Under warranty dealer wants to charge a fee

1. Someone pays. Who’s in a better position to absorb those costs; the dealership, the manufacturer, or the customer? Granted, I’m sure there are a fair share of millionaires that drive Tacos but I don’t think it’s the majority, not the same for the other two parties involved.

2. That should be specified at the point of sale so that the customer could factor that into their decision or maybe go to a manufacturer that won’t charge for warranty work.

3. I wonder if it’s just on vehicles that they suspect are modified?

4. Extended warranty specifies no cost on warranty work up to 100k, I wonder if this’ll be affected?

 

MY dealer (Rahal) charges a diagnostic fee $75 but if under warranty it's refunded..

 

If you know you didn’t modify or cause the issue let them take care of it.

 

I don't know, but have you tried just going in and resetting the maintenance light? Heck it might work....

 

First thing I would do is just go to autozone and have them read the code so you know what you are dealing with or just get yourself a code reader. That way you might get a better idea if it something you did. Second this whole thread is a giant conspiracy theory. The dealer is not charging up front. They charge a diagnostic fee you pay when you pick up the vehicle, and they only charge if they find there is something not covered by warranty. Such as you chipped a bunch of ice out of your wheel well and ran the shovel through the ABS wire (I did this, but code reader told me what it was so no going to dealer). Next, while there are smarmy dealers out there the vast majority are honest and are not going to just charge you the fee for the heck of it. They may try to sell you a new air filter or something but you can decline that. I have had my truck in for warranty three different times, and the fees was always mentioned. Never had to pay it as it truly was a warranty issue.

I heard mention about a law suit here somewhere as if the light was related to traction control and Toyota did not fix it shouldn't they be responsible. There is no law suit, it was your decision not to take the truck in because you were too worried it might not be a warranty issue. That is not on the dealer.

 

NO dealer should be "charging up front"... NEVER have I heard of that. The discussion I have is that "You are authorizing us to diagnose your vehicle. IF it's not a warrantable repair, then you are authorizing a charge of $149 for the diagnosis. AFTER that I will contact you with the quote for repairs and it is your choice to have the vehicle repaired here, at your home, or at another shop. IF it's a warrantable repair, I will let you know how long it takes and parts availability if rescheduling is necessary."

If your shop does anything else, run. BUT, if you're not qualified to work on your vehicle and you go to a shop- be prepared for this. A "WARRANTY" does not mean that everything wrong with a vehicle in X miles or X years is free. User error contributes to much of what I deal with. As do mice, potholes, off-roading, lack of care/maintenance, and sometimes simple ignorance of how something works or is used.

When a tech is working on your vehicle he/she is not working on something else that may actually make money for them.
Therefore, they ARE entitled to be paid. It's a business- if that's a horrible thing, then so be it.

On the other hand, YES- there are disreputable advisors, techs, managers and entire dealerships out there everywhere and they are not all direct dealer facilities.

If you want to get trained, spend your money on tools and do all the work yourself- then so be it. If not, then you cannot complain about having to take your car somewhere to have them look at it. (unless- again- they are raking you over the coals for nothing.). Just this AM I paid a tech out of pocket to help adjust a few things on a customer's car. But that's me. I'm fair and honest- not pushy- and I have a base of customers because of it. I ADVISE- not "tell them they have to do something"- and in many cases, I tell people NOT to do certain things others have recommended- or I even point them to this forum. I know my own limitations- whether that be mechanical, electrical, or simply that my body is no longer young. If I can do it- I will on my own cars. If not, I understand someone else will have to and that will cost me.

Bottom line- you should NEVER PRE PAY up front before the car goes in. But you should also NEVER assume "it's covered" until something is diagnosed. After that- you can also complain to corporate Toyota or even to the dealership. It does work sometimes.

 

Their dealership, their rules. This place constantly complains about how fucked up and crooked dealerships are without much thought and consideration of the scumbags dealerships have to deal with every day.
I do most of my maint/work after service contracts and warranty but, my dealership to include Service, Parts and Sales has been pretty solid after 13 New vehicles and plenty of maintenance and warranty. Not every dealership is a giant pile of shit.