Airbag Recall Requires Two Appointments???

[OregonLC]

Got the notice in the mail, made the appointment at the dealer. Gave them the VIN at time of appointment. Go in today and wait for an hour only to have them come back and say that Toyota doesn't allow them to order the parts until they actually see the vehicle and verify the VIN. They say that Toyota does this to prevent dealers from 'hoarding' parts. Anyone else have the same experience?

 

[bloc]

Bull****. I called and made appointment, service advisor asked color of interior and ordered part, ~2 weeks later I got a call and brought my 2013 LC in to have the work done.

Many people had the same experience as me.

MAYBE toyota changed policy to require verifying interior color before ordering parts? Or because they are surprised by the demand for parts? Which would be odd, considering they know how many were built.

If so that's massively inconvenient.

I'd ask about sending a pic of the VIN tag or something.

 

[OregonLC]

Yeah, I'm not buying it either. SA said it was a Toyota policy that they couldn't pre-order the airbag parts because they're in such short supply and don't want dealers to order if they won't be used for recall work. My guess is that the dealer failed to get the parts ordered and is blaming it on Toyota USA. Beaverton Toyota FWIW.

 

[Mogwai]

I had the same (poor) initial experience as well, I made a comment in the other thread to "call ahead" because clearly giving them the VIN and booking a J05 recall doesn't mean they'll put the parts order in. THEY CAN THOUGH! They did not need to see the truck, just need the VIN. 2nd visit went well, and they cleaned the truck - all-in 1.5hrs and it took about 3 days to get the parts in once ordered.

 

[Bendcruiser]

Had an appointment set ,advisor called to tell me part is not available with no ETA ! Weird recall.

 

[OregonLC]

Crazy. So much for supporting their flagship vehicle.

 

[phatairman]

Local Lexus location had me send them the VIN ahead of time. Appointment 3 days later and the part was exchanged in an hour and half.

 

[Ali FJ80]

We are going on three trips on the wife's LX. They first put in the wrong color belt. Would have though the tech would have caught this vs. installing something thats not the same color. Had to go back to confirm that the black belt did not match the other gray ones (another hour and a half) and were told they now realize all belts they got for all models seem to be black regardless color the vin designated and they will have to talk to corporate and we will have to go back a third time once resolved. Real armature hour here in Denver.

 

[Diytech123]

We are going on three trips on the wife's LX. They first put in the wrong color belt. Would have though the tech would have caught this vs. installing something thats not the same color. Had to go back to confirm that the black belt did not match the other gray ones (another hour and a half) and were told they now realize all belts they got for all models seem to be black regardless color the vin designated and they will have to talk to corporate and we will have to go back a third time once resolved. Real armature hour here in Denver.

Even I found my seatbelt being darker than the gray ones I have on driver side and the rear passengers side. The design patterns on them also differs. Post your update on what you hear from corporate.

 

[Ali FJ80]

Even I found my seatbelt being darker than the gray ones I have on driver side and the rear passengers side. The design patterns on them also differs. Post your update on what you hear from corporate.

Not only was the belt different but the old buckle was light gray and the new one is jet black. They at first tried to tell me thats what they pulled out of the car like it was fine. Essencially had to take it back to prove their mistake to them. Really seeing a different side of toyota/lexus the way this recall has been handled.

 

[KLF]

Took 2 trips for my recall. I was pretty pissed, dealer is about an hour away for me. They promised the parts would be there for the first appointment, then said they had to "confirm the color" when I got there, and made me come back.

 

[liv2bike]

Got my notice in the mail yesterday. Called Teton Toyota same day. He looked up our LC in their system and said he would order the parts. He reckons parts will arrive in 2 to 3 weeks. We shall see.

 

[Diytech123]

Not only was the belt different but the old buckle was light gray and the new one is jet black. They at first tried to tell me thats what they pulled out of the car like it was fine. Essencially had to take it back to prove their mistake to them. Really seeing a different side of toyota/lexus the way this recall has been handled.

After reading your post, I have checked mine. You are right, my seat belt buckle is also black. I need to check with my dealer. I feel safer but don't want my car interior look like of mismatched colors

 

[CharlieS]

I just went around and around with my dealer. Thankfully the Toyota Customer Experience Center helped by intervening with the dealer and got me in to have it done in a single appointment. I'd recommend calling them if you get the dealer runaround. 888-270-9371

The Toyota paperwork says they are supposed to "use EPC to determine the service part number for the vehicle."

 

[MikeVpdx503]

Same experience, I even asked about the parts and was told they were in stock when I made my appointment. Dropped car off next day, called a few hours later and was told that parts were no longer in stock and had to be ordered. Got a loaner for 48 hours then picked it up last night. Only snag was battery was disconnected for an extended time and had to reset everything. Double checked color of belt and buckle type before I left !!!

 

[ceb]

OP - that's absurd. Call Toyota corporate

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Went to one dealership in person, provided the VIN and made an appointment for the following week, specifically to complete Recall J05.

45 minutes into the subsequent appointment, the service advisor says, "the inspection is done and we can order the part.". Furious, I asked why the part wasn't ordered when I made the appointment. The service advisor then blatantly lied, saying the "part had been ordered but was the wrong one, and that there were two different seatbelt recalls for 2010 and that 2010 is when the part changed and they had to just take a shot in the dark on ordering the right part and blah blah blah..." I asked if I could schedule the repair and get a loaner when I dropped it off. He replied that he wouldn't know if he had any loaners until the day of the repair.

I gathered my truck and drove to the Toyota dealer on the other side of town. They "inspected" the truck right away, and said they would order the part and call me when it arrived.

Of course, the "inspection" was merely their routine inspection where they said I had $1800 in "critical" deferred maintenance. Absolutely none of it was true, including the "dirty" brake fluid that had been completely flushed 3 weeks prior.

Then 3 days after the part was supposed to have arrived, I both emailed and called the service advisor to check on the part. He never replied or called back. Finally, I had to go in person to verify the part had arrived (3 days earlier) and to schedule the repair. Supposedly this will happen tomorrow morning, but we'll see...

This is why I'll never visit a dealership for anything other than recall or warranty work.

(BTW, these are the dealerships in Colorado Springs, both Larry H Miller branded.)

UPDATE - Recall completed. Took them two hours to make the actual repair. Then I had to retrieve my own vehicle from the employee parking lot where they left it, and it still had the plastic covers over the seat and floor mat. Good to see that they are consistent over time in their level of customer service.

 

[bloc]

And for everyone that hasn’t gone yet: LOCK YOUR GLOVE BOX AND KEEP THE KEY BLADE. This is the only sure-fire way to avoid them breaking your recirculate door while “inspecting” your cabin filter.

 

[OregonLC]

^^ Great advice.

 

[tominboise]

I may just skip the recall. Wonder what the implications of that would be.