Recommended Toyota/Scion in the bay area or near Vallejo
 

Looking for a recommended dealership/service that will hear out a customer's main issue with the car. I brought in the car to my local dealer to have them check a engine leak and a click noise upon acceleration deceleration in the driver side rear wheel. Two schedule appointments later nothing was fixed.

1st appointment: Engine oil leak issue states no sign fresh oil leaking or actively leaking. Okay. Also mentioned 2nd issue of clicking noise in the rear wheel driver's side, at first they can't produce the sound from the 1st tech's test drive, I told them to have me as a passenger and drive with the tech, pointed it and mechanic heard the sound. Loud and clear. Scheduled me a 2nd appointment for that issue, 1 week later came back, waited for the car for 3 hours cuz have been told that they'll give me a call a few hours or so to update what was their diagnosis. So i went to a nearby plaza to kill time, came back few hours later nothing was done, car is still sitting outside the shop, told them why is it still sitting and no update yet. so i went home using shuttle service, after an hour received a call that they saw bolts from transmission that is not torqued down to specs, and a bolt that is stripped, (i know that part when i installed the whiteline positive shift bushing) and they wanted to fix that issue and charge me $400!! Just to say, that is the abvious that they see and their first diagnosis. Big wow! But the abvious is the click noise can be heard from the rear. What if i paid that and did not fix the issue i'm complaining? So $400 down the drain and issue is not fixed? Rant off!

That's why i'm seeking help from you guys that can recommend a dealer that you had good experience with. That will look at the abvious and hear a customer out. Thanks!


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I don't know about their service side, but Fairfield's sale side was pretty much dead last NorCal's 50-something dealerships.

My service techs goes by the process, so if they can't reproduce the sound, they can't do anything.

My brother had good experiences over at Nawabi on Sonoma in Vallejo when he needed some work done on the Camry he had at the time. One of their techs even came out to us to show what part failed, and exactly what happened (water pump failed).

Recommended Toyota/Scion in the bay area or near Vallejo
 

I was planning to bring my car in your dealer in marin. I talked to one of your service rep and explained everything already and my experience from my local dealer. It's just me finding the day and time to make an appointment.

Will you able to help me out down there?


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I unfortunately have no pull in the service center. Was the service adviser you spoke with named Danny? Ask for him. He's a chill guy and owns a modded STi.

As for service techs, I don't think you can request one to work on your car, but Jeremy, Henry, and Lam are the better ones imo. Our FR-S specialist transferred to Fremont I think :(

I think i talked to Danny. We'll see if i can find a date and right time. Well i'm still under driveterrain warranty but pretty much as long as i pay the fix for the main issue then i'm no worries of paying.


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So I am kind of being a back seat idiot here, but a couple of items. Since your car is under warranty you can expect that a dealer service center will first try to fix possible items where they can deny warranty coverage (and loose bolts would qualify). If you have un-torqued bolts on the transmission mounts (I'm guessing that is what you are talking about) then you should get a torque wrench and deal with that before you damage something really expensive.

That said, your description would make me cautious about whether you are addressing the main issue. It can be really hard to differentiate where noises are coming from thanks to echos and such, but I've found it is good to have some trust in your ears and where you think things are coming from. You know the quirks of your car better than a random mechanic at a service center where they might be shifting new techs through relatively quickly. Also, I've read about our cars having issues with prematurely wearing half shafts and associated u-joints which are described as a clicking sound when starting off. Also, threads like this: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...t=70429&page=2 might have some useful information for you.

Additionally, it doesn't hurt to take the car into an independent shop for a second opinion (as long as you do some homework and find a reputable one). There are some issues where a dealer or specialist shop are going to have a huge advantage and some where they won't. Clicking noises from the drive train is one where general purpose independent shops can probably do just as good of a job as a dealer.

It's a single stripped bolt that is not a severe issue and is not even making any sounds when i tested it before finishing the job. I know hoe dealer's process is and reluctant to do a warranty if they see and outside job not done at their shop.

Just changed my oil the other night and checked the leak issue I brought up and I can see those oil stain there so yeah with all these issue I might just have a trusted independent shop check it for me. It's just disappointing that those thing happen.


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