Advice sought: Toyota extended warranty claim (1 Viewer)

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Dec 6, 2015
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Location
Texas, USA
Greetings all! It's been a while. Have a question with which I'd appreciate your insights.

I bought a new '16 LC 200 in 2016, and the truck has been wonderful. Really no major issues, and still looks/drives great.

I also bought an extended warranty at the time for 125K miles that expires next month. I have 105K miles on the clock. Car has only ever been serviced at 1 dealer, with the exception of 1 minor repair at another Toyota dealer years ago out of state while on a road trip. My local dealer has been good to work with up until this point.

I learned just this week that the AC recirculation flap is broken. Likely broken a while back (years ago - maybe as long ago as 2017!) as the dealer replaced a cabin air filter; I've never replaced the filter myself. I'm aware of the cheaper aftermarket fix, and also aware that OEM replacement is expensive and requires dash removal. My service advisor suggested that it's very likely that a tech broke it- as he didn't even know about the issue (or need to press recirculation button before changing air filter). That said, he hasn't taken complete responsibility and it's not 100% clear that they will fix at their expense. There's a good chance that if I buy the aftermarket part for 40 bucks, they will install for free however.

The second issue is that my water pump is starting to "seep". Dealer advised immediate replacement citing serious damage potential if it blows.

My question is: do you believe Toyota will cover both repairs under warranty?

Dealer suggested that water pump is "possible" but not 100% guaranteed. I struggled with the argument that it's because it's only "seeping" coolant. In my mind, if it's not designed to seep, it's faulty and should be replaced. Dealer seems reasonably confident Toyota will pick up the repair, but would have to file a claim.

As for the AC recirculation issue: There, my service advisor is not so sure. Said that Toyota would likely send an assessor out (if I request both repairs be done - because of cost) - car would be in the shop for days. My guess here is that this one would be tougher for Toyota to justify as the most likely cause for the breakage is the dealer/force. So, I suspect the dealer would prefer the cheaper aftermarket fix, than to get Toyota involved and be stuck with a higher repair claim from a disgruntled customer if Toyota denies the claim.

Anyway: thoughts on your experience in getting Toyota NA to cover these warranty claims would be appreciated.
 
To the best of my knowledge there is no $40 fix for the recirc flap, unless you are counting the purchase price of adhesive to try to cobble it back together.

Water pumps weep as they wear out and it is not unusual, I take it as an indication to replace them. This is a normal wear item. They don't usually fail dramatically, but if you do get to the point of failure, and stop pumping coolant, you'll be in a world of hurt.

I'd think the dealer that broke your recirc flap should fix it, not Toyota. Wear items are often excluded from warranty coverage, but it depends on the warranty.
 
I've always had good luck with Toyota covering warranty items, however I feel I owe most of that to the dealer I visit.

I too have the 7yr/125K extended warranty on my '17. And though I cannot speak as to the water pump (though that seems like it should be covered), Toyota did cover my broken recirculation flap. However it was under different circumstances. For me, I had the dealer down the street from my office (the crappy dealer) do the 50K oil change/filter change/service, and they broke the flap replacing the cabin filter. I took it in to the good dealer at 56K just a few months later where Toyota covered it as a warranty claim (and a loaner car).
 
My 2c, use the warranty while you can. You paid for it.
Instead of second guessing and trying to "help" the dealer out, let them deal with it. You should be told *upfront* if the repair is covered or not under the warranty even if that means you have to wait for Toyota rep to come to inspect it. If they do not want to bother involving Toyota or give you a clear answer, find another dealer. These are clear failures with clear, well-known solutions and cost. It's not like they have to take the engine apart to figure it out.
It sounds to me like your dealer is not fully committed to serving you.
 
The water pump leak should be covered. That’s not a wear item and is a part failure. Toyota covered that on my Highlander with no questions. The filter flap is a crap shoot. I had 2 dealers, the one that broke it and the one I took it to for an estimate, refuse to even ask Toyota for coverage under my Toyota extended warranty because it was broken by a tech and not a factory defective part. I know some on here have had Toyota cover that and some have not. It wouldn’t hurt to ask. However, note that replacing the blower requires dash removal. Do you want a dealer doing that? I didn’t and fixed it myself.
 
The water pump leak should be covered. That’s not a wear item and is a part failure.
Whether it is covered by warranty or not, water pumps are absolutely a wear item. They have a built in weep hole to signal when they need service.
 
Whether it is covered by warranty or not, water pumps are absolutely a wear item. They have a built in weep hole to signal when they need service.
This. While it takes a long time to wear, I rank Water pump a wear item along with belts, tensioners, pulleys, and hoses. But if you can get it covered, you might as well. Otherwise you wasted a pretty penny on that warranty.
 
They’ll fix it under warranty, but you need to be armed with all the data this forum provides and convince the service writer and probably his boss.

I had mine done on a CPO car under the platinum extended but I had to “educate them.
 
Whether it is covered by warranty or not, water pumps are absolutely a wear item. They have a built in weep hole to signal when they need service.
Oops, I should have been more specific. My bad. Water pumps are not considered a wear item in terms of the Toyota Extra Care Platinum agreement. In fact, they are specifically listed as a covered part through the agreement period. Here are the parts considered to be wear items or cosmetic items and NOT covered.

THESE ARE THE ITEMS NOT COVERED:
Accessory Drive Belts; Batteries; Body Panels; Brake Linings, Pads and Shoes, Rotors and Drums; Bumpers; Carpet; Chrome; Clutch Friction Disc and Pressure Plate; Dash Cover and Pad; Door Fabric; Door Trim; Filters; Fluids; Fuel Cell Air Compressor; Fuel Cell Boost Converter;
Fuel Cell Electronic Control Unit; Fuel Cell Hydrogen Tanks; Fuel Cell Power Control Unit; Fuel Cell Stack; Fuel Cell Vehicle Battery Pack; Glass (including Windshields); Headliner; Heating Hoses, Lines and Tubes; Hoses; Hybrid Vehicle Battery Pack; Hybrid Vehicle Battery
Plug Assembly; Hybrid Vehicle Relay Assembly; Hybrid Vehicle Supply Battery Assembly; Hydrogen Fueling Electronic Control Unit; Interior and Exterior Trim Moldings (including but not limited to: Ashtrays, Covers, Cup Holders, and Vents); Lamps, Light Assemblies/Housings, and Light Bulbs; Nuts, Bolts, Clips, Retainers, and Fasteners; Paint; Rust and Corrosion Damage; Seat Covers; Sheet Metals; Shiny Metals; Spark Plugs; Structural Framework and Welds; Tires; Vacuum Hoses, Lines and Tubes; Weather Stripping; Wheels and Rims; Windshield Wiper Blades (Rubber component); All interior and exterior cloth, leather, and stitching including convertible tops and/or vinyl tops including but not limited
to: any vibration, deterioration, discoloration, disfigurement, warping, fading, staining, stretching, ripping, punctures, tearing, and/or scratches
 
If they are going to replace the pump, I would have then replace the belt if it has not been done. There should not be any difference other than the cost of the belt as they need to r&r it anyways.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Just a quick update on this thread to close it out.

Per the advice from you I did visit another dealer who wasn't much help. Got the sense they weren't really interested in helping and it reinforced that my original Service Manager was being helpful.

The dealer snapped photos of both the AC recirculation flap and the water pump leakage and filed the claim a couple of days. It was approved by Toyota this AM, as it should have been. Happy that they pushed it, and happy that I don't have to "fight" Toyota on the back end and that they stood behind their warranty.
Also, someone suggested replacing the belt - have asked the dealer to take care of it.

Thanks again!
 
Thanks for all the replies. Just a quick update on this thread to close it out.

Per the advice from you I did visit another dealer who wasn't much help. Got the sense they weren't really interested in helping and it reinforced that my original Service Manager was being helpful.

The dealer snapped photos of both the AC recirculation flap and the water pump leakage and filed the claim a couple of days. It was approved by Toyota this AM, as it should have been. Happy that they pushed it, and happy that I don't have to "fight" Toyota on the back end and that they stood behind their warranty.
Also, someone suggested replacing the belt - have asked the dealer to take care of it.

Thanks again!
One more thing: the unhelpful (second) dealer did offer one insight: water pumps are covered by extended warranty, as a poster above suggested.

However, dealers were "replacing these left and right" years ago so Toyota started to delineate between "seepage" and "leakage". The latter is covered, the former is not. I'm no lawyer but that sounds like gamesmanship to me, to keep warranty repairs down! Made me more determined to push for a replacement, to be honest!
 
In the future any time you go to the dealer lock your glovebox and keep the key blade with you, to prevent the recirc flap being broken again. Super common issue.
 
I guess lesson for me is; Do not buy the warranty on a Toyota, especially not a Land Cruiser.

Instead put the $2000 to $4000 in some bond or stock or take the hit when it arrives. You will be better off.

My old man always says; "Do not insure if you can pay it yourself without too much pain, otherwise you are just feeding the insurance companies' profits". He is right.

Taking that approach i have full comprehensive on the 2021 Cruiser, since $80k/$90k is significant for me, yet on the 2014 535d (which is still in great shape) I only have 3rd party and would just have to cough up a replacement car in case it goes wrong. I also trust after 36years of incident free driving i can add a few more. I know the others on the road is the biggest challenge. This is were anticipation, knowing what is happening in front and behind you (I scan my mirrors frequently) and defensive driving when it matters come into play. I do plan to install a forward and backward looking camera in the 535d to help with proof during an incident, just have not found to time yet to install.

All in all I would think 99 out of 100 Land Cruiser owners can afford a repair or should not be driving these vehicles and the gas they guzzle so it seems.

Good luck though with getting value out of your warranty. And ofcourse do with your money as you wish. PM me and I can give you my bank details if you really have to get rid of some of it... :rofl:
 
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Update: all the work has been completed under warranty.

Interestingly, the tech did not need to take out the dash to get the AC recirculation assembly in. Water pump replaced as well. All good!
 
Update: all the work has been completed under warranty.

Interestingly, the tech did not need to take out the dash to get the AC recirculation assembly in. Water pump replaced as well. All good!
Hmmm…..first I’ve heard of being able to replace the entire blower assembly without dash removal. I wonder how that was done?
 
Hmmm…..first I’ve heard of being able to replace the entire blower assembly without dash removal. I wonder how that was done?
I too was surprised given everything I'd read here. This was the same tech who diagnosed the issue and took out the glove compartment and trim to inspect the unit. Per the Service Advisor all I know is that the top part of the dash, air bags etc. did not need to be removed. Instead it was "wedged" in. Not sure exactly what that means, but the trim looks good to me today following a brief inspection and there were no rattles or squeaks on the way home - which is what I was concerned about.
 
I guess lesson for me is; Do not buy the warranty on a Toyota, especially not a Land Cruiser.

Instead put the $2000 to $4000 in some bond or stock or take the hit when it arrives. You will be better off.

My old man always says; "Do not insure if you can pay it yourself without too much pain, otherwise you are just feeding the insurance companies' profits". He is right.

Taking that approach i have full comprehensive on the 2021 Cruiser, since $80k/$90k is significant for me, yet on the 2014 535d (which is still in great shape) I only have 3rd party and would just have to cough up a replacement car in case it goes wrong. I also trust after 36years of incident free driving i can add a few more. I know the others on the road is the biggest challenge. This is were anticipation, knowing what is happening in front and behind you (I scan my mirrors frequently) and defensive driving when it matters come into play. I do plan to install a forward and backward looking camera in the 535d to help with proof during an incident, just have not found to time yet to install.

All in all I would think 99 out of 100 Land Cruiser owners can afford a repair or should not be driving these vehicles and the gas they guzzle so it seems.

Good luck though with getting value out of your insurance. And ofcourse do with your money as you wish. PM me and I can give you my bank details if you really have to get rid of some of it... :rofl:
2021 LC200 SPEAKS THE TRUTH. Dealers sell the additional warranty as they make tons of money...that's all there is to it.
 
2021 LC200 SPEAKS THE TRUTH. Dealers sell the additional warranty as they make tons of money...that's all there is to it.
Well, in this particular case both the dealer and Toyota stood behind the warranty. So all is good as far as I'm concerned especially given that warranty cost < repair cost if I'd paid out of pocket. YMMV!
 
I am the owner of a lx570. I was a service advisor with toyota dealerships for the past 23 years. I recently moved to the parts department as a parts counter man (huge reduction in stress lol ). Toyota has guidelines for what they consider leakage. As far as the water pump goes toyota extra care (extended warranty) wants the tech to hold a paper towel at the source of leakage and see if it saturates the towel. This rule came into play several years ago no doubt due to unscrupulous dealers putting in claims for water pumps and other parts said to be leaking. I can tell you that I never saw a tech perform this leak test and I think it's a ridiculous rule. I always did what I could for my customers as far as getting a claim approved. Take that as it is that it really comes down to how hard the service advisor wants to go to bat. If you can't get anywhere with the advisor go to the service manager. That's all I can say on the subject.
 

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