Toyota highlander and RX 330
#1
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I was shocked when i drove a 2 year old highlander lately,no any kind of rattles< i have every kind of it in my rx330>,no transmission hesitation,no fuel pump clicking.
#2
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The Highlander is only made in Japan with Japan-sourced parts and labor.
Some RX330 are made in Canada with "globally-sourced" parts, at a new plant with an inexperienced work force. I have no doubt that they will eventually get up to the Toyota quality standard.
Some RX330 are made in Canada with "globally-sourced" parts, at a new plant with an inexperienced work force. I have no doubt that they will eventually get up to the Toyota quality standard.
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Originally Posted by shikbas
I was shocked when i drove a 2 year old highlander lately,no any kind of rattles< i have every kind of it in my rx330>,no transmission hesitation,no fuel pump clicking.
#5
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Originally Posted by HarrierAWD
The Highlander is only made in Japan with Japan-sourced parts and labor.
Some RX330 are made in Canada with "globally-sourced" parts, at a new plant with an inexperienced work force. I have no doubt that they will eventually get up to the Toyota quality standard.
Some RX330 are made in Canada with "globally-sourced" parts, at a new plant with an inexperienced work force. I have no doubt that they will eventually get up to the Toyota quality standard.
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To my knowledge (2SAVVY please correct me if I'm wrong), but the only 'globally sourced' parts are the leathers & the interior wood trims......all other parts & materials are either local or shipped from Japan.
#6
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Not to hurt the Canadian pride, but I pay attention to the product, not how well the factory looked. FWIW, the Saturn and Corvette plants look fantastic, but the cars' quality & reliability are PoS.
Browse the RX forum in the past, you'll see many posts about performance mods, appearance package, big size wheels, etc. After the Canadian RX330 arrived, the RX forum has turned into whining sessions about tranny shift, rattles, suspension noise, etc.
Toyota/Lexus manages its quality control by the Japanese Kaizen approach. In business management terms, the Kaizen approach dictates that the quality of the workers must improve first, then the product or service. It will take a while for Canadian workers to buy into Kaizen. There's no shame in that. When Toyota first built Camry in Kentucky, it took about 3 years to get the workers in line with the management. Toyota obviously don't want to push the workers too hard too soon. They don't want to see a repeat of the "Gung Ho" movie where cultures clash.
Browse the RX forum in the past, you'll see many posts about performance mods, appearance package, big size wheels, etc. After the Canadian RX330 arrived, the RX forum has turned into whining sessions about tranny shift, rattles, suspension noise, etc.
Toyota/Lexus manages its quality control by the Japanese Kaizen approach. In business management terms, the Kaizen approach dictates that the quality of the workers must improve first, then the product or service. It will take a while for Canadian workers to buy into Kaizen. There's no shame in that. When Toyota first built Camry in Kentucky, it took about 3 years to get the workers in line with the management. Toyota obviously don't want to push the workers too hard too soon. They don't want to see a repeat of the "Gung Ho" movie where cultures clash.
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Originally Posted by HarrierAWD
After the Canadian RX330 arrived, the RX forum has turned into whining sessions about tranny shift, rattles, suspension noise, etc.
Toyota/Lexus manages its quality control by the Japanese Kaizen approach. In business management terms, the Kaizen approach dictates that the quality of the workers must improve first, then the product or service. It will take a while for Canadian workers to buy into Kaizen. There's no shame in that. When Toyota first built Camry in Kentucky, it took about 3 years to get the workers in line with the management. Toyota obviously don't want to push the workers too hard too soon. They don't want to see a repeat of the "Gung Ho" movie where cultures clash.
Toyota/Lexus manages its quality control by the Japanese Kaizen approach. In business management terms, the Kaizen approach dictates that the quality of the workers must improve first, then the product or service. It will take a while for Canadian workers to buy into Kaizen. There's no shame in that. When Toyota first built Camry in Kentucky, it took about 3 years to get the workers in line with the management. Toyota obviously don't want to push the workers too hard too soon. They don't want to see a repeat of the "Gung Ho" movie where cultures clash.
Many of the issues with the new RX design are just that...issues with new design. Many can be found on both the Canadian and Japanse produced vehicles. Tranny shift problem.....design issue, rattles...interior component design issue, etc.
Before you start making claims about people and places you know nothing about you should do some homework first.
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Before you start making claims about people and places you know nothing about you should do some homework first.[/QUOTE]
I would have to disagree with you krpster.....HarrierAWD is right Canadians just don't know Kaizen yet.
That's the reason why you see so MANY problems with the Canadian built RX330's!!
I would have to disagree with you krpster.....HarrierAWD is right Canadians just don't know Kaizen yet.
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#9
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Originally Posted by krpster
The plant has one of the highest quality reputations in North America. It hase won several AJAC and J.D Power Awards since it started production including 4 Golds and multiple Silvers.
Before you start making claims about people and places you know nothing about you should do some homework first.
Before you start making claims about people and places you know nothing about you should do some homework first.
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Like I said, I pay attention to the products. Not how well the factory looks or how many awards it gets. If you like any car from a plant that wins honors, feel free. I like those honor students, too.
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In the latest ConsumerReport auto issue, it gives RX's predicted reliability a half red dot, its second best rating. In the past, the RX has always earned a full red dot - the best rating. Also note that the Japanese-built Highlander gets a full red dot in this issue. Apparently CR has noted the slide in RX's quality & reliability in its annual survey.
BTW, I haven't done any homework in decades.
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Last edited by HarrierAWD; 03-05-05 at 10:20 PM.
#10
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The Cambridge Toyota & Lexus plants BOTH have awards for quality plastered everywhere! Perhaps there were some 'teething problems' when the Lexus plant was first up & running for several months, but that's not the case today.
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#11
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Originally Posted by Lextranny
I would have to disagree with you krpster.....HarrierAWD is right Canadians just don't know Kaizen yet.
That's the reason why you see so MANY problems with the Canadian built RX330's!! ![Egads!](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/pat.gif)
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Do you both have a thorough knowledge of the operations at the Cambridge facility? Perhaps you are experts in behavioural sciences with respect Canadian work philosophies? Maybe a deep understanding of the automotive industry in Ontario?
Even if one or all of these were true, what makes you both experts in evaluating someones understanding of kaizen or their ability to apply it? Because you read a book about it?
#12
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Originally Posted by HarrierAWD
Just so that you know that JD Power gives award to just about anybody. It gives out quality awards to quality cars. For crappy unreliable cars, they come up with "most appealing" awards. Under the JD Power system, there's an award for everybody.
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Agreed krp
....& Harrier, I sincerely doubt you know very much (if anything) about Canadian culture
Let alone our work ethics. It's funny one assumes things (that if one has problems with their RX, they say "OH! It must have been built in Canada, not Japan")
when in fact problems come from both plants about equal......if not more so from Japan from what we learned on our tour of the Lexus plant & speaking with some of the plant supervisors & management team.
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#14
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Perhaps someone could tell me why the Japanese-made new-gen Highlander got CR's best rating for reliability, while the RX330 only got the 2nd best rating. Both have the new 3.3L engine and 5-speed tranny, among other things.
Please refrain from personal attack and stick to the topic. Thanks. (Unfortunately I have to place the newcomer krpster in the ignore list.)
Please refrain from personal attack and stick to the topic. Thanks. (Unfortunately I have to place the newcomer krpster in the ignore list.)
Last edited by HarrierAWD; 03-08-05 at 11:19 PM.
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Originally Posted by HarrierAWD
Perhaps someone could tell me why the Japanese-made new-gen Highlander got CR's best rating for reliability, while the RX330 only got the 2nd best rating. Both have the new 3.3L engine and 5-speed tranny, among other things.
Please refrain from personal attack and stick to the topic. Thanks. (Unfortunately I have to place the newcomer krpster in the ignore list.)
Please refrain from personal attack and stick to the topic. Thanks. (Unfortunately I have to place the newcomer krpster in the ignore list.)
Harrier, don't be retarded !!!!! Think about the cost of a highlander compared to the RX. This factor is taken into account when they do the ratings.