Warranty Bullshit

So I recently noticed little bubbles around all 4 of my window sills on my 13 Tacoma. They weren't chipped, but if you scraped one it would let out rust. Some of these have since flaked off. I took it to the dealer, who told me this was a paint error, and asked me to get a quote at a body shop. The body shop told me this was definitely from moisture being on the door while they were painting. Dealer sent the info to warranty for approval. Toyota Canada got back to them and claimed these bubbles were "rock chips" and they would not be covered.

Dealer told me they didn't agree, and asked me to call TC directly, as it would put more pressure on them. I did, they called me back and told me what was said before. I said that rocks don't cause bubbles all over the sills only. Eric from Toyota Canada said "OK", and just waited for me to reply. He says they won't change their position as they don't warranty rock chips.

Any suggestions on what to do here? I'm getting completely screwed over. I've had two body shops say this is impossible to be from rocks, as they are on all sides of my windows, and no chips anywhere else on my truck.

 

Sue Toyota and or stop buying their brand.

 

The dealer has told me they're going to do their best to sort this out for me on their end. I am strongly considering a lawsuit, just ridiculous. I've never had someone in customer service just say "OK" and then sit quietly on the phone. Asshole.

 

"Can I speak to your manager?"

Keep saying that until you reach Akio Toyoda.

 

Scottalot said it: have a certified body shop expert write an expert analysis, sign it, and send copied to dealer and toyota canada. they just need convincing

 

Wow, that is pretty crappy. The first thing is the Dealer who says he agrees with you should be doing more than having you do his job. Before you go down the road of getting nasty I would call Toyota back and request speaking to a Supervisor or Manager first just to be able to say you went the extra mile to resolve the issue in a "decent" manner. If that fails take as many detailed close up pictures of what is happening to your doors and have the pictures verified (or maybe notarized)by a Body Shop and then try the Arbitration Resolution process that Toyota describes in their warranty literature. Failing success on that I guess you could go the Attorney route. I guess it depends on how far you are willing to go before you give up and swallow the cost of the repair yourself. That is STILL REALLY crappy of Toyota.

 

I did, I was told I was speaking to the warranty manager. Actually just getting through to a manager is almost impossible. You call an 800 number, ask to speak to a manager, they say the best they can do is put you on a list and you'll receive a call in 7-10 business days. Say you want to speak to one now, they tell you they are in a separate building and have no way of getting hold of one for you.

Of course, I called the 800 number today and asked to speak to Eric, they said they would see if he was in. So I'm guessing they just are told not to put you through?

I actually emailed the president of Toyota Canada, which is how I got a callback in the first place. I'm going to write him a bomb tonight. This is garbage customer service.

 

Toyota customer service and product reliability has gone nothing but downhill over the past 10 years or longer.

I feel for you OP. I would be livid. I had similar issues on my 99' Ford Explorer and Ford immediately took it back and repainted it while giving me a loaner the entire two weeks they had it.

One of the local guys I know from TW had to sue Toyota because his truck was a lemon and he won. 99% sure he also recouped his lawyers fees.

 

OP, where are you in Canada?

 

Edmonton

 

can you post pics so us armchair experts can see it ?

op, plz?

 

I can once I can get them uploaded somewhere. Admittedly, a big problem is that the bubbles don't translate well to photo, at least on the iphone. The ones the dealer took were pretty good.

 

GO OILERS!!!!

 

Check to see if your state has a "Lemon Law."

New York's new car lemon law is at General Business Law §198-a. I don't know where you are, but every state obviously has different laws so you have to look.

In NY, once you notify the dealer who sold you the car about the car's defects, they should make the needed repairs. If they refuse, after 7 days you can notify the manufacturer of the car (in writing, sent via certified mail) of the dealer's refusal.

At that point, the manufacturer has 20 days to begin the necessary repairs. If the defect is not fixed, or the manufacturer also refuses, you are then entitled to a replacement of your vehicle or a refund of the purchase price.

I'd suggest you find a lawyer to write the certified letter for you. There are "lemon law" attorneys.

I'd copy the dealer on the letter to the manufacturer, and explicitly threaten to sue for a refund of your purchase price if the defect isn't fixed expeditiously.

Note that if you prevail, you are entitled to recover attorney's fees.

 

use a flashlight to light it up so the iphone takes a decent pic

NOT the iphone flash, a separate light

 

http://consumerist.com/2007/05/11/how-to-launch-an-executive-email-carpet-bomb/

 

OP don't they have a district Toyota manager that can come to your dealership and look at the paint issue? Years ago I had to have that done with a trans issue I had on my old Toy. Don't give up. good luck.

 

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Might not work the same up here. In for the resolution as I'm also from Edmonton.

 

Start the arbitration process. It's easy to do, and not long after you file, someone from Toyota will contact you.

I did this when I got a similar run around with the driveline vibration issue. Toyota told me it was normal, my dealer said it was BS and I should push Toyota. I did that via the arbitration process, and had pretty good luck with it. (Although the whole "our hands are tied" routine from the dealer pissed me off. I bought the truck from them....not Toyota. They should be the ones pushing the manufacturer, not me.)

The arbitration process is through a 3rd party, and once you get them all the paperwork, they engage Toyota. Not surprisingly, the Toyota rep who contacts you will likely try and get you to stop the process. At least that was what happened in my case.

Not only did it get me in touch with the regional Toyota rep, who was great to work with, I also got a credit for one month's payment for inconvenience.

 

You could always try contacting a television news company try and contact Toyota for you. Here in the US a lot of TV stations have some type of consumer advocate service. When you can't get common sense results on your own, the TV news station contacts Toyota and tries to work for you. Toyota may not like the bad publicity especially since their own dealer says it's a manufacturing defect.