Air Bag Recall Install Gone Bad— Dealer Fails to Take Responsibility

[flyfisher4822]

I took my 2006 4th Gen Sport to the dealer today for the air bag controller recall. I picked it up about five hours later. Upon driving out of the mechanics bay, I put my turn signal on and it didn't work. I pulled back into the service entrance and informed them that not only did the turn signals not work, neither did the emergency flashers. Additionally, when the headlights are turned on, all of the warning lights are illuminated on the gauges.

They had a technician look at it and 30 minutes later told me that "you have a short somewhere on the right side of the vehicle." They said it had nothing to do with their repair and that they were not responsible.

I asked what they thought the odds were of such a coincidence: that I drive in— in a truck that is meticulously maintained, with no symptom or instance of any electrical problem. . .ever—and then upon (literally) driving out of their shop I have this problem.

They said if I wanted to pay, they could tear it apart and trouble-shoot the problem and tell me what it would cost for me to have it fixed. Yep, I laughed too. The Service Manager was "out," so they gave me his card and said to call him in the morning.

Tomorrow will be Service Manager, General Manager, Regional Manager, and then my attorney, in that order of escalation, if that's what they want to do.

Any ideas from the electrical geniuses here about what might have caused this?

And, any suggestions about how to proceed with this that I might be missing?

Meanwhile, not safe to drive, so will have to get a rental until this is resolved.

 

[Anonymous4Runner]

I took my 2006 4th Gen Sport to the dealer today for the Takata air bag recall. I picked it up about five hours later. Upon driving out of the mechanics bay, I put my turn signal on and it didn't work. I pulled back into the service entrance and informed them that not only did the turn signals not work, neither did the emergency flashers. Additionally, when the headlights are turned on, all of the warning lights are illuminated on the gauges.

They had a technician look at it and 30 minutes later told me that "you have a short somewhere on the right side of the vehicle." They said it had nothing to do with their repair and that they were not responsible.

I asked what they thought the odds were of such a coincidence: that I drive in— in a truck that is meticulously maintained, with no symptom or instance of any electrical problem. . .ever—and then upon (literally) driving out of their shop I have this problem.

They said if I wanted to pay, they could tear it apart and trouble-shoot the problem and tell me what it would cost for me to have it fixed. Yep, I laughed too. The Service Manager was "out," so they gave me his card and said to call him in the morning.

Tomorrow will be Service Manager, General Manager, Regional Manager, and then my attorney, in that order of escalation, if that's what they want to do.

Any ideas from the electrical geniuses here about what might have caused this?

And, any suggestions about how to proceed with this that I might be missing?

Meanwhile, not safe to drive, so will have to get a rental until this is resolved.

Can't lend a hand in regard to electrical but have firsthand experience dealing with a local dealership due to a mistake made on their part.

Don't waste your time with the service manager. Ask for the Service Dept. Director and/or the GM of the dealership. If all fails, go straight to Corporate and prepare up a detailed complaint being lodged against the dealership in question.

Good luck. As long you remain steadfast on your position regarding this issue, there are no other solutions but one which the dealership must resolve free of charge based on your situation you've described. If you're at that point where you're dealing with the director and or GM, it's going to be clear to them you're not going away anytime soon and they're better off resolving your issue by giving up a day's worth of labor to avoid contact from Corporate.

In regard to you getting a rental, I recommend advising the service director/GM that they will need to foot the bill for a rental as you do not feel safe driving the vehicle. I would somehow insert the need for a rental to be provided by the dealership when you speak with the director/GM about your issues regarding recent visit. Don't pay out of pocket for something you will most likely not see again unless you go through legal means that will certainly require time and effort which is something you seem prepared to do already. They have a bunch of demo cars that can be used as rentals on a short moment's notice so that shouldn't be an issue assuming they agree to correct their mistakes.

Good luck pupper.

 

[flyfisher4822]

Thanks for your input. I will follow up on your advice this morning with the GM and update it here.

 

[blackoutt]

I thought 06 4runner wasn't part of that recall? Only 2010-2016.

 

[riceandpho]

if the horn dont work, i think its a bad clock spring install. pretty sure theres a loose or broken ground somewhere.

 

[flyfisher4822]

I thought 06 4runner wasn't part of that recall? Only 2010-2016.

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID: 16V065000
RECALL DATE: 2016-02-05

SUMMARY
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Toyota Land Cruiser and Lexus LX470, 2005-2006 Toyota Tundra and Sequoia, 2004-2006 Toyota 4Runner and Lexus GX470 vehicles equipped with side curtain-shield-air bags. The affected vehicles have an air bag control module that may be improperly programmed, causing the side curtain-shield-air bags to deploy inadvertently.

CONSEQUENCES
If the side curtain-shield-air bags deploy unexpectedly, it can increase the risk of occupant injury.

REMEDY
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag control module with one that has improved programming, free of charge. The recall began on December 1, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-271-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is G0C and GLB.

COMPONENT AFFECTED
AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW

 

[flyfisher4822]

if the horn dont work, i think its a bad clock spring install. pretty sure theres a loose or broken ground somewhere.

In theory, they only replaced the control module, which is under the center console. Obviously something got messed with here.

 

[Bluesky 07]

So to be clear, this is not the exploding airbags expelling potentially deadly shards recall.

 

[flyfisher4822]

So to be clear, this is not the exploding airbags expelling potentially deadly shards recall.

“Toyota is recalling 320,000 trucks and SUVs in the U.S. for airbags that can accidentally deploy. . .

Side curtain airbags on the Toyota 2004–2006 4Runner may deploy “shortly after startup” and without warning. The seat belt pre-tensioners may also activate by accident, without an actual accident. Affected vehicles include.

Dealers will replace the airbag control module.

This recall is not related to the Takata airbag inflator recalls.”

 

[blackoutt]

“Toyota is recalling 320,000 trucks and SUVs in the U.S. for airbags that can accidentally deploy. . .

Side curtain airbags on the Toyota 2004–2006 4Runner may deploy “shortly after startup” and without warning. The seat belt pre-tensioners may also activate by accident, without an actual accident. Affected vehicles include.

Dealers will replace the airbag control module.

This recall is not related to the Takata airbag inflator recalls.”

So to be clear, this is not the exploding airbags expelling potentially deadly shards recall.

 

[flyfisher4822]

if the horn dont work, i think its a bad clock spring install. pretty sure theres a loose or broken ground somewhere.

Horn works; all trouble lights stay lit. Three codes thrown. All as a result of installing the new inflator. Still trying to find problem, but at least cooperating (kind of).

 

[flyfisher4822]

So to be clear, this is not the exploding airbags expelling potentially deadly shards recall.

The quote above is taken from the Toyota bulletin. I don't see any language there regarding explosive air bags and shards, etc. so apparently this is not related.

 

[flyfisher4822]

UPDATE: Service Manager recognizes the current symptoms "could be related" to their install of air bag controller. His tone was cooperative and he wants to find a solution that makes me happy. We'll see.

After five hours of exploration by their two senior Toyota Master Techs, they could not find anything in their work that would explain this problem.

Apparently three codes were thrown, all trouble/warning lights stay on, no turn signals, no flashers, horn works.

Now it's on my dime to explore further, with the next frontier being the steering wheel.

Just had it to my own mechanic last week, who has 33-years working on these things, whom I trust implicitly, and everything check-out perfectly, as always. No problems or symptoms related to this current episode. . .EVER.

Frustrating. We'll see where it goes next.

Thanks for your input here. Much appreciated.

 

[flyfisher4822]

Link below for an article about how to resolve a complaint against a dealer. Level-headed and sequential in terms of ratcheting up the pressure. Helpful!

The Right Way to Get Your Issue Resolved - Toyota Customer Service Tips

 

[riceandpho]

UPDATE: Service Manager recognizes the current symptoms "could be related" to their install of air bag controller. His tone was cooperative and he wants to find a solution that makes me happy. We'll see.

After five hours of exploration by their two senior Toyota Master Techs, they could not find anything in their work that would explain this problem.

Apparently three codes were thrown, all trouble/warning lights stay on, no turn signals, no flashers, horn works.

Now it's on my dime to explore further, with the next frontier being the steering wheel.

Just had it to my own mechanic last week, who has 33-years working on these things, whom I trust implicitly, and everything check-out perfectly, as always. No problems or symptoms related to this current episode. . .EVER.

Frustrating. We'll see where it goes next.

Thanks for your input here. Much appreciated.

no turn or flasher, the hazzard button not plug in right, just make sure when they took everything out, that everything they plug in is correct, same plug can fit in a multiple switches.

 

[flyfisher4822]

Thanks for all your ideas. Helpful.

Dealer took no responsibility. I refused to back down. They decided to pay for 8-hours of labor and 3-days of rental car if I paid $180 for parts. I was willing to do it at that point to be able to move on with life.

Wisdom gathered here:

1) Keep your cool
2) Keep notes
3) Present a legal demand letter with the specific actions you want
4) Take responsibility for anything that was not their problem
5) Present your dispute resolution path in writing, demonstrating that you a) know how, and b) have the resolve to escalate the situation if it is not properly dealt with.

For example:

CUSTOMER BACKGROUND

VEHICLE BACKGROUND
General condtion

NOTES
Detailed summary of the problem

Log and summarize every phone call, appointment, and invoice.
 
DISPUTE RESOLUTION PATHWAY

1. Toyota Dealer Service Manager— list name and phone number

2. Toyota Dealer General Manager— list name and phone number

3. Toyota Regional Office
San Francisco Region (Northern CA) 925-830-8300

4. National Toyota Customer Service Hotline: (800) 331-4331

5. Letter translated into Japanese and sent FedEx to:
Akio Toyoda, President
Toyota Motor Corporation
1 Toyota-Cho
Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture 471-8571
Japan

List name and address of local translation service

6. Small claims court/consumer fraud
List personal attorney information

Other immediate notifications:

7. Twitter, Facebook

8. California Bureau of Auto Repair
(800) 952-5210
[Complaint form attached]

9. T4R Toyota 4Runner Forum
www.t4r.org
3,000 members

10. Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Silicon Valley
List address and phone number

I hope that is a help for anyone who encounters something similar.

 

[Ed_C]

Could you list what's in the $180 worth of parts?

 

[flyfisher4822]

Could you list what's in the $180 worth of parts?

Right turn signal switch, presumably their cost (originally wanted me to pay $435).

Mine was fine to start with, and would not have thrown codes, jacked up all of my warning lights, etc. Who knows what they really did, is the truth. I have an appointment next week with at my friend's automotive electric shop to get everything checked out.

The dealer's story literally changed 180 degrees at least once a day, every day. You can't believe the stuff they came up with and tried to blame on me, as if I took them a 'crazy car' and tried to pull one over on them.

Instead, I am like most of you guys, who take meticulous care of their trucks and have every receipt for the time I have owned it, and do every service and fluid change on schedule.

Enough. I just need to move on from it. Lesson learned.