Toyota Warranty wants to charge $400 for engine teardown to diagnose problem

[joburnet]

My Girlfriend has a 2001 Toyota Corolla that has a 5 year 100k mile warranty which it is still covered under. There is a problem where the oil kept draining out of her car and now it has an engine problem. She got the oil changed on a regular basis and has records to prove it.

She took it to the dealership and they want to charge her $400 to tear down the engine and diagnose the problem. Then once they have determined the problem they said that if she has records of maintenance, which she does, then her warranty will probably pay for the rest of the repairs.

The car is clearly under warranty and is having problems so it seems to me that she should not have to pay to diagnose the problem. Is there anything that I can do about this? A place to complain or something like that? Thanks.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Warranty should pay for all costs.

 

[joburnet]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Warranty should pay for all costs.

I agree, now how do I convince them of that?

 

[dxkj]

Sounds pretty ignorant, but then again, so are most dealerships

 

[iversonyin]

You threaten them with a lawsuit

 

[moshquerade]

something doesn't seem right here. why do they have to teardown the engine to diagnose a problem? can't they just hook it up to a computer for diagnostic testing?

 

[Drakkon]

well YOU can't do much, your GF has to go in there and ask to speak to the manager and find out why the heck they are trying to screw her out of $400 since she provided all the necessay information and the car is still clearly under warrenty.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: joburnet

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Warranty should pay for all costs.

I agree, now how do I convince them of that?

Call teh warranty provider and read the small print on the agreement you have.

 

[toekramp]

cleavage will solve the problem

 

[radioouman]

Originally posted by: toekramp
cleavage will solve the problem

:laugh:


The warranty should cover it, however, they are tryign to cover their asses if they can't find a problem. The warranty will not cover their costs unless they actually find a problem.

 

[Ornery]

There is a problem where the oil kept draining out of her car and now it has an engine problem.

It lost enough oil to cause damage? Light didn't come on? It did come on, yet she drove it anyway?

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: joburnet

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Warranty should pay for all costs.

I agree, now how do I convince them of that?

Get your warranty out and read it real slow for the manager in front of all the customers.
Then if he is still being an ass, tell him to expect to hear from the lawyers.

 

[Aimster]

Call Toyota and complain

They will own the dealership and you will get your way.

 

[Kelemvor]

Contact Toyota's main number (corporate) and let them know. If they still giv eyou trouble, contact your sta'ts attorney general's office as I'm sure they'd like to know that. Then you can even call your local TV channels and have them do an investigative report too. You can get them a lot of bad publicity.

 

[joburnet]

Originally posted by: Ornery
There is a problem where the oil kept draining out of her car and now it has an engine problem.

It lost enough oil to cause damage? Light didn't come on? It did come on, yet she drove it anyway?

The light did come on and that's when she added more oil. I would have thought that the light would have come on much sooner but it did not. She did not keep driving with an oil light on.

 

[joburnet]

Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
Contact Toyota's main number (corporate) and let them know. If they still giv eyou trouble, contact your sta'ts attorney general's office as I'm sure they'd like to know that. Then you can even call your local TV channels and have them do an investigative report too. You can get them a lot of bad publicity.

How do I contact Toyota's Corporate?

 

[cherrytwist]

Try another dealer.

 

[gabemcg]

I worked @ a Toyota dealership for the past 6 months, here's the proccess...

Ask to speak with the service mananger, explain your concerns in a polite manner.

If he cannot provide a satisfactory explination of the dealerships position, or resolve your concern; there should be a booklet in the car's glovebox entitled "state required lemon laws" or something to that effect (It's blue) In there there are instructions and contact information for Toyota, if you think that you are being treated unfairly.

Good luck, and while every business has bad apples, chances are, if you give the dealership an oppertunity to explain themselves, most will go out of their way to address your concerns.

 

[mugs]

Try a different dealer.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

isn't the oil drainage a huge problem with Toyotas?

 

[imported_Skold]

Originally posted by: cherrytwist
Try another dealer.

FTW!

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Have you asked the dealer why their diagnostic process isn't included in the warranty?

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Warranty should pay for all costs.

Most warranties (especially extended), will charge for a 'teardown' fee, to be waived if the damage is covered by the warranty and through no fault of the owner. It's pretty commonplace.

Been through it with a Ford Exploder and a Jeep. Both times the teardown fee was stated, but waived after they found failure in the engine. Ford= timing chain tensioners shredded, and Jeep=differential carrier bearings.

 

[JS80]

Sounds like a $400 gamble

 

[dirtboy]

Call Toyota and request to have a dealer rep look at your car on their next visit. The dealer rep is a Toyota paid service person who can authorize the dealer to do whatever they want. Or at least that's they way it worked at Mitsubishi...