dealerships and DIYers

I'm hoping for some input here from some of the Toyota techs among us. How do you usually handle special requests from 'fussy' customers?

I've read of many 'misunderstandings', and have experienced my own difficulties with service departments. More than once, a dealership has not performed work I asked to be done, and has done work I specifically requested they not do. For instance, I like to change my own oil, both for the experience of working on my own car and to save some money. Yet, sometimes when I take the car in for other things, they automatically do 'service number one' or whatever and do the oil change again, despite me specifically telling them not to. Having just shelled out the bucks for the good stuff, it's very annoying to have it replaced with the usual generic crap, and be charged extra for the privilege. I also request that my car not be washed, because they tend to use big scratchy brushes in a bucket of mud, and I don't like that.

Is it me? I'm about to try dealership number three, and I'm wondering if I should be doing something differently. Should I put duct tape over the oil filler cap? A big note on the dash saying 'do not wash'? Am I being unreasonable in expecting my special requests to be communicated to the person actually doing the work?

 

No, they use big scratchy brushes on long handles, and a bucket of well-used very dirty water. At least they did at the one place I used to go. Let's just say I'm a tad fussier than that.

No, you do things differently down there.

Some rental companies are less scrupulous than others. It's always a good idea to check the car for damage before you drive away. And the renter would be careless not to at least look it over when it comes back. If there's any damage, insurance should cover it.

 

Well, I just got the call with the diagnosis. Both CV joints are done, so with the scheduled service I'm looking at about two grand. Ouch!

To be fair, the guys have been good so far - all my requests had been written down, and the service guy only had to hear the noise once to know what it was. So now my question is, why didn't the first guy, a year ago, know what he was doing? Would this have been covered under warranty if a proper diagnosis had been done the first time?

Together with the earlier coil failure due to a design flaw, this vaunted Toyota reliability isn't what I expected. A well maintained, carefully driven car should not require thousands of dollars of repairs at only 50,000 miles.

On the bright side, at least the wheel didn't fall off or seize on the highway. Which, with a failing CV joint, it could well have done anytime in the past year or so.

edit: Oops. This should be in the Gen II forum, not III.

 

I'm just home with the car. The good news is that it feels much better - it's finally fixed. And the bill was 'only' $1,900, about $400 of which was labour. They did the pedal recall without charge.

Yes, the first time I took it in with the same complaint was within the warranty period. You can be sure I will be contacting Toyota Canada about this, and other related issues. Turns out the other problem with the car - the $400 coil repair - was within two months of the warranty expiry, and well within the mileage limit. You'd think they'd be a bit more understanding, especially with a known design flaw for which a TSB was issued.

And you'll never guess what else they did. Yup, they washed it.

 

No, I don't. The CV boots were in good condition, and the car's never been in an accident. To answer an earlier speculation about salt use, that's really not a problem around here. It's not used often, and the car isn't usually on the road when it is.