Issue getting my tire fixed via warranty

Hi all,

I am a long time lurker, it was this awesome community that really helped push me to finally get my first Prius earlier this year. At any rate I am having some troubles that I was hoping you all might help me wrap my head around. It is a bit of a long story, I'll try to summarize at the bottom.

Basically, leading up to my first recommended oil change since buying the car I noticed I kept having to put air in one specific tire. So, when I went to the dealer I asked them to take a look at the tire. The folks there told me that there was a slow leak in the side-wall and the tire would need to be replaced. I then asked them how they would do that since I have the platinum tire and wheel warranty through Toyota... they told me that I would need to call them and ask when they opened the next day and that they did not have the right tire in stock anyway. Not exactly what I was expecting, but I called the warranty folks the next day and was told that I needed to take it back to the dealer, have them change the tire, and that they would know how to get in contact with the Toyota Financial Services Warranty folks.

I arranged to stop by the dealer on Monday last week, but when I arrived (after work) they said I would need to leave the car for the next day... I didn't make any arrangements for that since nobody told me it would be a long process... sooo I arranged to come back Wednesday. I arrived Wednesday night, gave them all my information including a pamphlet regarding my warranty to the service advisor despite him insisting he knew which warranty it was and that it was all in the computer. They took the car and gave me a loaner car.

The next day I called the dealership to see what was going on with the car at 11am, and was told that they would call me back. At 11:30am, I received a call and the maintenance technician told me that they could not find the leak. This surprised me since they themselves had been the ones to find the leak the week before, I asked him about that and he replied that he didn't know, just that they couldn't find it. I asked him to try again and let me know the result. I called back at 7pm (I thought they close at 8pm so I wanted to make sure I had enough time to drive there to pick it up) and was told they would call me back. They called be back at 7:30pm and told me that the warranty place was now closed and that they would contact them the next day (Friday). I asked if that means they found the leak, and the person I spoke to (not the maintenance technician) said they didn't know, that they were just told that they would need to wait until the next day.

The next day I received a call at 10:30am from the maintenance technician who told me that my warranty didn't cover tires. I wasn't sure how to reply... but I said that the warranty (the Toyota Platinum Tire and Wheel Warranty) had tire in the name, and that I was pretty sure from speaking with them on the phone that they cover tires. He asked me for their phone number so I looked it up online and gave it to him. He called me back at 3:30pm and said that the car was done and that I could pick it up that night.

So, here is where the issue arrises that I was hoping to get some advice on. I went to pick up the car and all seemed well, but after I went out to get in it I took a look at the wheel and found that there were some scratches on the rim, that the rim center cap was missing, that the valve cap was missing, that there was some sort of white goo all over the rim especially around the scratched area, and finally that the new tire was visibly different from all the other tires. I brought this up with the folks inside and showed them a couple pictures I had just taken (attached) and they said to wait a few minutes. Then my friend who came with me said that there was someone out by the car so I went out there and the guy had put on the center cap and a valve cap. I asked him about the tire and the scratches and he said I would need to call monday to speak to the service manager who he was sure would take care of it. I called yesterday and was given the service manager's cell phone and made an appointment to see him tonight after work.

I guess what I am wondering is what I should realistically expect to be done about the tire and rim? I haven't really had much experience with car dealers in the past. I obviously don't want to be taken advantage of and these last couple days coming out to my car and seeing the scratches and the weird-looking tire has not been the greatest feeling.

Some info:

The new tire has printed on it: Bridgestone Turanza EL400 02 - P215/45R17 87W M+S - EL4PJZ
The old tires have printed on it: Bridgestone Turanza EL400 02 - P215/45R17 87V - EL4PAZ

As I said the tires are visibly different, and to be honest the rim looks visibly different from the old rim from what I can remember and the pictures I have... I cannot be 100% sure but there are a bunch of small things like missing rub marks on the very outside edge of the rim that were there when I bought the car, the center-inside of the rim has a orange rust color to it that the other rims don't have, and there are very small black flakes you can see when you look closely on some parts of the rim that I don't remember being there and that are not on the other rims.

Any advice, comment, or insight would be much appreciated!

Pictures:

 

Thanks for your replies! They definitely help, I felt like I was being pedantic before but the perspective of others not in the situation has emboldened me. I'll post an update with what happens, thanks again.

 

I'm not sure what you mean, (I tried to paste the link but do not meet the eligibility requirements to do so, however if you google "toyota platinum tire and wheel warranty" the first link should be the one) is the warranty I bought... it clearly states that road hazards are covered. As far as the plug issue, I was told by the warranty people when I called that I should receive a completely new tire under the warranty and that I should not allow anyone to plug my tires.

 

Hi All,

Little update: I went in to the dealership on Wednesday after work. The service manager was in his office but did not come out to see me (he was visibly eating a large sandwich if you can believe it), instead he sent out the assistant service manager... which was the same person who clipped on the wheel cap the night I picked the car up and told me that I needed to speak to the service manager re: the issues with the wheel and rim.

I took your advice and tried to be polite but firm, but I somewhat lost it when he pretended that the wheels were the same. Anyway, they are ordering the correct tire and are going to call me to schedule a time to bring in the car so a third-party vendor can repair the rim.

I called Bridgestone beforehand and they told me that the tires are different speed ratings and that having the wrong tire on there detracts from the handling and braking abilities of the car and is bottom line unsafe. So, I've had to drive my family around over the holiday with bad weather in an unsafe car... so yeah, hasn't been the best situation.

Thanks again for your help and suggestions, I'll leave an update here when it is all resolved.

 

Another update: I dropped the car off last Thursday for them to fix the wheel and swap the tire. The assistant service manager told me it would be done on Friday. Well, true to form it was not done Friday, nor on Saturday which is what I was told on Friday. On Saturday the assistant service manager told me Tuesday. He said that they have to powder coat the wheel and paint it and that the people who do that don't work on the weekend. It is a sign of how much I have come to expect from this place that it did not even surprise me that the beat up 30k mile loaner car's gas light came on 3 minutes after leaving the dealership with it.

This further delay was really just it for me. I finally took the advise of those of you who posted above to contact Toyota directly. I called them this morning and explained everything to them. They told me they will be forwarding it to the customer relations manager at the dealership and the manager for the region. I hope they investigate this place because every time I am in there I get the overwhelming feeling that I am not the exception when it comes to their service. I also called the warranty folks this morning and told them the problems I have been having, their response was that I have to take it up with the dealer - it surprised me that they didn't mind having paid for a more expensive tire that was the wrong one... I guess they make enough money that it doesn't matter or maybe they are used to their own Toyota dealerships cheating them.

I don't care if I have to drive to timbuktu for maintenance from a dealership, after I pick up my car I'll never set foot in this place again.