Need your help! Excessive Sulphur TSB is being denied by 2 dealerships

MICA4R

MICA4R

New member
TSB*
2006 - 2009
MODEL(S)
4Runner
ADDITIONALIN FORMATION
Engine(s)1: GR
VDS(s):B U14RB, U17RZ, U14R,zU17R

MY VIN IS JTEBU14R88

1st dealership sent me out with a technician who said the sulphur smell was bothersome but not excessive. He agreed it was nauseating and he said that his service manager would be upset if he approved the recall due to the fact that toyota would test the cats when they were shipped in and then charge the dealership $3000 for doing "unnecessary" work,

2nd Dealership told me the VIN was not included in the recall. ?

Why are these guys being dicks about the whole thing?

I know there are a lot of Toyota techs here... please help.
 
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Toyota is cracking down on warranty hard recently, our service manager got fired a couple months ago because of it (though probably not entirely his fault.) Its so bad that we have a '12 Camry sub-40k on it with rumble strip issue that went through as a CPI (certified pre-owned) and Toyota will NOT cover the transmission under warranty until a customer buys the vehicle and then brings it back to dispute the issue.

How many miles do you have?
 
BlackWorksInc said:
Toyota is cracking down on warranty hard recently, our service manager got fired a couple months ago because of it (though probably not entirely his fault.) Its so bad that we have a '12 Camry sub-40k on it with rumble strip issue that went through as a CPI (certified pre-owned) and Toyota will NOT cover the transmission under warranty until a customer buys the vehicle and then brings it back to dispute the issue.

How many miles do you have?
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70333 such bullshit!

I dropped 32K on this vehicle. I get better service when I buy a pair of shoes at Macy's.

Can you give me some tips? I have a friend who is a JD, he can write a letter? Would that help?
 
MICA4R said:
70333 such bullshit!

I dropped 32K on this vehicle. I get better service when I buy a pair of shoes at Macy's.

Can you give me some tips? I have a friend who is a JD, he can write a letter? Would that help?
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You should still be under the TSB's warranty and powertrain warranty if I remember right, or at least just barely out of it. I would try and find a sympathetic dealership and if they still are giving you crap I would have another shop or two verify your complaint, document it and then use that as supporting evidence to take the dealership to court until they take care of the problem.

I'm sorry to say that so far it sounds like its going to be an uphill battle for you on this matter. :(
 
thank you for the input.

ill have to see what i can do about this. i have 8000 miles to make this happen.
 
70,333? F that! The TSB covers 8 years or 80k miles. I had mine done around 75K. The dealership tried to give me the runaround. I showed them a printout of the TSB, and they stopped with the BS.

As a bonus my oxygen sensors could not be removed, so I got new cats, manifolds, and oxygen sensors.

Unfortunately the sulfur smell was improved, but not eliminated.
 
Dr. Gonzo said:
70,333? F that! The TSB covers 8 years or 80k miles. I had mine done around 75K. The dealership tried to give me the runaround. I showed them a printout of the TSB, and they stopped with the BS.

As a bonus my oxygen sensors could not be removed, so I got new cats, manifolds, and oxygen sensors.

Unfortunately the sulfur smell was improved, but not eliminated.
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^^^^

This is your best advice here. If they change out your cats etc, it'll come back. The new cats and the one in your vehicle now is probably made in the same specification, therefore you'll get that sulfur smell coming back. Try changing fuel stations and go from there.
 
Toyota service and warranty is starting to get bad. I recently received class action lawsuit letters for both my 4runner and Camry. Toyota is fixing just about everything they sell regarding the gas pedal sticking issue, but they aren't fixing the 2002-2006 Camry. They say they don't have the replacement parts for that car and aren't going to fix those cars. Unfortunately for Toyota, that car is my 21 year old daughters and I refuse to let this be a worry, so I have decided to sell the Camry and replace her car with something besides Toyota. Once my house sells, I am replacing the 4runner too although it has been a good vehicle. I am moving away from Toyota/Lexus and will not be back. I HATE Toyota's attitude.

I have owned 2 4runners, an RX330, a Sequoia, 2 Camrys, a Tundra and 2 Tacomas. But I am not putting up with Toyota's BS any longer.

My 4runner has the sulfur smell too and the rear window down has nothing to do with it because I never run with the windows down. If I run it hard, it will smell sometimes, but not every time. I could remove the cats probably and stop it completely.

But with their decision to not fix the 02-06 Camry gas pedal issue, I am avoiding Toyota from now on due to principle.

Mica4r, I would call Toyota and complain to them about the sulfur smell since you are under warranty regarding this issue. Tell them that two dealers have refused to fix it. I did that for the broken seat frame for my 4runner and Toyota paid for the part which was 500.00 even though mine was out of warranty. However, they were able to pull me up in their system and could see what a loyal Toyota customer I have been over the years. But they did share the responsibility to fix it, I will give them that much credit.
 
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Toyota is cracking down on their warranty very hard this year, I have a feeling its going to damage their reputation, unfortunately I think they are finding it difficult to compete with warranties and deals like Kia & Hyundai and are trying to recoupe losses by cutting warranty and inflating prices.
 
YotaDriver said:
Unfortunately, the realistic solution to this problem is just not to drive with your rear window down.
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Or, get the rear tailpipe routed out the side...

You can go to Midas or any decent muffler shop and they can do it for under $100.00. I did mine (had the reso removed too) and the smell is almost gone, even with the back window open.

But yes, Toyota should be honoring the TSB. But if you're not having any other problems that would warrant replacement, then I'd consider getting that tail pipe re-routed. Yes, it's going to cost you money, but it works.
 
Flyer said:
Don't feel too bad. They did mine and it made no difference.
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Ditto. I had mine done on the 04. Smell went away for about 1500 miles, then came back.

Upgraded to an 07 with fewer miles later, but this vehicle does have rotten egg odor too. (I did not get rid of the 04 because of the odor - I did it because I had clearcoat failure and other reasons).

Most T4R owners reported that swapping the cats did exactly what mine did; the odor returned.

It's a shame Toyota won't do the cats, but I don't believe the TSB actually cured the problem.

Replacing the cats does not guarantee that the smell will go away.

Replacing Toyota with another manufacturer may make the odor go away! ;)
 
Yup, that is about when mine came back. Really stinks up the vehicle under hard accelerations. I try not to stomp on it.
 
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