‘People didn’t complain about it’: Toyotas have a reputation for being reliable. But is the brand past its prime?
Toyotas are known for being among the most reliable cars on the road. The automaker has performed well in reliability studies and consumers rave about them.
But a small but growing minority are starting to wonder whether Toyota's quality has gone down.
Experienced mechanic and TikToker Hagerty (@hagerty_fancy) addressed this rumor in a recent video.
In his video, which has garnered nearly 150,000 views at the time of writing, he talks about the brand's history, changes, and what Toyota’s dependability looks like today.
“Is Toyota riding on their past track record of reliability and that is no longer the case today?” Hagerty begins.
Is Toyota past its prime?
Hagerty describes his opinion as the "humble two cents" of a "former Toyota master diagnostic technician and current Toyota and Lexus specialty shop owner."
According to Hagerty, Toyota’s "prime" was in the 1990s and early 2000s. He notes that both Toyota and Lexus, its luxury brand, earned reputations for durability and simplicity back then.
But around the late 2000s, he says, the quality started to dip.
"People didn’t complain about it—that’s the best part," he adds.
In Hagerty's opinion, around 2012, Toyota began to improve. Even so, he feels the brand never quite reached the level it was at in the 1990s.
What's changed, and why?
The reason, according to Hagerty, has a lot to do with costs.
“Cars got more expensive, and the cost of materials went up,” he says.
To remain competitive, he says, Toyota cut corners in less essential areas.
“They dropped quality in the things you touch and see,” he says. “Like the interior.”
Hagerty also believes there's been a cultural shift in car maintenance habits. He claims that many car owners still have the old mindset that it's okay to neglect their Toyotas, assuming they'll last without much upkeep.
In his opinion, that neglect contributes to complaints that the brand's quality is going down.
More recently, Hagerty says that Toyota has also started trying to shed its image as a maker of "boring" cars. He's noticed this particularly in the last five years.
“Their cars got better-looking, better handling, better driving,” he says, crediting Toyota for giving their vehicles “a little bit of character.”
However, with this change, he noticed a trend toward adding what he calls “gimmicks.” These are modern features—like advanced infotainment systems and other technology—that come at a cost, both in terms of price and potential reliability.
"Things are getting expensive in 2024,” he says, largely due to these extras.
He concludes by asking viewers if they would buy a new car with no power steering, no infotainment, and no safety systems.
“Would you buy a car like that in 2024?” he says.
What do viewers say?
Most commenters seemed to agree that Toyota's quality has declined.
One who identified themselves as a Lexus service director claimed that the brand went significantly downhill during the pandemic.
“Been with the company for 19 years,” they wrote. “Quality control is nothing like it was in the early 2000s. I agree. hate to say but post covid there was a change.”
“Toyota motors are now junk,” another put it bluntly.
“Toyota moves Tacoma to Mexico, quality went down and prices went up,” remarked another.
@hagerty_fancy Is Toyota Quality Going Down? Here's the Truth
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The Daily Dot has reached out to @hagerty_fancy via TikTok messaging and comments. We’ve also contacted Toyota via email.
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