It’s Grand Highlander and TX – not what @snowball is eying.
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Toyota was busted for cheating on fuel economy - but who hasn’t been - I ask in jest. RX was one of the models impacted.
The grand Highlander and Lexus TX are the recall - airbag related.
Right now dealers are scrambling because of the CDK cyber attack - it’s been 3 days with no end in sight. CDK is the system more than half of dealers use to operate both sales and service. A lot of going back to paper but dealers (and commission employees) are in a world of hurt right now.
Manufacturers - and other software providers - have cut off access to keep their systems safe.
But things will be slow on finding you a car or ordering - that’s shut down for now.
And there’s a chance many of us who have bought from a dealer or service at a dealer will one day get the - we were hacked and your ss# was exposed - but don’t worry letter.
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Social Security number would not be exposed for service, but could be exposed if one bought a car at a dealer who did a credit check or application.
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Agreed but most who service at a dealer buy at a dealer and even used cars have an original owner, althiugh sometimes those are fleets.
Time will tell if dealer data was breached but that they appear ready to pay millions in ransom leads me to believe they captured a lot.
I had been quietly shopping for a subcompact SUV to replace my sedan. Sunday I saw the one I wanted, fully loaded, and a decent price. I didn’t even try to haggle, as the price was better than I’d seen others going for. I bought a 2024 Chevy Trailblazer LT, fully loaded.
I sold my 7 year old sedan with 52k miles on it, and little wear to Carvana. The process couldn’t have been easier. Their quote was far better than the dealership I got my new car from, and about 10% better than other online offers. I didn’t even try to sell private party with all the potential scams, flakes and more, out there.
I’m happy. Car buying and selling was much easier than it was even 7 years ago. Thank you internet!
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Rumor had it my car will be here the end of August! I have been working with two dealerships locally, one out of state, and the local one from Costco called me last week after ignoring my emails the first day! The dealership that has the car is the second local I was working with. While it is not the dealership around the corner from my house, it is at least in my city; going 15 miles is nothing!
From what he has sent me, the only thing I don’t want, but is installed at the factory for almost every 350h I have seen is the windshield wiper de-icer; something my garaged car in the South does not need, but for the $100 I will deal with it. I asked if we could avoid Port or Dealer add on; my salesman said they can not refuse the Port add ons, so I am hoping there is not too much. The Dealer add ons that I have to have is window tint and nitrogen air. From my reviews, most people like the tint, although I could get it much cheaper myself locally. The nitrogen is totally not needed for $99, so I will work on trying to get that not added.
As I have looked at many dealers inventory and window stickers, I can see what different dealers add to their cars; some add a lot more than others. Assuming this is all that gets added, I will live with it, but you can be sure I will be talking to the sales manager before the car hits their lot!
Now if my car can hold on 2 more months, I will be happy. I need to check the oil before it all leaks out!
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Costco limits how much a dealer can add on I believe. Or rather how much they can charge you for said add ons.
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We have a Lincoln Aviator and love it. The interior is beautiful (especially for a US brand), it has ample power and it rides great. We have not had any trouble with it outside of a recall for back-up camera in close to 40k miles. Before the Aviator we had a Ford Explorer, which we loved. The only reason we traded up was we needed over 6,000 lbs towing capacity. Amazingly, we looked at downmarket brands like Chevy Tahoes and Jeep Grand Cherokees, but by the time you specified them to the required towing capacity - higher trim to get the bigger engine, bigger engine, tow package, cooling package, etc. - they were more expensive than the Aviator.
My wife got a Hyundai Tucson hybrid and has been very pleased so far (she has close to 20k miles on it in under a year). It is comfortable and gets great mileage. We have a 2011 Hyundai Sonata that has given us no trouble in 13 years.
Toyotas and Lexus have had a reputation for being bullet proof for decades, and they consistently score well in JD Powers surveys. 4Runners are supposedly bulletproof.
I have had five Honda / Acura products over the years, and they were all well made and reliable. The only reason I broke from Honda was I accepted a job at Ford in MI. Hondas and Toyotas are “appliances”, but they always start and offer great build quality for the money.
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You might be surprised - with who’s on top JD Power Initial Quality - just out…
Ram climbed to first place in the 2024 J.D. Power U.S. Initial Quality Study, but Stellantis brand mate Dodge fell to last. Porsche was the top premium brand.
June 27, 2024 12:00 PM
Owners reported an average of 195 problems per 100 vehicles, three more than a year ago. Ram had 149 problems per 100 vehicles, and Porsche had 172. Ram did “very well in numerous areas, including their infotainment system,” Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, told Automotive News.
How the brands fared
The J.D. Power U.S. Initial Quality Study ranks brands by the number of problems that owners report for every 100 vehicles. The latest study was based on responses from 99,144 buyers and lessees of new 2024 models who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership.
| Ram | 149 | |
|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | 160 | |
| Hyundai | 162 | |
| Kia | 163 | |
| Buick | 164 | |
| Nissan | 166 | |
| Porsche | 172 | |
| Lexus | 174 | |
| Ford | 179 | |
| Honda | 181 | |
| Mini | 182 | |
| Subaru | 183 | |
| Genesis | 184 | |
| Infiniti | 187 | |
| Jaguar | 188 | |
| Mitsubishi | 191 | |
| Toyota | 192 | |
| Acura | 193 | |
| Study average | 195 | |
| Jeep | 200 | |
| GMC | 201 | |
| BMW | 206 | |
| Mercedes-Benz | 206 | |
| Cadillac | 214 | |
| Land Rover | 214 | |
| Lincoln | 224 | |
| Alfa Romeo | 226 | |
| Mazda | 232 | |
| Volkswagen | 241 | |
| Audi | 242 | |
| Volvo | 242 | |
| Rivian* | 266 | |
| Tesla* | 266 | |
| Dodge | 301 | |
| Polestar* | 316 |
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How do they define “problem”? Something needing repair or just something that person didn’t like? Just curious since it’s after 90 days and I assume there should be very few repairs in that time ;though what do I know).
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JD Power “problems” could be anything the customer does not like, which are not necessarily defects that need to be repaired. For example, https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2024-us-initial-quality-study-iqs lists such things as intended warnings, design of controls and displays, and disliking the new car smell.
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Owners of luxury cars are generally more picky about their vehicles than owners of run of the mill basic models. Impressive that Porsche and Lexus did not end at the bottom 
. Regarding EVs, the majority of the complaints are apparently directed at the design of the controls. Replacement of the physical buttons and levers with touchscreen is apparently one of the bigger gripes. I would definitely not want to honk the horn using a touchscreen!!!
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Who are these people that don’t love a new car smell? Now if we are talking wet dog smell, then the Subaru would be at the bottom of the list!
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We bought a car in February. We got a quote on a Honda CR-V through the Costco program, and the Costco price the dealer gave us was actually higher than the price the dealer had listed on it’s own website, with at least a couple thousand in add-ons on top of that. We complained to Costco and didn’t buy from that dealer. It was a disappointing experience.
We also checked a couple of brands that came back with no dealer available.
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Then something wasn’t working right - but i’ll also tell you a dealer that lists a price on a website isn’t always giving you the real price they’re going to charge you.
And it’s a HUGE PROBLEM - I call bait and switch but it’s trust breaking and not against the law depending on the state.
Oh yes, well aware of that, I was just surprised they would even bother to show us a Costco price that was already higher than their “advertised” price. Their customer service was especially terrible too.
My dad was a car salesman, and we are aware of all the tricks and tactics, and generally how to deal with them, but boy I hate car shopping.
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That’s me! Can’t stand it. I have 2 bars of Yardley lavender soap in my car, baking in the sun and in the evening I leave windows cracked open - that new car smell (plastic off gassing) gives me a headache and makes my throat hurt!
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I do not like new car smell. Also, different new cars can smell different, so different models may get different levels of complaints about it.
Is it the plastic off gassing that causes the film on the inside of the car windshield?