TSB turned down at Star Toyota near Houston.

My 2009 D-cab SR5 4x4 is included in the TSB by part number and VIN (I know, not by year). On my first service trip to Star Toyota for the tsb they had some big guys bounce around in the bed and declared my truck was ok. No harsh ride or bottoming was found. They turned down my getting the tsb done and also wrote on the receipt that there was no sign of me having towed a trailer. (I currently own and use a utility trailer and I am looking for another camper to tow). They also blew off my vibration claim. They wrote on the receipt that it checked out fine at 80 mph. A couple days later I couldn't take it anymore and crawled under it. I found a large piece of a black trash bag wrapped around the left front drive shaft. Removing the bag had a profound effect on the vibration. Granted black bags are not under warranty, but a really poor job of troubleshooting.

A couple of weeks later I went to Home Depot and picked up 10 cinder blocks. With full fuel and my family on board it bottomed out pretty easily. So I drove to Star Toyota to show that it was bottoming. Of course it was a Saturday and no one was around in the service dept. So I went to the sales floor and was introduced to a Manager named “Edward”. He was accommodating, professional and of course would not acknowledge that my truck, which was sagging in front of him, had a problem. He asked me to come in Monday with the cinder blocks in the back. I declined since I was on my way home to use them in my yard. Edward took my info and said that I would be contacted on Monday. I bottomed out three times driving home.

On Monday Star Toyota’s customer relations rep called me at work and we discussed the problem. I also explained to her that on the first visit the service person agreed twice to call me and explain everything to me, but I had never been called. My wife is not mechanically oriented and wanted it all explained directly to me. I also told the rep that, according to my wife, she was told that our truck (with factory towing package) would only tow a 300 pound tongue and 3000 pound gross weight. She was upset because she remembered that our old camper was 4500 pounds and she thought we had screwed up buying this little truck. Anyway, the customer relations rep wants to schedule our truck for another evaluation. My thinking is that the truck has been there twice, they think I don’t know what I’m talking about, and I really don’t like the inference that I lied about pulling a trailer (I even offered to bring in the trailer title in for proof since the trailer is at our other property about 100 miles away.) And why the hell would I lie about pulling my utility trailer? It was this kind of crap about service that made me quit buying Chevy trucks. It also cost them the opportunity to sell a new Rav4, one of my office mates heard me grouse about this and is shopping at Ron Carter Toyota which is also nearby. Anyway, I’m sending this link to the salesman at Star that I bought my last three new Toyotas’ from, hopefully he can pass this onto his management. I’ll keep the forum updated.

Sorry about the rant,

 

sorry to hear.toyota service sucks.

 

I would just go to a different dealer. Its really annoying to deal with incompetent service employees is'nt it? I feel for ya man. Try another dealer

 

Bastards!

 

I had my 06 truck done there without any issues. Which service manager did you talk to?

 

Maybe try to print out and hand them the TSB info. I easily got mine done at my local dealer with a brief discussion about the issue and a few minutes at a computer to see my VIN was included, even though I had come prepared with the info just in case. It was that easy for me, it should be for you too. If this dealer still fails to complete the TSB, i'd just go to another dealer and never go back to the old one.

 

Thanks for the support. I want to see this to the end, then I will change dealers if necesary. I bought my wifes '08 Highlander, a '08 Yaris and my '09 Tacoma from them. I'm hoping for a reasonable conclusion.

 

Ask for Doug. He helped me. Just print a copy of the TSB and bring it with you. Good luck.

Hey, how about this rain! Awesome.

 

-They said they are familiar with the TSB, and I left a copy in the cab with the vin and part numbers highlighted.

-I forget the service reps name, but apparently the regular service Manager was on vacation.

- If this doesn't work out soon I will try a different dealer, there is one every 5 miles in Houston

 

I'd give the Toyota 800 number a call and tell them everything thats going on with your truck and the dealerships poor service. I called asking them about the previous year harsh ride TSB being applied to my 09 and a few minutes later the dealer called me to schedule an appointment.

Unless you can find another dealer who won't give you hassle, just go higher up the chain.

 

Where did the TSB you had list a VIN?? Just out of curiosity...

 

There's a revised TSB listing snippets of qualifing VIN #'s. Look at VDS(s) under "Additional Information".

 

I have the same truck as the first post V6 4x4 dc long bed tow pkg. I went to the local dealer Toyota world (Newark DE dealer) talked to the assistant manger and told him that when i pulled my dads 19 ft boat i bottom out. kept in mind my dad sometimes pulls it in my moms Hyundai santfe. they asked the tung weight i told them max 450. he gave me the biggest run around telling me that the tung weight included the gas and occupants. i replyed that a full tank and my self weight more the the limit and laughed in his face. he then said he would have to call his district manger to see if they can do it.
TOYOTA DEALER SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ADVERTISE ONE THING AND PUT A LIL STICKER IN THE DOOR JAM AND THINK IT IS ALL GOOD.
THE DEALER SHOULD HAVE TO INFORM YOU BEFORE YOU BUY THE TRUCK OFF THE CHANGE. I WANNA LAW SUITE.
The worst part is i am the kind of person that hates Sue happy people.
i dont wanna wait in till winter to be able to pull my boat.
TOYOTA IF YOU ARE LISTINING RELEASE THE DAMN TSB AND MAKE IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.

 

Huh...Good to know. Hadn't seen the Rev1 w/ the VIN info in there.

 

I really am interested in resolving issues at the lowest possible level. When I am dead ended by the dealer I will elevate it. I had plenty of practice with Chevy. With Chevy I got NHTSA involved. This issue may be of interest to them also. A properly loaded truck that bottoms out when pulling a trailer would be a real safety concern and may need a recall.

 

That's downright comical that he would claim the tongue weight included gas and occupants. If that were true, then the Tacomas without the tow package, which have a max tongue weight of 350 lbs, would only be able to accommodate one person with a full tank of gas and no trailer! In other words, you could exceed max tongue weight without a trailer. Ask him if he'd care to explain that one.

 

i said the same thing to him almost to the t. Then laughed in his face lol. i think thats when he relized that he was wrong. and said he would open a case on monday because it was sat.

 

Yeah, the NJ dealer had it a little back-assward. You subtract the tongue weight, occupants, fuel etc. from the payload.

Propjet- I lurked your tsb threads previously. BTW- R U A Pylut?

 

My guess is he was confusing Tounge weight with GVRW weight or some component of it.

Seems like dumb mistake for a car person to make...

 

Yeah, in my case my wife was pissed. We bought this truck so we could get a bigger camper. This guy made her think our new truck wouldn't even tow our old pop-up!