Incompetent or merely uninformed service department?

Not much difference between being incompetent vs. uninformed. A competent service advisor would make it a priority to become knowledgeable regarding the models that his/her dealership services.

Besides the catalytic converter and inverter coolant pump, has your car benefited from other warranty repairs?

 

Good that you have other Toyota dealers in the area but it can be frustrating to find either the right person who knows what they are talking about or takes the time to figure it out. It seems harder to find people committed to good service and willing to put in the extra effort. I just had what I felt was poor service at my Toyotoa dealer (I only have one in my area) and gave them feedback through a phone survey and an online survey about their service. That was almost 2 weeks ago and not a word back yet. Then I go to the parts Dept. to buy some ATF WS to change out the Transanxle fluid and the guy tries to sell me Type IV fluid. I tell him I need WS and he tells me to look on the dipstick to tell me what type I need. There is no dipstick. They charge me $8.70/qt. plus $3.70 per washer that should cost less than a $1 and I leave feeling like I should probably buy a Honda or Nissan for my next vehicle. And I have been a diehard Toyota fan for many years.

Too bad that a few of these dealerships are giving Toyota a bad name.

You may want to think about writing a letter to the Service manager if you don't get a satisfactory result soon. If you do, then make sure to get the name of the service manager at the regional level too and send them a copy of the letter as well. Folks at higher levels within Toyota need to know what it going on at the ground level.

 

The ATF price is OK. Regarding the aluminum washer pricing, this is why I usually buy my Toyota parts in bulk via Internet orders. If UPS or FedEx delivery is not extremely costly to your area, perhaps that is an alternative you should consider.

Do you think that your local Honda or Nissan dealer has different parts pricing policies vs. your Toyota dealer?

 

They ran pretty much this same scam on me with my Prius Classic. Eventually I decided that 1.) They were the only Toyota dealer in the area, and what with getting this funny new bi-electric car that no one knew how to fix, I shouldn't piss them off, and 2.) the price they were asking was really quite modest for a whole new stainless exaust system, so I paid them for something that was "warranteed" anyhow. I have had time since then to build up a relationship with a more honest garage and now only rarely have to see the dealer.

 

Hi Pat, I knew the pricing for parts would be high. I did some searches online for ATF before I went in but didn't find anyone selling it. I guess I could have bought it from another dealer and had it shipped but shipping is pricey to Alaska. The issue that bothers me most is the knowledge and service by the people who represent Toyota at the dealership. They are the face of Toyota when it comes to supporting the product and if can't trust them then it undermines my confidence in the company and product. Their lack of attention to detail for a customer is playing off of what they hope will be apathy by most people and their hope that people just go with what they are telling folks. So it is really about lack of good service and knowledge in support of their product that would lead me to another brand. At least another brand that I respect. I would have a hard time buying a brand I didn't think highly of. I really don't know if Honda or Nissan would have better service but I am not going to reward bad service by continuing to buy the product. Now maybe when I go back in for more service or parts for my Prius or Tundra I'll get better quality service. But I would have thought that with all the negative publicity that Toyota has had in the recent past that they would be more attentive to keeping the customers they do have by doing their best. Sorry if that sounds harsh but I don't have much tolerance for bad service these days.

 

I agree that Toyota dealerships will not win awards for world-class service. In general the product mostly sold itself in the past, so it was sufficient for the dealerships to perform at an average level.

 

Good point. I would agree that the quality of their product probably led to them not needing top quality service or parts Dept. or like you say "average" level performace. I hope they change/remedy that soon because I do still like Toyota products.