Toyota Minivans SUCK!

[Losiracer2]

I'm so pissed at the Toyota engineers and here's why:

Lately my mom's been complaining about her A/C not being cold. So i figured how hard could it be right? its an 03' Toyota Sienna Symphony so I know its got R134 in it. So i popped the hood and looked for the Low side line. Found the High side immediately....right in front of my face. But the damn low side took me a sec. I finally found it......WAY in the back near the fire wall underneath the cowl. I tried attempting it by putting a towel over the intake manifold and leaning on it, but it was just too difficult....

So you know what that means!? I had to remove the entire cowl to get access to it, JUST to fill in that R134 which took 5 min. It took me at least an hour to remove the: wipers, cowl, and fresh air intake duct along w/ the rubber trim and those pesky clips that like to break. The was like 20-30 screws involved JUST to reach access to the Low side line. But thank god I finally got done w/ it and now it blows cold.

So F U Toyota engineers, get smarter or something!














oh, here's the High side...which i don't need! damnit.


just for comparison purposes....look how easy it is on our accords....Oh yeah didn't even have to look, that's why I love my Honda

Oh and I did this today, just incase you didn't see it in the three other spots I posted it haha, Header wrap!:

[91-accord]

engineers are not techs so they don't always think like techs...LOL

[Losiracer2]

engineers are not techs so they don't always think like techs...LOL

they sure don't....all that they care about is it just being there, not in a good easily accessible spot. I was about to write them a letter to complain.

[JoshM]

Well, it was kind of smart for them to do it that way.
If she didn't have you as a son, she would have taken it in to Toyota.
That would have cost atleast $100 in "labor".

[owequitit]

That is why I hate Toyotas for the most part.

They have so many ridiculous things that they just don't think through. Obviously, serviceability isn't the ONLY priority when designing something, but even on their new cars, Honda puts a lot of thought into making it as easy as possible to fix things.

The more and more I dig into other cars, the more I appreciate the attention to detail Honda puts massive amounts of effort into, and 99.9% of their customers are never able to appreciate.

Also, Kai, AC systems don't just discharge. There is most likely a leak somewhere.

[Losiracer2]

That is why I hate Toyotas for the most part.

They have so many ridiculous things that they just don't think through. Obviously, serviceability isn't the ONLY priority when designing something, but even on their new cars, Honda puts a lot of thought into making it as easy as possible to fix things.

The more and more I dig into other cars, the more I appreciate the attention to detail Honda puts massive amounts of effort into, and 99.9% of their customers are never able to appreciate.

Also, Kai, AC systems don't just discharge. There is most likely a leak somewhere.

well this is the first time in 3 yrs that she's noticed the A/C's been getting warm lately.

On my CB7, I had it filled w/ R12 last year and it was low by about a pound or so when i just got it refilled. The A/C repairman said they do lose some refrigerant when not used, like in the winter time. I even had him check the system, since I've got that dye in there from a previous leak...and no leaks. He said it leaks through the fittings near the compressor over time...but very slowly.

[Dv8]

Toyota engineers are among the best in the world. They just have the insessant need to overbuild and over-engineer everything. Try doing a valve adjustment on an LS400. Jesus. 8 fucking hour job.

But at the end of the day, I am still glad I own a Toyota.

[92vig]

Let's just say this....be GLAD all you had to do was remove the cowl and shit. To replace JUST the distributor cap and rotor on my Vigor took me 6 fuckin hours. 6 HOURS!! I was like "oh shit this is gonna be a breeze, 45 minutes tops". HELL NO....that thing is wedged RIGHT AGAINST the firewall. Can't even fit a screwdriver back there. And you have to take the battery out and heat shield between the engine and battery to get to the cap.

Not to mention use one of those damn S shaped screwdrivers with a tip on each end....and on the rotor I had to dremel the damn screws off and buy new screws and lock washers. PITA!!!!!!

[owequitit]

Toyota engineers are among the best in the world. They just have the insessant need to overbuild and over-engineer everything. Try doing a valve adjustment on an LS400. Jesus. 8 fucking hour job.

But at the end of the day, I am still glad I own a Toyota.

That's funny because every time I work on one, even doing simple stuff, I am glad I don't.

Not to mention all of their overbuilding doesn't seem to help long term quality much vs certain other competitors.

[bcjammerx]

FYI...find and fix the leak...5 year old cars should not need recharges.

and during the summer, the coldest setting will be, with the engine at 2000rpms (a/c systems don't do good at idle...aren't designed for it...esp. not yota's) on recirculate, fan one speed down from highest (not highest...one or two speeds slower), and coming out of the vents only...no feet and vent just face...

even then you'll be hitting around 45 degrees at the vent, any lower and you have a VERY good a/c...around 45 is great.

[Losiracer2]

FYI...find and fix the leak...5 year old cars should not need recharges.

and during the summer, the coldest setting will be, with the engine at 2000rpms (a/c systems don't do good at idle...aren't designed for it...esp. not yota's) on recirculate, fan one speed down from highest (not highest...one or two speeds slower), and coming out of the vents only...no feet and vent just face...

even then you'll be hitting around 45 degrees at the vent, any lower and you have a VERY good a/c...around 45 is great.

well its 5 yrs old, but has about 135k on it.

[92vig]

well its 5 yrs old, but has about 135k on it.

Don't know how people put that many miles on a 5 year old car, LOL. Where the hell are they driving? My 98 Accord didn't even have 100k when I totalled it in July 2007.

[sackingz123]

i dont say they suck because of that, theres always an issue of a piece getting hard to get to in some car no what matter who made it. my family have owned 3 generations of toyota vans, no breakdowns ever. my dad didnt change the oil fitler in our old 86' toyota van for ten years!!

[sackingz123]

Toyota engineers are among the best in the world. They just have the insessant need to overbuild and over-engineer everything. Try doing a valve adjustment on an LS400. Jesus. 8 fucking hour job.

But at the end of the day, I am still glad I own a Toyota.

what i hate about the ls400 is where they put the starter. PITA!!!!

[C91BLX7]

Its a minivan so remember that. everything is going to be tight.