Coolant service, fair charge?

Opinions are like anus, everyone has one.

OP has free will and can do whatever he/she wants to do, or not do.

Why is it stupid to report this dealership about a deceitful act? The state board and Corporate Toyota would conduct their own investigation, by taking down the facts provided by the consumer, then contacting the stealership to get their side. With both sides of they story, they would make a determination as to the likely facts. Be not afraid, a system of checks and balances exists! In this case, assuming the OP has been truthful and not exaggerating, they may come to the conclusion that the stealership was being less than forthright, using scare tactics, and warn them that further complaints of this nature will result in more serious consequences beyond a warning. Would you consider this to be a good business practice?

Only by complaining, will documentation and a history be established. Perhaps revealing a genuine pattern of bad things for the State regulating agency to act upon and perhaps corporate Toyota too. Would this not be a good for the consumer?

 

You are not wrong, but I personally would file this incident under the 'pick bigger battles' category.

There is also a lot to be said for just being informed enough so that this sort of dumb upselling by the service advisor is easily dismissed. Or do like OP, and ask here before agreeing to the service. Now OP knows the score, he can inform a couple others, who can inform others, ... good result.

One thing is for sure: it is time for him to exchange the coolants.

 

The thing that is stupid is for YOU to jump to a big conclusion with little or no real evidence to go upon.

For all YOU know, everything the dealer told him about HIS car might be absolutely true.

Suggest getting it checked by someone else, sure.......and decide what to do after that.
Suggest that he start taking legal action immediately.......BAD FORM.

 

You can buy Toyota SLLC from Camelback for $15.42 and get it shipped free if you purchased $150 worth of Toyota parts/accessories. Good Deal!

 

JC,
I have noticed competitive+ prices from Camelback for other items also. I'm going to add them to my short list of vendors to check before I buy.

 

Overall I found Boch Toyota in MA to have the overall best prices. They do charge shipping so the people in the East Coast will benefit most with cheaper shipping costs.

The people in the West Coast, San Bernardino Toyota and Camelback Toyota are the best choices.

 

In my opinion, the difficulty of replacing the ICE coolant is overstated. It's pretty simple to disconnect the canister plug and access the drain plug on the canister. I didn't find the engine block plug and and radiator plug got me very little. The fear of air pockets was not an issue with me since I had the car on ramps and used a Lisle funnel and ran the ICE engine for about 10 mins. Even after approx 250 miles of freeway driving , I maybe added 1/2 cup to the radiator directly, my reservoir remained filled.

The inverter coolant service, even easier to do. I guess there are some that worry about air and if one is not knowledgeable its a legitimate fear. But for me, its pretty simple and basic with a Lisle funnel and about 10 mins of ICE running.

 

just go to indy shop and it'll be less than 300...
if u can diy, even better...

 

DIYers are duking it out over minutia. All trs79 wants to know is whether or not the dealer
is attempting a wallestomy or not. I doubt trs wants to DIY. Otherwise why pose the question?

It's never a bad idea to do maintenance, even if it's early or "preventative" as some on
this forum have stated about other work. Better than neglecting the maintenance and experiencing major
repairs later on.

As to the coolant service. If your coolant system is not leaking and maintains
the proper temperature (the thermostat works, it doesn't overheat, and you have cabin heat),
you're probably not going to need coolant service immediately. It's called Super Life Long Coolant for a reason.
It should last 100K miles under "normal" driving conditions. OTOH, by no means should trs wait to
refresh the coolant UNTIL there's a problem.

The service writer's job is to sell you as many services as he/she possibly can while you're visiting their
humble establishment. They may stretch the truth slightly to get you to sign on the dotted line. That's also
a given in the car business. "Only driven to church on Sunday" and all that.

Keep this foremost in your mind when you come to a decision, trs79.

 

sometimes the service writers get a "spiff" for selling flushes. if the writer is a pos (lots of em are), he tries to sell everyone a flush.