Complaint Review: Toyota

If this Toyota owner argument is so one-sided, then PLEASE present the data that Toyota has that unequivocally points the BLAME at us! Do it now and do it here so that this matter will end. We'll have the necessary experts from our side examine the evidence and THEN we can begin to resolve the matter once and for all.

The Toyotatech poster is an affiliate of Toyota, correct? He has openly said that I am "out of control." Does he mean that I am out of TOYOTA'S control? Then, yes, he is correct. If he does not mean this, does he mean that I am out of control because I want to have the necessary number of owner contacts to support the owners' beliefs? IF this is being "out of control," then I'd like to know HOW. I really don't think anyone has a right to control what I do or do not do so long as I am using my rights under the law. Am I wrong?

In addition, Toyotatech and other Toyota affiliates have mocked me for standing up for the owners in this situation. This begs the question, WHY? The have continually said they wonder what my next vehicle will be and they pity the poor manufacturer who has to deal with me. Interesting, very interesting response to me considering the details of the owner involvement in this sludge matter. All this just SUPPORTS the evidence that Toyota is callous with blatant disregard for the owners feelings and absolutely NO RESPECT for anyone who challenges its stand in the matter.

I STRONGLY RESENT the way that Toyota allows its representatives, official or unofficial, to treat those who wish to speak up. This is just one additional indicator that Toyota and its affiliates will encourage the SILENCING of the most vocal owners in the matter. It would rather do this than to tackle the problem HEAD ON! It would rather scoop up its executives and tell them to HIDE, no RUN from such Toyota owners. Better to bury your head in the sand than to worry about what to say to such owners, right?

I respect the decision that one executive made to allow another executive to meet with me to hear (initially) the views of the owners and to respond to the first set of questions that the owners had. This executive DID THE RIGHT THING regardless of what is happening right now. The problem comes now, when all contact is CEASED just after I experienced major computer intrusion and active internet hijacking. This leads me to think that all the above was merely WINDOW-DRESSING, therefore a facade. There has been no follow through. There has been NO INTEREST in finding out what the owners REALLY WANT in this matter.

We have simply been told that the owners are HAPPY with the CSP....that they are SATISFIED with it based on FOCUS GROUP RESEARCH. If this is so, why are owners STILL coming forward here and elsewhere to relate "horror stories" about the care given at the Toyota dealerships? Why are owners contacting me asking for referrals to the Toyota officials who can help them resolve their cases? Why are owners angry that they are being BLAMED for the problem even after the CSP has come out?

The owners are not asking for too much. They want respect. They want the answers to their questions. They want corporate responsibility for inherent problems in their new vehicles. They want the quality and reliability that was promised to them. They absolutely do NOT want to be attacked here and told that they have abused their vehicles and are asking for some "free ride." How insulting is that????

IF this is an industry-wide problem as some at Toyota have indicated, then HOW LONG has the industry known about it? HOW LONG has it kept such information HIDDEN FROM THE OWNERS?? Is there some common thing causing this mechanically as there was in the ABS defect that Chrysler had in the past......e.g. a part made by Bendix that was DEFECTIVE and used by other manufacturers as well? Is there a supplier that we need to know about who may have knowingly been supplying a defective part? IF this is an industry-wide problem, then there must be evidence out there to support it. BRING IT ON!

It seems that every time I get into a debate with anyone who is remotely Toyota affiliated, I get accused of being all sorts of things. These people simply flare up with anger instead of meeting the challenge head on to discuss the matter. They "don't want to go" to the places I lead them. But why?

Let me just say that I challenge ANY automaker to make a vehicle that LIVES UP TO its presented level of quality and reliability. In the past, I have owned my vehicles 12 and 14 years. Sound like abuse to you? I had a Ford for 12 years and a Chevrolet for 14 years. It has only been in the last decade that the quality has PLUMMETED, as far as I am concerned. The issues are well documented for my own vehicles. Toyota is not the only one having major problems which are denied or blamed on the owner. HOWEVER, Toyota is the one that owners are dealing with right now. Will its behavior rise above the rest? Will it set the example for the others to follow as it did with the high quality back in the 80's? I really don't know, but I challenge it to do so. I challenge any automaker to DELIVER a vehicle without early major problems.
The bottom line is that owners who can link on-line will no longer be kept in the dark about major problems. There will be no more hiding by the automakers. The Privacy Act prevented owners from finding each other when it came to be in the 1970's. Now, owners are no longer isolated; quite the opposite...they can find each other in a flash. I'd simply like to see owners use this venue to link, to uncover problems which are common, to resolve matters effectively, to get what they paid for. Is Toyota opposed to this? If so, WHY?

Through all this there has been a serious irony. The outward public personna given by Toyota is that it cares for its customers. It wants its owners to be completely satisfied. BUT, the behind the scenes experience is often the opposite as cited by posters here and elsewhere. Toyota doesn't want to take the owner HEAT. It doesn't want to FOLLOW THROUGH with this matter to the final resolution. This is very disconcerting given the level it has risen to over the years. Are all eyes on Toyota? If so, Toyota needs to move into gear and settle the matter once and for all. To be an exemplary, ethical company to which others look up to, Toyota will need to do more. I have some suggestions.......

Charlene Blake
Vienna, Virginia
U.S.A.

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