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Toyota And Nissan In 6.5 Million Airbag Recall


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Makes me laugh when people say that Japanese cars are the best and most reliable. They've had some of the biggest recalls in the past few years.

 

Almost always for safety and not reliability reasons though, so the claim is correct.

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Makes me laugh when people say that Japanese cars are the best and most reliable.
Took the dust sheets off the MX5 at the weekend, not touched it in the last 6 or 7 months (garage-hibernated mid-Oct'14 IIRC). 17 springs young, and everything original throughout (except tyres and filters/plugs, of course).

 

Checked the levels and visually the belts, all good. Reconnected the battery and cranked it. First turn of the key, first catch of the starter motor. Tappets were unsurprisingly a bit noisy for the first 5 mins (due a service and oil change), and brakes a bit scratchy/crunchy to begin with, but all silent/absolutely fine after engine started to warm up and a few 'clearing' applications of brakes.

 

I'd not been out with 15 minutes this morning (1st time, insured and taxed it last night) that some guy was already asking me at the lights if it's for sale. Eeeeh - no. ;)

Edited by L00b
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To be fair you could say exactly the same about any modern car that was properly garaged.

 

I tried to start the 850 a couple of weeks back after it had been laid up for three years. New battery as the old one was marginal three years back so I recycled it. That was it - ten seconds of cranking and it fired, couple of cylinders missed for a few seconds and she was away. Runs rough because the fuel is off but a new tank will sort that out.

 

Mates MX5 always was tappy on startup but that goes within a few seconds and it's fine - I never had one but I always fancied one for summer runs in Provence.

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To be fair you could say exactly the same about any modern car that was properly garaged.
Oh, I don't know, e.g. seen plenty of -64 and -15 plated VWs on AA/RAC flatbeds recently, could be a coincidence :D:twisted:

 

By 'modern' standards (electric- and assisted-everything with a PC to run it all on the fewest sips), the MX is anything but 'modern', and I daresay that's why it endures so effortlessly.

 

Alright it's a late 80s-design, we're not talking Minors and Marinas...but even for the age (ours is a late '98 Mk1) in mechanical terms, it's as basic as they come. There's an ECU under the bonnet and a car radio and, errr...that's it. No ABS, EBS, XYZABC <etc.> or, for that matter, aircon, leccy windows or roof. This is the philosophy which made the reputation of Japanese automotive engineering in the 80s/90s: design under KISS, overspec the build/tolerances for the stuff that matters (engine, running train etc. - e.g. the MX5 n/a bloc was designed for forced induction as standard), don't bother much with the toys/interior.

 

Same with e.g. Subaru when they got their 'indestructible' reputation: there was nothing that mechanically complex about them, the reason they were (still are?) so reliable is precisely because they were made of elegantly simple technical solutions/implementations.

Mates MX5 always was tappy on startup but that goes within a few seconds and it's fine - I never had one but I always fancied one for summer runs in Provence.
I regret keeping ours completely off the road and not driving shortly before deciding on the Cooper S convertible earlier this year. I think I wouldn't have bought the Mini. Gear change, driving positions and torque steer are just so clunky/wrong/bleh compared to the MX5. Edited by L00b
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Makes me laugh when people say that Japanese cars are the best and most reliable. They've had some of the biggest recalls in the past few years.

 

Is that related to the level of mechanical problems they typically experience?

 

---------- Post added 13-05-2015 at 13:49 ----------

 

I'd hardly say they are safe OR reliable based on recent recalls.

 

Does a recall somehow make the cars less reliable?

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I'm not sure about "less reliable" but to me it speaks of rushed builds with not enough testing.

 

But we know that the owners are really the long term testing guinea pigs, and their feedback to dealerships go into a revised or facelifted model a few years on.

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Is that related to the level of mechanical problems they typically experience?

 

---------- Post added 13-05-2015 at 13:49 ----------

 

 

Does a recall somehow make the cars less reliable?

 

Well this latest recall seems to suggest the airbags are not that reliable, is it a question that really needs answering?

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