Jay351

Well he was having his headgasket done. Most shops will replace parts like that for no labor charge (gotta remove and re-install them anyways). Call toyota HQ, im sure they could help you out.

leebee

talk with toyota dealer service rep, if no satisfaction, service mgr, if no satifaction, dealer principle, if no satisfaction, toyota hq, if no satisfaction talk to local pd fraud squad. make sure you document EVERYTHING.

post dealer information AFTER any legal action is concluded. keep us posted.

lee

Ilovemountains

I agree 100% with the do it yourself, trust me I read, read and re- read the book, talked to my dad about it a few times and almost started ripping it apart ... but at the same time doing an unexpected head gasket job with nooo time and its been 20 degrees wasn't an option..so I called around and spent a few hundred more than even the cheapest estimate from any of the local repair shops, even the local import only shop that Ive used many times before and would trust 100% on my truck I took it to the Toyota dealership with hopes that Id get a trained Toyota mechanic, and nothing but Toyota parts!!! I actually had it towed there, so add $100 the price of the repair. It is running like a top, BUT I am very skeptical now that its not all CarQuest parts, they actually gave me a hard time about the timing belt tensioner being "ground with a grinder".. They changed their tune when I told them that the only people that have worked on it has been THEIR shop, "anything major to the engine" they changed the first T belt and put the 2nd one on it when the H2O pump went out about 30, 000 miles later. They did replace the H20 pump, they said that it felt rough too but they didn't charge me for it, the supposed Toyota pump only had 60,000 miles on it with Prestone 50/50 antifreeze. It is a pretty bad feeling to drop $1700 dollars on a job that I could do myself if it was this spring and I had the time along with the weather cooperating but it is what it is... Ill see what they tell me, Im tempted to call Toyota about it, especially because of the gasket recall and see what they say... As far as my avatar .... I did a LOT of reading and " searching " before putting that up there

Ilovemountains

Come on...trust me, I can and would do the head gasket job if I had the time and it wasn't winter, BUT it is and I dont so I spent a chunk at the local Martinsburg WV Toyota dealership to have this job done...Ill surely report back when I see what they say tomorrow.... The thing is, I didnt give them a time restraint, I do have a Mazda MX-5 that I can drive but the roads are icy and covered in salt and gravel so, considering it has KYB-AGX shocks, FM springs, FC MS bumps, JR sways, and summer tires its not too safe to drive in the winter... Anyway they could have ordered the correct wires from the Toyota warehouse and got them in, in a day instead they tried to pull one over on me, and YES they are stamped Car Quest 7mm suppression cables........ which makes me believe that since the 3.0 has not been built since 95 that they got all of the parts from Car Quest...I will get to the bottom of it tomorrow. ~ Matt

GSGALLANT

hmmm... you don't mind spending $1700 to get your truck fixed "correctly" at a Toyota Dealership and you insist that they should use Toyota parts (which of course, they should), but yet you use prestone coolant instead of the recommended Toyota coolant... JK... well, sort of.

Anyways, I would definitely talk to a manager to ensure your case is heard and documented. I would think at this point, it would be hard to prove that they used any other aftermarket parts in the job without tearing it down and doing it again (except for accessory belts, hoses, or any other "visible" part). Depending on how hard you pushed, they might redo it... but I'm thinking you'll have a hard time getting that.

mt_goat

I bet the dealer is the one that put that in. I had a dealer in Wichita Falls use that green stuff after a HG change (mixed with tap water as I said before).

Ilovemountains

Well after talking to the tech manager they are going to replace my wires with genuine Toyota like they should have from the beginning. His exact words were "I didn't think you would mind because you had after market on it when it came in".....I had NGK blue wires, which in my opinion were equivalent to Denso, the point I made was that they charged me for Toyota cables and didn't ask me about putting after market on it, they just did it and charged me twice what CarQuest charges for the cables! They are giving me a 1 year unlimited mile guarantee on the parts and labor of the job now so thats a good thing and the truck is running like a top so hopefully it will be OK from here.

I didn't know that Toyota made their own antifreeze I use the Prestone 50/50% rather than dealing with mixing it myself, I know its a little more expensive.....

GSGALLANT

OMG... the tech manager knew about that and thought it was OK?!?

I'd be running from that dealership as fast as I could. Good job getting the warranty, though.

BT17R

Right. It's a violation of the Toyota Dealer Agreement made between TMS and dealer principal. Only OEM parts may be used in a repair at a franchised Toyota dealership.

Matt16

Don't they warrantee the work anyways? This would piss me off, they tried to rip you off, hoping you wouldn't notice.

Just don't mix red Toyota antifreeze with anything else, ie: don't top up red antifreeze with green.

Windsor

That's a BS answer. Take one of these next time you visit --

bigtrucknwheels

take this further! That is completely unacceptable, as you KNOW you're not the only one that got taken across. Think how many other people got ripped off just the same...

Call as many official Toyota people as you can, and demand action!

turborich

You know, this type of thing happens much more than most people know about. The dealer is just "the dealer" not the factory. There is a big difference in my opinion. Hopefully they used genuine Toyota parts for the rest of the job.

I 100% agree with you on this & they should have never done this. It shouldn't matter what antifreeze you use or how old the truck is. The dealer should have done it right!

nosfanatic2006

iTrader: (1)

I'd take them all the way. Especially after reading this.

My uncle worked strictly on Toyota's and Honda's for over 20 years at just a regular privately owned shop that worked on numerous vehicles, and they even used factory parts. Its stupid when an actual dealership can't use them. . .

bigtrucknwheels

oh and when I get work done at the dealer, I ask for my old parts back in the toyota packaging, then I know they don't slap cheap stuff on haha...

Ilovemountains

After thinking about this for the last few days I decided to go ahead and make a claim to Toyota HQ, even if nothing comes out of it to at least make the report to them that one of their new dealerships is being super dishonest to their customers... Im not sure whats going to come of it but Ill surely keep you posted!

BT17R

I'd also call/meet the Dealer Principal, not the GM or SM, and describe the situation. S/he may not even know what's going on since new dealers are evaluated during a probationary period before being awarded the standard six-year agreement. You could be doing them and yourself a favor and wouldn't be surprised if you find a new Service Manager during your next visit.

Ilovemountains

I called Toyota HQ and gave them the run down and my VIN... They basically said that there was nothing they could do because the truck was taken there by me to have it repaired... Its not under warranty or any service campaigns or recalls that I need to take it up with the dealerships customer relations manager... I called him and told him the entire situation, he was either having a bad day or just has no personality at all... A few minutes later I got a call back from him and the service manager. The service manager said I thought this was all taken care of and things were OK, I proceeded to tell him that the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth that I feel like they were totally dishonest with me and tried to rip me off. He basically said that they should have called me but didnt and that they normally do use all Toyota parts but since my truck is an 88 they didnt want to have it too long over plug wires and a thermostat. We talked back and forth and he assured me that the rest of the parts are all OEM Toyota and that I should not have any problems at all. I told him that I called Toyota HQ and opened a case and that if I have any problems at all I will go through them and that I would never recommend anyone to their dealership, service dept or parts dept again and that they will never work on any of my vehicles again.... So that said, beware of Apple Valley Toyota in Martinsburg WV, the truck is running great but still this is some very very shady work especially from a dealership. I guess I should have just bought all Toyota parts and taken it to my normal mechanic Bob at Opequon Automotive Limited , I know I would not be second guessing anything right now but you dont expect this crap when you go to the dealership, well I didnt anyway...

bigt

ilovemountains good to hear you kept up with this..also keep on reading through yotatech and then nect time you have a problem maybe we could help you through it.. i know yota tech has saved me thousands of dollars and i learned alot about my truck...

hope your headgasket and truck keep running great for a long time!

Jay351

THanks for posting the name of the dealer!

Yeah, they didn't want to keep your truck for those wires and thermostat.. Sure! Why did you have to pay for oem parts then?