2020 Transmission Fluid Check Plug GONE!

they probably undertorqued it at the factory just like the u-bolts. also could be a new tech. with the understaffing issues they probably have a bunch of noobs working on trucks right now.

 

Don't hate on mitsu. Rumors were abound that they're coming back to the US midsize marked in 2022-2024 if I remember correctly. That was pretty 'vid so don't know if that has changed but I'd rock it.

 

BINGO!

 

one would think in this day and age they would have a you tube video that walks them thru the entire process of whatever it is they are fixing.
i work on E-Bikes and without a you tube video i would not be able to do much more than fix a flat.

 

When they suggested the ludicrous idea that someone who hates you pulled the trans plug, that’s a tell as well. For reg insurance (without any special rider/coverage) to cover something like this, it would have to be either someone deliberately doing this: which be like if someone vandalized your car. They were hoping you would go to the insurance with this, and if it worked, they would be off the hook.

My question for folks, if OP takes it to dealer who did the work, they are balking on fessing up bc they would be on the hook themselves vs Toyota warranty. If OP took it to another dealer, would Toyota then possibly warranty the work? Just curious. Clearly sounds like mistake from Dship.

 

For the dealer to even mention someone crawling up under the truck and removing the plug is ridiculous!

 

Many years ago I used to walk to work past an auto dealership. Not unusual to see various parts, screws, nuts, bolts and tools on the road while walking by. Once saw a car on the side of road about 1/4 mile from the dealership with one of it's wheels at an odd angle. Peaked as I went by and nuts on all four wheels were loose. Incompetence at it's finest!

 

FWIW. This really isn't so much on the corporate end.

The DEALER is responsible for training their employees.

Anything that a DEALER fouls up, needs to have the chance to make corrections. Otherwise, the weak knowledge and piss poor work continues.

Believe me. When a vehicle returns to correct errors after a service......its money lost for the Dealer. It will get to a point when the Dealer will release the employee or begin a serious training/mentoring program.

You should always receive a record of the service performed. This is the lever. Assuming the tranny fluid level was checked, it will be marked on the record. I think the shop uses these records to track the tech for pay or skill. So, the tech is motivated to mark any service they did (or didn't) do.

I hate keeping all these service records, but they have saved our wallet a couple times.

Adopt the following:
Trust but VERIFY.

Example: You take the car in for tire rotation. You TRUST the work will be done. To VERIFY is very simple, mark a couple tires, record the tire positions. When the work is complete, look at the tires to VERIFY the marked tires are in different positions. Now, pay. If the tires have not changed positions, your record of the original position can be used to show work was not performed.

 

let the insurance cover it, they will subrogate against the dealership for failure to secure the drain/check bolt on the previous service (after an investigation). they think they are off the hook, until they get served. then, they will wish they covered it themselves, and admitted fault. (30 years in the collision industry, the last 15 with a large national insurance company as an adjuster). adjusters are not stupid.

no one would crawl under a tacoma and loosen the check bolt, to get back at the owner. one, you would have to know tacoma's, and two, you would have to be pretty dumb to think you could crawl under, around a vehicle and spend that kind of time, without raising some suspicion of, what the hell are you doing under there. Ski

 

The vehicle is in warranty and you have not put a wrench on the transmission (I am assuming this is true) They need to prove that they (dealership/technician) or Toyota are not responsible. In absence of actual proof that you or a malicious third party vandal removed the plug, it's a warranty item.

Think about it. If this defensive knee jerk bullshit was allowed to fly there would never be any warranty work done. Sorry we can't repair your leaking timing chain cover because we think someone loosened the timing cover just to screw with you. And the misaligned fender, sorry we think you hit a tree but just hard enough to move the fender and not dent it. Yeah, the air conditioning...you used it to often accelerating wear on the compressor, sorry that's on you.

The fact that the dealer/service manager would elicit such a wild proposal with absolutely no evidence will make him look unscrupulous and unethical if/when your case is reviewed by Toyota or a small claims judge.

 

Post a pic of your 10k service receipt!

 

Have you taken it to the dealership for all maintenances? If so, I’d be pointing a fat finger at them.

Those idiots at the dealership didn’t put my gas tank skid on to torque specs and I almost lost it. When I called to bitch them out (they had just done the fuel pump replacement) they didn’t give me any grief when I insisted they recheck the torque on everything they touched.

It sounds like they are trying to avoid paying for their mistake.

 

Get it in writing and say you are submitting to your insurance company and they probably will be in touch with them.
I bet they rethink.

 

Tell the dealership that you want an appointment with the regional factory rep and for it to be in person at the dealership..........

 

Hey OP, I feel for you, and I hope everything works out in your favor....but I'm pessimistic that either the dealership or Toyota will come through for you.

A lot of posters are going to advise you of this and that and tell you what the dealer should do and what Toyota should do. Bottom line is they don't know, and unless the dealer has a surprising change of heart, there is not a lot you can do.

1. "Proof" means nothing. While your hypothesis of what happened is probably indeed what happened, all the dealer has to do is continue to deny it. In the end, you have only an unfounded claim.

2. Toyota will do nothing. Again, you can tell them what you think happened - and they will most likely listen and sympathetically commiserate. In the end they won't force the dealer to do anything. Since the tranny failed due to a cause beyond the manufacturer's control, they are not under any obligation to do anything but hear your complaint against the dealer.

3. TW is an echo chamber. While it is great that the forum is fully supportive of you, that won't get your tranny fixed. Many of the recommendations about saying "X" or doing "Y" to the dealership won't get you your truck fixed.

I'm going to buck the trend and not offer you any advice, not because I don't care (I do) or I'm not pulling for you (I am) but because any advice I give you will be worthless. Frankly, I'm not sure what I'd do in this situation. My experience with dealers is that even when you catch a bad one screwing up it takes a lot a work to get them to do admit and rectify their mistake.

 

Other than being completely full of shit, you nailed.

The owner doesn't have an unfounded claim. The vehicle is broken, that's the only variable required for a vehicle under warranty. What is unfounded is the dealer's denial of service based on an unfounded accusation that some unknown party crawled under the owners truck to vandalize it. WTF?

This only works if the owner is stupid and lets them get by with it. Many owners think when they talk to the blithering idiot Service Manager that they are talking to Toyota. Not even close, you're talking to a bottom level employee of a company that is licensed to sell Toyota. A simple phone call does wonders, as long as you are actually in the right.

Some fucking retard Service Mangler telling Toyota Corp that they have determined that the drain plug was removed by a vandal will not fly. The ONLY logical explanation is that their employee that was flipping hamburgers two weeks ago left the plug out or under tightened it during service.

Proof is everything, not because I said it but because the Fair Trade Act said it. The good news for OP is that he is not required to prove a god damn thing. Toyota sold him a vehicle with a warranty, any failure that is covered by the warranty must be repaired free of cost unless Toyota can PROVE negligence/abuse/improper usage by the owner.

It's extremely easy to get them to honor the warranty. Call Toyota, not the dealer. Be firm, be knowledgeable, be calm, deal in facts only...unlike the dealer.