Great Dealership Rip-Off story

So I am sitting at the dealer writing this as they are doing a transmission service on my Tacoma. Last Saturday I took it in for a trans service $189. My truck hasn't seen a dealership since I drove it off the lot new, as I do all my own work since I'm a mechanic. The ONLY reason I went to get this done is because it is the only way to replace all the fluid in the transmission ie converter, valve body, etc. and even though it's expensive it's cheaper than buying a flush machine to use maybe a few times for the life of your truck.

So anyway, on Sunday I was draining my coolant and climbed under truck to pick up a tool that rolled away so I happened to look at transmission pan and noticed it was dry. Check plug, drain plug, line connections at trans and at cooler.... all were bone dry and dusty.

Took it back to dealership, told service manager what I had found and so he had it put up on a lift. Sure enough, he and his tech both saw what I saw and agreed it had not been done. So they are doing it now. Service manager was really nice about it at least.

I guess for all you guys that can't do your own work, make sure to check for signs work was actually done, and if you are getting any kind of part replaced ask for your old one in advance.

 

yeah, i hear stories bout dealers not "changing oil" either. i would raise hell and push to get something out of it. i.e. a free service or accessory for your truck

 

Yup. That's sound advice. I always mark the part to be replaced with a sharpie. Before I leave the stealer, I check to make sure that the part was actually replaced.

 

2 thoughts.
They should refund you for your previous service and do this free for your time and trouble
and you should out them for being hacks!

 

x2, I usually mark the old parts with a sharpie or mark bolts that would need to be turned with a grease pen to make sure they were moved. Oil filters are what I usually catch them on.

 

So this is the second thread in a few days about paying for services which were not rendered. First one was dealerships not changing oil filters and getting caught by an observant customer. And now this? We all love our trucks and Toyota products, but why do our dealerships seem to be so dishonest? Is this industry-wide?

 

hmm..i just read the thread on the oil filters as well..i have 3 more oil changes left of my 5 "free" changes..and i really dont want to take it there..the 2 hour wait to get it done is not worth the money i'd save if i did it myself..but i kinda want to do it to see if they have ever changed the filter and/or oil before...i'd be livid if i found that out...good catch tho OP..

 

Yes pretty much across the board. It just depends though on what tech it goes to. Its not so much the dealer but lazy techs trying to get paid for something they didn't do. I do sympathize as they are underpaid like so many other professions in this country. It's hard to make a living working on flat rate, especially on stuff like this that pays like 0.8 tenths of an hour. BUT, that's still no reason to compromise integrity.

I got out of this profession a long time ago, not because of this, but you wouldn't believe the upselling of services to people that don't even need them. At one Chevrolet dealer I worked at, they actually would cut you off from work and basically force you to quit if you wouldn't "play ball" with what the service writers sold people.

Like if a service writer brought you a 2012 tacoma with say 11k miles on it and they had convinced the owner to do a coolant flush, you better do it.

 

At the same time though doesn't it fall on the customer to at least know the service interval ( rough idea ) and keep themselves from getting rooked ? I understand not everyone knows how every part of the truck works..but if you can read the manual it tells you this stuff. So like the old saying goes..

Fool me once shame on you..
Fool me twice,shame on ME.

 

Not at a dealer, was at a Firestone for an alignment today. i went in knowing i wanted my Camber fixed. so i throw up the hands to give the guy a visual of how id like the tires to move and the first thing he does is say "oh, You mean you want your caster adjusted, Caster is the Vertical adjustment in terms of wheel alignment. Obviously first thing i said is "Ummm, No"? Needless to say i made sure this dude was not going to touch my truck so i made them let me walk back into their service station and lend a helping hand. And since i now have a lifetime alignment service with firestone you can bet ill be walking back everytime i need an alignment. i dont know if this guy was celebrating opposite day or what but i feel its better to get involved in work on the truck no matter who is doing it. its not their truck so they wont be near as meticulous as you will be.

 

Not sakalee so http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/68462-diy-full-flush-automatic-transmission.html

 

Yeah that post is not bad but that's a complete waste of fluid and it's still not going to flush it as good as a pressure system will. ALSO, kudos for the author of the post mentioning not to drain out but a few quarts at a time and refill, but the pump on an A750 is not very big and taking a chance on magically knowing how much to drain out and assuring the pump is fully lubricated is not a good idea. Simply put, there is no way to assure the sufficient amount of fluid to not run it even a little dry. Not to mention your solenoids and valves. Also, if you shift at all while you are low on fluid, the clutch pack friction material can be damaged very easily. After draining out the pan and lines, it's probably a good bet it's being run dry right there. Not a very smart idea.

Also, the fluid has detergents in it to retain any contaminants. When you add new fluid, the detergents activity is high and will actually try to in effect clean the old fluid. This can lead to congealing in some cases or a sludge like development. This is why it is also not a good idea to just change what you can out of the pan and have half new half old. At least with this type of fluid.

I understand that in an old TH400 or similar, this procedure of running it dry may be just fine to do. And I have done it myself with no problems. And it matters not having old with new fluid with older dexron but we are not working on a 78 chevy truck are we? Old techniques don't always apply to modern technology.

Did I mention I'm ATRA certified?

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who does this. My wife is saying I'm being paranoid, to me its just a caution I take with anyone working on my stuff.

I also take pic's of my truck before she goes in for anything.

 

Interesting. I have a feeling that the dealer I had "flush" my transmission just did a drain and fill. When it was done, I noticed that the drain plug had been removed, as there was evidence of oil that had drained out on the pan. The fill plug also had been removed, oil was freshly stained on the pan below it.
But the trans cooler lines had not been removed anywhere in the system, I looked hard, but all the connections where still covered in dust....Is there any way to flush the trans without removing these lines?

 

No there isn't. They use the cooler lines disconnected at the front so at the radiator with no trans cooler or at the aux cooler if you have one.

 

Shit, I know they didn't perform the service they said they did. Too bad this was over a year ago and I have no way to prove it now. Pretty lame that they would be such scumbags about this, most likely just got a drain and fill.

This was the first time I have taken the truck to the dealer for any reason cause I wanted it done right, now I'm pissed about it. I have the tow package so I have the trans cooler, and I traced all the lines coming and going to the cooler and there was no evidence that they had been removed. Only the fill and drain plug had been removed. I figured maybe they did it some other way, wish I would have said something now.

 

To the Toyota district/regional office/manager and send a copy to the dealership owner and service manager of the dealership that did the "work".........you WILL get results!!!!!

 

So I guess you will be changing your trans fluid soon lol
Yeah if you have the tow package it would have been the rubber lines at the inlet and outlet to the cooler that are secured by the spring clips.
Sorry to hear that

 

I think it would be too late for that, as this service was "done" almost a year ago. They would most likely just claim that they did the service the correct way. I know that they drained the trans pan, but I also know that they did not disconnect any of the lines going to the cooler, which I thought a little odd because that is how I figured they would do it. Am going to call the dealer tomorrow and ask them some fuckin questions though. I work way too hard for my money to get ripped off, and hopefully can get them to do something about my complaint.

I have done all maintenance by the book to this pickup myself cause I want to save money, and know it was done correctly. This auto tranny with no dipstick I didn't want to mess with though. Figured the dealer would do it right, now I am pissed that I have to make that call, cause I know damn well they didn't remove any of lines. It was obvious that they didn't. Dust was old on the connections and no oil had run out or off of any of the connections.

 

Not a Toyota dealership, but had a honda dealer tell me my break pads were so far gone they were about to fall off. I let them know I had just replaced them about 2 moths prior

The following week I had to get new tires so I asked the guy at les schwab to take a look needless to say he said they looked brand new and was curious why I wanted them checked. He laughed and said it happens often.

Never will go to a dealer again unless I have to.