viper2788

Ive always been a huge toyota fan ever since i was a kid, but this incident is making me think otherwise. i dont understand their "reliability" and their customer service... seem to be cold-hearted penny pinchers, to say the least.

we bought a brand new 2008 tC in the summer of 2007, and it finally died this past october due to engine failure. i have kept the car stock(except an intake) and have done regular oil changes every 5k miles or so. however i heard clicking noises from the engine one day, in sync with the rpms. the very next day, the clicking gets worse, and before i could pull over, i hear these nasty scraping sounds and then my engine shuts off... i lose all power, including brakes and power steering. warranty on the powertrain/drivetrain goes for 5 years, 60k, which i have yet to surpass.

so, i take it to the dealership, and the first thing they ask from me is a $110 fee for a diagnostic. next day they ask me for an additional $140 as supposedly, the diagnostic took longer than expected. but when asked about warranty and coverage, they demanded a ridiculous fee of $2100 just to see if im eligible for the warranty. that ____ is straight up ridiculous! although they said if all goes well i would be exempt from the fees and warranty would cover, im not going gamble like that. i PAID for my warranty upon purchase of the car itself. so i politely reject that offer and spoke with the manager.

according to him, they cannot cover me because i cannot "prove" i have done regular oil changes. so i went home and went digging through all my papers and receipts. surprisingly, i found 8 receipts of the 11 oil changes my car has gone through, but they are demanding ALL of them! due to that very reason, ive been declined. they said if i were to recover all of them, they would "reconsider."

now im no idiot and i can clearly sense where toyota is going with this... they would do everything in their power to deny me of my warranty that i believe i am fully eligable for! i received no sense of care nor sympathy from customer service towards my situation... at all. they just keep trying to deny me due to "technicalities... one after another. we bought a brand new tC FROM THE FACTORY mainly for reliability and their warranty, but it seems i'd be benefiting very little from that decision, if any at all.

i really didnt think it'd be this complicated. i treated my car just as recommenced by toyota(oil change, tire rotation, tire pressure, etc), and i get this random break down that i dont feel i deserve. it was totally out of my control, and i dont know how it happened, nor why. i quite frankly feel victimized by manufacturers defect, or whatever the issue may be. even so, i thought i would at least be covered by warranty...

ive had the car for about 3 1/2 years now and this is just straight up ridiculous! if warranty doesnt work out, im pretty much left with NOTHING.

as for now, im planning to write a letter to the Better Business Bureau in desperation. i never would of thought that Toyota would treat me this way. we have been loyal Toyota customers since the late 90s and we've really TRUSTED them.

anyway, at this point, i have lost all respect for toyota, no matter how this case may work out. no customer should have to fight this hard to obtain what should be yours by default.

SquallLHeart

please take your concerns and comments directly up to corporate.

realize that a dealership is just a dealership and though they should be a good representative of the company, understand that dealerships operate independently and should not affect your overall opinions on Toyota itself.

hope that the particular dealership you went to that treated you poorly didn't flag you or prevent you from getting the proper care at a different location.

rickbreitenfeldt

If Toyota is denying you for internal damage since you cna prove oil chnages, then relax.

You can contact the service centers you had your oil changes done at. They will have your vehicle info and when the work was done. It is no problem to find all your services. Every Walmart and quick lube has your info in their system.

The only issue you would have is if you did skip maintenance and there is full service history. But that is no big deal because you said you did not skip service. So they will take care of you like they should and you will be golden.

topekatc

iTrader: (1)

^agree'd
Don't trust what the dealership tells you. Do you think they were want to give out all the labor of a motor swap for free? Don't think so. Talk to someone above the dealership and i'm sure you will be treated much better.

highvoltage1

iTrader: (11)

Isnt the warranty 3 years or 36,000 miles? Seems to me your out of warranty by the dates you stated. Did you buy an extended warranty? If not then technically they dont have to cover it.

This opinion is based off info you stated! Just sayin

chicago_guy

I had the same problem with mine. started with a ticking then sounded like a piston failure. then some crazy noises with power failure. unfortunately my warranty expired a month prior. I hope you get those lousy fools. good luck. if they cant help you, you can always find a used motor quite inexpensive.

engifineer

Powertrain is 5 years, 60,000 miles. The rest is 36,000.

You dont have to prove regular oil changes. THEY have to prove it failed due to lack of oil changes, which means they would have to prove it via sludging, etc. Take it to corp, or at minimum a different dealership.

game-over

I only got thru 1 paragraph. And you need to contact Corp. Toyota.

When I had my problems. I visited another dealer. In which they helped me to get all my contact info that I needed. In the end of the day. The new place I went ended up taking over the my problem. And the two people I delt with are no longer with Toyota.
If you need anything. Contact info. Or advice. Pm me and I'll talk to you over the phone.
I had the north regionals operations manager number and extention. I'm sure I can get it again.
DO NOT back down off this.

sw09

x2 with game-over, go to another dealer or contact Corp. The auto shop you have been using for maintenance should have all your records saved.

highvoltage1

iTrader: (11)

Duh! Blonde moment Thanks for pointing that out Engifineer!

STlTCHES

I had the same problem with my 2006 scion tC. I believe it was spring of 2008 i started hearing knock. I had apparently scored a cylinder and the dealer i took it too was very helpful. They didn't even take it back for diagnostics. I turned the car over infront of a tech and they got me a rental car on them right away.

If you can't get that dealer to do something about it I agree with everyone above that you need to see another dealer or talk to corp directly!

bdis3

iTrader: (3)

This is true I work in a dealership and see this all the time. For warranty we have to find the failed part, then why it failed. If its an Engine we figure out why it failed before we ask for proof of regular maintenance. If the Oil is like sludge, or Jello, they have an argument against you.

However if you went to a shop for all your regular maintenance they will have record of you being there, and services preformed. Just ask for another receipt and present it to toyota. Then bam, everyone is happy, you get a new longblock, or head.

Jasper Ash

iTrader: (6)

Wooowww.. I don't even know what to say other than: Props to you for not going nuts and beating the pi__ out of the manager at the dealership. I would have lost my patience and gotten no where but into trouble.

But I agree with most above that corporate should help you. You have a car bought new and the engine blew. I don't see any car manufacturer denying you.

ksockman152

i think if you change anything under the hood while under warranty and outside the dealership, you void the whole warranty. This also happened to one of the customers i have on a 2008 scion tc. The toyota dealership said no to the warranty b/c there was an aftermarket intake on the car, the warranty was void. They said no b/c it was not done within the dealership and they made an excuse saying the intake sucked up water and it blew the engine.

killatc171

iTrader: (2)

^^if im not mistaken changing the intake doesnt void your warranty. they have to actually prove the intake was the cause of the problem before they can void the warranty for any aftermarket parts. which the dealer will do everything they can to try and prove.

but yea like everyone else has said take it above the dealership. you can prove all the oil changes, they have no reason to deny you of your replacment. talk to corporate they should def. be able to take care of you. hope that just because the dealership denys you, doesnt change your mind on toyotas. dealers are seperate from them and always cause issues. corporate will handle the dealer.

ksockman152

the place where i bought my tc from said not to change anything under the hood until the warranty is up when i asked him if i can change anything.

Gutling

iTrader: (1)

Thats something that has been discussed many times before. Any aftermarket parts are fine. They have to prove the part caused the problem. And don't let this incident be a representation of Toyota, its not. All dealerships unfortunately have there own ways of doing things. At ours we diag free, if it turns out to be a warranty issue then we handle it. If not then we discuss options with the customer. I would def contact another Toyota dealership, or email corp Toyota and let them know how they handled it.

viper2788

thanks man, i may personally contact you indeed. well heres the deal for now.

so officially ive been declined from the dealerhip(355 toyota, rockville, MD) my car was purchased at, AND from corp toyota in Cali... and as for now we're writing letters to the better business bureau and a few local places as means of last hope.

basically, on top of the oil change issue, they also stated that my car was partially disassembled when it arrived to the dealership. upon break down, i initially took it to my local repair shop to diagnose the issue. there, my mechanic took apart the air filter and the starter from the motor, and was able to figure out my engine was totaled. however, he DID NOT take the engine apart and at this point we figured we'd take it to our toyota dealership since warranty was still good, or so we thought. the air intake and starter was removed and was sitting in my trunk when i got my car back from the local repair shop. according to the mechanic, this "partial disassembly" would be no problem as they are external engine components, and the air intake was just fine, no leaks or anything. so i had it towed to my dealership in that condition. it has however become quite an issue... doesnt necessarily make sense, but according to toyota it just is. to me its just another excuse that they would exploit in order to deny their responsibility.

now, my question is that would it be alright if i took it to another Toyota dealership? i mean dont they have case numbers and records that they all share together? i want to make sure i can get a fresh new start at a different dealership before i get it towed there. im afraid they would just look it up on the computers and find out ive already been declined at another dealship for reason x. but if that wouldnt be an issue, i could take it back to my local mechanic and have him put the parts right back in where they belong.

it is indeed ridiculous i may have to go through all this, but im willing to do anything to get my car fixed, for free lol.

highvoltage1

iTrader: (11)

They are so full of it! I love how they have warranties and do anything to get out of it when its totally a warranty issue!

dropzone

^Well of course, if it's warranty work they're not making any money off of it. That's where their hesitation comes in, and you never know if the person who is working on it will do a stellar job or just half-___ it.