Dealership Experience(not feeling too good about it)

Took my truck to a Toyota dealership for installation of new Bilstein 4600 front struts and I dropped it off at 8:00am this morning haven't heard from them its now 5:30pm so I texted my service person there and no response, 10 minutes later I got a call that they installed the struts with Wheelers Inc replacement bushings no problem, but during the install they broke 2 skid pan bolts that will be an extra charge if I want them fixed and the Tech cannot get the camber set for an alignment she also mention he was using a torch so I suspect the align cams are frozen, so I told them to hold the truck and don't rush and break anything I can get it tomorrow I got a loaner car. Personally I think the Tech may not be very experienced doing this I don't know but it really shouldn't be only a few hours i thought to do this job. So i told them to forgo the pan bolt repair and just get it aligned ill get it tomorrow, also my service coordinator will not be there tomorrow either, I do not feel too good about this scenario at all, better not have f**ked up my truck.

 

Where are you located? Just curious regarding your comment on the alignment cams being frozen on a not too old 2014. I suppose if you’re in the salt belt that could certainly do it.

 

new jersey, the truck was originally from Virginia, ive only had it 1.5years

 

They broke the bolts, they get to fix them on their dime. The skid plates don’t even need to be removed to replace the front suspension anyway.

 

the service person said he couldn't get the camber set? and he had a torch,im assuming the cams froze?

 

this is what I thought to,unless they removed it to get to those front cams easier

 

Well, going to a dealership for a shock replacement might not have been the best thought to begin with.

There is nothing special about the work, and a quality indy shop would have a much lower rate.

Hope it works out.

 

Hmm I personally would have steered clear of Toyota and took it to someone who specializes in lifts and not basic maintenance. Does seems odd the cams would be frozen on a truck that new, and that a basic strut install would take 9.5 hours.

 

the price was a bit better and they had done some adequate brake work for me on this truck and another Tacoma I owned previously, but its a crapshoot on who they put to work on your car. also I figured and when I talked to the service advisor about the pan bolts could be an issue they assured me they seen it all before so I needed to get a completely blown strut replaced I figured they should have the Toyota experience, I did the rears myself. who knows hopefully tomorrow they will get it all straightened out, seems like a long hard day for the tech, didn't want to push it, I can wait till tomorrow.

 

okay if a basic strut job is 9.5 hours then they were close to it, seems like there were issues with the pan bolts and align cams that held up the finale

 

I'm in indiana and my cams were frozen solid at 40k miles. And that was with only 1 very mild winter on it

 

A basic strut job is NOT 9.5 hours. I'm saying that it's odd that they would take that long, and the only reason you found out about the issue is that you had to call them and ask after that long.

 

jup my first thought when I heard torch and camber I thought the dreaded 2nd gen froze cams. do they get them unfroze with just heat?

 

yes, I had the same strut replacement done on my 1st gen truck I don't even think it was 4 hours maybe les

 

Not sure a quality independent shop would have significantly lower shop rates (hasn’t been my experience) but what they do care waaaaaayy more about is their reputation and good customer service which for a mom & pop shop can make or break a business.

 

I think it took me about 9.5 hours to replace all of the shocks, new leaf packs and UCA’s working with jack stands and a floor jack.....simple shock replacement does not require 9 hours of labor when you have all the tools and lifts that a dealership has.

 

Have you considered calling Toyota's Customer Service phone number? It's in your owners manual and available at -> www.toyota.com
Get them on the phone and explain what's going on. If they agree with the terms of your extended warranty, Toyota will contact the dealerships cust. service rep and she/he will setup an appointment time to resolve whatever it is you seek.
As one person here once stated, a service writers job is to deny your warranty claims and to sell you services that you do not need and/or in all likelihood not be performed or performed properly. This is not limited to Toyota.

 

$50-75/hr less around here, depending on dealer and indy of choice.

Significant to me, unless specialty tools or knowledge that only a dealer would usually have are required.

 

If you have the same skid plate that I do then the tech was probably taking it off so he could adjust the alignment bolt/cam on the lower control arm. You cant really get to it with it on there.

 

yes exactly,i knew this going in and raised my concerns about it, the response was, been there done that. I personally tried to take off the pan before going there, soaked in PB blaster for days, hand impact to loosen them up but I snapped the 2 passenger side bolts, drilled out one of them and used a OEM bolt with nut,and broke off the drill bit into the second one after making good headway. they busted the other 2 off today. also an FYI to others is that none of the magic PB Blaster juice made it to the threads on the bolts I broke, so maybe try a different penetrant likeSeafoam Deep creep, the threads were bone dry, im sure the outcome would have been better if some juice did really penetrate the threads for sure.