So I am trying to get to the bottom of this Trunk creaking which is getting louder as time goes on (thread here). The dealership is saying they need to keep it overnight for diagnosis and any possible repairs that come up. Now according to here it says that in the event of "extensive diagnosis" a loaner car would be allowed. However the service guy was saying to me that they'll never give a loaner car unless there is a safety issue and the car needs to get off the road. I'm in a tough spot because I do need to use my car everyday for my livelihood. What is peoples' experience in this situation?
This is an issue with this dealership. Suggest you find another. My dealer supplies a loaner for ANY service one doesn’t want to wait for.
I think it all depends on the dealers. My dealer usually gives me a free rental car for any extended repair service. That being said, there was a thread discussing "diagnosis" not being a part of warranty repair according to Toyota policy. Thus, strictly speaking, you are not covered by the warranty while the car is being diagnosed.
Toyota’s Transportation Assistance Policy, part of the warranty terms, is explained on page 9 of the Warranty & Maintenance Guide (PDF), and the relevant instructions for dealers are in Policy 5.18 in the Toyota Warranty Policy & Procedures Manual (available by subscription to techinfo.toyota.com). Neither document defines “extensive diagnosis,” but the meaning seems clear. If the car has a defect covered under the warranty, and you bring it to the dealer at a reasonable time of the morning, but they can’t diagnose it the same day and must keep it overnight, then you’re entitled to the benefit, unless an exception applies. I think the dealer’s representative may be confusing this basic rule with the “dealer or owner scheduling conflicts” exception stated in the Guide. As Policy 5.18 explains: “TMS [Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.] will not reimburse dealers for providing loaner vehicles due to scheduling conflicts or the unavailability of qualified technicians. Scheduling conflicts include scheduling service visits late in the afternoon when service will not be performed until the next workday (unless the vehicle is inoperative or unsafe to operate due to a warrantable condition). The dealer or the customer is responsible for this expense [...]” (emphasis added). If a dealer won’t honor the warranty, in this or any other respect, the Warranty & Maintenance Guide explains what to do on pages 5–6. If the problem isn’t resolved by a conversation with a manager at the dealer or a call to the Toyota Customer Experience Center, then you may find DCA’s page with information about the California Dispute Settlement Program helpful.
All good-to-know information (even if I'm not able to get the loaner car), so thanks! Could you suggest rebuttals to the following claims the service guy is putting forward to avoid giving the loaner car: 1. The creaking may not be a 'warrantable' condition as they have not identified the source of it. He says the source may be from diver mistreatment of the car and before they find out they can not say that it is something that will be covered under warranty (highly likely it will be warrantable, since it's a creaking). 2. He says Toyota Pasadena doesn't have any loaner cars so I shouldn't bother trying to get one.
You’re most welcome. That’s the Catch-22 of warranty repairs. If the dealer is willing to examine the car without charging you, I’d suggest that you let them do so, even if it means paying for your own rental car for a day or two. As soon as it’s clear that the repairs will be covered under the warranty, if the other conditions have been met, ask the dealer again for transportation assistance, described in Policy 5.18 as “a loaner vehicle or alternative transportation (i.e., ride share, cab fare, bus fare).” If they are unable or unwilling to provide it, then make a claim for reimbursement. That’s the dealer’s choice, but it doesn’t relieve them or Toyota of the responsibility to provide the transportation benefit of the warranty, if you are entitled to it. They can lend you a Toyota Rent a Car vehicle, or make arrangements with an outside rental agency, though Policy 5.18 does say they must get approval from Toyota if the loaner isn’t a Toyota product. It need not be the same model as yours, though.
About three years ago my 2009 Gen II suffered the dreaded CombinationDisplay failure, so I took it to the local dealer and they said, "OK, it's under (extended) warranty, so yes, we'll fix it for you!", and when I said, "OK, when can I drop it off, and how long will it take?" I was told that they wouldn't let me drive it away, since it was a safety issue (no speedometer display), however they would let me have a "loaner", so they loaned me a brand new Camry, which was very nice, although to be honest I think I preferred driving my Prius. Anyway just at that time, the replacement CombinationDisplay was a much sought-after item and it took nearly 3 weeks for them to get the part, but eventually I got my Prius back, no charge for the repair or for the loaner. Perhaps that's why I've been using that particular dealership for the past thirty or so years, but as they say, YMMV! Good luck!
A so-called extended warranty is not a warranty. It is not an extension of the original factory warranty. It is a service contract.* If the contract says that you get a loaner (read that fine print), great. If not, maybe the dealership offers a loaner as a way to boost customer relations. Or not. *Only the lying finance guy calls it an extended warranty. The paperwork itself does not. The contract offered by Toyota Financial Services calls it a Vehicle Service Agreement (VSA). It does not call it a warranty, 'because it isn't.
That’s true, in general, and—importantly for this thread—the benefits, exclusions, and procedures for such coverage, whether from TFS or a third party, may be quite different from those of the original warranty. In the situation @WilDavis kindly described, however, Toyota actually did extend the original warranty for the combination meter because there were so many failures. Warranty Enhancement ZTV (PDF) was discussed in this previous thread and several others.
Why does this seem to be so appropriate right now?? (…IMNSHO one of the very best (…and funniest) pieces of dialogue ever written! )
So I ended up calling the Toyota Customer Experience number. They weren't very helpful. They just said well if the Dealership doesn't have loaners then that's between you and the dealership. I was like what??? So I'm in a bit of a bind now no one wants to help. Basically I dropped my car off to the dealership at 10am today and the guy called me back at 5pm saying "yeah we couldn't reproduce the noise issue" when I clearly gave instructions on when it occurs. He said they're going to need to keep it overnight. Who knows when it will get done. Wth??!
Well they called me back and said they'll authorize a one day rental for free as a courtesy to me. But not more. They said that they hear the creaking and on speaking among themselves, decided that they need to tear down the entire body to get to the root of where the creaking is coming from. That could take several days and they don't know how long exactly it would take. I'm currently on a mission to get someone to acknowledge that the transportation assistance part of the warranty is not being honored here. Anyone with experience in this area please let me know!
