NewHilux.net

Took the hilux in for a 40 k service today, thought I might just mark the tyres to see if they got rotated and would you believe of course they didn’t, wonder what else they didn’t do but say they did... thanks Toyota

The way of the world now I'm afraid! I'm sure there are still some good ones out there but sadly most will likely give it an oil change, tick all the boxes in ua book and take ya money. Good service is hard to find nowadays especially from a stealership! Maybe we should all start naming and shaming them!

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Let me be first, Ken Mills Toyota in maroochydore.

Think it was the 80k service, the one that has the valve clearance check on the D4D, was told the brake pads were down to 3mm and would need changing out next service. They must think everyone that gets servicing done there is an idiot as all you need to check them on a SR5 is a torch. Had new tyres fitted at 110k and the report said 8mm on the same pads. That was the last dealership service I have had done. Now at 170k and still running the same pads and shoes.
I have fitted the old tyres to a trailer so had them marked when they were removed and yes you guessed it, the tyre I had a repair done on recently before the service was still in the same place.

When I picked up the car I didn't have my glasses so didn't have a good look at the paperwork so just filed it.
Recently referred beak to it for the valve specs to find the service print out and invoice I have is for a V6 petrol model.

This was a service I was paying full price for, wonder how much work you get done there on a capped price service!

If anyone from Toyota actually bother to read forums and sees this, please contact me, only too happy to discuss it.

Marty.

TOYZX wrote:The way of the world now I'm afraid! I'm sure there are still some good ones out there but sadly most will likely give it an oil change, tick all the boxes in ua book and take ya money. Good service is hard to find nowadays especially from a stealership! Maybe we should all start naming and shaming them!

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If only ARB did servicing. Have only dealt with them only once personally and other than expensive, but competitive, the service, product( alloy front bar ) and service was/is far above and beyond what has become accepted as normal.

Again the Maroochydore branch.

Oh i can tell you some stories......In Particular the jokers at the VW dealership in maroochydore that thought that putting the sump plug on with a rattle gun was a good idea.

I don't necessarily blame the dealers.......I think with this "capped price" servicing, which is driven by the manufacturers is to blame for the short cuts.

If the normal service was , lets say $240 given the time and fluids etc. Now Toyota say $180 is all we are going to give you............something has to give

Hopefully they change the filter, and not just drain the oil, refit plug and re-fill

TOYZX wrote:The way of the world now I'm afraid! I'm sure there are still some good ones out there but sadly most will likely give it an oil change, tick all the boxes in ua book and take ya money. Good service is hard to find nowadays especially from a stealership! Maybe we should all start naming and shaming them!

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I totally agree... If they only drop the oil and change the filter (but how would you know?), anyone with the slightest mechanical knowledge and a pen to tick the boxes could do a major service just as well as a dealer!

Maybe there's an opportunity for a good reliable mechanic to do servicing in your driveway whilst you watch on. At least you pay an hourly rate for that. No wonder the dealers won't let you into the workshop to check what is going on! I would much prefer to service my own if this is the best you can get from a dealer.

Name and shame......Im up for it

I guess the only way is to look at your service book, mark the items that are due to be replaced.

Inspect the items at pick up, and say to the service guy, " whats the chances of your mechanic replacing my fuel filter and having these line match up perfectly"
Alternatively, if it is a new filter, why has it got these lines on it?

That's why with a 'home mechanic' you check what needs replacement, then hire a mechanic to change them out in your driveway This way you buy the replacement bits and you need not pay full price from the dealer... Shop around to get the best, like buying the top engine oil and not paying the dealer price for 'Toyota oil' which is actually the cheapest they can get and rebadged to make it look like the 'real thing'. My last capped dealer service on my aurion the dealer used Valvoline engine armour and put a 'Toyota oil' sticker on the windscreen. I bet I could buy that oil from super crap for less than what Toyota charge for 'genuine Toyota oil'!

As you suggest:
Inspect the items at pick up, and say to the service guy, " whats the chances of your mechanic replacing my fuel filter and having these line match up perfectly"
Alternatively, if it is a new filter, why has it got these lines on it?

Alternative is to use your smartphone to take a 'before' picture of markings on parts and then compare the 'after' service placement, that way you know precisely what was changed. It would be difficult if not impossible to replace a part and get the markings aligned.

Just in regards to capped price servicing, I'm fairly sure that the customer pays the capped amount and Toyota puts in the rest. The dealership ends up being paid in full so there should be no need to skip any log book items.

They shouldn't skip anything regardless of how much they are paid and by whom. It is fraud to take money for a service not provided!

My last service was the 40,000 km where they (supposedly) check the valve clearances. I asked afterwards if the clearances were in spec or needed adjusting and the clerk said, "they were fine and didn't need adjusting."
...Maybe. I'm assuming they actually pulled the rocker cover off to check judging by the fact that they failed to reconnect the breather pipe... I doubt they took it for the test drive though because if they had they would've noticed the strange sucking noise the disconnected pipe made. They did rotate the tyres - but didn't rebalance the front wheels as prescribed as part of the service because the drive home was a noisy, sucking, vibrating affair... I'm not surprised; this was a major service and I got a text by 9:30 am telling me it was complete and I could pick it up. It'd take a crack team to do all that in just over an hour. Of course I took it back and spoke to the service manager who offered to throw in a free wheel alignment at the next service to make up for the shoddy work.

I reckon they should take photos on an iPad at each critical step of a service to show the customer that they actually did what was required. It would only take a few extra seconds and would keep us sceptical types appeased.

I don't mind naming Bendigo Toyota in Victoria as one of these dodgy dealers who just don't care about the quality of their work and the safety of their customers. I checked their work after a safety recall to fit a tail shaft loop and found that they had created another serious safety issue.

Techo1 wrote:I don't mind naming Bendigo Toyota in Victoria as one of these dodgy dealers who just don't care about the quality of their work and the safety of their customers. I checked their work after a safety recall to fit a tail shaft loop and found that they had created another serious safety issue.

Just ask them for a print out of the clearances, if they went to the trouble they will have it recorded on the system, they will probably say they did an acoustic check....meaning nothing, the valves are checked for diminishing clearance, it will be quieter if anything if there is a problem developing.

It's probably a good thing that they did not try to adjust the valve clearances because there is a very good chance that they would not have done it properly. It is not a job that can be in an hour or so and requires some precision measurement which the average dealership mechanic is not good at.

Just a warning fellas . Anyone who gets too carried away with the name and shame will have there posts deleted. If it turns personal or slanderous, Nhn can't take the chance of some clown ( on either side of the fence) being responsible for some other clown taking legal action. So please keep it reasonable and note this thread is being monitored.

the mod team.

Good point.
And also, just for balance, I have had good service from some of the places mentioned - notably Bendigo and Maroochydore - when calling in while on the road to get something fixed. We travel remotely about six months of the year and have had our Hilux serviced at dealerships all over the country in the past decade. Have to say I have not had problems.
Cheers