From o2 sensor to engine replacement in 10 days?

@padroo

I don't use facebook, but I'm sure I can reactivate my account.

@Prodigyplace

There are a few news stations I can contact, but no on in my area will be surprised by this, and I doubt it would be considered newsworthy. I wouldn't get a refund, I'd get on Talkback 16!

 

I'm sure everyone will be astonished to learn that Corporate has failed to meet the expectation set with me regarding their return call. We know that the dealerships stands by their misdiagnosis, that I opted to skip contacting my regional office, and instead went straight to corporate. Their initial lack of action and current lack of response leads me to believe that they are unlikely to acknowledge me or my recent experience with two authorized Toyota dealership service departments. Is it a waste of time to contact them again and follow up on their potential decision? Or should I attempt to contact someone in a higher position?

Expecting an answer of "no" isn't the same as receiving it. My written account is still in the editing stage (it's currently 11 pages), and I want the conclusion before I make it public.

 

I can make the time, but the effort required eventually won't be worth the sum in question. I know I have a great case, but unless a lawyer is willing to take this case pro bono, we won't obtain one. The sum paid is an astronomical amount for a sensor replacement, but not enough to justify paying an attorney's retainer. I know that pursuing this on principle alone would be enough, but if I had the funds for that, then I wouldn't be driving an 11 year old car. For me, this isn't just financial. The precariousness state my vehicle was in when they returned my keys with the reassurance that it was safe to drive is egregious. They exponentially exacerbated the risk of an accident that would result in serious injuries or fatalities, twice. There isn't a sum that can be thrown my way that will every make up for that. The negligence, willful or not, in not test driving the car after the work was complete, came with a high emotional price that cannot be repaid. But that portion of this debacle is moot. The fact is that test driving the vehicle would have determined the defectiveness of the sensor or it's installation, doesn't matter which. At that point, I would have obtained one from their parts department (at twice the cost), and paid for the labor again. An expensive lesson, for sure, but one that would have maintained the stability and dependability of the car.

 

I will take the steps to follow up with them. The written account is being edited due to it's length. I just started typing what I could remember, and I'm going to have to choose from the myriad of car related events that have occurred in the last two months.

 

I called corporate again and was told that an escalated case was created, is being investigated, and the team leader assigned to my case had left for the day (convenient), but the man I spoke with offered the promise of a call tomorrow (I see a pattern). Perhaps the written account of my experience will be one or two pages by the time I get called back.

Thank you for the link, A.G. Shapiro might be among the first to receive a copy of my novel.

 

Corporate called me back and she said "I understand you're having engine trouble." Uh, no. I started to explain the situation and the call dropped. I was driving through the mountains, and drove through a small dead zone (1 or 2 minutes without service). A voicemail awaited me with a message to call her back at the corporate phone number without leaving me her extension. I called back and waited on hold for about 15 minutes, the rep who answered put me on hold to see if the supervisor was available and I was told she wasn't. I said I was just speaking with her and have been trying to resolve this matter, which was met with "you waited 20 minutes to call back." I've been on hold for that time. The best that could be done at that point was to ensure I would be called in 1 business day (Monday). I ask the rep if she could put a note in my account, and she said yes. "Good, tell her I'm ready to contact my Attorney General over this, and I'm sick of being brushed off by Toyota, and her not taking the time to review the notes of my case before calling me, more than 24hours after the last time Toyota guaranteed me a next business day phone call, tells me that she has no intention of investigating this case, let alone helping me." I don't think I'm going to get anywhere with them. The case was escalated because the problem was resolved with the solution I had before they started having me pay for the privilege of being put in danger.

It should be noted that I use a hands free device while driving, and do not support driving while being on the phone if you don't have one.

 

Also, drove about 300 miles today and my mpg increased to about 47mpg, keeping in mind that most of that time was spent traveling through the mountains. The battery maintained it's power, the regenerative braking working exactly as it should, and the car accelerated just fine. I did lose power climbing a steep hill close to home, but driving around for a bit restored the charge. The drop in power made me nervous, despite me knowing that happens when you climb hills that steep, but the last two months.. Anyway, I ran techstream to put my mind at ease and this came back. My mechanic cleared the codes when he changed the sensor and the car didn't do anything out of the norm, so I'm not sure what to make of it.

 

That particular area only has a small drop, and there is a large dead zone where I was going, so I pulled into a gas station and waited to speak to her. After that, I headed toward the 30 miles stretch where no one is reachable, via any service. I wasn't worried about missing their call, as I knew I wasn't going to get one. I read about that guy, and I was happy to learn that he existed.

I've a feeling that my A.G. is going to love this.

 

Update: Toyota called back and didn't allow me the opportunity to go over the events that took place. Said that there would be no reimbursement and Toyota was closing my case. I said that's a mistake because two of your authorized dealerships refused to do the repair that I asked them repeatedly to do, and I don't believe it wise to send the message that Toyota now practices having their customers pay them to be placed in danger. She said that if I wanted to pursue it further that I was more than welcome to, but it wouldn't include Toyota. I said, I'm going to contact my attorney general and corporate will be included. She repeated that Toyota wouldn't be involved. I said, you didn't hear me, all 3 components of Toyota involved here will be included. I contacted you about this, and Corporate didn't do so much as encourage them to look at the obvious problem. She said, I'll note your account, I said that will solve nothing.

Also, my mechanic didn't clear the codes like I thought he did. He said he didn't plug in his reader because there were no lights on. I cleared it, turned off the car, waited a few minutes and turned it back on to run the diagnostic again, and it didn't throw the interlock code.