Potentially Reckless, unethical, incomplete, false and self-serving advice from my Toyota Dealership

Hello. I'm very new here and recently purchased a 2013 Prius. I let my Toyota Service Advisor know that I had incomplete service records and asked the dealership to drain and replace every fluid in the vehicle ( minus the windshield washer fluid and priceless blinker fluid of course) in addition to replacing the spark plugs as this one owner, well cared for ( at least by appearance, inside and out) vehicle had 220,000 miles on it. I also asked them to go through the vehicle throughly and also to let me know of any known issues with the vehicle and advise me of TSB 's and other know issues that I should address to keep the car healthy. After multiple service appointments and thousands of dollars spent, I feel like ( and now know) I've been ripped off by design. I'm disputing the most recent changes with my credit card company. What else should I do? I'd be glad to elaborate on my grievances if anyone is interested in the details. I'm sure I'm not the first one to go through this. I trusted them. I should be able to trust them, they represent TMS USA and they should be ethical and truthful. Thanks in advance and I apologize if I've posted this in the wrong section.

 

No, I didn't. I signed " Amount in Dispute " as directed by my credit card company.

True. Thank you for inquiring. On my first
( of two ) visits.. I previously stated that I asked my service advisor in advise me of any TSB's, 'warranty enhancement' letters and anything else that he would have access to at the dealership level to advise on. Their system revealed that multiple recall updates had not been preformed on this vehicle and these were done. Additionally, he advised that the dealership should do a "de-carbon service" and a "Premium Fuel System Service". He said; that should have you in good shape. I trusted this as I had read limited information that excessive carbon build-up in the intake manifold and EGR System was an issue so I thanked him for addressing the needs of the vehicle. He said that the third generation has a history of head gasket failure and he stated that my vehicle was inspected and showed no signs of any head gasket issues. Two months after said services, my CEL came on and I immediately called my Toyota Service Advisor ( I live about 65 miles from the dealership ).
He advised: Keep driving the vehicle daily because letting it sit could make things worse and cause more fluid pooling and to provide him with the CEL code(s). This ranks up there with horrible and damaging advice from the dealership. * I'd like to state for all reading this and thinking: You should have researched more and known what should have been done to the vehicle maintenance wise and not driven the car with the CEL on. I'd agree IF my mom wasn't hospitalized and in a life threatening situation as I was her caretaker, medical POA and she counted on me being at her bedside daily. So my heart and mind were on my mom and I trusted the Service Advisor.
There are many more issues that were yet to come..

Hello John. I can't thank you enough for your great advice, understanding and kind words. If my mom wasn't hospitalized with life threatening medical conditions and counting on me to be at her bedside daily I would have been able to focus on the car and the dealership much more. It was a very difficult time in our lives; I really didn't need horrible advice and service from my dealership because I didn't have the strength to question or scrutinize anything because my focus was strictly on my mom. Much thanks again.

Hello Kyra. I signed off on the billing for my first ( of two ) service appointments but was wiser as I learned a very painful lesson after I brought the car back in. My mom was extremely ill which distracted me and I trusted. I learned that the dealership didn't address the clogged intake manifold, EGR System and the fuel injectors that they supposedly cleaned looked like miniature pencils completely covered with spiky black carbon pieces. What they charged excessively for didn't clean or address what kills these engines.. and my head gasket failed two months later after told that everything I should have done was done. The dealership suggested a used engine with appropriately 63K miles on it however they stated that there wasn't a way to verify said mileage at all. They wanted $9,500.00 just for the unverified junkyard engine. Crazy.

There's so much to elaborate on! I've responded to several replies on this post, after reading these, please let me know if there's anything else that I can expand on further. Thanks!

 

Thanks bisco!
I've responded to a few inquiries so I'll probably end up duplicating some things. I communicated to my Service Advisor that I wanted to keep this vehicle for a long time and asked him to advise me of the things that causes this vehicle issues if any. The primary issue with my first visit was my Service Advisor stated that they wanted to do a "de-carbon service" and "Premium Fuel System Service" which would take care of the issues he was aware of however their "de-carbon service" didn't touch the clogged air intake and clogged EGR System which I wasn't aware of until a future date. They changed me $247.70 for this "service" $76.98 of that was for a "Fuel Induction Kit ( FIK6613 )". Can I buy this Toyota approved kit at the Toyota Parts Department? I highly doubt it. I pay for all the fluids, spark plugs and said 'cleaning services' which amounts to $1,880.37. Two months later after the dealership dosen't address things that Toyota and their dealerships know about such as: TSB's and warranty enhancement letters, etc. my CEL comes on and my Service Advisor advises me to keep driving the car daily as to: keep fluids from pooling. My mom was near death and the dealership was 65 miles away. So my heart and mind were on my mom. I did as he suggested and brought my Prius in and was told that things had really progressed and oil and coolant and engine oil was mixing together throughout the engine and cooling system. Thanks for the devastating advice! Dealership suggested a junkyard engine with about 63K miles for $9,500 for just the cost of the engine that probably has faulty piston rings and a clogged EGR System. Oh, almost forgot, I asked how my EGR and air intake looked before they cleaned them after my first appointment and the Service Advisor says: "We did not remove them to look at them." What??? After what they and Toyota knows about this engine and EGR System, you don't think it's prudent and ethical advice to make me aware of the sticky EGR and carbon collecting intake manifold, suggest inspecting these because they probably need to be replaced? I had thought that they cleaned them both with their other cleaning processes which they told me: "There is not a Toyota approved way to clean the EGR or cooler." What?? So recommend OR Highly recommend removing and replacing them! Are you kidding me? So charge me over $1,880 while not addressing the important stuff just to string me along for the big set up which is engine failure and a $9,500 junkyard engine not to mention labor, fluids, etc. I feel like they should be accountable for their managerial malpractice and cover the repairs or at least pitch in a decent amount but, no way, they don't care. After discussions about this with the Service Manager he becomes angry and threatens to charge me more which he does and tacks on crazy things like a $200 "Engine Handling" charge and more! What the what??

 

Hello kenmce. I agree 100% Before I wrote a book about what happened to me I wanted to see if anyone cared. I'm new here. I've responded to many inquiries so check those out and please let me know if there's any I'm not covering that hasn't been said. Thank you.

Hello JC91006. For most, it seems that they trust Toyota vehicles to easily surpass 220k. So many "Toyota's are bulletproof" thinkers out there. I imagine you've heard of this before. I'm fairly familiar with Toyota and Lexus products as I've owned probably a couple of dozen of them in my 59 years of living but I wasn't aware of all of these various issues, catastrophic issues with the Prius. I've been educated the hard way on this car at a very difficult time in my life.

I'm not sure if this question is for me?
In addition to the things that you mentioned, I let my Service Advisor know that I wanted to preserve this vehicle for the long haul and to Advise me of any known issues to keep the engine healthy. I'd say that he failed at that.

I completely agree with you. It seems that there are a lot of great and helpful people here.. However, there's this thing called life and our loved ones can get critically ill which is what happened in my case. My mom's health took a terrible turn for the worse this year when I purchased the Prius because I was doing a lot of driving to see her daily, I needed a fuel efficient vehicle and thought that making the choice of a Toyota Prius was a wise one. I learned differently the hard way. I would have absolutely dug in more reguarding the car had my mom not needed my help almost daily. There was another member that suggested contacting Toyota Corporate and Dealership Owner(s) to report my experience. That was kinda what I was looking for but heard a lot of other great things.

Bank of America has amazing fraud and disputed charge departments. It's the only card that I use online also. They told me that they actually get a lot of calls like mine because as they put it: Repair facilities will hold customers cars hostage and force them to sign or they won't give their cars back to them. They asked me: Did they give you an estimate of all charges before they started work on your car and did you sign it? The answers are: No and No. They asked if I had some of the other things that I've mentioned here in writing or in text and I answered: Yes. They said: You have a very good case. At this time the charges are reversed. Full disclosure, I am a BAC stockholder. Not that I own much.

 

Maker of the FJ!
Not a bad vehicle except for the junk Kobe Steel metal that was used for the frame.

Well, this seems to have escalated to the point of grand larceny, State of New York style.
My charges:
Oil : $56.47
Coolant flush: $280.55
Hybrid cooling system: $307.93
Brake fluid: $220.90
Transmission fluid: $259.89
Spark plugs: $266.27
Failed fuel system service: $247.79
Fuel System Service with octane boost (lol): $299.95
A couple of bulbs (not headlamp): $40.45

Yes, head gasket failure.

Yes! And then it escalated from the stealership to the pirateship! Lol

 

Absolutely, that was my thinking. Sure newer hybrids look great and have tons of bells and whistles that are just future expenses and they're extremely expensive in comparison. . I highly recommend Hybrid Pitstop. I purchased their "Gold" version which is completely Remanufactured and rebuilt, electrosonic cleaning, new fuel rail and refurbished fuel injectors, NEW REVISED 2015 PISTONS AND RINGS, I ordered mine with a NEW EGR SYSTEM AND WATER PUMP already installed. The lower half is painted black. Looks like a brand new engine. Jaws dropped at the dealership when it delivered. Great company to deal with! I'll be doing a review for them soon. With freight from L.A. to Missouri, I believe my total cost was $3,600. If you don't get the new pistons and rings, I think that you're just going to end up with oil consumption issues, clogged EGR System and intake.. then the head gasket goes.. if I'm not mistaken??