shazaam

I took my 02 4Runner in for an oil change at the dealer today, and I mentioned to him, that the factory fog light wasn't working. He came back and told me that he put in a new bulb, and it still wasn't working. I told him about the corrosion behind the rubber cover. The service manager told me that he had noticed the corrosion and that the truck was not designed to go off road, and that by doing so I had voided the factory warranty.

I just stood there and stared at him, and wondered how he was able to keep a straight face, b/c the two techs behind him, just started smirking, and could barely hold ther laughter in.

So there you have it, the 4Runner is not designed to go off road. I will contact Hella to have them replaced but this was just too funny.

AgRunner06

Just goes to show how some dealers will say what they have to to screw someone over.

CLin9383

yea, shoulda called toyota and see if they agree with that guy. and does off roading really void your warranty?

Yoda

I think we need to get an official Toyota USA response to this issue. What are we spending our hard earned $$ on a 4X4 if it is not for offroading some of the time. I could understand an offroad experience like my accident would not be covered (forced off freeway at 70MPH). But driving?????

Stump1883

Yeah sure, 4Runners aren't ent for off-raoding then why the hll do they market them so agresivley towards that crowd, by talking about class leading ground clearance, and a 4 wheel low range(if it's not ment for that then give it the little switch knob that has a 4x4 on it and make it an AWD lke ever other new SUV) and a hitory of off-road performance, 4Runners are known as the original off-road work hourse of Toyota, always have been and always will be, or at least for me they will be. If they aren't ment for that then why do you market the 03' with a show that is taking them to Everest, LOL, that has to be the funnniest thing I have ever heard. Yoda I agree someone needs to get an official Toyota USA quote on that statement.

FattyCBR

Haha, welcome to the club. I had the same problem last fall when I took my truck in for some help diagnosing a problem and I had some dents underneath mine. It was kind of funny too because I had used car salesman at another dealership come up to me and tell me how good the Taco and 4R offroad.

Schuey2002

I took my Taco into the Stealer about 2 years ago because the rear pinion seal was leaking. They fixed it under what was left of my warranty. When I went to pick it up the service manager ( who is a total jerk, ) mentioned that it had sand in the seal when they pulled off the old one and that is what caused it to leak. I looked at him and replied, " Huh? That's funny! I wonder how that got there!" He stared at me (knowing full well that I was stringing him along) stated," We'll cover it this time under the warranty, but don't let it happen again or the bill is on you !"

Ignorance is bliss..

PhxTRDRunner

That locker that came factory in mine must be for rainy conditions then??


...though kinda hard to use low range on the surface streets


weird.:pat:

MrTom

Do not currently own a 4Runner but am seriously planning on ordering an '04 Model. Would like to know if anyone has looked in their Owners Warranty Manual to see if there is any reference to Off-Roading voiding the warranty. Have called Toyota Customer Service and they are very willingly sending me a Warranty Manual to read. They were a bit taken by my reference to this post and suggested that when a dealer refused to honor a warranty claim to have the dealer show in the warranty contract the disqualification wording.
Has anyone who posted warranty voiding by dealers asked to see the specific warranty language that voids their claim???
Thanks,
Tom

JSB

So let me see if I understand...your fog light wasn't working due to the seal failing on the light, which allowed moisture, or water to ruin it, and they are blaming the failing seal on off roading? Explain that. I would have had to ask...If I did take this off road, which I haven't, how do you expain the seal failing. Could it have been from taking it through a creek of water??? Maybe, but not likely since it hasn't been offroad. Maybe the rain caused the seal to fail, maybe the snow? Maybe because it was a bad seal, that should have kept water out, and didn't. What an A$$! I hate dealerships. When I had one of my twin turbos crack on my RX-7, they made me prove that I followed the recommended service. I ask them what service are they referring to? Last I checked there wasn't a service direction for the turbos, besides letting them cool after hard driving. I had a turbo timer to handle that. So I had to prove I changed the oil and took it in during the 30K check up. Which I did of course. I asked them what did they checked as preventative maintenance for the turbos when it was in for it's 30k check up. Shiat, it only had 40k on it when the turbo cracked. Anyway, I'd take it back, and at least ask them to show you the doc. stating it voids it. Then tell the dealer you're going to slap a law suit on their a$$ for false advertisement. They advertise it OFFROAD....geez! Good Luck, and sorry for going on so long.

rimpainter.com

That is the lamest thing I have ever heard.

I have had 2 dealers literally jump on warranty issues with my previous Taco due to my off-roading in the truck.

1. The mudflap got ripped off (this is covered under the 3/36 warranty)

2. The diff breather clogged 2X, blowing the rear seal on the transfer case (they covered this under the 5/60 warranty)

Your dealer is full of it. What is wrong with these guys?

BigJohn

haha had the same thing took mine in for aoil change and guy is like We took off the skid plate and there was sooo much mud on top of it, he gave me this look like what are you doing taking this 2002 offroad?

joez

man, thats too funny. in my owners manual there is more information about driving off-highway than there is about driving on.

we had a dealer try to pull that on us with our new tundra. we bought it to tow our boat, and when we brought it in, they tried to tell us that we were not supposed to be towing with it, and we were "intentionally exceeding the vehicles limits". yeah, towing a 5600 lb boat with a truck rated at 7200. took it to a different dealership, and talked to the guy for 45 min about the fishing on lake michigan and our boat.

Babypig

If they show the truck off-roading in a commercial then they must back the truck for offroading. The laws governing commercials in the states are very tough on stuff like that. No false representations. I'll try to find a copy of the guidlines and post a link.

DrtRunner

Find a new dealer- and report the situation to the hotline at Toyota Motor Sales Customer Service.

Dealers are not owned by Toyota Motor Corp. they are franchises so the quality of a dealership will depend on its managment.

That was not right and you should make a point of it.