Release delayed lol

The 6th gen literally looks like a 2nd gen and a 4th gen had a bastard it looks really bad in person (I’ve seen it at overland expo)

 

We were discussing this in August. Six months later there's now a recall on Tacomas with 17" wheels for this issue: https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-recalls-certain-2024-2025my-toyota-tacoma-4-wheel-drive-trucks/

Steering a supertanker...

 

Wow just wow. Who is designing these vehicles lately?

 

Americans

 

Japanese, judging by the design language



Jokes aside, historically Toyota takes 3-4 years to fix the glaring bugs. First model on the previous platform was the 2003+ 4Runner. Early years had headgasket leaks, cracked front diff mounts, crack engine mounts... plus things that never got rectified in following two decades, like the poor XREAS shocks and leaky steering rack. This new platform will have a new learning curve.

 

But this is just basic shit. Why would you ever run the brake line so close to the wheel in the first place. It’s like their designers have never heard of mud or snow before.

 

There is a silver lining…they didn’t just blame the problem on a driver using the Tacoma off-road.

 

As I said, Japanese.

 

Bro, north half of Japan is covered in snow in the winter.

Tacoma is only sold in NAFTA and a few CenAm region markets, designed in the US and all built in Mexico

https://pressroom.toyota.com/2024-toyota-tacoma-is-the-ultimate-adventure-machine/

Sounds like the caliper hose routing design was half-assed, and QC people didn't have a step to look at the inside of the wheels after assembly.

 

I don’t think QC would be expected to make judgements on design/engineering decisions. I think their responsibility is more to guarantee the car is produced faithfully to it’s design, even if it’s a bad one.

That said, I’ve heard Toyota manufacturing culture seeks out opinions on problems related to the assembly of cars on the line. Maybe they would accept input from factory workers (like QC) on aspects related to design/engineering? I would think that would be a royal mess if they did, but you never know. If they did, I bet the engineers would be pissed at getting comments from the peanut gallery lol.

The design of the brake line routing just looks like a rush job…like they literally made a decision to “ship” the design to make a deadline, knowing they have to figure it out later. What I can’t figure out is why this routing needed all that much thought/engineering to begin with. Well, I can guess…probably has to do with wanting to reduce materials and part count anywhere and everywhere.

 

Anyone have a picture of the 4Runner brakes? Did they fix it before releasing or leave it the same as the Tacoma?

 

I have also read about the power of the factory worker, they can stop everything if there is an issue, I believe it's part of their mistake proofing process.

 

I’d be so fired if they gave me that kind of power.

 

I don’t think that or Kaizen is happening anymore based on all these issues and recalls that keep happening.

 

That's the problem, the factory workers are not keen enough to see that a poor routing job like this can cause problems. Anyone somewhat familiar with automotive concepts, especially those who assemble axle and wheel components, can see this is a bad design. But not one from design team down to the floor workers cared enough to see the issue.

And why should the average Baja and Guanajuato factory worker care when they are paid barely 1/10 what their cousins in the San Antonio factory get paid?

 

Would you care beyond the minimum requirement if you are paid 30 dollars a day working a full day shift to slap together a truck that costs between 5-10 times your annual wage?

 

I think the issues is that, Kaizen or not, good wages or not, line workers judging design aspects of what they’re building seems backwards from an organizational perspective. The more I think about it, I bet engineers didn’t like it either but the idea went through anyway due to other non-engineering priorities. In other words, the brake line is so cringeworthy, it probably was a decision, not a “mistake”. Somebody working on the factory floor probably wouldn’t stand a chance at changing that.

And who knows, maybe the guys tying those brake lines together did report it up the chain, but were told to carry on.

 

You are probably right, it can be an issue anywhere along the process. Perhaps if one of the earlier 6th gen 4R buyers can take a peek at the rear brakes we would know if the issue is a NA design office only issue or if it's a Prado level issue.

 

That’s a very interesting question if the Prados have then same design!

 

Nope. Seems like the design team may have the same attitude too.

 

That's like saying the Japanese designers know rust because Japan is surrounded by the ocean. Yet they lose their minds when they see the stuff we have here. But did you even read the press release? The brake line damage is said to be caused by mud and dirt off road. Snow being linked to the recall is something @Turd Ferguson dreamed up.

Most of the Tacoma's rear axle and rear brakes are shared with other TNGA-F vehicles, the first of which was the LC300 designed in Japan. I had already shown in this thread in August that the GX550 has the same vulnerability, but it avoids a recall because the upper-middle-class housewives driving those don't go off-road:

 

What did I dream up? Snow builds up inside of wheels all the time buddy.

 

It seems backwards because that would be backwards, and regardless, it's not how the Toyota system works.

Line operators are authorized to stop production if they identify a manufacturing defect, not for an opinion about the vehicle design.

 

Snow hasn't been attributed to brake line damage by Toyota's assessment.

 

If mud can cause the issue then snow will too. Especially after you park and it freezes inside of the wheel.

 

https://youtu.be/REOAESdKIRA?si=w5pDES_di2tjJSxs

 

Bruh it’s designed in Michigan.. probably hired the same Detroit monkeys that designed Mopar vehicles…

 

^JDM Land Cruiser: https://kuruma-news.jp/photo/800251

 

You know American cars are behind the curve globally? The protectionism laws here is shielding our market from what’s possible.

if those $15-20k BYD cars are available here, they will be the best selling cars in America

 

^Yo bruh did you even click on the Japanese web link? Did you just assume that was a BYD?
https://global.toyota/en/detail/14142579