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Reliability Information
Reliability Index
Values and Averages
Table II:
2007

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Caveats
1. Although the Reliability Index Averages for Toyota and Honda are nearly identical for most of the Reliability Index history, the life expectancy of a Honda may not match that of a Toyota.
2. The improvement in the Reliability Index Values of most Big Three models should not be viewed as any indication that Big Three vehicles are any more durable or that the knocks, the roars, the growls, the rattles, the clicks, the screeches, the bleeding plastics, the fading plastics, the cracking plastics, the warping plastics, and the expanding cracks on windshields are any less a concern today for a prospective Big Three purchaser. Nor should the improvement in the Reliability Index Values of most Toyota models be viewed as any indication that the durability of Toyota motor vehicles has improved; it may have improved, it may have remained about the same, or it may have worsened, especially from increased North American parts sourcing for certain models. To determine such, new methods of measurement, new indices, and new leading indicators must be devised.
3. For additional caveats regarding Toyota models manufactured in North America or having parts sourced in North America, see the 2001 Auto Review and Advisories.
4. Finally, it should be noted that the improvement in Reliability Index Values and Averages may have several sources. First, and likely most important, is the improvement in the reliability of many models. Second is that in these prosperous times Americans feel good about things, especially their physical possessions. Third is that one or more manufacturers may have puffed the results of one or more models by having or encouraging employees to return questionnaires with favorable responses. Hence, as in all of life, consumers should proceed cautiously in selecting a personal, business, or family car.