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Toyota Dealer
The basic warranty is almost up on my 07 Tacoma so I dropped it off at the dealer to fix a front end rattle and a horrendous brake squeal (front disk, rear drum). The Service Adviser calls me:
SA: Your brakes need a front and rear adjustment for $95.
Me: Isn't that covered by warranty?
SA: No, it's a wear item
Me: So, how exactly do you adjust the front brakes?
SA: We adjust the calipers
Me: There is no adjustment on calipers
SA: Just a sec.... (muffled conversation)... OK, we lube the calipers and adjust the drum brakes.
Me: If the rear brakes need adjusting then maybe the self-adjusters aren't working. That should be covered by warranty.
SA: No, that's not covered by warranty. The brakes need adjustment every 5k miles
Me: If they need adjusting every 5k miles why isn't that in the maintenance schedule?
SA: There are a lot of things that aren't in the maintenance schedule
Me: If it's not in the maintenance schedule it should be covered by warranty.
SA: Wear items aren't covered by the warranty
Me: Self adjusters aren't wear items
SA: Well, they aren't covered
Me: Skip the brakes. What about the front end rattle?
SA: That's coming from an exhaust access panel that came loose. We can fix that with isolation tape.
Me: There's a panel that's held on with tape? Seems it should be screwed down.
SA: Nope, it's taped
Very confidence inspiring...
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Toyota Dealer
I wouldn't call it a lemon. The brakes are easy to fix, and whatever they taped up did stop the rattle. These are the only problems that have happened in 35k miles, but since it was still under warranty it seemed easier to let the dealer fix it, especially since the dealer is 200 feet from my place of work.
The BS that these guys feed people can be very interesting.
Another guy at work told me an interesting story about this particular dealer. He took his Toyota in for a radiator problem. The dealer told him they replace all the Toyota radiators with Mac brand radiators because they are better.
It turns out the owner of the dealership also has a financial interest in Mac radiator.
Hmmm, I wonder if Toyota knows about that.
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Toyota Dealer
I'm sure Toyota makes lemons, but in this case it's a lot easier and faster to just fix it myself. It's real easy to pull a drum, clean the brake dust out and lube the backing plate contact points. Maybe 15 minutes a wheel and a whole lot less frustration than dealing with bureaucrats.
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Toyota Dealer
When I was doing brakes in dry country (SW) it rarely if ever was a problem. I've noticed here in wet country (NW) that when vehicles sit for a week or two it can be a problem but this truck gets driven almost daily. There's no doubt that a good cleaning and lubing of caliper slides and backing plates will fix it up.
Toyota had a problem for awhile with their engines sludging up worse than most other manufacturers, though that was a few years ago. Not sure exactly what the fix was for that, other than maybe better oil.
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KT, it wasn't my radiators so I'm keeping my nose out of it.
Brian, mud puddles? Yeesh. Next time they warp you might consider changing them out with an aftermarket slotted rotor that runs cooler.
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