toyota rip off

Tojo,
pretty much the same story with one of the utes at work, this time at Mitsubishi. Triton was in for service, paid up leave once back at work one of the guys checks the oil and it was almost empty.

Hey tojo, Just took delivery of a 2005 turbo cruiser and guess what the only work dealers will do is the first free 1,000klm service.Then my mech will be servicing at least I know he WILL do as I taught him. Feel sorry for you buddy.

Regards BILLS

goodday tojo
if it makes you feel any better (it wont)nissan dealers are just the same my 2004 patrol has done almost 100 big 1s i stopped going to the dealer at 75000ks because they were really peeing me off now i do it all myself so when its done its done properly and not have 2 return trips to get half satisfied but take it back and say nasty words it does make you feel better

steve

A work mates son works as a mechanic for a company that services leased car fleets. He is alocated a certain TIME to do each service. If he finds something that needs work and uses up his alocated TIME on that one job then no more service is done on that vehicle at that service booking, and they use the cheapest oil ! Next time you see an advertisement for a vehicle that says that it has always been serviced be aware that their idea of a service and yours are two totally different ideas.

I gave up taking my 80 series to the Local Toyota dealer & found a good & reputable service place that only does 4x4s. Most times it came back from the dealers in a worse state than when I sent it. The dealers had no knowledge of some aspects of the car (squealing brakes caused by low level indicators on the pads - said it was just dust!)
Happy now with my servicing. Not cheap but very thorough & do the basic stuff myself.
Cheers Tony.

G'day Tojo,
We had the same problem at 80,000 service with the price and the belt squealing. Turned out to be belt tensioner bolt was siezed they had to replace the whole assembly not an easy job very tight to get at. Made sure they gave us a loaner for the day. Needless to say will not be going back to toyota.

Col

and ill bet there was nothing wrong with the brake pads

I cant understand why people get upset at the standard of mechanical work at present. Most motavated decent mechanics are NOT working at the joe averadge garadge listening to customers whinge about what hasnt been done and how much has been charged/overcharged while making 60 grand or so a year. No they are riding the back of the resources boom where they can earn minimum 80 grand a year and probably much more without having to mdeal with the public complain there was a grease spot left on the seat.
In my experience there are a few decent mechanics left usually the business owners but they are totally snowed under and have no choice but to employ anyone they can - not the best guy for the job.
Its easy enough to do the oils and filters yourself and then hunt high and low for decent brake specialists etc to do the stuff you cant do

I'd make sure you go at the busiest time you can, and speak loudly, and watch them squirm.

Lucky you can just be annoyed imagine if you were about to head off on a big trip and had something go wrong.

Steve

hi tojo
i dont have to worry as i take the defender to local meck but wait theres more only once a year as the service is 20000 ks and i dont do more than 15 000 a year

reminds me of the servicing costs and repairs I was quoted from the dealer where I bought my 100. As a used car I got a 3 year warranty thrown in which covered me for $1000 worth of repairs for each time. The difference in cost of servicing between my trusty bloke up the road and the main dealer over an hour away decided it for me. I took my chances and let em stuff the $1000 warranty and got my servicing done up the road by a bloke I trust. He did the major service for $580 whereas the dealer quoted $900 and that was before the phone calls started "we've just found you need a new blahgizmo and it'll cost you $399.99c on top of the $900". Stuff em. Any work or accessories on the body I get done by my local smash repairer. It's amazing the difference in markup between him and Toyota. He obviously still makes a dollar on the parts (genuine) but charges a lot less for them as well as the labour. Pharkin robbers.

I've had this problem with Honda as well as Toyota. I have a 100 series and a Honda V6 Accord.

Fortunately, I sort these probs out pretty quick. I let them do thier speil, listen to all thier reasoning etc,etc,etc. And then I ask 'em really technical questions about the issue. You see I used to be a mechanic - got out of it about 20 years ago. BUT - that was when mechanics were real mechanics and not just "parts fitters". I'm now an ex-mechanic that hates mechanicking. So I get my car serviced by others.

However, they are all now running scared when my car turns up fer a service. The Service Manager at my local Honda place won't talk to me, I've caught him out that many times - he hates me 'n I love it. I drive away laughing like drain, 'cos I got him again!

The Tojo guys haven't put a foot wrong since I had a word about brake disc distortion and showed thier mechanic how to set up a DTI to test for run out.

But basically, if you don't know what you're on about they'll screw ya and dealerships are the worst by far.

Don't be afraid - ask 'em the hard questions.

Bilbo

Toyota servicing - if anyone has someone good on the north side of Brisbane, preferably western suburbs way please let me know.

thanks
EV700

Tojo, might pay to check your account again, I think you will find you have been charged for Windscreen Washer ADDITIVE, not top up with water.
Cheers Peter

I'm guessing you took the vehicle to Toyota for service >? Most of the new parts fitters at those places are apprentices that don't give a toss.

My past experience is to take it to a smaller mechanical w/shop with only 2 /3 guys working there - You generally do get much better service as you deal with the person face to face who fixes your car , rather than some faceless kid out in the workshop that gets $10 PH , that you will not see.

Boc

Yes.. Mechanics crap me off...
I used to get my 4x4 serviced in a workshop in Adelaide that i am sure quite a few of you guys would use also,,, but i will never go back there again...
Not because they treated my vehicle badly (that i knew of) but because one day i went there to pick up my Patrol from a major service and i noticed another Patrol there with 35inch tires,,, so i inquired about the mods done to it and the owner of this place told me it also had a turbo fitted with lower diff gears and did i want to test drive it to see whether or not it might tempt me to get him to fit these parts to mine....
So we jump in and start off down the sidestreets,,, at about 60klicks he mounts the gutter and drives across a very bumpy housing development to show how the suspension works,, and for the rest of the time he has got his boot right into it... I was very impressed and then he said i could have a drive.... I start driving and he says not to be afraid and to sink my foot into it ...... It had heaps of power,, black smoke pi$$ing out the back.....
When we get back i ask him how long he has owned it and he replies...."its not mine,, its a customers"...

Ita an interesting topic indeed. Having spend most of my life in the automotive game, Its been happening ever since i started as an apprentice. Back in 1974 (1st year apprentice) I saw it every day, cutting corners to save money. I recall a XA falcon coupe 302 cleavland. Came in for its first major service, Plugs and points were to be replaced, Service manager came up to me and told me NOT to change them. So i did what i was told. Cut a long story short... owner picked up his car that arvo, drove it out of workshop. 15 minutes later he was back in and pulled up his bonnet, called manager over and stuck his head under bonnet and shower him the metal seal he put between the dist cap and housing and also the marking he put on plugs. Told the manager that he was charged for replacement on invoice but nothing was replaced. Wanted an explination for it. Ended up he got the next 2 major serviced done for free (parts and labour) after he promised the dealer he was going to sit outside the driveway with a huge plackard warning people of what the service department was up too. 1 week later, manager was gone...sacked. Found out a few weeks later they used manager as a scape goat over the incident.

Will happen all time and can happen in any workshop. Bad day / good day theory. Friday afternoon of a long weekend...running late so corners r cut. It happens in every field.
Unless ur prepared to sit outside the workshop with sighs warning others what went on in the workshop, they dont care . Making others aware of what they did to ur 80,000 dollar. Eventually word gets around and that hurts them.

Not just Toyota , I purchased my Jackaroo in 99 (holden dealer) and while under warranty I tried all Holden dealers within reasonable distance and all were liars and cheats . The classic is the prearranged bill that prints out the work expected for that service and charges you accordingly and half the work is never done eg. detergent for washer bottle $2.00 (still empty ) clean and relube door striker plate $10 (not touched ) The last I ever went to a dealer I paid $220 for what turned out to be a oil and filter change , none of the other work quoted and paid for was done. A friend is a qual. mechanic and he worked for a big Holden dealer in Bris for a brief period and was pressured to find exttra work on anything he worked on . This was a set $ value each week to achieve or please explain.

I will never trust them again.

Dave L.

Why are people suprised when nothing is done at a service and you get charged for things that dont exist??

... its been going on since cars were invented.

Tell them you will do oil and filters yourself in future, save yourself $500 at their rates...

The hilux was put in at WINDSOR TOYOTA and dont mind saying the dealership as I would not take a go cart there, yes had a major service done before heading up to the cape and when the vehicle was sitting in driveway there was oil bleep out every where, popped the bonnet ah no oil cap. Stuffed the paint on the rocker cover, had to chuck the bonnet insulater to the sh@t house and put about 2litres of oil back in.Went back to the dealership to have a few words and they couldn't find the cap so they gave me another one which was the wrong one till this day it still has the wrong cap on it. $1600.00 bucks thanks for coming. Never Again. Do it all myself and what I cant I take to the local mechanic here in penrith, at a third of the price compared to a dealership. Take are all Vitara

At 90k, Nissan told me the back brake pads needed replacing on the GU (and they skim the discs as a matter of course, more cost). Told them to leave it, and I'll check it. Back at home, I put calipers on the back pads, extrapolated distance vs wear, and estimated another 30k at least in the pads. I changed them 30k later, and still lots of life left. The discs were clean, no scores, but they would have skimmed them anyway. Prob $300 saved.
At 60k Nissan said the power steering fluid needed changing. Asked if it was on the factory schedule, they said no, but the fluid was "very dark" from excessive heat. I told them that my old Mav ran for 250k without a problem with the steering fluid, but they reckoned that the heaver GU puts more strain on the steering. So I said that the GU has a cooler that the Mav didn't have, so it should run cooler. Their response was "well it's still dark, so we should change it". On picking up the vehicle, they have this neat little Castrol display on the counter with 3 vials which show dark, medium and light fluid. No prize for connecting this little display with the need to change the fluid at 60k.
Air intake left loose on the turbo at another service.
Wheel nuts left loose on another service
Nissan don't do my servicing, now that it's out of warranty, saving a fortune.
Ford were the same with the old Mav. Oil filters charged for but not changed, etc. Again, after it was out of warranty, Ford didn't touch the vehicle ever again.
Cheers, Gerry

Seems like l touched on a raw nerve with this thread ,l think the whole industry needs a good pull through ,l can see what davoe is saying that any mechanic with half a brain can be doing a lot easier job for the same sort of money without having to put up with bleep ty customers and greedy dealer principles.
Any how l had some joy today with toyota in scoring my next 90000 service for free. The service manager was very understanding and did look fully in to it, apparently the mechanic had washed the motor after the service and this accounted for the sqealing belts and the fuel filter being covered in dirty water making it look unchanged.
after talking to the mechanic direct l feel he was genuine in what he had said ,the washer bottle he had probaly missed as an overlook and was sorry, so fair enough we are all humans.
The extra price was for having 8 valve springs out of spec and shifted around to correct tolerances( apparently quite out of character for a 1hz with this amount of kays) and for spending so long doing the wheel bearings which appeared to have never been greased in its 80000 km life , this they tried to put on to me but was told that the the car has been serviced every 10000 km by toyota since new, the first sixty at another dealership before l purchased the vehicle, so there for any problems encounted there is not my responsibility but something they must take up with that dealership, my point was taken.
So to sum it up l am happyish with the outcome but after the free 90000km service will be doing it my self as the car will be out of warranty any how.
l am a toolmaker by trade so cant see anything being out of reach with a good manual .

Thanks guys,
Needed to be bought back to earth, I have done all my own repairs for ever, and keeping 4 vehicles on the road does become a chore, and i often wonder would i be better off working and paying someone else to do some of this work!
Well you have all just reminded me I hate being ripped off and i hate shoddy work even more, so I will be doing it for a long time yet and i think i am better off financially as it only has to be done once and i dont waste heaps of time arguing with morons after the jobs not done right.
Have a go at doing a bit more yourselves guys its not that hard and you have this forum to answer almost any question .

Cheers Pesty

"Better Bulit, Better Backed???"

Paj just had its timing belt changed at the local Zupps dealership in Mt Gravatt. Had the 90K service done at the same time.
Next day noticed some oil drips on the carport floor. On the weekend I took the sump bash plate off to find out where it was coming from and found the sump plug just barely hanging on by a thread, about ready to dump everything and stuff the engine..... (:-||

Still haven't simered down enogh to ring them and give them a blast....

Won't be going back though, that's for sure.

Oh well while we're bitchin might as well join in. On my recent trip we did a water crossing at Litchfield NP and shortly after I have a diff noise. Climbed under the car to find the breather disconnected - must have ripped loose somewhere I guessed (but we hadn't done anything seriously difficult) because I had a major service done before I left which amongst other things included checking the diff oils - so couldn't have been loose then!!??? Drove into Katherine and changed the oil - noticed the breather still intact. Renewed the oil again in Kunnunura to purge any remaining moisture - note hose still attached. Got home last week and the hose is still attched after some serious driving so I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that the damn thing was most likely loose or made loose (god knows why) when I had it serviced. It is still under warranty and will be taking the matter up with them when next I have it serviced.

Like all here very unhappy with the standard generally and will do my own once it is out of warranty.

Kind regards

I was a mechanic in a nissan dealership up until a few years ago.The emphasis was on our productivity and how many hours we sold and how many extras i.e.brake pads,power steering flushes etc.Most mechanics just race over the services not really caring.The service manager would have monthly meetings showing everyones efficiency putting pressure on each mech.There are generally so many advisers and managers that the mechanics have to make wages for non money earning staff.And I definately do all my own work myself.

Have 3.0L diesel hilux from new. At 70000km, took it in for service at local Toyota place. When picking it up, told me the clutch is on its way and will need to be replaced! Told then to leave it. Some 60000km later and clutch has still never shown any signs of trouble.

That has really lowered my trust in dealer service departments.

One last tip. If they say something needs to be replaced, always ask them to keep those parts so you can see it. Even if you don’t know what you’re looking at, it may make them think twice about replacing parts they don’t have to.

Mmm. Not a good day to have read this post. Got the prado in today with Cannon Toyota for its 120K major service, top to bottom stuff. Bloody expensive. Hopefully its done right. They've been decent to me in the past.