Why I hate taking my 200 to the Dealer

[stonepa]

The manufacturer can help a little and a lot if they choose to…. I know I’ve called Toyota with an inquiry or 2 poor work related. Never again - whats the point ? All they told me was call dealer, it’s up to the dealer….. Well if the dealer was doing right, I wouldn’t be calling Toyota. Duh…. Waste of time and when you live in an area with not many dealer choices your screwed and on your own. That said I knew I was taking a bit of gamble when I bought the truck. I was hoping for the the best - but not to be.

By law in every US state, dealerships are completely separate entities from the manufacturers. Toyota has almost zero real leverage over the dealership service departments. So important to find a good dealer. The one I typically use is fantastic. The others in my area are pretty poor, whether from a customers service aspect or the actual work being done.

 

[ToyotaTrk]

By law in every US state, dealerships are completely separate entities from the manufacturers. Toyota has almost zero real leverage over the dealership service departments. So important to find a good dealer. The one I typically use is fantastic. The others in my area are pretty poor, whether from a customers service aspect or the actual work being done.

They could help if they wanted. No doubt about it. I know they are separate but I also know they could and do, when wanted, exert influence.

 

[stonepa]

They could help if they wanted. No doubt about it. I know they are separate but I also know they could and do, when wanted, exert influence.

They really have no influence. I’ve done a fair amount of work in the dealer service orgs (Toyota and GM) and it is amazing how little influence they can legally exert. You as the customer actually have the most influence through the dealer satisfaction surveys that they send out.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Last 2 times for me on the oil change I had to go bad for a fix job….. 1st time oil plug not tight - or at least that’s what they told me. Had oil stain on garage floor after service. Next time same thing. Drove back 45 minutes to dealer and this time I was allowed to go to the shop and see what actually happened. Supposedly instead of removing plate to get full access for the oil drain, tech fudged and just pulled the plug and oil was all on top of cover plate. I suspect this is what actually happened the 1st time. If they’d taken a few extra minutes to do the job right the 1st time - everyone saves time and money. But, alas, they really shortsighted and don’t give a shi*….

I chalked it up as $100 spent to know I won’t go back. Didn’t even bother reaching out. Not worth my time to gain…what? A line of excuses and a nearly 2 hour round trip? Bleh.

 

[bloc]

Poor quality is all over. Recently took ours in for an oil change and tire rotation. Came out to the truck smelling like oil inside, a cabin filter that they said they checked (checked after them and found debris laying on top of it),

You shouldn’t be letting them check the cabin filter in the first place! There are hundreds of dealer-maintained 200s with broken recirculate flaps from s***ty service techs pushing the flap open to see the filter vs using the button as designed.

Then, most owners don’t catch this for months or years so it is often impossible to pin responsibility on the dealer.

If you must bring it back lock your glove box and keep the key blade with you, that way they are locked out of damaging the system.

 

[yonah]

PSA - I check the bolts on the drivers side skid plate after each oil change at the dealer. They forgot to reinstall one after my last oil change. I caught it a week later and the dealer provided a new one.

Once my factory warranty and complementary maintenance are exhausted, I’m going to find an indy shop in my area.

The only two Toyota service centers that I have really liked are Dick Poe (El Paso, TX) and Fred Anderson (Raleigh, NC) - both were excellent experiences every single time I took my Tacoma in for maintenance. Both paint penned tick marks on any bolts they removed/reinstalled, stenciled fluid change dates on the diffs, etc. Great attention to detail.

—-

My vent session - I had a local dealer (when I lived in GA) overtorque the lug nuts on my Tacoma. I found out later that half the lugs were cross-threaded. This was discovered when I tried to do a brake job and sheared off the first wheel stud I touched. Incredible. At least it was in my driveway and not on the side of the highway if I got a flat tire.

The service rep and I got into it. He tried to blame it on me and not the tech that air wrenched on all of my lug nuts. Even lied to me saying he personally checked them. I settled with the service manager for a full replacement of wheel studs and lug nuts for the truck. I installed them all myself. I never went back to that place again.

The service rep looked like a fat, short version of Steve Carell (from the office); he even talked like him, which made the interaction amusing given the circumstances.

 

[ToyotaTrk]

They really have no influence. I’ve done a fair amount of work in the dealer service orgs (Toyota and GM) and it is amazing how little influence they can legally exert. You as the customer actually have the most influence through the dealer satisfaction surveys that they send out.

Ive been to the dealer about 4 or 5 times now for included maintenance and ive never once received a survey from them or Toyota re: the visit. Ive gotten them from the Land Rover dealer and Porsche when ive gone there with those cars. And the last time I actually answered the Porsche survey truthfully and provided some constructive remarks, and I actually paid them a compliment too in the survey, I got a nasty call from the service manager giving me s***. He also basically told me that Porsche doesnt look at the typed comments but rather just the numerical score. So, as mentioned, I dont go there any more. And my Porsche indy wont work on the truck.

 

[bloc]

PSA - I check the bolts on the drivers side skid plate after each oil change at the dealer. They forgot to reinstall one after my last oil change. I caught it a week later and the dealer provided a new one.

Once my factory warranty and complementary maintenance are exhausted, I’m going to find an indy shop in my area.

The only two Toyota service centers that I have really liked are Dick Poe (El Paso, TX) and Fred Anderson (Raleigh, NC) - both were excellent experiences every single time I took my Tacoma in for maintenance. Both paint penned tick marks on any bolts they removed/reinstalled, stenciled fluid change dates on the diffs, etc. Great attention to detail.

—-

My vent session - I had a local dealer (when I lived in GA) overtorque the lug nuts on my Tacoma. I found out later that half the lugs were cross-threaded. This was discovered when I tried to do a brake job and sheared off the first wheel stud I touched. Incredible. At least it was in my driveway and not on the side of the highway if I got a flat tire.

The service rep and I got into it. He tried to blame it on me and not the tech that air wrenched on all of my lug nuts. Even lied to me saying he personally checked them. I settled with the service manager for a full replacement of wheel studs and lug nuts for the truck. I installed them all myself. I never went back to that place again.

The service rep looked like a fat, short version of Steve Carell (from the office); he even talked like him, which made the interaction amusing given the circumstances.

IMO the saved money on complementary service isn’t worth the risk I’d be taking letting the idiots touch my car. I’m more capable than the average person doing maintenance so the math is a little different, but if you know of a good indy I would ditch the dealer for everything other than warranty work the minute it left the lot. Again, many, many of our rigs have damage to the AC system that would cost thousands to fix with no recourse to hold dealers accountable. That’s just one example.

Also if you keep documentation they cannot deny warranty claims.

 

[spazzyfry123]

You shouldn’t be letting them check the cabin filter in the first place! There are hundreds of dealer-maintained 200s with broken recirculate flaps from s***ty service techs pushing the flap open to see the filter vs using the button as designed.

Then, most owners don’t catch this for months or years so it is often impossible to pin responsibility on the dealer.

If you must bring it back lock your glove box and keep the key blade with you, that way they are locked out of damaging the system.

Yep. Know all about it. I just honestly thought I came in for an oil change, I’d get one. That’s the only reason I even double checked after them was to see if it broke after seeing the work order showing that they did all these other checks. My heart sank thinking I’d have a battle ahead.

 

[bloc]

Yep. Know all about it. I just honestly thought I came in for an oil change, I’d get one. That’s the only reason I even double checked after them was to see if it broke after seeing the work order showing that they did all these other checks. My heart sank thinking I’d have a battle ahead.

I halfway joke there should be a “must read PSA” about locking the glove box at the dealer that you have to check off as having read before browsing or posting in this section.

 

[Heckraiser]

I looked up the service history on the lexus website when I bought the minivan, and there were a whole lot of "fluid change" services at ridiculously short intervals. Apparently this trick worked like a charm on one of my truck's POs.

 

[stonepa]

Ive been to the dealer about 4 or 5 times now for included maintenance and ive never once received a survey from them or Toyota re: the visit. Ive gotten them from the Land Rover dealer and Porsche when ive gone there with those cars. And the last time I actually answered the Porsche survey truthfully and provided some constructive remarks, and I actually paid them a compliment too in the survey, I got a nasty call from the service manager giving me s***. He also basically told me that Porsche doesnt look at the typed comments but rather just the numerical score. So, as mentioned, I dont go there any more. And my Porsche indy wont work on the truck.

I gotta tell you, I feel super fortunate hearing all these tales of woah. My dealers have been great over the last 35 years.

 

[ToyotaTrk]

RANT.....
Well went in to the dealer for a rattle check as ive got some squeaks that are driving me nuts. As ive been told before, its best to drive w/ tech to try to duplicate the noises. Went through all the check in , etc, and the rude clerk like triple tasking while im sitting there with my thumb up my a.. waiting on him... Get to the point where he says good bye and I ask about the driving part and he kinda rolls his eyes then says the head tech is out today I think. Hummm, im thinking and waiting for him to follow up or what. Nothing. I ask what about someone else?? She says he's the only one allowed to ride with customers. So what am I suppose to do I ask? He says I could come back another day if thats better for me. WTF !?!

Needless to say, I took off. What a waste.