Busted rear diff not cover by warranty!

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Diffs

I blew my rear diff at Beasley Bash and Toyota refused to warranty mine as well. I paid to have it fixed and will be at Gray Rock this weekend wheeling again. However, I got a lawyer and am taking Toyota to court over this because they slapped me with the vehicle abuse tag without even asking me what happened. Several other Ga Cruisers FJ's have broken and been fixed under warranty and so far I am the only one that hasn't been. I had them put the factory Toyota diff back in it so I can justify sueing them, and if I get my settlement then I will do 4:56 front and rear with the money. Anyone in GA with diff troubles should go to Cobb County Toyota, they're the ones fixing diffs. I went to Milton Martin in Gainesville and Toyota Mall of Georgia and got blacklisted by both of them. I have to say when a truck that's less than a year old with 19k miles on it breaks and they refuse you warranty coverage you tend to get pretty irritated. Good luck to other FJ owners with an early build, I hope you get yours warranted without any problems.
 
FJCRUZR said:
Toyota says:
As Toyota website stated, the FJ Cruiser is designed as an off-road vehicle.
Driving your FJ Cruiser off-road does not automatically void your warranty but any component damaged by the off-road driving or performance problems resulting from the off-road driving would not be covered.
Click to expand...
I would be very interested to know who actually told you this.

Unfortunately, many Southeast Toyota (SET) dealerships are reluctant to warranty things. This is a reflection on the (private) distributor (SET = JM Family Enterprises) and the independent dealerships, and not on Toyota/TMS.

I have a very good rapport with the Trail Teams, and have been aware of the ring gear problem since it first started with the new generation Tacoma, well before the failures were reported by the Trail Teams and later, consumers. I know for a fact Toyota is not reluctant to replace them- they have authorized warranty replacement for failed ring gears at my dealership and many others.

Many people here throwing a hissy need to simply stop posting garbage until they take the time to understand where to correctly place the blame.

Not only has (and will) Toyota (TMS) stand behind the product, but they will replace the affected part, as they have in the past.

In fact, I am personally working with GST and TMS on the product report for the bulging/cracking aprons, and will be meeting with them today to begin analysis of the failure on Graham's well known, heavily modified and often wheeled Dune Beige FJC.

img2561wm4.jpg


Toyota is very involved in these and other product issues, and to suggest they are not is simply ignorant.

For the original poster, just how far up the chain has your case gone? I would be happy to see what I can do... email me names & details if you want and I'll try to poke a few folks. ;)
 
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Sounds like what SET tried to pull on me on my cv boots. The Toyota website clearly stated it was covered and SET refused it. I sent off a few emails to the higher up legal folks at Toyota and they called me and replaced the cv boots free of charge.

Good luck!
 
That's great that Toyota is willing to take care of this - but most people don't enjoy the relationships that you have. As a consumer, is it really our responsibility to dick around with multiple levels of distribution - no. It is Toyota's responsibility to inform and instruct the dealer network - not ours.

I continue to be amazed at the level of ignorance at the dealership at which I bought my FJ - the service manager got in my FJ and then said "Huh, didn't know these came with a manual transmission..." He also has not heard anything about the ring gear issues...
 
Has nothing to do with my relationships- the ring gear issue has been covered by warranty all over the country (except SET it appears).

The distribution network where it exists is confusing, and yes, it is Toyota's responsibility to inform the dealer network.

Unfortunately in this case, the ring gears have all failed under what Toyota considers 'unusual or extreme use conditions', therefore there is no TSB nor explicit instruction to warranty it, but like wise there is no instruction to exclude it either.

Sadly, often people have to work through steps to achieve a resolution, steps that are often seem redundant and unnecessary. Having seen the other side though, I can certainly understand the approach... believe it or not, sometimes when it comes to money, people lie. :eek:
 
With Toyota setting the example of the FJC being an off-roader via the FJ Trail Team I think they are stuck fixing these diffs unless they can prove the particular vehicle was abused. That would be tough.
 
Sounds like someone needs to sue SET and maybe Toyota in order to get their attention and stop pulling this nonsense on people.
 
ShottsUZJ100 said:
With Toyota setting the example of the FJC being an off-roader via the FJ Trail Team I think they are stuck fixing these diffs unless they can prove the particular vehicle was abused. That would be tough.
Click to expand...

I think you missed the point. Toyota isn't denying anything as far as I know- they have replaced everyone that has failed that they are aware of.

Furthermore, Toyota has even had to fix the Trail Teams busted ring gears.

Issues seem to be at the dealer and/or distributor level. Since there are only 2 privately owned distributors left in the US, and one of them (GST) has warrantied failed ring gears, the issue seems to be with individual dealers and possibly the SET distributor.
 
It sounds like a scandal to me. SET refusing warranty claims (that Toyota would cover) saves them money which increases their profit.
 
valkyrie610 said:
I think you missed the point. Toyota isn't denying anything as far as I know- they have replaced everyone that has failed that they are aware of.

Furthermore, Toyota has fixed the Trail Teams busted ring gears.

Issues seem to be at the dealer and/or distributor level. Since there are only 2 privately owned distributors left in the US, and one of them (GST) has warrantied failed ring gears, the issue seems to be with individual dealers and possibly the SET distributor.
Click to expand...

Yes, but the dealer then has no choice but to R&R the broken diff. Just go over the dealer's heads.
 
Correct, go over the dealers head especially in the SET region.
 
valkyrie610 said:
I think you missed the point. Toyota isn't denying anything as far as I know- they have replaced everyone that has failed that they are aware of.

Furthermore, Toyota has even had to fix the Trail Teams busted ring gears.

Issues seem to be at the dealer and/or distributor level. Since there are only 2 privately owned distributors left in the US, and one of them (GST) has warrantied failed ring gears, the issue seems to be with individual dealers and possibly the SET distributor.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I think this will help FJC owners with this issue.
Toyota is supporting FJC owners, some at the dealer level are not (ie; SET)

So, if you are having problems with them covering it, head up the food chain.
Is there a direct number or email FJC owners can call if they are in this situation?

Let's move on instead of going in circles Shotts
 
Know thine own enemy - A very quick internet search turned this up:




About Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC

Ranked No. 1 in the National Automobile Dealers Association's dealer attitude study, Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) (http://www.buyatoyota.com) is the largest franchised distributor of Toyotas in the world. The company distributes vehicles, parts and accessories to 167 Toyota dealerships in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. SET dealers sell approximately 20 percent of all Toyotas sold in the country. Its vehicle processing facilities are located in Jacksonville, Fla. and Commerce, Ga. Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla., SET is a subsidiary of JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (http://www.jmfamily.com), a $9.4 billion diversified automotive corporation ranked by Forbes magazine as the 17th-largest privately held company in the United States. The company is also ranked on the FORTUNE(R) 100 Best Companies to Work For list and has been for eight consecutive years. It has been on the InformationWeek 500 listing of the nation's leading information technology innovators for the past four years.
 
So you with all that you would think they would do the right thing and not try to skimp on warrranty coverage on Toyotas.
 
Dealership with a bad attitude makes a lot more sense than Toyota choosing to deny it.

Glad to hear you got it resolved.


Mark...
 
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