Dealer trying to deny 3rd brake light repair, saying it’s broken from inside...

Indeed.

 

Post the dealer name and address so we can avoid them.

 

Downtown Berkeley (Berkeley, California)

Yep, they suck. Unfortunately the only thing dealers are good for is the parts counter and warranty service. The next closest one is only another ten minutes away, but run by the same people.

 

Or from a tech that was going to fast during removal. It it is broken, then it happened during assembly or disassembly.

Only argument is if owner had disassembled to inspect/change bulb etc.

 

North Hollywood Toyota replaced my 3rd brake light and headliner due to a giant water stain the length of the back window.

 

My thoughts as well. Aren’t assembly tool torque values pre-set?

Diodes. No need to change this soon, that would be a different warranty matter.

 

I know there used to be one in the 2nd gen section years ago.

 

Sucks. Ever wonder why only car dealers can sell new cars. Why can’t you get one at anyone able to sell them? The reason is they got bogus laws passed to make it illegal. That is What Sucks.

 

Yep. 140,000,000 words of federal legislation in this country. Fact.

 

Of the people, by the people and for the people must not parish from this earth.

 

Even though I don’t consider myself a fan, I always recognize Phil Collins lyrics. Amazing song.

 

I thought the TSB mentions that the torque values for the 2016 were set too high causing cracking of the brake light casing?

 

Or the seal was not seated properly.

 

Like @JoeCOVA said with the language it must be determined for a fact that the cause of the faulty item was a direct result of the modification. Just be cool, take notes of what what said by who, and file your case as a last resort. If you’re not being heard, ask for the next in the chain of command, so on and so forth. Best of luck, I’ve had mine replaced “the first thing the service advisor said was “yea that looks like an after market light to me” the tech the came just to check out the truck had to pull him aside and set him straight before he said anything else stupid. Experiences may vary.

 

A dealer can only deny a customer concern or complaint because the warranty is a performance contract between the owner of the vehicle and Toyota. The dealership is not a party to that contract...check your paperwork and file a claim instruct the dealer to have the regional Toyota rep. look at it for approval or denial.

 

Wrong. I’m sure this has been covered, but I can tell you they 100% don’t have to do that.

My headliner was coming off on the drive side a few thousand miles after I got it. I never got it fixed until I went in for another service. Between now then I installed a light bar.

They said I removed the headliner when I installed the light bar. I didn’t. Claimed it was my fault and they won’t do anything.

Okay cool. Per advice here I filed a claim with corporate. Do you want to know what they did? Called the dealer and asked their opinion. Dealer said it was my fault and I had reinstalled the headliner incorrectly. I told corporate I didn’t touch the headliner and it was defective. Their answer? Sorry we trust the dealer opinion. They said it was your fault so it is. Case closed.

 

Sure a dealer can do that and if consumers just accept it then ya they can get away with it. If you sue them under Magnuson-Moss, Dealer has to prove it.

If any dealer denied a claim based on an assumption Toyota would be getting more than just a call from me.

I think a lot of it comes down to the dealer. If you have a good dealer then it’s a non-issue. We have been fortunate that we have always had work done for free outside warranty. Example; my wife’s care had the front diff and transmission both replaced under warranty despite being 10k miles beyond it. Dealer didn’t even blink about repairing it for free.

 

I guess if you have time and money for a lawyer. I’m not willing to waste thousands and weeks of my time suing Toyota over a headliner.

So I’m essence the dealer can dictate warranty work.

That’s why I immediately financed the rest of my loan through my bank (away from Toyota) and tell people not to buy them. At least for sure not go to the dealer I went to. That alone cost them more than the headliner would have.

 

Was told that my truck was past warranty and it was by three weeks and 3000 miles so I had to call corporate and they told me I had to have it diagnosed by a dealer. So I called the dealer back and told him what corporate said and asked how much for a diagnosis. Since I was taking it in for my last oil change and the trucks rear seats were still wet he said he would document it for me so corporate could then send a field supervisor to check it out.
Went to pick up the truck after the oil change and dealer offered to do it as a goodwill service.
So they did replace it yesterday and so far I'm satisfied with the work and that it was at no cost to me.

 

I always suggest that consumers file a complaint with the government body that regulates vehicle warranties or aftermarket warranties in your state.

The burden of proof is on the manufacturer.

The filing is free, and although it is not a trial, the one good thing that comes out is the final documentation that says the manufacturer failed to provide evidence of customer caused liability. Now you can take that to the manufacturer, and get reimbursed for repairs, loss of utility, etc.

Dealerships will generally not spend any effort to write up a statement of opinion since it's not their problem, and doing so puts them at risk.

I once had a dealership try to CYA by lying on the state inquiry response. The state could not compel them to reimburse me, but recommended the case to the Atty General and to the district attorney because they found evidence of fraud.

The DA for Travis county TX charged them with larceny, and a few related crimes. The dealership settled and I was reimbursed from the large settlement the DA got.