Got a call from a Toyota dealer in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area where I had done some maintenance on my '13 LC. They asked if I would be willing to answer some questions about my Land Cruiser. I did, and I really enjoyed having to repeat how many miles I had on it. Yes, really. 211,000 miles.
They then asked if I would be willing to fill out an online survey, and then possibly bring it to the dealer for "some Toyota engineers to look at it." It seemed a little unusual. When I asked the purpose, they said that Toyota just wants to "survey" several different Land Cruisers and evaluate how different components are holding up.
I filled out the survey, and then was asked to bring it in. They gave me a loaner car while they looked it over, and then gave me $300 in MasterCard gift cards as a thank you. On the cards, it says "Toyota Cares."
The survey questions were primarily if I had driven it off-road and what my experiences were. It was broken up into three sections with 3-4 questions in each. The first section covered non-paved roads (gravel roads, etc), which I drive on nearly every day. The second section covered a little rougher terrain, which I do maybe once a month or every six weeks. The last section covered wheeling/rock-crawling, which I don't do any of. The general questions were about driving experience, if I had incurred any damage, and what/if anything I had done to fix the damage.
One of the qualifying questions prior to taking the survey was whether I had made any modifications to the suspension, installed a lift, used larger tires, etc. This is my first LC, and does not have any modifications yet. Its never too late, but I've got other stuff the takes priority at the moment. The goal is to retire it as a daily driver but keep it for a project vehicle of sorts. The next vehicle will most likely be another LC.
Although I'm always a little suspect about things like this, it all played out like they said it would. The process took about 4 hours, and I was not able to talk to the engineers. They said that the engineers were from Toyota, and did not work for the dealership. I was hoping to get some type of feedback or report, but there was only just a generic $0 receipt.
If legit, it is pretty cool that they are actually doing a little field research. My LC is in great shape, but is definitely due for fluid changes (transmission and diff).
Has anyone seen or heard of this before ?
They then asked if I would be willing to fill out an online survey, and then possibly bring it to the dealer for "some Toyota engineers to look at it." It seemed a little unusual. When I asked the purpose, they said that Toyota just wants to "survey" several different Land Cruisers and evaluate how different components are holding up.
I filled out the survey, and then was asked to bring it in. They gave me a loaner car while they looked it over, and then gave me $300 in MasterCard gift cards as a thank you. On the cards, it says "Toyota Cares."
The survey questions were primarily if I had driven it off-road and what my experiences were. It was broken up into three sections with 3-4 questions in each. The first section covered non-paved roads (gravel roads, etc), which I drive on nearly every day. The second section covered a little rougher terrain, which I do maybe once a month or every six weeks. The last section covered wheeling/rock-crawling, which I don't do any of. The general questions were about driving experience, if I had incurred any damage, and what/if anything I had done to fix the damage.
One of the qualifying questions prior to taking the survey was whether I had made any modifications to the suspension, installed a lift, used larger tires, etc. This is my first LC, and does not have any modifications yet. Its never too late, but I've got other stuff the takes priority at the moment. The goal is to retire it as a daily driver but keep it for a project vehicle of sorts. The next vehicle will most likely be another LC.
Although I'm always a little suspect about things like this, it all played out like they said it would. The process took about 4 hours, and I was not able to talk to the engineers. They said that the engineers were from Toyota, and did not work for the dealership. I was hoping to get some type of feedback or report, but there was only just a generic $0 receipt.
If legit, it is pretty cool that they are actually doing a little field research. My LC is in great shape, but is definitely due for fluid changes (transmission and diff).
Has anyone seen or heard of this before ?
