Who else?

#1

Although I’m no great fan of Toyota products(give em a break already!),does anyone know of any other problems(serious or just annoying that other car companies or even appliance manufacturers have got by with? At the expense of the consumer.- Kevin

#2

I had a Sony TV that was 4 years old and Sony did not make the part I needed to repair it. It was not a safety issue so I was out of luck. The TV was just dead, but if it was a risk to catch on fire and a safety hazard then there might have been a recall. No such luck, I just had to get another TV.

The baby crib recalls are similar to Toyota’s issue in that millions of them had to be either fixed or discarded because that was a safety issue.

There are thousands of just plain bad products on the market that stay on the market because the fault doesn’t involve safety.

#3

There are lots. Sludgeing engines from several manufacturers, poorly designed fuel tanks that were subject to fires on rear end accidents, Ford/Firestone roll overs …

Things are better today as governments tend to take it more seriously, but there are problems every day.

How long did the entire auto industry fight simple seat belts?

#4

Thanks guys,didnt the 57 Ford have “Lifeguard Design”? or was that an option? anyway some things the consumer have to have rammed down thier throats.I believe on the Ford design,the padded dash turned out to be more dangerous then the metal dashes-Kevin

#5

I have a happy story, though many others may not. I owned a 50" Panasonic LCD rear projection TV. The projection lamp blew up every 6 months or so, at least 18 months before it was supposed to. Each time it expired, Panasonic replaced it at their expense - except the last time. I called to ask about a bulb replacement. It had been about 2 years since I bought the TV and this was the 4th bulb that blew. I was extra nice since I expected them to kiss me off. I was handed off to a supervisor, who asked if it would be OK if they replaced my TV. I said maybe, depending on what they had in mind. The offered a 56" DLP rear projection set. I said of course. I’ve had it for 2 years and it’s still on the first bulb. I think the original problem was a power surge that occured on start and it eventually broke the filament. Panasonic had a class action law suit. I declined to participate. I’ve bought Panasonic goods since then and will continue to.

#6

In thirty five years as a parts man Ive never sold so many rear brakes as after they went to rear discs on pickups.

As I drive down the road I tend to notice those with lights out. The greatest number of tail/brake lamps that aren’t working, a huge ratio like 80 %, seem to be on Dodge/Chrysler brand cars in the Stratus/Intrepid/Sebring/Concorde body styles. What’s going on there ?

The chevy pickups that had a tail lamp bulb multi socket plate always had troubles with those molded socket plates. Re-designed but not recalled.

Ford Focus ignition lock cylinders. I’ve sold thousands. The key AND the tumblers would wear to the point of not being able to turn the cylinder at all. ( this is the result of subletting to the low bid, without complete r&d as to what they’re geeting for their ‘low bid’ dollars. ) Car would need towed to dealer because two new keys needed programmed with new cyliner.
A redesign was implimented and the numbers of Foci in the shop has fallen immensely sinse 05/06. Never recalled, all at owners expense unless cars were in normal warranty period.

#7

Agree that Panasonic is head and shoulders above other hard goods manufacturers in its attention to their customers.

We have a 50" Panasonic plasma TV, and a number of other appliances, and they are all very durable and long lived. The cordless phone is particularly rugged; it has been dropped a number of times and still operates flawlessly. My Panasonic UNIX digital camera is a delight to use. I had a Panasonic 2 tape answering machine that proved to be indestructable. I finally gave it to the Salvation Army Goodwill stores.

Major appliance makers are often droppping the ball. Consumer Reports had a GE oven owner write in that the controls failed in 8 years and GE could not be bothered making the parts, so he had to buy a new oven.

Whirlpool rescued Maytag when their quality went downhill and they nearly went under. Whirlpool (and its other brands) will be the only US surviving appliance maker in a world dominated by LG, Samsung, Haier, Elexctrolux, Bosch,Miele, etc

#8

Vegas with rear axles that came out of the housings
Pintos that exploded
Explorers that rolled over suddenly
Isettas

#9

Yes, the list of bad design and maufacturing defects is very long indeed. Ford cars, while idling, and slipping out of Park by themselves and into gear have killed a number of people. Very poor quality door latches on nearly all US cars before the “safety latch” was legislated had a lot of people thrown out of their cars when no seatbelts were installed.

The Pinto gas tanks and the Ford Falcon gas tanks where the top of the tank was also the bottom of the trunk.

We owe it to the much villified Ralph Nader to draw public attention to these shortcomings, all avoidable at minimal or no cost, and push the government into setting safety standards.

Unfortunately, although cars have improved immensely, the quality and competence of the drivers has gone the other way. Manufacturers are now asked to make cars “idiot proof” since the assumption is that an idiot (in terms of skills) will be driving it. No amount of safety items can make up for the extemely low quality of US driver training, mostly in the hands of the individual states.

If you hit the road today, your chance of dying in a crash caused by driver error (yours or someone else’s) is one in 5000 or so per year. You chance of dying because of poor car design is about one in a million or less.

#10

Chevy pickups with two side gas tanks mounted outside the frame rails. You can see them just in front of the rear wheel well, you can kick them with your foot.

The “recall” was nothing but some money towards the purchase of a new truck. And you know the dealers all won in that numbers game.
No kind of repair or modification was ever implimented.

I Still have my 79. It was never a worthwhile option to take their little check to buy another truck.

#11

I think there’s not much beating GM power steering syndrome (GMPSS, as Tom and Ray dubbed it) where GM had problems with their power steering racks for decades before finally actually fixing it in the early 90’s. Of course, the recall was in the form of one of GM’s famous “secret” recalls where only people who came in an complained got the fix, and only if their car was very new.

#12

What about GM’s with the 3.1 that knocked when cold? Also, how many years did it take them to fix the steering knuckle knock?

#13

Good question…many Bose products are over hyped and over priced, but so aren’t half the AV products out there.

#14

Whirlpool good,always liked thier washers-Kevin

#15

That engine also had lubrication problems caused by narrow oil galleries which in cold weather prevented the oil from circulating properly.

#16

Wasnt it one of O.J Simpsons “Dream Team” lawyers that got GM off the hook on that one?-Kevin

#17

It’s also kinda odd how Whirlpool has so many other names, while you never really see anything else besides the company name on the competitors. Kenmore, Crosley, Ingles, Amana, Admiral, Roper, Kenmore, Estate, Magic Chef, Kitchen Aid, Jenn Air, Maytag, Whirlpool, are all Whirlpool brands(I may have missed a name or two, too). I only know of the house brands of the competitors(LG, Samsung, GE, etc).
To be fair though, not all Kenmore appliances are built by Whirlpool, I think Frigidaire makes some fridge/freezers for Sears(actual Kenmore owners)

#18

Lets not forget all those Chevy/GMC trucks that have one of their DRLs out, usually the driver’s side

#19

The cheap fridges sold by Sears are made by Haier (from China), whose products are marginal and have caught fire in the past.

Frigidaire is now owned by Electrolux, and its quality has gone up considerably from the days it was owned by White Consolidated, who bought it from GM. We had one of the oringinal GM Frigidaire fridges (1968) and it lasted 22 years. When the defrost cycle failed, I sold it for $75 to a guy who collects old appliances with good appearance for movies and stage productions. Somewhere my old Fridge is sitting on the stage of a 60s drama or sitcom.

#20

It seems to me that Buicks equipped with power brakes back about 1953 had some type of failure where the brake fluid could be sucked through the vacuum booster and leave the car without brakes. There was some problem with upper control arm failures on 1965-66 full size Fords and Mercury cars. Ford only replaced the upper control arms on police cars as I remember. I read the other day that the government is recalling Servel gas refirgerators and paying $100 to get them away from the public. Apparently a partially plugged burner can cause the refrigerator to emit carbon monoxide fumes. Servel went out of business in 1957.