I am informing everyone in the San Diego area to stay away from Kearny Mesa Toyota Service Department. Not to be confused with the sales reps, this is specifically about the service department run by Scott Buckner. This person and his staff have let my wife and I down for the last time. Each visit to the service department has come with a cost of drama and substandard performance.

This is the closest service department to me and it just isn't worth the trouble. I would rather drive 26 miles to Carlsbad, or Poway, or Pacific Beach than waste my time and risk my 4runner. The Service Manager refuses to take ownership of the faults of his team and is in no way ready to correct any deficiencies. The last straw was when he called my wife and I by our first names as if we were good friends. I'm in the Marines. We don't use first names, and when you are getting your ass chewed or corrected, you certainly use proper titles. I mean, I called him Mr. Buckner and refrained from swearing. I think I made the bigger sacrifice if you ask me.

The first problem was my 60,000 mile inspection. They kept my 4runner for 4 days and when I got it back my aux skid plate wasn't reinstalled. They did nothing about it but give me grief.

Second time they couldn't fix the TPMS that failed. I had to bring it to Carlsbad. Oh and by the way, the Carlsbad service department brought me into the service bay and showed me what was done on a 60,000 mile service to prove they would have removed the skid plate to gain additional access to the engine. That gave me a sense of security.

Third time, they really screwed up. They crossed the wife. I told her I'd prefer Carlsbad or any other Toyota service department but she's busy with her work schedule and I'm deployed. She took it to KM, with an appointment. They made her wait 30 minutes on a work day for a scheduled appointment. She called them out on this and they acted like it was no big deal. Hah wrong answer. She got them to do the service for free. When she came back they brought out the wrong vehicle, and then made her wait another 30 minutes. Again she notices the level of **** this team gives, or doesn't give and now we get a free detail next time. Don't think they just gave that to her too. She had to fight the man in order to get something in return for the trouble.

In closing, I hope this reaches anyone else who might have had a horrible experience with Kearny Mesa Toyota Service Department and they too will share what they have gone through.

And THAT is what grinds my gears.