Toyota service frustrations.

Page 10 of the warranty agreement is crystal clear of who the warrantor is.

 

Not all stealerships treat you equally

 

I haven't had any Toyota-service-frustrations; but then I haven't taken my 2018 17,000 mile TRD Sport in for service.
I think that's the solution.

 

My experience wasn’t good either. I do not plan to take them up on the free oil changes with my new purchase, I’ll be doing them myself and it’ll be worth the extra cost to me. I had an appointment at 11 and was told 3 hours. At the 3.5 mark I showed up as my truck was being pulled into the service bay. I was not happy! What’s the point of making an appointment if they aren’t going to do anything...

 

Took my 2019 Tacoma off-road back because of a very noticeable rear end whine while coasting only and the service manager said they couldn't get it to do it,dealerships are full of liers and crooks

 

Seems like a pretty standard experience with any dealership. I've had decent luck with the Penske-owned dealerships, but the rest are awful. I swear, the independently owned dealerships are sadly the worst.

 

There’s only two Toyota dealers down here that have given me some sad excuse. When I asked for the transmission TSB the man just looked at my truck and said it’s my lift and tires. I said “OH OK THANKS FOR GIVING IT YOUR ALL”. Didn’t even fight it. Just asked for whatever maintenance had to be done.

The second one didn’t rotate my tires. Said they were too heavy. I said “OH OK” moved on. Till I found the right dealer who so far has been pretty good. If you have to drive 45 minutes for good service. Do it. It will be less stressful in the long run.

 

Familiarize yourself with SLAP laws.....these are laws that protect your right to public comment on factual events.

Now, write what you wrote here on the dealer webpage, and Google, and Yelp, and DealerRater.com and here as well. Name them, publicly, but don't lie, or exaggerate.

If you are not willing to name them here or elsewhere don't expect them to respect you.

Try to tell the story without mentioning your feelings. Quantify your experience in terms of time.

The most powerful reviews don't say things like "I'm never coming back" or "worst experience ever" because that is the language of idiots, and even if you are not an idiot, you will sound like one using that language in a review.

Tell your wife about it, your best friend etc. Each can write a secondhand review saying "my husband had a terrible experience."

Finally, if the dealership is owned by a car conglomerate "Penske" etc. Find an executive and bug his ass so he sends a note saying "are you on this?". " Make this guy stop calling me".

PM me for any specific information on how to contact executives.

Remember, be honest, direct and do not make the mistake of protecting the identity of the dealer.

 

So I went into the dealership yesterday after they told me it was ready to pick up. They did not flash the ECU (guess I'm doing that myself), nor did they fix the brakes issue. Reviewing their work they didnt do much more than test drive it a couple times and inspect the pedal height and free play adjustments. They didn't try bleeding brakes or pressure checking the pistons or MC. They basically had my truck for a WEEK and did nothing while i rack up the rental car bill, which they are saying is on me and they never have loaners and warranty work doesn't cover it.

After test driving it, the brakes still continued to feel spongy and resting at a stoplight with my foot on the pedal you can feel it start to slowly lower to the floor. The service advisor then tries to lie to me and tell me that this is normal now on new cars. Funny it wasnt normal for the 23k miles I've put on the truck driving it every day, and it's not normal on the brand new corolla they rented me. I refused to take the truck as it's a safety issue and I dont feel comfortable driving it. Unfortunately none of the bigwigs were there on a Sunday and apparently Toyota is closed so I couldn't even call them.

I am starting today by calling the Toyota Customer Experience Center (800)331-4331 to see how they want to handle this. Right now I don't really even want that dealership to do the work on my truck anymore since they cant even put a hubcap properly. (they fucked that up last visit and I lost one)

 

Then go back and have the tech or service manager ride with you and point out the whine. Pretty simple to get on the same page.

 

You still have not said who the dealership is.

 

Care to share the documentation you have been getting from the dealership?

 

Dublin Toyota, CA

 

I looked at their website and most reviews are a 1 out of 5 - you must have a ton of other dealers in the Bay area so good luck.

 

For what it is worth, the AutoNation folks are mostly fair and they have a location not too far.

 

A little update:

After calling Toyota Cust Exp hotline on Sunday, they created a case and assigned me a case manager.

The next day i get a call from the service advisor who straight up lied to my face and his attitude sure had changed, saying that they had found the master cylinder had a bad bushing and was leaking and they are currently waiting on parts.

My case manager called the following day confirming the story on repairs and that there is no eta on parts. She was very apologetic and told me to keep the rental as a loaner and that i wouldnt be paying for it, they also mentioned something about extending my warranty.

I dont really have much faith in this dealership and would feel more comfortable having it repaired at a more reputable dealership. Is that being unreasonable? Should i push for their extended service plan be thrown in or anything else?

 

Glad you seem on the path to resolution.

Changing dealerships now seems like it delays resolution unless they have parts in stock.

I don't feel like you are entitled to anything beyond what they have provided or are providing....
Apology, resolution, loaner.

I would not have left the dealership without that up front, and you probably won't do that again, unless you are going elsewhere.

 

I wasn't given an other option. The dealership offered nothing. Treated me like an asshole when I insisted there was a problem, didn't feel safe driving it, and refused to sign for it. Being on a Sunday nobody higher up was there, they refused to call the zone rep, and they told me contacting Toyota had to wait till Monday when they were open. Having worked a graveyard shift the night before and being exhausted and over it, I didn't have that much fight in me. I said fudge it, I'll call Toyota Monday morning.

 

Not criticizing you, just saying that you deserved and should expect better going forward.

I always insist on the loaner even if I don't need it because it tends to keep the fire lit when it's on their dime.

 

Get it fixed there, don't bring more people and dealers into the mess. Do get the names of all the people you deal with and note their attitudes and the quality of your experience with them. Make sure you get a detailed list of all work done. Do test the vehicle before you drive out of there or sign anything to make sure the issue is repaired to your satisfaction.

Make sure they will be picking up the ENTIRE tab for your rental vehicle and get it in writing so you don't get hit with the costs up to the point they said to use it as a loaner. If it's on your CC, ask them when and how they will be paying the bill and get the rental place on the phone with them and make sure you are there when they verify the bill is to be sent/paid to them. Ask about an extended warranty but lets face it, it's a lease so your mileage and time doesn't really mean much unless you leased it for a LONG time.

Be polite, get names, follow up with Toyota when satisfied and if you did get good service from someone, tell Toyota who did a good job, don't just badmouth everyone, the decent people deserve recognition just like the less then useful air wasters.