Horrendous experience at Toyota dealership service center

I got it at Savannah Toyota, but ended up having a horrendous experience with them as well. I think I mentioned above that they tried to tell me I needed a new cabin air filter that I had replaced myself the morning that the battery went out. I didn’t tell him this initially and asked to confirm that this was their diagnosis and that it did not come from the other shop, he said it was from them and that it was really dirty. I said that was quite strange since it had just been replaced, he asked how long ago and when I answered he said “I don’t know, I saw it myself and it was dirty.”. I should’ve towed my car from them immediately after that lie, but I thought I would be safe with the battery, AC belt and water pump. It is far from a new car and they are reasonable repairs based on its age.

Imagine my surprise that the AC was blowing hot air when I went to pick it up. I was told that it was merely a coincidence, that though the diagnostic report from them and the other Toyota dealership both showed that the AC system had no leaks, suddenly one appeared between when they repaired my car and when I picked it up.

I was told by this person that they found a leak, would fill up the Freon but it likely wouldn’t last two weeks. He said he wasn’t sure on the total, they did the repair on a Camry recently that was around $2,000 and he would email me an estimate. I had just spent $3,000 for a new hybrid battery, water pump, and AC belt. This was a stretch for me that I would not have made had I known the car required another $2,000 of work. I told him that it was totally unacceptable and asked to speak to a manager and started recording the conversations on my phone in order to protect myself. The story was completely different of course. He said that they actually didn’t find a leak but did find dye in the system that showed someone was searching for a leak at some point. They charged the system and the AC worked for two days. Today it is back to blowing hot air. Next week summer temperatures will start reaching the 100’s. I don’t have the resources to fix it.

So did they lie about the initial diagnosis and ignore a leak/tamper with the report so that they could get $3,000 from me that I wouldn’t have otherwise spent? But two different reports from two different dealerships said there were no leaks... Did they damage my vehicle while doing repairs and try to pass off the symptoms as an absurd coincidence to avoid taking responsibility? Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am not an aggressive person, I am not confrontational and under any normal or reasonable circumstances I would not spend my energy complaining in this way, but these experiences are sad and disturbing and genuinely detrimental to Toyota as they certainly seem to be systemic within their dealerships. I am at a loss for what to do here.

So far Toyota has only put me back in touch with the customer service at the original dealership where all of this nonsense began, it doesn’t seem like they have any intention of going forward with it.

Savannah Toyota, but I had a terrible experience with them as

 

I do realize this. But there wasn’t a leak before they touched it.

 

Jon, I am happy to know there’s at least one good dealership in our area!

I’m happ

 

There is a noise coming from the AC that wasn’t there before- it sounds like a box fan would if there were debris trapped in it. Anyone know what this might be?