Toyota field tech/engineer coming to look at my truck

I'm the same way too.

Sometimes a Tacoma just doesn't work for people. Before I bought my 2015 Tacoma in 2019 I owned a new Silverado every 3-4 years. They were quiet great riding trucks. First time I drove my 2015 Tacoma I thought the truck had 4 bad wheel bearings and suspension issues lol. But I drove another one on the lot and it was the same exact thing.

It took me a while to get used to it.

 

I did put the spray on gasket stuff but I don’t think he’ll be looking there but your prob right was bad idea. Maybe I’ll try scraping it off it should pull right off if think

 

Those factory reps have power. That even the service managers respect. When I was at a Chrysler dealership in the lube bay, I had been certified by a factory trainer, probably 4 months earlier. I recommend a front and rear diff flush on an unknownly to me the factory rep's jeep with 3500 miles on it. With possible main service inspection. I had found the the fluid black and full of shinny specks. The guy came out with the service writer and manager with him . The writer was like you better not be pulling something. The manager and the dude took a screwdriver shoved it in the diffs. Looked at me said good call. Told them to put fresh in save the old fluid, basically saying they were eating themselves to get it back,but figured the clutch packs were going and needed to get it back to see what was wrong because it was the 3rd jeep found with the issue.that year. Thanked me for following through with the training I had and not being lazy with the milage on the vehicle. But he was knowledgeable about the situation.

 

They do. I bought a MK4 GTI 1.8T used with ultra low miles from Autobarn Evanston in Illinois. I left the dealer on a Friday night with the car and the clutch was fried by the time I got to Wrigley Field. This touched off a war. The Sales Manager had withheld information on the car's CPO status and warranty/repair records. He also forged my signature on a loan application that I was not aware of until I requested it from VW credit. He did this to grease the sale and get the price I wanted.

Autobarn replaced the clutch but as I dug into the history the car had been abused by the previous owner which is why he traded it in, he had been denied warranty work for abuse. 2 weeks later the transmission was toast. It was feeling weird when you'd put it into R - like some gears were grinding. Another $3200 repair. Both were covered but now we are at $4800 in repairs in 2 weeks. I did not want the car. Autobarn wouldn't take it back and the owner lied to me about its history. Then when I met with him in person he admitted in front of me and a friend that the clutch was in fact abused and Autobarn tried to cut corners on CPO. I should have sued the fuck out of them.

But needless to say a rep from VW got in touch with me - they gave me like 2x of my monthly payment in cash. Autobarn finally took the car back but fucked me out of my payments (3) and only gave me back my GAP.

These reps do in fact have a ton of pull. The problem is sometimes they won't do the right thing and punish corrupt dealerships.

My Tacoma has not been able to be aligned since day 1. Mile 0. I always have to hold the wheel a few degrees off center to keep it going straight. The truck also has a bluetooth connection that skips. And the brakes shudder at freeway speeds from time to time and interestingly, in the same places geographically at times. So i'm not really sure what to do. I'm almost paid off.

Pro Tip: It pays to know some service writers - when I went through my VW nightmare - my buddy Louis was a writer in Milwaukee and he pulled the car's service history and gave it to me on paper. It showed the abuse issues on the transmission and clutch.

 

I believe the guy's story, but to be fair imagine being a dealership, and seeing tons of modified cars come in for warranty work. And you know how kids drive them. I don't know how low his car was or how low some of the drive train or clutch /transmission sit, but isn't it possible to damage these parts if bottoming out or as they sayin F1, porpoising?

I feel for dealers in some regard, kids will bash their cars around under warranty, and walk in and expect everything to be covered.

There was that douchebag kid from California Alex Choy? Who wanted his BMW covered for drivetrain I believe - and there were tons of videos out in the public of him abusing his car.

What are you supposed to do if you're the dealer or MFG? Just treat these cases as all covered claims? Don't get me wrong, you do want to find evidence of abuse.

I guess having been victim to a tuner's car - buying it as CPO - I really don't feel bad for these guys getting denied. I'm no fan of dealerships either. I avoid them as much as I can.

 

I worked for dealerships for 10 years, so here’s what I can share. They can’t deny any work unless they have evidence or can prove some type of abuse, modification, etc. Most dealers just want to take care of the customer, especially now with customer satisfaction surveys.

That all being said there are techs, service advisors and service managers that know they can throw some shade on those things and try to threaten your warranty being voided or saying the repairs won’t be recovered or whatever in order to make more money on customer pay vs warranty work.

Really comes down to the people working there and how everything is managed. Some places really will help their customers. Goodwilling repairs out of their manufacture kick back accounts or from their own profits. Other places will tell everyone to pound salt. Even putting up fights with the manufacturer about covering certain repairs

 

Are they suppose to leak?

 

Field reps have a lot of power, use to be a ford tech and the one time I had one come out, he said replace all 12 fuel injectors, 2 fuel pressure sensors, and both cats. Didnt have any issues with the warranty claim. Truck had gone through three or four sets of cats in two years, previous MY injectors were known to leak into cylinders and kill cats.
Ford field reps also have access to all the unpublished tsb's and what not that is still pending review.

 

Yes. It’s to prevent frame rust

 

On the water dripping on the floor boards thing. I had the same issue on my Ram 2500. There is a drain tube in that area that runs outside the truck. Usually in the right front wheel well area. They get clogged with road debris. When you find it run a fish tape/coat hanger etc. up it.

Pro tip: Don't be under it looking up when you do it.

Cheers,

Doc

 

It's a big deal when any Factory Rep is called in to come and visit your vehicle. They are the "first stringer's" in their discipline. There is also a hiearchy: A "Field Engineer" is usually a Top Gun and their clearance/approval to come over for an eval is usually only cleared by Corporate. My thought is that they are trying to solve a
bigger, ongoing puzzle.

Enjoy the ride.