DIY Warranty Violation

Where have you seen this warranty for dash squeaks and rattles that you are afraid of losing? I don't know of any manufacturer that has a warranty on that. There is usually a very short adjustment policy (maybe a couple of months), but after that, any squeak fix is done by dealers to keep a customer happy.

For a warranty claim the dealer usually has to send the defective part back to the manufacturer, how does that work for a squeaky dash?

 

Squeaks and rattles are not something dealers are very good at fixing anyway, most of us prefer to try and fix them ourselves. A lot of what a dealer will do depends on the dealer and your relationship with them.

As far as failed parts are concerned it would be up to Toyota to prove, or at least offer some good evidence, that you screwed them up by doing your own maintenance. Of course if someone installs after market parts those parts would not be covered, or if those parts cause something else to fail that would not be covered.

I don't remember anyone reporting that kind of warranty problem on this site, maybe they have but I didn't see it. I did have a Honda dealer try to refuse warranty coverage on a new car I had bought from them because I did my own maintenance, it was a big hassle but I finally got them to see it my way. That has never happened to me with Toyota, but we have a couple of fairly good Toyota dealers around here.

 

Read about the Moss-Magnuson Act. They'd have to prove the OEM part failure was caused by the aftermarket unit, not just claim it. If they find it was an aftermarket device that's causing the claimed noise, inability to close a glove compartment, etc., they'd just return with a note indicating this and do nothing further. However, they have the burden of proof for anything outside of the actual aftermarket device.

But in your case, if you have a competent aftermarket installer, you shouldn't have rattles and you'd go back to the aftermarket installer, not Toyota, for any rattles that develop as a result of the installation.

 

You only needed to say three words for them to see your way: Moss-Magnuson Act.

 

I hope you understand that you have now opened a huge bag of worms where someone (you know who) will explain that the Moss Magnuson act is useless. I agree with you, however I hesitate to say so.

 

It's as worthless as arguing with a tax protestor.

 

Hey, it is useless (In Canada).

 

That's a pipe dream. Their proof is what their shop says unless you can get that overturned.

Here's reality. When the dealer says they owner's work caused the problem, the ball is back in the owners court.

At that point, it will probably cost you more in money and time to get remedy under MM that it would to fix it yourself.

 

As a Toyota Technician, I can only speak for the dealership where I work, but when a car comes in with a squeak or rattle, it covered under the 36 month/36,000 mile warranty. If the tech determines the issue was caused by an owner's modification, we generally wind up fixing it and charging the job to warranty and then informing the owner in no small detail how much money and effort we saved him/her.
I would rather tell a customer that we had just gone above and beyond the call of duty by fixing something that was the customer's fault and not charging them for it, then to try and argue out the issue and have the customer leave angry and then I don't get paid for the time I spent finding the problem in the first place. In other words, I most likely have spent more time finding the issue than it will take to simply fix it and repair the car.
Why make a customer angry when we then have the chance to make them happy instead and have them return time and time again to keep spending money with us? Not to mention the fact that it helps to build an environment of trust between the dealership and the customer. If a customer trusts me to take care of their car, when I recommend certain maintenance and repairs, they are much more likely to tell me to go ahead and repair the car.

Trust, like respect, is earned not given, and it can be spent as well. I like to keep that particular bank account of trust and respect with my customers VERY HIGH!

 

this makes too much sense. are you sure you work for a dealer? i wish i lived near west palm!

 

+1

 

Good move.

My second Toyota was a new 96 Rav4. It came with upgrade aluminum 16 in. wheels (big deal back then) but the plastic center caps were a very poor design. Within a month, I lost both right ones on a trip to a big city where we did lots of shopping. I didn't know of the poor design and assume some a-holes had stolen them while parked at the shopping centers.

Explaining my thoughts to the service writer when I got back home, he quickly and loudly exclaim to other customers within earshot: "So, you think these center caps are defective huh?" I began to reply with a "I wasn't sure and that they may have been vandalize" but he interjects again in a loud tone with: "Oh so you know they are defective. Well, we'll get right on that!" And he order new, warrantied ones that arrived with an improved redesign that never failed in the 13 ensuing years of ownership.

I didn't come out and say it but he had a repeat customer from then on. Unfortunately, the dealer ownership died about a year later and big mega-corp came in and bought it.

 

If you completely reverse the mod before you bring it to the dealer for a warranty claim, the dealers won't know it was modded.

 

Why does this make too much sense? Don't you know they make up bogus customer complaints so they can perform warranty work and charge the factory to pad their profit?

 

Surely Toyota must have some metrics to catch that sort of thing, at least if it's egregious...

I used to do computer warranty repair, and the manufacturer would grade us on a variety of metrics. We got paid a tiered rate for labor (each different part belonged to a tier for how much labor it required to replace). However, the payout was also dependent on good performance on a variety of metrics - such as parts per repair and repeat repairs. If we used multiple parts for some repairs that didn't need them, we'd get paid more labor at first, but then we'd get paid less because we did worse on the metrics. Presumably, if we were a horrible outlier in the statistics, they'd either investigate us further or terminate our contract.

Toyota has a lot vested here - customer trust and their warranty costs are the two biggest things that come to mind. I'd bet they keep their eye on any dealers that are obviously abusing the system.

 

I don't think this is true at all. At least not for American brands.

 

It's going to depend on the "modification", the "problem", and the Dealer....and we're talking about a really big patch here.

The MM Act deals mostly with dealers who try to force you to use "factory certified" technicians and parts to do routine service to your vehicle, and for all that it's mostly a paper tiger. You can threaten a dealer with it, but they're usually going to be more concerned about you venting your spleen at whatever Toyota uses for a Customer Satisfaction loop than they would be about your hiring a lawyer and taking them to court. Let's face it...you're NOT going to really do that---and most dealers out there are pretty accommodating where warranty work is concerned. With what new cars cost---especially Hybrids, they HAVE to be!
However (comma) if you have "Joey Bagadoughnuts" down the road install a sound system using a hacksaw and a 10 pound hammer, then no....Toyota is probably not going to honor a warranty claim for a squeaky dash. Heck, MY dash already squeaks (1100 miles, and it still has the 0-percent US content sticker on the window and the paper floor mats) and Joey hasn't been near the car. Plastic, even the eco-friendly bio-plastic that Yota uses in this car is going to squeak! Think of it as part of the price of driving a status symbol...

If on the other hand, your car starts leaking vital fluids onto the parking lot, Toyota isn't going to be able to deny the warranty claim because you placed a pine-tree odor thingy on your rear-view mirror.

Bottom line: Work with your dealer. If that doesn't make you happy, fire your dealer and go to the next one. If that doesn't work, engage Toyota’s Customer Care arm. If that doesn't work---consider the remote possibility that your claim isn't as valid as you think it is...

 

I like your last sentence. Dealerships have their problems but sometimes customers have unrealistic expectations and they almost never actually read the warranty.:rockon:

Full disclosure... I am shocked when I find an honest, competent dealership

 

Oscar the service writer is smart enough to use only the most common customer complaints or a complaint for which there is a TSB but does not affect a particular customer's car for the bogus claim. Toyota is unlikely to investigate these things, especially if their TSBs cover these known complaints.