Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

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terceldude
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Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by terceldude »

Why did the TOYOTA United States and TOYOTA Canada lie about several things about our cars? Why did they VIN a 1982 model of our cars as a 1983 and why did Japan do it honestly and consistently unlike us? In the same light, why, similarly, is a Civic made in October 2013, for instance, a 2013 model and not a 2014 model?!

Japan VIN'ed Caribs made in September 1982 as 1982 models, not 1983 models, incorrectly, like the US and Canada did.

Also for the 1987-1988 brochures for US and Canada, TOYOTA of USA and TOYOTA of Canada each list the height of the 4WD Wagon at 57.1 rather than 59.1 (1500 mm) unlike Japan which listed 1986-1988 models as 1500mm in addition to the earlier models.

Why did TOYOTA of CANADA and TOYOTA of USA lie about these things or makes mistakes and never fessed up or had issued model recalls in order to address the problem?
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by Mattel »

USA and probably Canada go by next year for models. Don't know why. All manufacturers do that.

For ride height. Certain jurisdictions will have different heights. Sometimes above or below a certain ride height cars might be classified as a off road vehicle and get less or more tax applied. Bumper height and lighting were different as well to other countries. MG had to raise their MGB for instance for the USA market because the bumpers were too low.
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by slimdude85 »

In the States and Canada, auto manufacturers go by model year instead of calendar year. That being said, a manufacturer can legally designate a vehicle manufactured January 2, 2021 as a 2022 model year, if they so desire. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_year

Another consideration regarding ride height has to do with the center of gravity. After seeing how Consumer Reports skewered Suzuki regarding the American market Samurai ( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w3sGkP8HeBY ), they probably made it lower so as to avoid the same thing happening to them.
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by The Professor »

As someone who worked for 5 years in the Technical Publications department (read: manuals and recalls) of an OEM, this is not what recalls are for.

In addition, this was probably a copy/paste error using the 2WD ride height. There are literally hundreds of internal documents, marketing materials, service manuals, etc. where an editorial mistake can be made. While a lot of effort goes into reviewing any public-facing document, accidents happen. Toyota may, to this day, not know they made an error in that brochure.

IMHO, this is moot 38 years after the fact.
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by splatterdog »

I smell a first of it's kind tercel4wd.com class action lawsuit...

Lawyer up and tell us how it goes first.
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by Petros »

some of the model year confusion may be because of federal requirements; they may mandate a new device or emission standard for a certain "model year" for example, and the factory will use up existing inventory/parts, and than designate the next model year when they have the new requirement met on the assembly line.
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by terceldude »

splatterdog wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:39 pm I smell a first of it's kind tercel4wd.com class action lawsuit...

Lawyer up and tell us how it goes first.
:o :o :o :o :o :o

I contacted their Facebook page instead.
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by terceldude »

The Professor wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:28 pm As someone who worked for 5 years in the Technical Publications department (read: manuals and recalls) of an OEM, this is not what recalls are for.

In addition, this was probably a copy/paste error using the 2WD ride height. There are literally hundreds of internal documents, marketing materials, service manuals, etc. where an editorial mistake can be made. While a lot of effort goes into reviewing any public-facing document, accidents happen. Toyota may, to this day, not know they made an error in that brochure.

IMHO, this is moot 38 years after the fact.
Well I disagree with it being moot, I don't like being lied to and I'm sure you don't either.
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by terceldude »

https://www.whichcar.com.au/opinion/don ... -brochures

Which is why the 57.1 height, at least to me, is BS!
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by slimdude85 »

While none of us like being lied to, at this point, it is moot. Recalls are issued when a safety concern (ignition switches easily turning off while driving, airbags with design flaws that shoot metal at the occupant, head rests that fail to provide adequate head support in the event of collision, etc.) is prevalent among one or multiple models and is either issued voluntarily by the manufacturer (Voluntary Safety Recall) or the Federal Government forces the recall (Federal Safety Recall) after a threshold of provable incidents are reported that all have the same cause.

In the event that a non-safety related issue (paint fading and flaking off, piston rings wearing out prematurely, catalytic converters failing sooner than is reasonable, an error in a sales or vehicle publication, etc.) the manufacturer may release a Customer Satisfaction Program to address the issue, but the problem would be addressed only if the customer came in and complained about it. Couple that with the standard expiration terms (10 years/150k miles from original sale, 5 years/45k miles from original sale, etc.) and at 33-38 years that program would have expired.

The only other recourse would be to hire an attorney and attempt a false advertising suit. Generally, false advertising laws say that consumers have proved their case if they show: (a) that the advertising was false or misleading; (b) that the falsity was “material,” often meaning the company lied about something important; (c) the consumer saw the false advertisement; and (d) the consumer relied on the false advertising in purchasing the product or service (source: classlawgroup.com). Then there’s the question of if it applies to you. Are you the original purchaser or did you buy it used private party or from a used car dealer? If purchased used, it would present another obstacle because since you had no dealing with the manufacturer or their representatives (Toyota Dealer) the defendants may argue that your complaint is not with Toyota but with the party whom you purchased it from. There’s are a myriad of defensible positions in a case like this that I can think of, and I’m not an attorney.

The most likely explanation regarding the ride height is an error during the editing process and no one noticed. I’ve read several books, of which tens of thousands were printed, that have had printing errors. It’s common.

Chalk it up to human error and let it go.
To err is human, to forgive is divine. - Alexander Pope
Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by splatterdog »

2 inches can add a lot of self esteem for those that need it..
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by NWMO »

Hey Slimdude,

Any interest in the Midwest Tercel Meet & Greet coming up in just under 5 weeks? We’re going to camp/cruise in north central Arkansas, beautiful country!

Chris
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by The Professor »

splatterdog wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 9:07 pm 2 inches can add a lot of self esteem for those that need it..
:lol: :lol: :lol:
1975 Subaru SuperStar wagon
1984 Subaru Turbo-Traction wagon & hardtop
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1987 Subaru RX Type-RA 3-door
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2019 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by terceldude »

slimdude85 wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 7:50 am While none of us like being lied to, at this point, it is moot. Recalls are issued when a safety concern (ignition switches easily turning off while driving, airbags with design flaws that shoot metal at the occupant, head rests that fail to provide adequate head support in the event of collision, etc.) is prevalent among one or multiple models and is either issued voluntarily by the manufacturer (Voluntary Safety Recall) or the Federal Government forces the recall (Federal Safety Recall) after a threshold of provable incidents are reported that all have the same cause.

In the event that a non-safety related issue (paint fading and flaking off, piston rings wearing out prematurely, catalytic converters failing sooner than is reasonable, an error in a sales or vehicle publication, etc.) the manufacturer may release a Customer Satisfaction Program to address the issue, but the problem would be addressed only if the customer came in and complained about it. Couple that with the standard expiration terms (10 years/150k miles from original sale, 5 years/45k miles from original sale, etc.) and at 33-38 years that program would have expired.

The only other recourse would be to hire an attorney and attempt a false advertising suit. Generally, false advertising laws say that consumers have proved their case if they show: (a) that the advertising was false or misleading; (b) that the falsity was “material,” often meaning the company lied about something important; (c) the consumer saw the false advertisement; and (d) the consumer relied on the false advertising in purchasing the product or service (source: classlawgroup.com). Then there’s the question of if it applies to you. Are you the original purchaser or did you buy it used private party or from a used car dealer? If purchased used, it would present another obstacle because since you had no dealing with the manufacturer or their representatives (Toyota Dealer) the defendants may argue that your complaint is not with Toyota but with the party whom you purchased it from. There’s are a myriad of defensible positions in a case like this that I can think of, and I’m not an attorney.

The most likely explanation regarding the ride height is an error during the editing process and no one noticed. I’ve read several books, of which tens of thousands were printed, that have had printing errors. It’s common.

Chalk it up to human error and let it go.
To err is human, to forgive is divine. - Alexander Pope
Well ok, but if I buy another one manufactured in 1982 and is hinted as 1983, then if I resell it, I will sell it as a 1982 model
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Re: Mistakes TOYOTA made or LIES in Identifying OUR CARS

Post by slimdude85 »

NWMO wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:40 pm Hey Slimdude,

Any interest in the Midwest Tercel Meet & Greet coming up in just under 5 weeks? We’re going to camp/cruise in north central Arkansas, beautiful country!

Chris
Yet again, scheduling conflicts are preventing me from being able to participate. Hopefully next year.
Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:25-26

I have learned to kiss the wave that slams me into the Rock of Ages. -C.H. Spurgeon
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