Dealership service took a joyride (probably)

[philstar]

I work at a Lexus dealer, and my service manager has a rule that if the wheels come off, we have to take it for a test drive.

Total waste of time, all because a tech in the past forgot to tighten the lugs down and a wheel fell off on a customer down the street and the wheel crashed into a neighboring dealership.

Not saying that this is what happened, it may very well have been taken out for a joy ride, just throwing another possibility out there.

[pheoxs]

Not assuming anything but it could be that they rotated the tires, went 4 miles down the road and back and then retorqued the rims in case the owner doesn't recheck like they are supposed to (let's face it, how many people do you know never even check their oil between services)

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[kioton32]

Wow, I'm friends with the Service manager at my dealership and the 2 times I've taken it in I was allowed to help with the servicing... Because he knows I take meticulous care of my vehicles... I only take to the dealership for warranty work and free stuff like the first 3 oil changes... Why waste the money...

[Laika]

Originally Posted by pheoxs

Not assuming anything but it could be that they rotated the tires, went 4 miles down the road and back and then retorqued the rims in case the owner doesn't recheck like they are supposed to

During inspection, my dealer decided to prevent this from happening by torque-ing the wheels to 100+ lbs.....

[executivekoala]

I have a few buddies who work for independent shops, never leaving my car un attended. They do joy ride. I just have always watched like a hawk and requested they let me do the test drive and not the tech. Never had a problem.

[Timmy_Jones]

Originally Posted by philstar

I work at a Lexus dealer, and my service manager has a rule that if the wheels come off, we have to take it for a test drive.

Total waste of time, all because a tech in the past forgot to tighten the lugs down and a wheel fell off on a customer down the street and the wheel crashed into a neighboring dealership.

Not saying that this is what happened, it may very well have been taken out for a joy ride, just throwing another possibility out there.

This story made the whole thread worth reading.

[JDKane527]

When I got my car back from the dealership for the first service, I checked the torque on the wheels, and one nut I was able to get a full turn on. The quality check of their work is as garbage as the work itself.

[SloS14]

Originally Posted by zc06_kisstherain

lol! i never take take a car to dealer to change oil. DIY! or take it to local shop with your own oil to change it

Last time I was at the dealer (for TSB), I was told by a service rep and a tech that they could invalidate my warranty because I changed my own oil.

I also got a concerning look when I told them that I fixed an oil leak myself (when they failed to fix it the first time).

Seriously. I live like 20 min. from the nearest Toyota dealer. I'd much rather change my own oil and do it right than to drive 40 miles round-trip and take over an hour out of my busy schedule.

/rant

[zc06_kisstherain]

Originally Posted by SloS14

Last time I was at the dealer (for TSB), I was told by a service rep and a tech that they could invalidate my warranty because I changed my own oil.

I also got a concerning look when I told them that I fixed an oil leak myself (when they failed to fix it the first time).

Seriously. I live like 20 min. from the nearest Toyota dealer. I'd much rather change my own oil and do it right than to drive 40 miles round-trip and take over an hour out of my busy schedule.

/rant

they cannot void warranty unless they prove that you did something wrong with changing oil. that's total BS.
i never had problem with any other vehicles's warranty work when i changed oil from me or local shop

[Neziah]

I always figured that they would not drive it as hard as I did anyways.. lol

[Kauf]

I just took my BRZ in for the second service. (7500 miles) Oil change, tire rotation and differential oil check. I asked them not to do several things like wash the car (I do it my way and don't want anyone f'king it up who doesn't care like I do.) or top off the washer fluid since last time they must''ve put too much water in it during winter as it began to freeze/smear right after I got it back (and it hadn't before.)
When I was signing/paying for it all at the end, the technician told me it would be back soon. I was thinking "WTF?" In the most respectful way, I let them know I love my car and I watch it as best as I'm allowed to when bringing it in for service.
He said it was standard procedure because of the wheels being off for rotation. I can buy that I suppose, even though I check that myself. He glanced at the invoice and incorrectly informed me they'd washed it right after that too (invoice said "not washed".) Such attention to detail. Pff.
Anyway, I waited another 18 minutes before my car came back. Pissed me off!!
I drove several states over to buy my car in order to make sure no jokers had been joy-riding/testing it before I got it. I'm not about to let some dude who hasn't worked as hard as I did to get this do that.

Another lesson learned.

[Crystal_White_BRZ]

Originally Posted by asia_minor

every time I go to the dealership, I write down the mileage on a sticky, and stick it on the window (driver of the car will definitely see it).

never had a problem with joy rides.

I definitely do this next time I bring mine in. 2 days ago, I dropped off my 10 series FRS at the service dept for them to put the spoiler on. When I brought it in, it was 56 miles. Later that afternoon when I picked it up it was 72 miles. Since I did not write down any mileage on mine when I brought it in, I can't complain to anyone at all.

[PSJohnDoe]

Are you taking it in at 5k? My dealer sent me reminders to bring it in at 5k, but everything official that I've read says every 7.5k. I'm guessing 5k is a standard thing for Toyotas (this is my first car from the Toyota family), I planned on bringing it in on standard intervals (except maybe at the 25k mark). Kinda sucks to get 25k service when it goes from 22.5k to 30k.

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by supramkivtt2jz

well i guess i have the biggest horror story for all of you - they put 40+ miles on my vehicle every time they touch it. im in the middle of negotiating what theyre going to do about techs that did it.

Did anything ever come of this?