Poor Toyota Service

Yes, We had our 98 pick-up serviced at a Toyota garage in Fort Walton Beach Florida before our return trip to AZ. The truck was brought to us on the service drive still dripping oil from the undercarriage. I opened the hood to find they had also spilled new oil all over the top of the engine and had not replaced the oil cap. Got hold of the service manager and he had it cleaned up and offered next oil change free. I wouldnt go there again even if I had stayed in town

Many dealer techs are not worth the money you paid them. Then again, most the money got pocketed by dealers and a cut by service writers. In return you get to sit in fancy waiting areas ;)

Many of us learned to do the ma> During the past two oil changes at the dealership where I purchased my

My regular client went to Toyota of Cerritos (CA) for timing belt service (90 Camry, V-6). After getting the car back, he noticed backfire, loss of power and lower gas mileage. When I checked his car, the timing was off, the oil pan was dented badly, many bolts had rounded heads and there were chain wrench marks on the crankshaft pulley.The dealership cooperated and corrected some problems, but the dents in the pan are still there.

I would think twice before send my cars to any Power Toyota's dealerships again. Their service department is really bad.

However, I would buy cars from them because they are willing to deal. Of course, you do not need the free engine oil change for first 3 years from them.

I've had experienced poor service myself, I only let Toyota service my car now because it's still in the warranty period and I don't want them to tell me that if I did the maintenance myself then they won't be liable for anything.

I also have to report miserable service from a Toyota dealer.

I recently brought my 07 V6 Camry to a local Toyota dealer in Massachusetts for 3 things.

1. I wanted them to check the strange transmission behavior I've commented on before.

1. The plastic panels under the bumper area came loose and nearly fell off during a trip to Maine. I had to buy some duct tape and tape them in place to get home.

2. 5000 mile service & checkup (early at 3200 miles).

I was horrified at how poorly they handled all three things.

1. They said the transmission was performing normally. I took it for a ride with the service consultant. When we turned a corner and I gave it gas the transmission/engine revved and clunked into gear. We looked at each other and he immediately said "Oh, that's normal, mine does that too". Back at the shop I also mentioned that this problem seemed to be even more noticeable first thing in the morning when it was cold. His answer was "Well, you do warm it up for 10 minutes in the morning before you drive it, don't you? You should always warm it up for 10 minutes." I said "you can't be serious" and he again said it should ALWAYS be warmed up for 10 minutes before driving. I asked how I could escalate this and he gave me the Toyota 800 number. I called them and opened a "case". It has been 6 weeks and no one has ever responded to the open case.

1. I told the service consultant that the plastic panels were taped on and that I was going on a weeks vacation in a few days and it needed to be secured. He took a quick look and said it may require a new part (the little air baffle was broken from hitting the tire). I said fine but make sure it is secure for my vacation. When I picked the car up he said they did have to order the baffle but it would be fine for my vacation. I went out to leave and noticed that they had done nothing to secure it and my duct tape was still holding it together. I told them that was unacceptable and they put it back on the lift. I asked to see it and could easily see that if they just replaced a few missing screws it would be secure. To my surprise the tech working on the car looked like a high school kid. He said he had to order the screws. I said "you couldn't find a couple of these standard screws to safely secure this?" He said OK and had it screwed together within a few minutes. I was stunned that they were ready to send me off on vacation with the under panels hanging by duct tape.

2. They supposedly did 5000 mile maintenance. Before I brought it in I noticed that the tires looked a little low but figured they would check that. The day after the service the low tire pressure light came on and I noticed that the tires still looked low. I found a gauge and 2 of the tires had less than 20 pounds in them. They didn't even check the tire pressure on the 5000 mile check up. Did they even change the oil?

This dealer and the tech that worked on my car have absolutely no pride in their work and should be ashamed. It is so sad and disappointing that just when I buy my first Toyota the quality, design and service seems to have taken a nose dive.

Contact your local Toyota zone office and if necessary, the national office and let them know about this.

Actually, on second thought, you might want to contact the owner of the dealership and see if you can get them to make things right for you.

Where did they find these techs? High school detention office?

Yeah, I would not recommend the 2007 Camry's auto transmission to my friends or touch it with a 10 foot pole. That thing's reported to skip gears. And as I suspected, Toyota will call it normal.

Laker wrote: