1st Model-Year Jitters?

[suprachica79]

Hey guys. I've been trolling this forum for some time now, and am really excited to see toyota in one form or another (Scion) get back in the sports-coupe game. I have always loved toyotas but I also love my coupes and aside from the tC (not a fan at all) toyota has nothing, so they haven't been on my radar for years.

After hearing about the qualities this new car should possess, I'm pretty much on board for when it debuts. My biggest concern right now is the issue of reliability when a brand new car comes on the market. Historically, many cars that are brand new models seem to have alot of problems that have not been worked out because they are the first models of that car.

I know that Toyota is about high quality, although in recent years I feel all Japanese cars have lost some of their quality, but it still makes me nervous that this brand new model will have some first-year quirks that may make owning it a PITA. Does anyone else share my concerns? Any reassurances that this car will be fine are gladly accepted haha

Discuss fellas :happy0180:

[Spaceywilly]

Is it smart to wait until the second year? Probably, since it is a brand new model with a brand new engine. I'm sure there will some issues that they didn't anticipate. There are also many rumors of a turbocharged version coming next year, so you might want to wait to see the details of that.

Personally, I will buy one anyways. I have wanted this car since the very first rumor I heard about it many years ago, and I've followed it ever since. I don't really care about the turbo model because I don't feel like it's worth the extra money. I'm still waiting for the final design and pricing to come out, but I'm already starting to save up to get one as soon as humanly possible. I just don't feel like waiting another year.

FWIW, I have a 2002 WRX which is the first year that it came to the US, and the first year of the GD model. I got it in 2008 with 40,000 miles on it, so I can't speak to what happened to it before then, but it has 120,000 miles now and I've had 0 problems with it.

[KaliKev]

My 2007 Toyota FJ is a first year vehicle. I have 110k miles on it with zero issues, just pure joy.

I will have no problems buying this car the first year.

[82mm 4g63]

Japanese automakers are #1 in initial quality even after a small dip over the last 2 years. Lexus is #1 followed by Honda and Acura. Mazda is up there followed by Porsche and Toyota. The only American company up there is GMC and Cadillac. Subaru isn't too far down the list either.

2011 Nameplate IQS Ranking
Problems per 100 Vehicles

Lexus 73
Honda 86
Acura 89
Mercedes-Benz 94
Mazda 100
Porsche 100
Toyota 101
Infiniti 102
Cadillac 103
GMC 104
Industry Average 107
Hyundai 108
Subaru 108
BMW 109
Chevrolet 109
Volvo 109
Chrysler 110
Lincoln 111
Audi 113
Kia 113
Buick 114
Jaguar 114
Ram 114
Ford 116
Nissan 117
Jeep 122
Land Rover 123
Scion 123
MINI 131
Volkswagen 131
Mitsubishi 133
Suzuki 136
Dodge 137

Not to shabby for Toyota/Subaru.

I had no problems with my Tundra when I had it. I don't expect the same reliability with the F150 that I just bought. But every purchase new/used is a gamble.

[Kids Heart]

Sometimes the first year model has better features and quality before they figure out ways to cut cost of production.

[The4kBeast]

Originally Posted by Kids Heart

Sometimes the first year model has better features and quality before they figure out ways to cut cost of production.

Very true. It is very common for features to be stripped if they have a low take rate. If you see a feature set you want, it never pays to wait.

With all of the development that went into this car, and quality as good as it is nowadays, I doubt that there are going to be huge issues with this thing.

If you are interested in one, I would buy before the 2015 model year. The new CAFE standards are going to screw us all. Thanks, big govt.

[serialk11r]

Before 2015? I think by 2014 ish most automakers should be pretty much meeting the standards. I think most companies have to improve fuel economy by 40% or something...let's see, better valve tech can give about 10-15%, smaller displacement in combination gives maybe 10% more (although people in America demand higher displacement so this probably won't happen to a big extent), adopting direct injection for all models gives probably like 5% more, this is assuming good gearing, which manufacturers are already starting to do. With longer gears most compact cars can definitely do 40mpg highway. I don't think it's as much to worry about as some people think, not in this segment of the market anyways. 2.0L doesn't have much more room to shrink, so low price sports cars shouldn't really be affected that much.

[Type[R]+]

Originally Posted by KaliKev

My 2007 Toyota FJ is a first year vehicle. I have 110k miles on it with zero issues, just pure joy.

I will have no problems buying this car the first year.

Your car is essentially my car with a different body! Toyota built tough!
My brother has a 2011 model in black, it's a beast!

[Type[R]+]

I'm not too worried about first year models, my Toyota prado is the first year 'update' model with the new engine, and other bits and pieces. Zero issues.

My Honda Accord Euro (TSX) is a first year model, I was one of the first people in australia to get one, I ordered it before it came out here, and got one from the first shipment. Zero problems again.

Not saying they won't have problems, but I have all the trust in the world in Japanese cars. You can't beat them IMO.

[Marrk]

Originally Posted by suprachica79

Does anyone else share my concerns?

I share these concerns.

That's why I'm going to following Spaceywilly around and see if his blows up before I buy one.

[Random_Art]

I had a 2000 Celica GTS that I bought used. And it seems that the only problems I had with it were directly attributable to one of the former owners (spinning a crank bearing before I even put 15 miles on it shouldn't happen,) rather than getting the kinks worked out.

But, in regards to the car getting nerfed in features after the first year? It can happen. My Celica, for example, had the Lift engagement point set 500 rpm lower than in all the years that came after it.

[Spaceywilly]

Originally Posted by Marrk

I share these concerns.

That's why I'm going to following Spaceywilly around and see if his blows up before I buy one.

And that's why I'm keeping my WRX just in case :happy0180:

[Toyota fr-s]

Alot of first year toyota cars are the best year for the car. I used to have a year 2000 celica which I later traded for a 2003 and lets just say I should have kept the 2000. In 2003 the dbw was introduced and made it difficult to use an aftermarket ecu. The only thing that was fixed in later years was replacing the lift bolts with stronger bolts.

Now I own a 91 MR2 Gen3 Turbo and from what I hear from other people, its the best year to have. So, having said that, I wouldn't be concern with this car being the first year and all. Plus toyota will not let anything bad happen to them again when it comes to quality.

The only thing I would be concerned is if the first few cars that come out are NA and then a Turbo version comes out. But we will know later if that will be the case.

[ft86Fan]

Its a good idea for manufactures to throw in some extras only for 1st year model cars to entice buyers.