10 K Service, less than impressed! dealership misery!

I wasn't able to look at my battery until this morning. I had to remove some bracing to be able to look at it.

 

You’ve still got suspected excessive phantom draw though? IIRC you’ve assessed that with a clamp meter so far? Seems like a lot of 5th Gen reporting this; something to get to the bottom of, versus compensating with near-constant charger use.

 

The excessive phantom draw is still there, if intermittent. The battery tested at 29 Ah, from a factory spec of 38 Ah. Apparently that's not enough to trigger a warranty replacement. Nonetheless, it is insufficient to withstand the parasitic drain.

I could see that there's no replacing the original battery because there is a sensor harness attached to it, so installing the 100Ah Li battery is not an option. I may consider wiring it in parallel for extra capacity.

 

You paid them to do that job the first time you bought the cart. It is your right to ask if there are any specific reason by your knowledge that they didn't do the 10k maintenance. Anyone at any job will get fired if they just have both feet up in the air unless your work for congress.

 

I wish dealerships could be more accountable for their service. Years ago, I had a particularly bad experience at a Ford dealer. I saw on the BBB website that they had a good rating, but then I saw that there had been dozens of complaints against them, but most of them had been "settled." I think I know what happened; they offered some sort of compensation in exchange for removing their complaint.

I don't think this type of "damage control" means they are a good dealer in the first place. They call me about once a year to ask if I would come back to consider buying a new vehicle. When I explain to them why I won't go back, detailing the bad treatment I received, they thank me for my feedback, but nothing changes; it's like they ignore all feedback. The next year it's the same thing once again.

 

Maybe 2 decades back was my first experience with a new trend in Service Department tactics. I had an "issue", very specific, wanted it fixed. This was a Honda dealership. I phoned them up, explained what I wanted done, brought it in. About an hour later they call saying: "Yup, that needs doing, come pick it up and we'll make an appointment. There's a $XX charge for our diagnostic...".

I could see them spending 5~10 minutes verifying what I've asked for is warranted, and just getting on with it, but nope.

Oral surgeons are similar: last time 'round, $300, just to get in the effin' door.

I'm a broken record, but:

Put a digital meter (non-clamp style) in series between the neg post and car body, with the car closed up and fully "asleep", and see what milliampere reading you get. Until then you're in the dark on this issue.

 

@Mendel Leisk Do I read you correctly when you write put a digital meter (non-clamp style) in series between the neg post and car body,,i think you mean between the pos post and the car body.
One thing for sure is :Until then you're in the dark on this issue.
Edit sorry I got it wrong my fault you are right about the in series connection
While doing the the test don't wake up the car like opening the door otherwise your meter could go up in smoke

great tutorial

 

Don't do that.

The negative post, by design, connects to the car body, so connnecting anything conductive between the positive terminal and the car body is effectively a short circuit, just like laying something conductive between the two posts.

Edit: see you've revised your post, Whew...

That video is good.

 

yes my error sorry for the confusion I edited my post and added a link to correct my error

 

A step-by-step of what I did to check draw on our 2010, and I think gen 5 would be similar, having the battery in the hatch zone:

1. disconnect negative cable from the car body (you can disconnect either end of this cable, but the end at the body has a convenient eye-lug you can connect a jumper wire to.)
2. connect two fairly long (at least 3 feet) jumper wires, one to the loose end of the neg cable, and one to the positive post. Ensure the neg cable and it's jumper wire are shielded from touching the car body.
3. run the two jumper wires out over the hatch threshold, and down to the floor. Tape them to the floor, a foot or two apart.
4. gently close the hatch on the wires, wait about 20~30 minutes, with all the car doors closed, and fobs nowhere near.
5. hook up a multimeter to the two jumper wires, first in amperage mode (tip from Eric, just in case there's a massive draw), then if nothing budges switch to milliamperes. See what it reads.

 

I don’t get it lol.

 

To add to this discussion. 5k mile service. Got an early oil change added to it.

Large big of tape left on the bottom side of my hood (I figure they put the oil cap there not to lose it). They left oil/greasy streaks on the back seat cushion when they inspected it. Not only unplugged my dashcam but left it that way when they return the car to me. Tried to blame me for a broken fastening clip until I showed the service advisor that there was no way I'd have touched it. And they still didn't fix the issue with the seat cushion to a degree that I am fine with. And while it's not THAT big of a deal, I'm going to add to the fact that they didn't wipe down the little mess they made on and around the oil cap area. And it took forever despite me having an appointment. What should've taken 20-30 minutes tops instead took almost 2 hours.

This is my first dealership service ever and I'm not impressed. Prior to owning this car I had a 2008 sh!tbox that I did a lot of work on myself. Part of the draw of owning a new vehicle was that factory issues like say, a missing or broken clip would be handled without hassle and that I got free oil changes and free basic scheduled maintenance. Some of these guys need to go back to the walmart auto center.

I'm not trying to be THAT GUY but being nice and patient got me my car back in worse condition than had I done it myself. So now I think I'm going to insist that I watch when their tech works on my car.

 

they left a big grease stain on my white leather seat.

 

Just to be contrary, I'm going to praise my local Toyota dealer.

To have my winter tires swapped with summer(I only have one set of wheels), I heard my local Ford dealership had the best price and they're within walking distance of my house. About $70 and a 2hr+ wait later I was done. But a couple days ago I noticed a very slight thump coming from at least one wheel. Took the car to the Toyota dealership(30 miles away) and they recommended to just rebalance the tires since they charge $40 for that but $105 for any diagnostic service. Since I was also pretty sure it was an unbalanced wheel, I was happy to save the $65. Sure enough, three of the wheels were out of balance. Not by much, but enough for me to feel it. Guess where I'm likely going to go to get my tires swapped this fall.

 

Guys, Toyota dealer experience varies greatly from dealer to dealer. I tried several dealers before I settled with West Coast Toyota of Long Beach. Their service department is reliable. Others made various mistakes during service, some that could have resulted in breakdowns, and did questionable work at best.

 

I would get them at a place like Costco, Sam’s or Discount where you get free rotations and balances. Buying a good brand such as Michelin helps as well as they tend to hold balance well.

In most dealerships there is maybe one great mechanic, a couple average and a bunch of rookies. Typically the service adviser provides lost in translation details from the mechanic and is often commission oriented.

No matter what, Toyota dealerships will usually charge book rate regardless of the shortcuts a mechanic may use.

 

Sam's and Costco aren't worth it to me as I won't by enough stuff there to justify the membership(single person in the household), plus the nearest ones are 50 miles from me. Nearest Discount Tire is 130 miles away. Winter tires are already Michelin, but summer tires are the stock Toyos until another brand comes out with a quality alternative.