Dealer revving engine and taking my car for a joy ride

[Samm25]

So, today I took my ‘05 V8 SR5 4Runner to the dealer for a front brake job. I usually do all my service myself but I got a good deal and didn’t have time to do them myself this weekend. While I was in the back lot of the dealership looking at some trucks I heard mine start up, the gentleman who was in my car started revving my engine, I immediately took out my phone and caught the last rev he did on video, then continued to film him as he took my car off the lot and drove it towards the access road of the highway. I didn’t know that my car needed to be driven for a brake job. My sister brought her Corolla here yesterday for a front brake job as well and they didn’t drive hers.

I talked to the service guy who apologized and talked to the manager who wanted to speak to me. Still waiting at the dealership for the job to be done and for the manager to speak to me. I’ll be updating this thread once I talk to him.

Y’all had any experiences like this?

 

[Inv4drZm]

Reminds me of this.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...assistant-service-mgr-dealership-joyride.html

 

[Legender]

Normally you seat the brake pads in by driving and stopping in a very short distance. This will require driving. And this should be normal practice for people that know what they're doing. Revving the engine... not so much. Especially when you're just working on the brakes. Can't understand that one.

 

[Samm25]

He took my car out for that joy ride before they pulled it in to work on it. I had only been at the dealership for maybe 5 minutes when he started it up and took off. Even the service advisor said there was no need for him to drive it

 

[Inv4drZm]

He was probably looking for other issues, engine knocks, rattles, etc.

 

[Seymore Butts]

My guess is that the mechanic wanted to check for defects prior to doing the work, so if any pre-existing conditions were recorded, you could not successfully blame him and the brake job.

I would not pay attention to what the service writer says about test drives - those people seldom know what they're talking about and are usually the least informed individuals at the service department.

 

[Samm25]

So revving my engine is him checking for other issues? Yeah, I gotta admit, I’ve never seen a mechanic do that unless it’s something engine related that I’m bringing it in for. My 4Runner purrs like a kitten and anyone can tell just by turning it on and driving it normally. Not gassing it and revving it

 

[Anonymous4Runner]

Reminds me of this.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...assistant-service-mgr-dealership-joyride.html

OP, that's my thread he just posted...it was a terrible experience and I'm really glad I had a dash cam at the time. I still stand by the belief everyone should have a front dash-cam equipped to cover their asses/catch people in the wrong. Guy did not even mention the test drive when I picked up the 4Runner. Found out about unauthorized drive when I reviewed footage. Needless to say I was furious and contacted them right away.

Service advisers are supposed to be the ones with technical knowledge regarding customers' vehicles. They communicate with techs in-shop and discuss with the customer regarding the work needing to be done. If you're taking a vehicle in for anything more complicated than fluids-related change, your service adviser should always advise you a test drive may be needed after the work is done to ensure all is well and have this in writing at time of check-in. There is absolutely no reason for them to test drive let alone rev the engine if you take it in for brake work. They can test the brakes by driving back to designated spot for customer pickup whether it's 1000 ft away or less after work is done.

Did you wait until end of checkout where you got your receipt and confronted him about catching him in the act or did you confront him right away as soon he returned to the dealership? I sure hope you did not have to pay anything during this visit. Ridiculous.

Do not waste your time with the manager. If he contacts you, thank him for calling and politely ask him to have the the service director or the GM reach out to you instead. Decline their requests to meet in-person if they ask and discuss the situation over phone. Only time you should go back there (that's entirely up to you) is when they service your 4R free of charge in the future. Make it clear you have video evidence of said offense and mention how your own family member dropped off their vehicle a day before for the exact same job but no test drive took place for that vehicle. Because of what you witnessed, make it clear you are disappointed about how the dealership broke your trust within minutes of dropping it off for brakes work.

Good luck, keep us updated

 

[Bossman]

Sounds like you need a mechanic like my guy Tony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEsERIcTeB4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xez2n371MTo

 

[Rodtheviking]

Report his ass, nobody should treat your stuff like they own it.

Period.

 

[Samm25]

OP, that's my thread he just posted...it was a terrible experience and I'm really glad I had a dash cam at the time. I still stand by the belief everyone should have a front dash-cam equipped to cover their asses/catch people in the wrong. Guy did not even mention the test drive when I picked up the 4Runner. Found out about unauthorized drive when I reviewed footage. Needless to say I was furious and contacted them right away.



Service advisers are supposed to be the ones with technical knowledge regarding customers' vehicles. They communicate with techs in-shop and discuss with the customer regarding the work needing to be done. If you're taking a vehicle in for anything more complicated than fluids-related change, your service adviser should always advise you a test drive may be needed after the work is done to ensure all is well and have this in writing at time of check-in. There is absolutely no reason for them to test drive let alone rev the engine if you take it in for brake work. They can test the brakes by driving back to designated spot for customer pickup whether it's 1000 ft away or less after work is done.



Did you wait until end of checkout where you got your receipt and confronted him about catching him in the act or did you confront him right away as soon he returned to the dealership? I sure hope you did not have to pay anything during this visit. Ridiculous.



Do not waste your time with the manager. If he contacts you, thank him for calling and politely ask him to have the the service director or the GM reach out to you instead. Decline their requests to meet in-person if they ask and discuss the situation over phone. Only time you should go back there (that's entirely up to you) is when they service your 4R free of charge in the future. Make it clear you have video evidence of said offense and mention how your own family member dropped off their vehicle a day before for the exact same job but no test drive took place for that vehicle. Because of what you witnessed, make it clear you are disappointed about how the dealership broke your trust within minutes of dropping it off for brakes work.



Good luck, keep us updated

I agree with everything you’re saying. These machines are our property and no one else should disrespect it when you’re trusting them to do the work on your vehicle. I wonder how he would like it if I did that to his 4Runner.

I confronted the service advisor about it right when I saw it and video taped it, because where the actual service is done, it’s blocked off with a garage door so they drive through it and then it closes. The mechanics are in the back and there is no way to access them unless you speak to the service desk.

I talked to the service advisor and he immediately apologized and said they are not supposed to do that. He told his manager as well and they confronted the mechanic. When they asked why he did it his response was “I have a 4Runner of my own and I “wanted to see what it had”” if that’s the case, ask me what it has, it’s my car and I’ve done all the mods on it. He doesn’t have to drive it to see that. He apologized but I was still livid.

When all was said and done I still had to pay for the service after it was done, only being offered an apology. You can believe that I will NOT be returning to this Toyota dealership for any service. I will do it myself or take it to the best Toyota dealership I can find, even though the best one is about an hour drive.

Thanks for your input. Sorry to see it happened to you as well, but nice that I can relate to someone.

 

[Terminator03]

I agree with everything you’re saying. These machines are our property and no one else should disrespect it when you’re trusting them to do the work on your vehicle. I wonder how he would like it if I did that to his 4Runner.

I confronted the service advisor about it right when I saw it and video taped it, because where the actual service is done, it’s blocked off with a garage door so they drive through it and then it closes. The mechanics are in the back and there is no way to access them unless you speak to the service desk.

I talked to the service advisor and he immediately apologized and said they are not supposed to do that. He told his manager as well and they confronted the mechanic. When they asked why he did it his response was “I have a 4Runner of my own and I “wanted to see what it had”” if that’s the case, ask me what it has, it’s my car and I’ve done all the mods on it. He doesn’t have to drive it to see that. He apologized but I was still livid.

When all was said and done I still had to pay for the service after it was done, only being offered an apology. You can believe that I will NOT be returning to this Toyota dealership for any service. I will do it myself or take it to the best Toyota dealership I can find, even though the best one is about an hour drive.

Thanks for your input. Sorry to see it happened to you as well, but nice that I can relate to someone.

I’m sorry, but an “apology” would not cut it for me. At the very least, you should’ve been offered a discount on that service, or a free service of some type for a future time (which I wouldn’t want because I’d never go back). If he wanted to “see what it had”, that implies he ran it harder than someone just taking it for a normal drive which is even worse than a unauthorized test drive.

 

[Inv4drZm]

I cut that guy too much slack in my first posts. That guy should be fired for saying something like that. Didn't even come up with a good excuse.

 

[S p a r k y]

Always skip the “service manager” they prob drive them too. Go to his boss, the general manager. Guarantee you will get more, if not tell them your going to social media!

 

[AuSeeker]

I’m sorry, but an “apology” would not cut it for me. At the very least, you should’ve been offered a discount on that service, or a free service of some type for a future time (which I wouldn’t want because I’d never go back). If he wanted to “see what it had”, that implies he ran it harder than someone just taking it for a normal drive which is even worse than a unauthorized test drive.

I cut that guy too much slack in my first posts. That guy should be fired for saying something like that. Didn't even come up with a good excuse.

Always skip the “service manager” they prob drive them too. Go to his boss, the general manager. Guarantee you will get more, if not tell them your going to social media!

I agree with all the above, I wouldn't stop with the apology, this wasn't the first time this guy took someone vehicle out to see "..what it had.." who knows how hard he drove your ride, I would report it to the General Manager and also Toyota Corporate as well, it's time that someone manned up and nips this guy's joy riding in the bud before he does damage to someone vehicle!!

 

[Juicy]

My last trip to the dealership I picked up my truck with 694 LESS miles on it than when I brought it in! :laugh: Their excuse was she "fat fingered" the keys when typing original mileage in. I was standing there when the tech told her and she typed what he told her. Even if he was dyslexic, there is still a large difference in miles. They changed the mileage and said "sorry" lol.

After some research I guess that the mileage for 4th gens is only kept in the cluster? which is kind of crazy to me. I also noticed that they got rid of the "MAINT" light because it was never reset after last oil change so I'm wondering if something happened while they did that.

 

[offshorebear]

As a long time, proud 4Runner owner; my question is: Why joy ride a 4Runner on the street?

 

[Anonymous4Runner]

My last trip to the dealership I picked up my truck with 694 LESS miles on it than when I brought it in! :laugh: Their excuse was she "fat fingered" the keys when typing original mileage in. I was standing there when the tech told her and she typed what he told her. Even if he was dyslexic, there is still a large difference in miles. They changed the mileage and said "sorry" lol.

After some research I guess that the mileage for 4th gens is only kept in the cluster? which is kind of crazy to me. I also noticed that they got rid of the "MAINT" light because it was never reset after last oil change so I'm wondering if something happened while they did that.

I don't know about your dealership but most of the time when you check in, the service adviser will take your keys and go to your vehicle to check for mileage before finishing paperwork. However I'm not a fan of that so I always bring a pen and a piece of paper writing down exact mileage as soon I turn off the vehicle and hand it to the adviser. I always check the mileage afterwards.

If it happens to you next time, tell them they need to do a better job writing down exact mileage. If they apologize again, just tell them you don't need one from them and tell them to write down exact mileage at checkout. You need to have an accurate service history for your 4Runner and you have a tendency to keep all paperwork together as a hard copy. It shows up on Toyota's website with the mileage inputted via VIN used at check-in so that can be an issue for you in the future if you ever decide to sell your 4Runner.

As a buyer, I'd be peeved if I was looking at a 4Runner's service history on Toyota's site and saw various entries of mileage that did not make sense, i.e. 1/2/18 - 55,700 miles, 2/1/18 - 55,532, 3/1/18 - 55,623.

I'm sure others would feel the same way

 

[Anonymous4Runner]

As a long time, proud 4Runner owner; my question is: Why joy ride a 4Runner on the street?

Think about it...Toyota 4Runner is a luxury vehicle compared to other Toyota models besides Sequoia, Cruiser and Tundra. I don't know about you but I see far less 4Runners on the road vs other mass-produced models like Corollas or Camry where I live (DMV area). I feel like technicians in general feed off the power of the engine itself so they might be hyped enough to see a nicer vehicle roll into their shop where they get to work on it. Unfortunately there's a select few that will abuse their position and joy-ride afterwards but majority of technicians are good people who just wants to work on cars and have fun doing it.

Same concept applies to valets. I would know because I used to work as a garage attendant back in high school days where I'd see valets going nuts with hotel guests' luxury vehicles versus old beater ones when driving down the ramp inside the parking garage. You can bet your ass I reported every single valet abusing their position to the hotel manager who regularly came by the garage to review footage to ensure the valets were doing their job correctly

Even I made the mistake of letting my oldest brother borrow my v8 '04 Runner for the weekend to head down to the Outerbanks. He drove a crappy Honda accord and that would not work on the sand in OBX. Told him to have fun and be careful driving the v8. Not one hour in, he had the audacity to shoot me a text and say, "hey i think your 4R is messed up...not sure why but wanted to let you know. It smells like rotten eggs" and at that same moment I knew what he meant by rotten eggs. It meant he had the rear window rolled down and he hit the gas pedal hard at times to increase speed. I sent him a text back and I said, "Okay. I told you to be careful and you didn't take me seriously. That smell only occurs when you're slamming the gas pedal to increase speed quickly. You're never driving my 4R again when you come back from your trip. Thanks for letting me know."

That's why EVERYONE should have a dash-cam installed so you know what is happening with your 4Runner when it's not in your possession.