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Situation with Toyota Service Center

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by hallebenjamin, Jun 19, 2024.

  1. hallebenjamin

    hallebenjamin Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I had my car serviced for its 60k routine maintenance at a Toyota service center. They rang me up for 1.8k I have the full service listed below for reference. I blindly went with what they proposed and paid the 1.8k. After I did some basic research and realized I may have done some things that were not fully necessary. Lesson learned I moved on.
    Now for the issue. Since my car has been returned, every time it rains I am getting water pooling inside my car in front seat foot areas. During my state inspections the inspector pointed out a gap between my windshield and the cowl (plastic piece on top of hood that connects to the windshield) which is letting water into my system. I brought the car back to the service center and the service center admitted to not installing the cowl correctly. However they claimed this is due to me having a replaced windshield, they claim the replaced windshield was not aligned correctly. It is true my windshield was replaced, I didn't get it done at a Toyota service center but rather a local glass store.

    The service center just gave me a new estimate, and are being vague on what they will cover and what they are expecting me to cover. Yesterday in person when I dropped the car off the Service Director verbally told me "I wont charge you anything". I am expecting a call back form the service director soon to discuss next steps and review the new report they sent.

    On this new report they are saying this work needs to be done-
    A/C system repair (due to mold smell from water damage)
    Replace Soaked Jute under drivers floorboards (should it be both?)
    Replace Hybrid 12 Volt Starting Battery
    Camera Calibration after possible windshield replacement.
    All this totals for another 2k worth of work.

    Couple questions-
    Would this water leakage from the cowl area affect the 12 volt Hybrid starting battery? They made no mention of a 12v issue during my 60k check up so I am guessing the recent water damage impacted it?

    The service technician (not the director, I am speaking to both over email/phone) said this in his last email " before we try to reinstall the front cowl I would recommend either having the windshield replaced or we can try to reseal it hoping that the glass does not break while removing it. Always a risk.".
    Should I have them to reseal it and "risk" cracking it? Seems weird he is offering this.

    Part of me feels the service center should cover the bulk of the costs here. I gave my car to them in solid form for my 60k routine maintenance, and paid them 1.8k. The car was returned to me with an improperly installed cowl and no mention of windshield alignment issues. Since then we have had rain which has caused more issues due to the leak. How would you handle this situation with the service director?


    Here is my original work log for my 60k check up -did I overpay?
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]


    If you made it this far I really appreciate it, at a loss here and looking for advice.
     
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

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    Oye vey!

    1. The local glass store should pay for the camera calibration since it should be part of the windshield replacement (same if a bodyshop replaces the front bumper, you'd think the radar and sonar calibration will be part of the work order too).So yes it'll be an extra charge but the glass store should comp you since it should be part of the initial repair. If they refuse, then claim that their work made your car fail the state inspection so they should make it right.
    2. As for the cowl, yeah do that after the windshield issue gets fixed (so that the glass store bears the problem) and then the dealer can fix the cowl. This way, you keep the two problems separate and that they're done by the respective parties responsible for each issue. If you try to get one to fix the other, then they'll each point fingers at each other and you'll lose out. If they incorrectly installed the cowl and it directly caused the 12V to fail, then the dealer should replace the 12V. This is regardless of the windshield issue UNLESS the dealer can prove that even if the cowl was affixed correctly, that water would've leaked anyway. Then the dealer has a legitimate reason to not honour that 12V replacement and it's the glass store's problem.
    3. As for the original service? The engine coolant and inverter coolant were replaced way too early. The manual suggests 100,000 miles as first replacement and then a shorter interval thereafter. Ditto the spark plugs - they don't need to be changed for at least another 60,000 miles IIRC. You could've saved money on labour for the cabin air filter and wiper blade change (those are easy to do yourself, even if you no nothing about cars). Or to save even more money, aftermarket cabin air filters are cheaper AND more effective (esp. if you live in an area with higher particulate matter pollutants. The standard Toyota air filter is a "Dust and Pollen" filter but aftermarket ones offer "particulate" filters that can filter smaller particles like soot, smoke etc)
    4. Fuel system service is unnecessary
    5. I do not know what an "oil system service" is.
    6. What did they do with the hybrid system fan? Clean it? replace it? There's a filter in the Gen 4 that helps keep it clean. You need to remove the cover to access the filter and just vacuum it every so often. That's expensive labour (cause it is time consuming to get to the fan)
     
  3. TinyTim

    TinyTim Active Member

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    The Toyota Prius is the most reliable Toyota product. What that stealership did to the OP is criminal in my opinion. Please tell me they offered you complimentary coffee, soda, pastries and cookies.
     
    bisco and Tande like this.
  4. hallebenjamin

    hallebenjamin Junior Member

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    I did get two free coffee's!
     
    bisco likes this.
  5. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    Did it rain or did you wash the car after the windshield was replaced but before the service was done to the car? Did you notice a leak?

    FYI, I always give it 3 days after a windshield replacement and spray down the area at all angles and look for leaks, wind noises, dash board creaks and squeaks.

    Spark Plugs and first coolant changes are scheduled for 10 years or 100K miles. The coolant subsequent changes will be at 50K miles intervals there after. I would've replace the ATF @ 60K miles. That's neither here or there since what's done is done. Lesson learned, move on. I believe the OEM manual calls for removing the wind screen cowl to replace the spark plugs - maybe they didn't reinstall it properly - causing the leak? That would explain why they were willing to fix it for free, before you found out they caused the problem in the first place. Bottom-line find a honest shop to do your maintenance work. Take your car to any auto parts store for a free battery test to validate the dealer's claims.

    I wouldn't give that dealership another penny. If the leak has been fixed (check it, as I stated above). If you can live with the smell for a month or two - keep your windows down about quarter inch, the mold smell will burn itself out in the hot summer sun.

    Hope this helps......

    PS You've been having a lot of rain and flooding down there too. Should investigate to see if one or more of your base board plugs are still in place. Sometimes you drive through a deep puddle hard and fast enough, you can pop them loose. That would also get you damp carpets.
     
    #5 BiomedO1, Jun 20, 2024
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2024
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    This is what Toyota tells you to do, in the Toyota USA Warranty and Maintenance Booklet:

    upload_2024-6-20_8-52-6.png

    The highlighted is what "matters", most of the rest is BS, to placate their lawyers. In summary:

    1. Replace engine and cabin air filters. I would never pay a dealership to either, for a couple of reasons: it's absurdly easy, and they may not need replacement (depending on your environment). Just pull them and assess condition, replace if needed.

    2 Replace engine oil and filter. $100 max for this.

    3. Rotate tires. $50 is a fair price. This service is usually lumped into a loss-leader package, rarely spelled out separately. Still, it's not trivial; trying doing it yourself and you'll see. The dealership of course has all the tools, full lifts and so on, but that stuff doesn't grow on trees.

    4. Brakes. $200~300 USD, for this. Note, this is not the visual inspection noted at every 5k service interval. Toyota's very vague on this, and Repair Manual not much help. My take: they're saying to do an in-depth brake inspection, with calipers lifted off rotors and so on, every 30k miles or 3 years.

    Telling: your invoice makes no mention of brakes, which speaks volumes about their motivations. FWIW, Toyota Canada would also say to replace brake fluid at this service (every 48k kms (~30k miles) or tri-yearly.

    Attached is a spreadsheet summary I cobbled, a nice table format, of the confounding event-by-event format in the US Warranty and Maintenance Booklet.
     

    Attached Files:

    #6 Mendel Leisk, Jun 20, 2024
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2024
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    unfortunately, you were scammed into paying for unnecessary srvice, and vastly overcharged for recommended service.
    demand they fix the cowl for free and don't go back there.
    at your next service, follow the maintenance schedule that came with your car
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    If the paper copy is missing, you can download a pdf. One place is at Toyota Tech Info website, under the "Manuals" tab.
     
  9. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    You went to one of my dealers and was totally ripped off! All the * items were so bogus they even highlighted you said it was ok. NEVER buy anyone’s fuel service!

    1. Get the windshield fixed or replaced at the shop who did the windshield replacement.

    2. Probably by the time the temps heat up for a day or two after yesterday’s tropical storm the car will dry out. Maybe shampoo the carpet with a can product.

    3. If the wiper cowl is not installed right get SM Toyota to put it on for free.

    The plugs are a total waste. I would ask for the old ones back and reinstall them in another 120,000 miles.

    The oil change price is ridiculous as well. Private message me and I will tell you how to get two dealer changes for less money. If you live in San Antonio there are better dealers and some services are just as good at small independents.

    The air and cabin filters are really easy and can be bought at Walmart or online. Learn to do this yourself. Does not have to be Toyota for these.

    Wipers are the same story, you can buy genuine Toyota rubber inserts cheap and put them in yourself.

    Next time you buy tires, go to Discount Tires, Sam’s Club or Costco. Good prices and free balances and rotations from then on. Buy good Michelins and get 90,000 miles around here.
     
    #9 rjparker, Jun 20, 2024
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2024