hassle.
         | 
         | Never again will I waste my time with dealerships, or any
         | mechanic with a diagnostic fee. Far too easy for them to say
         | "sorry couldn't reproduce the problem, that'll be $150"
        
         | alkonaut wrote:
         | I only service my car at the brand dealership and I'm sure it's
         | both overpriced and often unnecessary. It means several hundred
         | dollars per year (25% sales tax etc). I wouldn't want to buy a
         | new-ish car with third party service stamps though, so the
         | expensive service does retain some value.
         | 
         | So long as this doesn't make service even more expensive, at
         | least I'd get something for it that I don't today. At the
         | moment I tend to instead trade for a newer car once the 2-5
         | year warranty runs out. This would be cheaper than that at
         | least.
        
         | iab wrote:
         | Your post resonates with me so deeply. The Toyota dealership
         | near me wanted close to 1k for a 90k service, and the add-ons
         | and labor charges. Almost fainted.
        
           | jnwatson wrote:
           | That is entirely normal for a 90k service depending on what
           | the service is.
           | 
           | A Honda service can easily be double that due to replacing
           | the timing belt.
        
             | iab wrote:
             | This was between 2x-3x the price of other Toyota
             | dealerships, not in the area.
        
         | gnicholas wrote:
         | Yeah, my family member was told that she needed to bring her
         | Camry in for a 5-month service at the dealer during the
         | lockdowns, lest she void her warranty.
         | 
         | Ultimately when she pressed them on it, they agreed that the
         | warranty would only be voided as to issues that would have been
         | caught during such service call, but which were not caught and
         | then got worse.
        
         | ilamont wrote:
         | Dealers must love this. Also:
         | 
         |  _as long as they are under 10 years old and have covered fewer
         | than 100,000 miles_
         | 
         | In North America it's very common for cars to have this many
         | miles long before the 10 year mark.
        
           | ghaff wrote:
           | It's a bit under the average (13,500) but not outrageously
           | so.
        
           | bydo wrote:
           | This "Toyota Relax" warranty appears to only apply in the UK,
           | where average mileage is significantly lower than in the US.
           | 
           | Somewhere between ~8k and ~9k, according to a random BBC
           | article I found:
           | 
           | https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-28546589
        
           | astura wrote:
           | Probably for a large percentage of the population.
           | 
           | FHA says the average is 14,300 miles a year, but 12,524 miles
           | per year in our most populous state (California)
           | 
           | I guess that means the average American will hit 100,000
           | miles in 7 years.
           | 
           | https://www.thezebra.com/resources/driving/average-miles-
           | dri...
        
         | giarc wrote:
         | The trick to look out for is dealership recommended service vs
         | manufacturers recommended service.
         | 
         | I owned a Chevy Equinox and took it to a dealership for work
         | around 80,000km (my numbers might be off, this was 5 or so
         | years ago). They told me the transmission fluid had met it's
         | suggested replacement. I wanted to keep warranty valid so I
         | approved the work. Somehow I then found out that the
         | manufacturers recommended interval was like 200,000km. I was
         | only required to follow the manufacturers schedule not the made
         | up dealers recommended schedule. If you ask, they give you some
         | BS about the "local climate and amount of construction dust so
         | we recommend different intervals etc etc". Either way, you
         | aren't required to follow those schedules.
        
           | twobitshifter wrote:
           | I had the opposite experience, I bought my car 2nd-hand with
           | low miles and I went to Volkswagen dealership for the
           | transmission service on the Dual Clutch transmission as shown
           | in the manual. I said I'm here for the 40,000 mile service -
           | ignorantly thinking that they follow their own manufacturers
           | recommended maintenance. Changing the fluid in the
           | transmission is complicated on cars with a dual clutch
           | transmission and must be carefully done. If the transmission
           | is damaged it's very expensive to replace. They charged me
           | almost $2000 and then I looked at the receipt and they didn't
           | change the fluid at all - in fact they did almost nothing
           | besides jiggle the wheels and change the oil as far as I
           | could tell! I was angry about this so they sent a tech out
           | who tried to tell me that since it's an "automatic
           | transmission" it should be good for 80,000, Volkswagen just
           | tells you to change it early.
           | 
           | I never returned to that dealership or any other with the car
           | because it was clear that although they sell the cars they
           | know almost nothing about them.
        
             | MrRiddle wrote:
             | Fluid change in DSG? There's only oil and that's supposed
             | to be changed at 40k, I paid it around 150 EUR.
             | 
             | But yeah, your story is unfortunately a usual ordeal at
             | dealerships.
        
           | ok123456 wrote:
           | Those transmissions are garbage. They shed a lot of clutch
           | material. It will fail before it gets to 200,000km. By the
           | time it gets up there, if it's still working, the dirty fluid
           | is the only thing giving it enough friction to shift. If you
           | tried changing it at that point, it would just start
           | slipping. A drain and fill ever 50k is the thing to do with
           | those.
        
           | calvinmorrison wrote:
           | Yeah, then again dealers have service bullitens regularly and
           | lots of experience with common failures across a model. Hard
           | to know hence why some dealers can rip people off. Happens in
           | any scenario where trust is high and information low
        
       | vturner wrote:
       | Grondbreaking? Unless this extends to more components, Kia has
       | had this since at least 2009.
        
       | sys_64738 wrote:
       | I would never go to the dealership service dept due to inflated
       | priced and upselling. Stick to a trusted independent garage.
        
       | partiallypro wrote:
       | Toyotas hardly need a warranty to begin with, I assume there is
       | some catch. Such as you need dealership maintenance or something
       | in order to extend. I have a 2005 Tacoma with 350,000 using the
       | same drive train. It's incredible. It's hard not to buy another
       | one (another Tacoma) because this one has lasted so long. Only
       | reason I haven't is because the gas mileage is abysmal, even V8
       | Fords have better than the 4 cylinder Tacoma, but they don't last
       | near as long...so I guess there is a trade off.
        
       | mrfusion wrote:
       | So this is not for the US? Sounds like a cool program.
        
       | tibbydudeza wrote:
       | Also with WFH the maintenance cycle is really messed up now since
       | we use our cars so little - ours is set @ 15,000 km per service
       | interval and we normally did it within one year.
        
         | sergers wrote:
         | i signed a 39 month lease, at 18k KM allowance per year. in
         | 2019
         | 
         | pre-pandemic we were doing a little less than that.
         | 
         | with WFH, we have only put on 4k in the last 14 months...
         | 
         | kicking myself for not doing a lower KM lease.
        
         | ghaff wrote:
         | I finally took my vehicle in today now that a lot of
         | restrictions have lifted and vaccinations are at good levels.
         | My maintenance light was on for months and I was about 5 months
         | over for my annual safety inspection. (I was also barely
         | driving the car.)
        
       | mathattack wrote:
       | Will this mean we don't get all the spam calls to renew our
       | warranties? If so, it might just be worth it.
       | 
       | I've had some terrible experiences with Toyota dealerships in the
       | past. Beyond scummy and scammy.
        
       | adav wrote:
       | Really long warranties on econoboxes is nothing new, but a 10
       | year manufacturer warranty on a sporty car like a GR Yaris, Supra
       | or GT86 sounds pretty unprecedented!
        
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