A disappointing response from Toyota

If this is an example of how Toyota service I also will be looking at another manufacturing. I also am very upset with the way they are handling the sticky pedal. I don't think the California incident was accurate, but I also believe that the 1000 or so complaints are accurate. I still say they need to look at the ECM controller.

 

I just got my brake recall notice today, but I had already called the dealer to schedule service since I knew all 2010's were included. I too thought I would get a special mailing about the service, but when I got nothing I just called. Never in any of the press on this issue did I read for sure that I was to get a special recall letter. As I mentioned I thought it would be required and now it appears it is part of the formal recall.

I also regularly get the oil change coupons but they seem to be coming from the dealership, not Toyota. The dealer also sends me a coupon for service at various mileage points (your due for your 20,000 mile maintenance!) but I have called them and there was not maintenance due for the Prius. So I think this is all about the dealer drumming up business.

I also just got the official letter from Toyota about the extension of the recommended oil change period - but again had read on this site that this was coming. It seems like their mailing effort lags behind the public announcements or leaks onto this board.

Any chance some of your complaints come from the dealership? And the fact that Toyota dealers are independent contractors and Toyota corporate does not have a clue what they are doing with coupons and service reminders?

 

I think you are being unreasonable here. All cars come with jacks which are designed for emergency tire repairs, but not for standard repairs, especially any that involve going underneath the vehicle. For work such as that, I own a floor jack and jack stands, which are totally impractical to carry in a passenger vehicle.

I agree with you that Toyota should have responded to your first letter in a much more timely manner, but perhaps the recalls have left them overwhelmed lately; I honestly can't say.

 

i hear ya man, and sympathize, but i have owned a lot of mfg's and all the dealers are the same. let us know how you make out with the next one, but i'd hate to buy a car for the mfg instead of for the car. wish there was a better way...

 

You need to wait for your official revised OCI notice in the mail like everyone else. Why are you asking about 5W20? If you're trying to go cheap by going with regular oil, it won't work because the new OCI every 6 months/10,000 miles requires 0W20 synthetic. You'd still have to change your oil every 5k miles if you use regular, which defeats any money savings purpose.

You'll also need to wait for your brake recall notice in the mail like everyone else, but you can view it if you log onto your MyToyota site. As for the free coupon, it was eliminated shortly before the notice went out. Since you already had your 5k miles oil change, just do your future oil changes at 15k, 25k, 35k, and so on miles. No biggie.

 

Agreed. My parents and I have never owned a car that came w/a jack that would be suitable for going underneath the car.

To add to this, Erica definitely exists. I have met her along w/a few other folks here on Priuschat.

 

You bought your car in August or there abouts and knew then it had scheduled services due at 5000 mile intervals, you have since found out that if you use synthetic oil you can stretch to 10,000 mile service intervals, how bloody great is that?

Your car has a jack, some cars don't even come with a jack, just a can of gunk and an air compressor to fix a flat. Mazda MX5 comes to mind as does Prius with the moon roof. How great is it that you have a jack to use in emergencies?

Erica is real, the Prius Team keep an eye on PriusChat and actually use our feedback to improve things, what other car company do you know of does that? You would be shocked at how much of the 2010 meets the wish-list of PriusChatters from pre 2009.

I'll stick with Toyota, I personally have had a dream run with Toyota over more than 20 years and I don't believe in luck.

 

I understand your concerns, however you seem to have axe to grind, perhaps from your previous bad experience with an unnamed "German Brand" vehicle?? What makes you think that any other brand out there would treat you any better!! Perhaps your concerns, when you contacted Toyota, were so trivial and pedestrian that they didn't require immediate attention as you expected! Your Toyota dealer is the manufacturers' representive and as such is your first source for help and information. If your dealer is not doing right by you, find a dealer who values your business!!

 

amen!

 

Holy crap they wanted $50 for the oil alone??? Go to Wal-Mart (as much as I find it disagreeable) and get the 5-quart jug for $26 and bring it with you! Good luck finding a better dealer, the ones in Chicago are pretty terrible (can't speak for you region). I suppose they all have 1-2 star ratings under Google Maps for a reason.

 

The benefit in customer satisfaction would be negated by the liability. I lost an uncle who was changing his oil using a mechanics jack.

 

Atta boy! Don't take it anymore. Ford will be more than happy to sell you a car. Or...drive the Prius, perform the scheduled maintenance and don't worry about the blown-out-of-proportion anti-Toyota noise that seems to have you worked up.

 

Never NEVER go under a car held up by a jack, ANY jack. Get stands (they are cheap) and for added security, block any tire still on the ground.

You can use the jack that comes with the car to raise one corner, put in a stand, lower the jack then do the other side. Kind of time consuming which is why I bought a low profile floor jack capable of supporting the entire weight of the car. It can be used on the front or rear single jacking point. The stands then go in at the 'normal' jacking points on the frame, some pressure is released from the floor jack so the car rests on the stands. I leave the jack in as well. A few pumps up and a slow release down. MUCH faster than cranking the little scissor jack and a lot more stable.

 

Dillona,

Sorry your experience has not been smoother. Not to discredit any of the delays in responses you've experienced, we always strive for prompt responses to customers, but the honest truth is that everyone here at Toyota is operating in absolute overdrive. Incoming calls/emails/concerns etc have spiked well beyond belief over the past few months and we're doing our best to continue to respond to inquiries as soon as possible.

I'm also sorry Jeanette didn't find me in whatever source she was looking in and that made you doubt the Prius Team's true existence. FWIW, I don't see a Jeanette in the Customer Experience Center directory either. We're a large company and between misspellings (yes, I have one of those names) and systems updates, people don't always show up at first glance. At any rate, many on this forum, as they've stated, speak to me via phone or email regularly, or have even met me and Doug in person. So, rest assured, we are here as official Toyota employees from the USA HQ office in Torrance.

As for my posts regarding the Oil Interval change, I think the others have clarified already, but let me summarize. The original post was not public information from Toyota, it was a Prius Chat member who posted info they had obtained ahead of the final documents being prepared. We confirmed the interval was indeed changing and later posted the official letter (which did not include the coupon discussed earlier). Letters began mailing out in late February from our HQ office.

Hope that helps clarify some concerns.

Best,
Erica Gartsbeyn, Prius Product Marketing, Toyota USA

 

If Toyota did not approve the oil change coupon, who did, and blame them. A post on any forum is by no means proof of a Toyota employee, or executive, so the Erica Gartsbeyn posting could easily be BS.

The dealer trying to deny, and then accepting the price on the coupon, seems a tad sleazy but that too is not the car manufacturers fault.

I have a floor jack and have had one for years, they don't come with any car. The jack in the car is meant for a roadside flat, nothing more. That's true of all cars, and I've owned a dozen new ones in my life. Oil changes are not something the car maker tells you to do as the owner of the car, they tell you to be sure its done according to the service requirements they set down.

If Toyota does issue a brake recall, we'll learn about it then. She may not actually know that yet. I doubt that she'd refuse to acknowledge anything she knew to be true, she probably has no definite knowledge yet, would be my reading of that womans response to your demand.

If you take offense at all this, you don't know what the run around really is. I once owned a new Oldsmobile Diesel and had to deal with GM. They invented 'The Run Around'. I sold that Lemon at a loss just to escape less than a year after delivery, now that's a reason never to go back. I wouldn't buy water from GM, at this point, if I was dying of thirst.

 

A copy of the notice hit everyone's MyToyota account a couple days after the recall was announced and all you had to do is login to view it. Damn fast if you ask me. But the snail mail speed isn't any faster than any other manufacturers, including Ford, and it's hardly a safety issue.

Surely you are expecting way too much.

 

I can see the press release now.

Toyota driver killed while under his car. Toyota Corp KNEW the jacks were not suitable and did nothing to change it, resulting in loss of life.