Let's talk Toyota service department experiences

[adam2562]

I have used the same two Toyota dealerships in the chicago area and have only good things to say about them. Costly but you get what you pay for; competent service.

Toyota on western in Chicago sold me a certified truck w no compatible heated windshield n they tried their hardest not to own up to it.. i was gonna take it to corporate.. but found a trail i liked nearby and just traded it in before i got it resolved.. bad customer service.. even the GM PHILIP MCKNIGHT wouldnt return my calls!!

 

[Barry694]

Dealership Service Experience

Since 1978 I have owned 12 different Toyotas and 3 Lexus vehicles. I have yet to experience service department problems. I attribute this to checking out the dealers with friends and co-workers who own Toyota products before buying at a particular dealer. I lived in Nebraska, California, and now in DE. I presently own a 2012 LS460AWD and a 2012 4RUNNER SR5 with premium package. I have only been in for scheduled maintenance, but it is done correctly, they provide extremely nice waiting areas with food, drink, laptops and I-Pads to use while you are waiting. Lexus will also provide you with a new loaner vehicle if you ask. I have never had any mechanical problems and the only work performed is the scheduled maintenance. However, I have heard of a few cases where some of the dealer's in the areas where I have lived are just plain crooks.

 

[lilsid112]

I've had horrible service at my local Toyota dealer that I bought the car from. I never go the dealer for service since I can perform most of the work myself. I went in for my first service at 5k last week since it was free. I asked them to go ahead and grease the drive shaft since Ive towed our boat quite a few times. Also to not wash it since I didn't want any swirls due to having a black 4runner. Fast forward two hours I walk out to see them washing the truck. The best part is one of the guys dropped the rag and just picked it back up and continued drying. :ybrick:

Three days later Im loading everything up to head home which is a 2 hr drive each way and I noticed one lug nut further out compared to the rest. To my amazement its loose and comes up with half a turn. Im beyond pissed at this moment and decide humor myself and check the other wheels. Turned out theres another one that was loose and just took half turn to come off. Icing on the cake they never removed the center logo caps before removing the wheels for the rotation. All four of them are scratched. At this point Im pissed! Both service managers wasn't available for some reason when I called. I show up and my advisor assures me they will tighten everything up for me to head out. At this point I don't even know if the drive shaft even was greased.

Couple of hours later my advisor calls me up and lets me know that his manager will order new center caps and offers to do a complete detail. I ask to credit me the detail and made an appointment for tuesday to pick them up. I decided to drive my mothers car to just pick up the center and replace them myself. I get there and my advisor said that the manager just want to swap them out with one on their lot. Which shocked the hell out of me. I ended up just picking up a cargo cover at a discounted price and made another appointment to swap the centers.

Ill update next time I go in. All I have to say is that Im disappointed with Toyota's service.

 

[1engineer]

Some of you guys kill me. I don't have a problem with our local Toyota garage. They do good work. I do one thing that apparently some of you need to learn and that is to ALWAYS check the work done. If I get an oil change, I check the oil before I leave, check the cap, oil filter and drain plug. If I get my tires rotated, I check to make sure they were rotated and check the lugs...all of them. Nothing against any of them but if I am going to drive a 4600 lb vehicle at 70+ mph I want to make sure everything is right.

So you are gonna say "1Engineer, I pay for that work and I expect for it to be done correctly!" I say "Do you actually think anyone cares more about your vehicle or your safety more than you do?" If that statement is true, then take a minute to check the work next time. If you find something wrong, call them and calmly explain it. They will be much more receptive to a calm voice that knows exactly what is wrong than a pissed off screamer who knows nothing. C'mon guys, it takes no time to check the work. Most of the time I check it before I leave the lot and have a salesman or service writer with me. Tell them when you pick it up "Hey, come on out with me while I check it over before I leave." They will and they will know you are a good customer. I guarantee you [MENTION=68685]Ducmonsta[/MENTION] will agree with me and he owns one of the best shops in the east.

 

[homeyclaus]

Some of you guys kill me. I don't have a problem with our local Toyota garage. They do good work. I do one thing that apparently some of you need to learn and that is to ALWAYS check the work done. If I get an oil change, I check the oil before I leave, check the cap, oil filter and drain plug. If I get my tires rotated, I check to make sure they were rotated and check the lugs...all of them. Nothing against any of them but if I am going to drive a 4600 lb vehicle at 70+ mph I want to make sure everything is right.

So you are gonna say "1Engineer, I pay for that work and I expect for it to be done correctly!" I say "Do you actually think anyone cares more about your vehicle or your safety more than you do?" If that statement is true, then take a minute to check the work next time. If you find something wrong, call them and calmly explain it. They will be much more receptive to a calm voice that knows exactly what is wrong than a pissed off screamer who knows nothing. C'mon guys, it takes no time to check the work. Most of the time I check it before I leave the lot and have a salesman or service writer with me. Tell them when you pick it up "Hey, come on out with me while I check it over before I leave." They will and they will know you are a good customer. I guarantee you [MENTION=68685]Ducmonsta[/MENTION] will agree with me and he owns one of the best shops in the east.

Agreed, but easier said than done.

Around here, they have a valet pull the vehicle up, and block something. This is deliberate, since you don't want to be the jerk that's blocking the whole place up because he's checking the torque on his lug nuts to make sure it was done right.

 

[phillyd2]

I don't have a problem with our local Toyota garage. They do good work. I do one thing that apparently some of you need to learn and that is to ALWAYS check the work done.

^ I'm with whatshisface :hello:

Mine does good work but like with any child you need make sure they do what you want and how you want it. And believe it or not being a A$$Hole does come in handy in a few places with the dealership being one of them. My service guy rolls his eyes when I come it which basically means he does not want to see me if I'm not pleased. In fact I just returned from my dealer so they can issue new Inspection Stickers because I thought they put them a bit too high on my windshield.

As we see in threads like this and turning off the seat belt chime, warranty claims, etc, some of you are way too tolerant with them.

 

[Antman]

Some of you guys kill me. I don't have a problem with our local Toyota garage. They do good work. I do one thing that apparently some of you need to learn and that is to ALWAYS check the work done. If I get an oil change, I check the oil before I leave, check the cap, oil filter and drain plug. If I get my tires rotated, I check to make sure they were rotated and check the lugs...all of them. Nothing against any of them but if I am going to drive a 4600 lb vehicle at 70+ mph I want to make sure everything is right.

So you are gonna say "1Engineer, I pay for that work and I expect for it to be done correctly!" I say "Do you actually think anyone cares more about your vehicle or your safety more than you do?" If that statement is true, then take a minute to check the work next time. If you find something wrong, call them and calmly explain it. They will be much more receptive to a calm voice that knows exactly what is wrong than a pissed off screamer who knows nothing. C'mon guys, it takes no time to check the work. Most of the time I check it before I leave the lot and have a salesman or service writer with me. Tell them when you pick it up "Hey, come on out with me while I check it over before I leave." They will and they will know you are a good customer. I guarantee you [MENTION=68685]Ducmonsta[/MENTION] will agree with me and he owns one of the best shops in the east.

Different views here Greg.

I don't have to check my own work because I know what I did. I (except once in the past...) never yell and scream when something is wrong but some of them still don't get it. Look at it this way-

I deal with customers everyday, as well as employees. If I don't treat them properly I could easily lose my job. You, as an Engineer, are responsible for the safety of people using what you design. You take the lazy route and you will lose your job.

Who needs to check our work when we are done? Exactly- nobody. We take pride to do it right- mistakes happen but are handled properly. My experience with plenty of Dealerships is that they really only care as much as they have to. That's it. I have no respect for that. I pay them, they need to do it right. Period.

Bobby's shop will see my business when something eventually breaks because he is the exception to the rule. He has consistently demonstrated a willingness to go above and beyond and provide excellent customer service.

I will not debate further on this (mostly because I know you will kick my arse) but that's my hard-headed view and it will not change.:bolt:

 

[phillyd2]

Its like watching mommy and daddy fight :cry2:

 

[1engineer]

Different views here Greg.

I don't have to check my own work because I know what I did. I (except once in the past...) never yell and scream when something is wrong but some of them still don't get it. Look at it this way-

I deal with customers everyday, as well as employees. If I don't treat them properly I could easily lose my job. You, as an Engineer, are responsible for the safety of people using what you design. You take the lazy route and you will lose your job.

Who needs to check our work when we are done? Exactly- nobody. We take pride to do it right- mistakes happen but are handled properly. My experience with plenty of Dealerships is that they really only care as much as they have to. That's it. I have no respect for that. I pay them, they need to do it right. Period.

Bobby's shop will see my business when something eventually breaks because he is the exception to the rule. He has consistently demonstrated a willingness to go above and beyond and provide excellent customer service.

I will not debate further on this (mostly because I know you will kick my arse) but that's my hard-headed view and it will not change.:bolt:

No debate but I will leave you with one thought: Do you not check the work of your employees, especially if it's a critical job or decision? I thought so lol. That's what makes you good at what you do.

Its like watching mommy and daddy fight :cry2:

Deja vu I think!

 

[Ducmonsta]

[MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] [MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION]

Thank you guys for the kind words.

Here's my opinion.

We are not talking about dealerships, the states they are in, the make of vehicle, etc. We are talking about people. Whether they are professional at what they do or not.

I've had great and poor experiences at all kinds of places (independents and dealerships). I don't believe there is any way to determine anyone's faults by what kind of car/truck you own.

I personally believe in giving an establishment one shot. Whether it's a restaurant, dealership, independent shop, car wash, bar, bank, etc. Anything that is customer service oriented. That pretty much means anything short of an ATM. And that's even hit or miss. If you enter an establishment and you are not comfortable for whatever reason, walk out. It's your right to choose.

I accept that people make mistakes. It's how they go about correcting them. This will determine if I'm a return customer or not.

 

[Ducmonsta]

Its like watching mommy and daddy fight :cry2:

Who's big spoon?!

 

[///AIRDAM]

i agree wholeheartedly, that the experience you receive at a particular toyota dealer does not mean that toyota is a bad company. it means that the dealership you are having problems with is employing yay-hoos that dont care.

i owned a lexus for about 12 months, loved the car, loved the sale, loved the service department, absolutely liked evertything about the experience and how everything was handled.

dealt with a toyota dealership over in brandon MS, about 65miles away, absolutely loved the experience, enjoyed everything about the place.

dealth with a toyota dealership in little rock arkansas multiple times and i really really liked the place.

dealt with a toyota place in grapevine tx and it was one of the best dealers in the country.

my local dealership has changed hands at least 5 times in the last 10 years, and each time it changes hands, i am sure the new owner gets in and things he's gonna change things and start turning a profit. still employs the same ole guys that have been around for years, mechanics that dont give a rats ace, and dont have work ethic to make sure everything is right after their job is completed. things get bammed up, and messed up and they dont care. gosh just the other day i had my oil changed at 145k on my truck, this was like 2 weeks ago. i was hanging out in the back parts counter, so i could watch my truck and saw a mechanic, who i know has been there at least 5-6 years. he was working on a 2008 4R urban runner blizzard pearl. i absolutely love the urban runners, and white is my favorite color. i have seen that vehicle running around town and love it. it was in for what appeared to be a drivers window motor. you could hear racket in the drivers window as he rolled it up and down. he had the 4R backed out of the 2post lift just just far enough that he could get the drivers door open, but he miscalculated and when he threw open the door, the drivers door slammed into the lift post and bounced back and forth about 3 times before he cared to pull the door off the metal lift. i literally cringed and wanted to cry and go holler for the owner. its mechanics who dont give a crap that is giving that service department their bad name. the mechanic that was doing my oil change at 35,000 and left the oil out of the motor, still works at that dealership. he dont care, probably wont ever care. the service manager should hold those guys accountable for the things they do, but its a rag tag operation.

the service you get at the service dapartment usually has nothing to do with toyota themselves. i am on my 9th toyota now, i have had 1 that i sold at 310,000, and one that the toyota botched the valve clearances and bent the valves at 285,000, and multiple trips across the country in different trucks of mine. i love toyota, and plan to stick with toyota even though i have such bad luck with the service department.


1engineer, you are correct that we as customers "should" go behind the mechanics and check everything. we dont because we're lazy. i am perfectly competent and able to do anything, but when i pay someone for service, its just kinda the lazy in me that expects them to do their job so i dont have to. if i wanted to do their job i would'a done it myself. thats what they get paid for.

 

[lilsid112]

Some of you guys kill me. I don't have a problem with our local Toyota garage. They do good work. I do one thing that apparently some of you need to learn and that is to ALWAYS check the work done. If I get an oil change, I check the oil before I leave, check the cap, oil filter and drain plug. If I get my tires rotated, I check to make sure they were rotated and check the lugs...all of them. Nothing against any of them but if I am going to drive a 4600 lb vehicle at 70+ mph I want to make sure everything is right.

So you are gonna say "1Engineer, I pay for that work and I expect for it to be done correctly!" I say "Do you actually think anyone cares more about your vehicle or your safety more than you do?" If that statement is true, then take a minute to check the work next time. If you find something wrong, call them and calmly explain it. They will be much more receptive to a calm voice that knows exactly what is wrong than a pissed off screamer who knows nothing. C'mon guys, it takes no time to check the work. Most of the time I check it before I leave the lot and have a salesman or service writer with me. Tell them when you pick it up "Hey, come on out with me while I check it over before I leave." They will and they will know you are a good customer. I guarantee you [MENTION=68685]Ducmonsta[/MENTION] will agree with me and he owns one of the best shops in the east.

Ill admit I don't check whatever service I get done but I will from now on. It just blows my mind that the dealer employes people that don't care. Don't get me wrong, even though I was really upset I never raised my voice with anyone over the phone or in person. I was very polite and stern during the entire conversation.

 

[homeyclaus]

i agree wholeheartedly, that the experience you receive at a particular toyota dealer does not mean that toyota is a bad company. it means that the dealership you are having problems with is employing yay-hoos that dont care.

I think we're all keenly aware that dealership employees are not Toyota employees. Dealerships are independent businesses with a license from an auto manufacturer to have their logo up out front and the passwords to the manufacturer's B2B ordering web site.

 

[runnaz]

I think we're all keenly aware that dealership employees are not Toyota employees. Dealerships are independent businesses with a license from an auto manufacturer to have their logo up out front and the passwords to the manufacturer's B2B ordering web site.

Regardless of them being independent business's with only a license to sell a brand, they represent that brand. They are the link between the customer and the manufacturer. Ultimately, if they want that responsibility they should man up and do things right. If not they need to open a used car lot where they don't have to worry about those sort of things.

 

[Jayhawk5G]

Regardless of them being independent business's with only a license to sell a brand, they represent that brand. They are the link between the customer and the manufacturer. Ultimately, if they want that responsibility they should man up and do things right. If not they need to open a used car lot where they don't have to worry about those sort of things.

I agree 110%, Toyota needs to more actively monitor complaints about dealerships and then hold them accountable. I know they are privately owned but as you mentioned I don't buy my Toyota in Japan from corporate. These dealers are the face of the brand here and my link to Toyota... If I was Toyota I would want my brand to not be tarnished by shoddy dealerships.

It's funny too because I have consistently heard that Lexus dealers are consistently rated highest for satisfaction and that they treat customers like gold.

 

[Pensacola33]

I bought a 2011 Sienna XLE brand new in April 2011 and a 2012 4Runner Limited brand new in November 2011. Both vehicles were purchased from Eastern Shore Toyota in Daphne, AL. However, I live in Pensacola, FL(about 33 miles away). For convenience, I go to Bob Tyler Toyota in Pensacola, FL for service. I have had a great experience. They don't try to sell me extra items, customer service is great and facility is very nice. For example, I had an oil leak and took it back to Bob Tyler. They found the oil pan bolt was not tightened correctly, which caused a spill in my garage. They gave me degreaser to take home and clean my garage, although they offered to send someone over to clean it for me. They also tightened the bolt. Once again, nothing but a great experience.

 

[Kinnick]

There is definately a correlation between excellent customer service and how a business trains their employees. It starts from the top and ownership/management needs to properly train their staff on not only proper trade skills but also in taking pride in their work, enthusiasm, and always making the right choice when no one is looking. I can't speak for my local Toyota dealer, but Discount Tire and Crutchfield.com are two businesses that I feel have nailed it when it comes to customer service and I feel it is in part to the training that is given to their employees. I am sure others who have experience with these two businesses would echo my thoughts. Work ethic and values are also very important in any workplace but it is hard to teach an adult these things. These characteristics have more than likely been taught for better or worse at a young age from their parents and they make someone the person they are today.

 

[DDM4]

Some have missed the point. Looking for a connection between Toyota Corporate and Toyota dealers. Most dealers sit up in their chair a bit when a customer mentions they're not happy to the point of contacting corporate. In my experience, Toyota dealers couldn't care less. Is this accurate in other's experiences?

People are people. Some mechanics are bad. Some dealers suck. You should check the work but few do. It's not unreasonable to expect something you paid for to be done right.

 

[homeyclaus]

Some have missed the point. Looking for a connection between Toyota Corporate and Toyota dealers. Most dealers sit up in their chair a bit when a customer mentions they're not happy to the point of contacting corporate. In my experience, Toyota dealers couldn't care less. Is this accurate in other's experiences?

People are people. Some mechanics are bad. Some dealers suck. You should check the work but few do. It's not unreasonable to expect something you paid for to be done right.

I think like others have said, it's highly dependent on whom at the dealership you're dealing with, their level of training, and how directly dependent them keeping their job is dependent on negative customer feedback.

I generally never threaten to call corporate, because if you're at that point with some weenie in the service department they have either flipped the bozo bit or the whiner bit on you already. I tell them I called corporate after the fact, and the summary of what they said - generally "you're full of it." Then yes, things can happen.