Dropped by the dealer to talk about the TSB, was essentially told to go to hell

Had my truck in for regular service last week, talked about the delayed R->D shift, talked about unnecessary holding of 4th gear after cresting hills, some interior rattles, and tranny fluid levels. Status quo, as far as this truck is concerned. Service advisor explicitly told me they haven't seen any other trucks with R->D/other shifting issues.

They couldn't reproduce the R->D issue as the truck was warm, couldn't reproduce the rattles either. Okay. Checked the tranny fluid at my expense, said it's filled properly. Okay, good. Did the other service/request items I asked for, and off I went. The driveline feel improved (I had no complaints in this department to begin with), and I was generally happy.

Out comes the TSB, so today I called and asked to speak to the same service advisor I had dealt with; he's out for the weekend. Okay, I printed out the TSB and drove to the dealership (Westminster Toyota, New Westminster, BC) to talk with whoever was there. Walked in, TSB paper rolled up in my hand, printed side facing inwards so nothing is visible. Advisor is on the phone.

Wait until he finishes, he then spends another minute typing into his computer, and then address me: "Are you here for the TSB?" No "hello," no nothing. Okay, interesting start. Note that I haven't said a word yet, have never seen this guy in my life, and he definitely does not know my truck or my issues. Yet clearly, I'm not the first person to walk in with the TSB in mind. Given that I'm not the first to ask for the TSB, that implies I'm not the only person they've seen with these issues, and that the bolded line above was a blatant lie right to my face.

> "Yes, I am."

"We need to reproduce the issues and can't do anything until that happens."

> "Okay, I can bring the truck in to let it sit overnight for the R->D issue so you can reproduce it on a cold truck in the morning. For the issue of holding 4th, we need to drive uphill at highway speeds."

"My techs don't have time to drive to the highway... At what speed does the issue occur?"

> "About 100-110 (kph)."

"My techs will NOT break the speed limit!!!! There are NO highways where that's legal!!!!"

Makes a scene which I ignore, especially since there are several highways around here that have 100kph speed limits, and where traffic never moves slower than 110. You would think I asked him to kill someone. And let's not forget that with the truck in cruise control, it makes no difference who's in the driver's seat, and I have no problem breaking the speed limit for them all day long.

> "Okay, what do you suggest I do?"

"Go to another dealership."

From the first words out of his mouth he addressed me as if I'm some kind of asshole that's wasting him time, made it clear he doesn't care about my problems, and then for all intents and purposes told me to go to hell.

Fantastic service, Westminster Toyota, fantastic. Calling corporate first thing Monday.

 

The TSB hasn't been announced for Canada yet.
Hopefully in the upcoming week.

 

We never even got to discussing anything about the TSB.

 

Well that sucks. Is there another dealership in your area?

 

There are several others within a 30 min driving distance. The problem (you might know this) is that in Canada Toyota never gives out loaner cars, so I'd have no way of getting home other than hiring a cab (and another one to get back there). This dealership is close enough that I can walk home from it in 30-40 minutes (as I did when I took it in for service).

 

Sounds like you should deal with someone else and maybe complain to Toyota.

 

When I took my Tacoma in for its first service. I was given a Camry as a loaner car.

 

Huh. Maybe it's a British Columbia thing? The "no loaners, ever" thing was told to me by a friend who works as a mechanic for another dealership around here. They are a lot further away, but I may have to resort to trying that dealer.

 

I live in Alberta. It could be a insurance thing, don't know. I had to provide my drivers licence and a credit card, in case their was any damage to the car. It is best to book you appointment ahead of time because all the loaners might be accounted for. I booked about 2 weeks in advance and had no issues.

 

I don't know about an insurance limitation... I've had loaners from other dealerships (BMW, Mercedes, Honda) plenty of times, and even from small-time glass shops while they replaced my windshields. Hell, a bodyshop once gave me the owner's personal CLK500 while they fixed $300 worth of scratches. Toyota is the first one I've encountered that doesn't give loaners.

 

Have you tried from more then 1 dealership? It could be just the dealer that you are dealing with?

 

fwiw, a walk-in on a sat with limited techs scheduled and no formal toy-can announcement would likely have (at best) got you a 'call back next week and make an appointment' response anyway -- if its not a formal safety recall, its technically not a 911 matter. also, talk to or send a feedback email to the dealer gm, owner or principal. i find that is good enough to get a resolution before a full board escalation. dealers want to keep customers happy. sometimes they're at the mercy of the manufacturer too; but there's no excuse for rudeness on their part.

good luck!

 

For sure. I would have totally understood and accepted that response. Common decency is a two way street. Contacting the dealership owners is a good idea - will do.

 

I wouldn't bother contacting the owners / managers, sounds like a big waste of time. Find another dealer would be my vote based on your first post.

 

Wow! Some people have no business in customer service. You could try letting your salesman know about this guy too, a bad service department takes money out of his pocket because no matter how well he treated you when you bought the truck he knows if you get treated like that at the service counter your not gonna recomend that dealership to anyone.

 

Let dealership management know about it also fire them up on Yelp and Google reviews if they do not act concerned

 

I can't believe you paid for an ATF check on your own. Holy shit. Call corporate now

 

Not that it should make much of a difference, but this is not the dealership I bought the truck from - that one is an hour's drive away, and gave me a much better deal than any of the local ones.

I contacted the GM. Will see whether that falls on deaf ears or not.

 

We bought our truck from a dealership 3 hours away and wish we could have all of our service performed there. They are nice people

 

Before you rag too much on your dealer, consider that this TSB is for the U.S., not Canada.


And the repair is covered under the Federal -- i.e. U.S. EPA -- Emission warranty.

I have no idea what would be needed to get a Canadian dealer to do this, or if they even could do it under whatever Canadian laws might apply to vehicle emissions. Maybe you could get it done at a U.S. dealership if your VIN matches one of those listed on the TSB.