Reallistically, regardless of make of vehicle, if yours rattled loudly in cold weather and failed to start several times when warm, would it matter to you if someone else didn't agree with you when you told them this? Would it matter to you what JD P & A said?
I think it's great that your truck has been better to you than mine has been to me. I think it's great that so many people have great luck with Toyota.
I'm just speaking from my experience. It's a fact, as I have experienced it, that the vehicle that I own, which was produced without major changes for 6 years by Toyota, has a lot of, for most part, minor defects. The fact that I will not buy another Toyota stems from my experience, not from something I've heard or read.
Just as you have formed your positive opinion from positive experience, I have formed mine from negative.
I guess there isn't much point to this post.. I'm basically expanding on what you've already said... we're all entitled to our opinions.

 

Its cool, no hard feelings. Just a friendly discussion in my eyes.

 

My Ford Exploder died in the driveway, have to have it towed out of the driveway at only 24,000 miles and the thermostat another time stuck open, overheating and stalling me again. American cars are $%#^@. They do not even compete against Toyota and other Japanese brands. I hate to say it, but the American car industry is based on loyalty and old history. No recent product produced by the big three has even come close to providing the craftsmanship, quality of materials and reliability of Toyota. My '02 Runner Sport and '03 Runner Sport have never been to the dealer for a repair. Nothing, not even a misaligned trim piece. I respect your loyalty to Dodge, but consider yourself rare for never having a problem. My brother went through four engines in his brand new Wrangler, Chrysler finally bought it back from him after a year of pure torture. Corporate Chrysler was involved in the Wrangler nightmare and he then bought a Ford Cobra SVT to replace the Jeep that was continually in the shop. Guess what he drives now and LOVES it? A Taco. Never been in the shop.

 

Your not ever going to buy another Toyota due to one bad experience with a vehicle? That's kind of harsh isn't it? I mean, I think Toyota actually has a better track record when it comes to quality and reliability than any other car maker, and yes, even Yugo.

 

Let me clarify few things. First, I'm not a loyal fan of Dodge at all. It just happened to be the last vehicle I owned before Toyota and it was trouble-free, so I brought it up. I've owned a total of 11 cars from GM, Mitsu, Dodge and Yota. Most of them were from GM. Some were horrible, while others were excellent. So, it is possible that quality can vary greatly within brand and maybe even within each individual vehicle.
My reason for not wanting to buy another Toyota is that they do cost more and they can be just as imperfect as some other makes that, according to the public, are to be avoided (again, this comes from my experience).

 

LOL@Yugo!

 

But, Toyota resale cant be touched. Keep that in mind on your next purchase, whatever that might be.

 

My 93 Runner with 115K on the clock - no rattles, even at the sunroof

My 2000 JGC, bought late Dec with 36K on the clock had no rattles, now with 48K, it has more creaks and growns than an old folks home.

 

That is very true, good point! Now, just convince me that Toyota dealers are not a-holes, and I'll consider buying another one

 

Are any dealers not a-holes?

 

Sucks about the Jeep, Cebby. I almost bought one too. I chose 4Runner over it, mainly because it seemed to handle much better.

 

I've no idea. 4Runner is my 1st new vehicle. All the other cars I bought either from private parties or auctions. Never had to deal with dealers.
I hear Saturn dealers are pretty good. Took bad their cars are so damn unattractive.

 

Then you obviously won't mind selling me yours for a song. I'll trade you my 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee for it - which, as you know, is basically a Dodge. The reason for the on-road handling difference is that the JGC has a solid front axle where the 4R has IFS.

I've had pretty good experiences with the 5-star dealer I bought my Jeep from. They have been very fair - surprisingly.

The Toyota dealer I use isn't all that bad. It's fun to be edumacated when they try putting a spin on something and catching them in their horse-hooey. They know me now, so no more BS.

 

I'm sure IFS has much to do with it. The part about Jeep that scared me was how much it leaned in turns. I think it was just because it was sprung so much softer than the Runner. At least that's what it felt like.

 

There ya go. do I lie?

so bypass the sales people next time and go through the internet purchase things or go through the fleet purchase department, I think that's what it is called. no negotiating, no hassle from those "knownothing about what they are selling" salesman.

that's because there's "no haggle" pricing with those P'sOS. What's printed on the window is what you pay and then you just qualify. non of this skeemy scammy crap the dealers (all dealers not just toyota) pull. so saturn sales sleezebags are just paper pushers.

 

Damn!! I think I'm just gonna take up walking!

 

but you gotta make sure you go to the stealership and finance a pair of Toyota Walking Shoes, they last longer and their resale is very high!

 

I was about ready to trade my 4 runner on a new car because of the %&!!@^%&%^!! rattle just behind my head while in the driver seat. Finally figured it out however, and it is a VERY easy fix that costs essentially nothing.

If you open the sunroof and look in from outside the car, you will see a set of rails. On the outside edge (closest to the window) you will see a small rod (looks like a tube) in the lower groove. THAT is your problem. Find something like a rubber washer or thin soft material that you can put above and below the rod and the noise disappears. I used a small 1/4 inch rubber rod cap that I cut a groove out of and then slid it over the rod. First one lasted almost 2 years. I just had to put in the replacement after it started to rattle again. Silence is golden and I still love this car.