Tank Recall Replacement Problem

[Trev]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice in dealing with my local Toyota dealer (Capitol Toyota) in Salem, Oregon.

I took my 1987 FJ60 into the dealer for the two recall items and they just called me back to say that they were having trouble getting the tank out and it was going to cost extra - $350 or more. Apparently, they were not expecting to find rusted hardware. They were looking for a reason to blame things on me by asking how long I had owned it and where it was from. I'd just do it myself if they would give me the tank.

What should I do?

 

[BGarcia88FJ62]

As I recall it was a federal saftey issue with the gas tank. they have to fix it at their cost. I don't believe time or length of ownership is an issue and it being a 20+ year old truck rust should be expected. If you continue to have problems contact toyota directly they can probably light a fire under someones ass.
Good luck .

 

[Trev]

Thanks. At the moment, their service manager is out, but should be back tomorrow. I'll wait to see how he responds. I strongly dislike being held hostage. Funny how they don't say a word about possible additional expense until they've disabled the vehicle.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Tell Toyota directly, they need to rein in some of their dealers. Mike

 

[AKcruiserfreak]

Ditto on talking directly to Toyota. I had the same problem, and had to talk to Toyota's customer service. I ended up with a free oil change and lube plus no charge for the tank replacement.

TK

 

[Outdoor Adventure]

Call Toyota, explain that you have an outstanding recall on your truck, and that the dealer is being uncooperative in terms of the recall. Access to the tank is their problem, not yours. Be persistent.

 

[bigDcruiser]

i'm sure it's been discussed but since we're on the topic, how do i find out if recall work has been done on my truck? Trev, you may want them to look into the seatbelts as well. i don't remember the years but there was a recall on them as well. pretty sure mine haven't been done b/c they don't seem to work properly.

 

[Trev]

I'm having the seat belt recall done as well. To find out what recalls are outstanding, just take your rig/VIN number to the service department. They run it through some database.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll stick to my guns and let you know what happens tomorrow.

 

[JLH911]

Let them know you'll be talking to Toyota Corporate in Torrance, CA...they will change their tune right away.

 

[Michael Hanson]

How do we know the recalls are being done,what is the proof? I have a cruiser IM almost positive was not done,but Toyota says it has been,cruiser shows no evidence of it. Mike

 

[Clonestocker]

Mike, I feel the same way. There should be a tag on the firewall and my cruiser doesn't have it but they told me mine was done in the early 90's. matt

 

[Michael Hanson]

So how do we know as consumers? With the responses we have gotten lately on Mud I hold little faith in Toyota and it management of this issue.Where is proof of the repairs and how do we know the potential deadly problems have been corrected? Original paperwork with tank serial numbers should be provided as proof to any future owner of the cruisers. Mike

 

[vlinker]

Is the tank recall for diesel as well as gas cruisers?

 

[ntsqd]

I doubt that the tank itself has a s/n.

Look at it from Toyota's perspective; the Fed said "This has to be done" so Toyota did it. I'm sure they watched the whole Pinto debacle and said "we're not going to go there."

Toyota may or may not have tried to cut corners where they could to try to keep the cost under control, but if their documentation shows that job was done I highly doubt that Corp. Toyota would be willing to expose themselves to the legal mess of it not being done.

Now suppose that some dealer billed Toyota for the job, but didn't actually do the work. If that vehicle is ever involved in a fatal crash involving the fuel tank their you-know-whats would be stretched way out there into the fire. And Toyota Corp would stand back and say "you told us that you did the work and we paid you for it, it's all on you."

 

[Sloan]

So how do we know as consumers? With the responses we have gotten lately on Mud I hold little faith in Toyota and it management of this issue.Where is proof of the repairs and how do we know the potential deadly problems have been corrected? Original paperwork with tank serial numbers should be provided as proof to any future owner of the cruisers. Mike

I would ask them for a signed and dated statement that states when and where the work was done in case there are any future problems.

 

[Trev]

Good news. Two full days into this and they've decided to move ahead with the recall without a payoff from me. I'm not sure if my messages filtered down from corporate, but they're not trying to gouge me anymore. Hopefully, they'll do a clean job and I won't have to fix any mistakes.

Thanks again for the advice everyone.

 

[Michael Hanson]

I agree that Toyota should provide paperwork as to where the recall work was done. Mike

 

[Heartworm]

The dealership is getting PAID by Toyota to do the work. If the job had added problems (rusted brackets), the dealership should be able to get Toyota to pay for that too. They were trying to double dip you and Toyota?

 

[Michael Hanson]

This is why there should be paperwork on all potential deadly recalls which some dealers might be uninclined to do or forget to do. Mike

 

[Trev]

The dealership is getting PAID by Toyota to do the work. If the job had added problems (rusted brackets), the dealership should be able to get Toyota to pay for that too. They were trying to double dip you and Toyota?

They initially said the recall did not include unexpected repairs (it really shouldn't need any) and additional labor. They apparently broke a bolt off early on. I wouldn't mind paying for some new hardware, even at Toyota prices, but I was more concerned about unknown hours of labor they were going to try and charge me when I know I could get it out myself without too much trouble. I did see it as double dipping. They didn't say how many hours of labor or what the flat rate was from Toyota. I forgot to mention I gave it a fresh pressure wash underneath, removed the rear tire, rear carpet, and back seat (doing some interior work) to make their life easier. That went unnoticed. Maybe they would have bitched less if I pulled the spare tire mount also.