Reliability Ratings Drop Toyota Hard In Consumer Reports Due To Toyota Recalls?
Reliability ratings for Toyota have been driven down by Consumer Reports, but are the Toyota recalls to blame?
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the number of Toyota recalls in 2013 have been many.
Unfortunately, the Toyota recalls are varied and potentially dangerous. For example, one Toyota recall affects the brakes and suspension, which has already been linked to car crashes. Another Toyota recall was for airbags that would fail to deploy. Even the might Lexus brand name had a Toyota recall because the hybrid engines could suffer a catastrophic failure.
You might be surprised to hear that Consumer Report doesn’t recommend any version of the top-selling Camry based upon Toyota reliability ratings. This decision came about because the Toyota Camry, the RAV4 SUV and the Prius V hybrid wagon all had poor reliability ratings in a new test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Jake Fisher, director of auto testing at Consumer Reports, says the Toyota reliability ratings may challenge the Japanese auto maker’s reputation:
“Maybe there was a time that you could say: ‘Well, if it’s a car from Subaru, it’s a car from Toyota, it’s going to be reliable.’ No longer are we seeing that.”
It’s not like the reliability ratings were all bad for Toyota. Its Lexus brand is number one for the reliability ratings chart and manages to beat out its competitors by a large margin.
US auto makers are also not known for good reliability ratings. For example, General Motors placed ninth place, Chrysler finished 18th, Dodge was 24th, and Ford was almost at the back at the pack with a reliability rating placing them in 26th out of 28 car manufacturers listed.
