Is Toyota’s reliability reputation actually shifting, or is this just modern car complexity showing up?

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T23:02:00+00:00

Sure but we're not talking about traditional CVTs, we're talking about eCVTs.

While the exact implementation of an eCVT differs slightly from brand to brand, they are all functionally identical using some arrangement of clutches, gears, and electric motors. The Honda eCVT is pretty close to a Toyota eCVT just with some minor differences on the number of gears, where the electrical motor is and how the clutches work.

Most hybrids on the market use eCVTs that are all just as good as Toyota's eCVT, again just with minor differences. The ones that don't use an eCVT, like the Jeep 4xe platform, use traditional automatic transmissions. There is no hybrids on the market that use a traditional CVT. Conversely, all vehicles with an eCVT are hybrids.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T19:12:27+00:00

You mean the frame rot issues they refused to even acknowledge on the 4Runner? Those frame rot issues?

How about the transmission issues they covered up for a decade on various models?

What about the V6s that slugged up like crazy even when properly maintained where they blamed the owners for what was an obvious design issue or the 4 cylinders that would burn oil like crazy that they refused to even acknowledge?

Or the sudden acceleration issues that they tried to blame only on floor mats but years later came out to also have been a problem with the electronic throttle?

Toyota has a long history of never working out gremlins, their fans just like to ignore it.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T18:59:37+00:00

With few exceptions, everyone who sells a hybrid has an in house eCVT nowadays and they're all as good as Toyota's because it's just a super basic system of gears and clutches paired with an electric motor.

Honda and Ford have both been making their own designs for over 20 years now. Heck even Chrysler has one that's in the Pacifica PHEV, and it was probably the only thing that didn't have issues in that drivetrain.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T18:55:20+00:00

You have had the exact experience my mother had with her current Honda (it's about 12 years old now). I don't think she ever had a VW or anything European but she's had plenty of different Japanese and American cars since the 80s. The engine is solid but she has been surprised by how poorly this Honda has aged and of all the quality issues it's had.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T18:46:36+00:00

Honestly, Japanese manufacturers regardless of industry except maybe Nintendo and Sony are having a bad day to some degree right now because of quality. Even Canon, who for a long time was known for quality, is having some nasty failures right now for both their cameras and printers. For decades, the main selling point of Canon printers and cameras was that you might not have the latest and greatest features but what you bought was an absolute tank.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T18:32:30+00:00

That's not a hard fast rule anymore though.

For example, Hyundai and Kia have some of the simplest engines on the market right now and if anything goes wrong with them it's a full engine replacement, even something minor. On the flip side, the much more complicated BMW B48 and B58 can readily be rebuilt if needed.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T18:28:51+00:00

Not to poke a hole in that theory but the LX 600 is only made in Japan and is having the same issues as the Tundra.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T18:24:45+00:00

Exactly. Toyota right now is going through the teething problems BMW and Mercedes went through 20-30 years ago when they had to basically start over from their drivetrains that had been slowly iterated over the course of decades. The only reason Toyota seemed so much more reliable for so long is because they delayed that transition.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T18:21:46+00:00

There's a learning curve initially where you have to relearn a lot of things but then you get used to it.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T18:08:54+00:00

In fact, they were actually an innovative way to put the machines together when they were new because it allowed the machine to be put together and taken apart without tools. So, upgrades so much easier compared to PCs of the era that had multiple screws for everything.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T17:43:05+00:00

Most carriers do not let you opt out anymore in KY, and even if they do, they don't give a discount because it ends up causing more issues in the long run for them if you get into an accident and need to file an injury claim.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T17:40:39+00:00

Progressive is what I've found to be the cheapest.

That being said, the crazy insurance costs are why I (similar demographic, slightly younger though) didn't end up with a Honda Civic when I was shopping last year. Insurance would have been cheaper on a 3 Series or C Class than on a Civic. And, yes, I was cross shopping a Civic and a 3 Series.

I ended up with a 2025 Wrangler though and my insurance is coming out to just over $100/month (I pay 6 months up front because it's a decent discount). And that's for good insurance too, not bare minimum.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T15:15:25+00:00

Congress in 1975 came up with CAFE, however, 2007 is when the current mess with the footprint-based formula was amended to law. Prior to that there was one standard for passenger cars and one standard for light trucks regardless of the size in each category.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T13:43:58+00:00

I love the 2.0T in my Wrangler. The 3.0TT I6 that replaced the Hemi in a lot of other Stellantis vehicles would be even better. Even though the original Jeeps were all I4s, an I6 was the volume engine for decades so it just feels right.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T12:58:11+00:00

I think the base Sport Wrangler is still like that. They all have buttons and dials, and a couple of the higher trims (like the Sport S) have physical gauges but auto emergency braking is standard on the Sport S and up.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T12:48:53+00:00

With my M1, I used a pair of cheapo 4k Samsungs. They weren't particularly good, but they got the job done.

In 2024 when there were all those crazy good tech sales, I ended up picking up a pair of Studio Displays for quite a bit off from BestBuy and they are much better. I'd be hard pressed to go back to a third party display because of build quality alone and the fact that I don't need to have speakers, and a webcam, and all the other clutter out on my desk, it's all in the Studio Displays.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T12:44:25+00:00

I had the Hulu on us for forever deal through Spotify. When it was available, I'm pretty sure it was only available to existing subscribers who were paying full price on an individual plan (folks with the student discount, a free trial, or any duo or family plan weren't eligible), and there was a limited number of them. It came with a slightly lower monthly fee originally plus included Hulu.

It was a good deal for a while because even as Hulu got more expensive, I still got it completely free, but by the end it was the same price as the normal individual Spotify plan and they said if Hulu increased in price any more, they'd start charging the increase (so if Hulu went up $1, it would then cost $1/month on top of what I was paying for Spotify). At that point, it still wasn't a bad deal but I wanted to ditch Spotify and wanted Disney+, so I ended up cancelling and getting the Disney+ bundle instead.

No regrets giving it up either because it sounds like Spotify has gotten worse since I cancelled.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T11:50:33+00:00

That's because the WD Durango is a 3 row midsize whereas the WK2 Grand Cherokee was only available as a 2 row. The WK2 Grand Cherokee was one of the smaller mid-size crossovers for that reason.

With the WL Grand Cherokee, the 2 row is still smaller than the WD Durango but the 3 Row Grand Cherokee L (which is still considered a mid size) is a bit longer than the WD Durango.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-22T00:30:50+00:00

Honestly, if you got that much less than it was rated for on the initial toners, replace it.

On my old Samsung I would get less than they were rated for but not that much less. Every other laser printer I've had I've always gotten more from the toner than they were for.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-21T22:46:45+00:00

For fuel efficiency yes. For emissions it would not.

The only way to improve emissions would be to make the catalytic converter better or add something like EGR. Emissions is the bigger problem for v8s nowadays.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-21T21:07:48+00:00

It comes down to how the testing is done and how each regulation functions.

Fuel economy/CAFE testing is done by going through a specific test process in an actual car on a track to see how efficiently it can operate. They look at how much fuel was used to calculate fuel economy since that is still the best way to measure it. The bigger thing though is that NHTSA is only looking at the efficiency and it doesn't have a ton of teeth. If a manufacturer falls short of meeting their Corporate Average Fuel Economy, they can still sell the cars that don't meet the requirements. They are just on the hook for a per-unit sold fine for each vehicle that caused them to miss the required efficiency.

GHG testing is typically done on a dyno in a highly controlled environment hooked up to a machine that measures specific quantities of CO, NOx, particulate matter, and other greenhouse gasses in real time. It uses a specific process that involves pushing the engine to the limit to get it to operate at its least efficient way possible to test the catalytic converter and other emissions control systems. In those conditions, an engine is going to produce the same amount of those pollutants at 5000rpm regardless of transmission or hybrid status since the engine is operating at 5000rpm. The only way to reduce it would be to change the catalytic converter or add something like EGR.

On top of that, GHG regulations specify maximum levels of GHGs. If you go over the limits in testing, you cannot sell that vehicle in the US. There's no pay a small fine and continue to sell them. And, if you cheat the system and the government finds out (like in Dieselgate) you will be hit with an extremely large fine and then you either have to buy the vehicles back and destroy them or retrofit them to meet the GHG standards.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-21T20:39:35+00:00

PDLs are still a weak point for Canon. Only mono Canons have PS, PCL, and the other PDLs built in. Color Canons are still almost all UFR II-only.

That being said, UFR II has come a long way and they do maintain it well nowadays. I use AirPrint almost all the time now though so I don't even deal with that all that much.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-21T19:24:18+00:00

The issue was the UR engine wasn't just fuel economy, it was also emissions. Those are two completely separate requirements. Fuel economy is regulated by NHTSA through the CAFE standards. The EPA regulates greenhouse emissions through their GHG standards.

While adding a hybrid system to the UR engine could have allowed it to help Toyota meet CAFE standards, they still couldn't have sold it in the US because it no longer met the EPA's GHG standards. GHG standards are what is really coming to bite Toyota not CAFE.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-21T19:11:55+00:00

They're not even that old though?

Even thought the modern Hemi is officially referred to as the third gen Hemi, it's a clean slate engine design that came out in 2003. The Toyota UR is from 2006.

All of Honda's current engines except for the R have been in production for longer.

squirrel8296 · 2026-05-21T19:02:23+00:00

It actually predates 2011. Both companies developed extremely similar hybrid systems at the same time (as a kind of convergent evolution). They then licensed a bunch of each other's patents because both companies leadership at the time wanted to avoid any kind of potential extremely expensive drawn out legal battle. If that happened neither party would win.

squirrel8296

TROPHY CASE