Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

[rhojef Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close rhojef]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

Mine went in for its second attempt , different dealer, yesterday.
Told them of the problems with the first one and was assured that it would all be ok.
Dropped it off first thing in the morning. Get a phonecall at 1.00," um we may not get the job finished today, you probably wont have a car tonight".
WRONG. 2 calls and 3hrs later " we can put the bullbar back on overnight to make the car driveable but we need it back in the morning".
Ok not a problem, i am only working 2 minutes away.
Picked it up at lunchtime. No time to look at it except to note that the clearances around the bar look pretty good.
Got home and had a good look.
Winch hook is missing ?, Negative cable off the winch casing is jammed between the winch and cradle, To get the winch to fit in the cradle they have flogged the crap out of the braces on the cradle, To get the bull bar to line up they have flogged the crap out of the new crash cans and were it connects to the chassis. Full of dints and paint is missing.
Back tomorrow for another go.

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

Mine went in for its second attempt , different dealer, yesterday.
Told them of the problems with the first one and was assured that it would all be ok.
Dropped it off first thing in the morning. Get a phonecall at 1.00," um we may not get the job finished today, you probably wont have a car tonight".
WRONG. 2 calls and 3hrs later " we can put the bullbar back on overnight to make the car driveable but we need it back in the morning".
Ok not a problem, i am only working 2 minutes away.
Picked it up at lunchtime. No time to look at it except to note that the clearances around the bar look pretty good.
Got home and had a good look.
Winch hook is missing ?, Negative cable off the winch casing is jammed between the winch and cradle, To get the winch to fit in the cradle they have flogged the crap out of the braces on the cradle, To get the bull bar to line up they have flogged the crap out of the new crash cans and were it connects to the chassis. Full of dints and paint is missing.
Back tomorrow for another go.

Tell the pricks to take the bashed bits off and replace them with new parts! It should not be this bloody hard. Jesus this recall has been a bloody disaster, with more Toyota dealers getting a shite name for them selves for their lack of skill and quality control. :twisted:

[HGMonaro Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close HGMonaro]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

evertime I open this thread I put off taking mine back!

[Bear Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bear]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

When I got mine back, both the inner guards were loose and protruding beyond the bar and the bar gap was not as even as it had been. Took it back in today; they found the head of a mounting screw (one of the minor ones) or two snapped off; reckon I must have hit something and snapped them, which I highly doubt - but how do you prove it. They did an "adjustment" but now the gap on the bar is between 18 and 24 mm (depending where you measure) and the inner guards, although in place, do not seem snug as they were. I will have to take it back to them for another look.
Cheers Bear

[rhojef Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close rhojef]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

Mine went in for its second attempt , different dealer, yesterday.
Told them of the problems with the first one and was assured that it would all be ok.
Dropped it off first thing in the morning. Get a phonecall at 1.00," um we may not get the job finished today, you probably wont have a car tonight".
WRONG. 2 calls and 3hrs later " we can put the bullbar back on overnight to make the car driveable but we need it back in the morning".
Ok not a problem, i am only working 2 minutes away.
Picked it up at lunchtime. No time to look at it except to note that the clearances around the bar look pretty good.
Got home and had a good look.
Winch hook is missing ?, Negative cable off the winch casing is jammed between the winch and cradle, To get the winch to fit in the cradle they have flogged the crap out of the braces on the cradle, To get the bull bar to line up they have flogged the crap out of the new crash cans and were it connects to the chassis. Full of dints and paint is missing.
Back tomorrow for another go.

Tell the pricks to take the bashed bits off and replace them with new parts! It should not be this bloody hard. Jesus this recall has been a bloody disaster, with more Toyota dealers getting a shite name for them selves for their lack of skill and quality control. :twisted:

Took it back this morning.
First words out of the managers mouth, " Are you sure it had a hook on the winch". After a few deep breaths i said " yes im sure", Next gem was " sometimes we have to hit things with hammers to make them fit.
Anyway left it there for the 3rd day running. Got it back at lunch time.
Neg cable fixed, winch hook found and back on, Hammer marks sanded and repainted.
Probably all i could expect. And another reason i refuse to use toyota dealer service centres for any work i have to pay for.

Found the

[voyager4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close voyager4x4]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

Booked in for this Friday - hopfully will avoid the problems others have had (but think I will take lots of photos just in case)!!!
Will let you know how it goes....
Jeff

Just picked my car up after the bull bar mod. Was very relieved to have it fitted perfectly with no damage to any fittings! Walked around the car to check the other small repair that the body shop had and, yep, it was a total stuff up! :evil:
Immediatly checked with the workshop manager and he agreed so it is booked back in again next week.
Oh well - thought it was too good to be true....

[Customkid Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Customkid]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

I have the Sovereign bull bar but it's currently not attached to the car. I was thinking about putting it back on and then received the letter from toyota. I though oh well if they're recalling they can refit it but Geez I'm not sure I want to get mine fixed after reading these posts.

So I rang Adelaides biggest toyota dealer, the one with the 3 story show room on west terrace and tell the service clerk/manager(I don't know) I've got a genuine bar but not fitted. I'm due for a service, can you also refit the new kit and bar if I bring it back in, free of charge as per the letter?

The rude prick had attitude from the word go. No was his answer we can give you the new kit but we'll charge you to fit it was his reply. So the 2.5 hrs won't be free despite the letter? I asked. He said yes you'll be paying for it, we replace one bracket at a time and don't have to remove the whole bar was his answer. This seems odd to me?? Does anyone know if this is correct?? Reading other posts why would they be cutting wires as in other posts if there is no need to remove the bar and just replace brackets?

Now I've been servicing my car here for a while, they're always under the pump and usually a pack of ar$3holes at the best of times re: attitude, so after telling him that I said I'll take it to another dealer to which he said fine and hung up.

As this dealer is part of a chain in Adelaide I phoned the dealer (part of same group) I originally bought the car from and explained the situation. He said no worries, we can fit it for free, we have to take it off anyway was the answer! Any missing parts from your kit you'll have to pay for but other than that its all good to go. To me that is what service is about and a genuine reason to return. Totally different answer from the first prick despite being part of the same group. The only reason I used the other dealer was the close proximity to my house and work roughly 5kms. From now on though the can get f*&ked and I'm sure given the pressure they're always under they would have f*&ked it up.

Why the hell toyota designed a bar so difficult to fit is beyond me. Even before the recall I'd heard horror stories about tech completely screwing the installs. Anyway I'll keep you informed of the outcome.

[MDSimpson Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDSimpson]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

So, had my 70k service and the bar recall attended to yesterday.
My dealer did a great job on the bar, considering I bought mine really cheap 2nd hand and fitted it myself. Bought a new fitting kit, but misaligned it sideways by about 8mm... But during the recall, they removed and realigned it, lifted the front just that little bit extra too, those little things that were on my 'to-do' list. Nice shiny new mounts to boot..

What was NOT on my to-do list, however, was to break the mounts for my Blitz 240's. Got home late last night after picking it, didn't use the spots until not far from home, they were all over the place, I thought, cr@p, now I have to realign them, but one was VERY loose. Tried to tighten this this arvo, only to find the bolt head spins in the socket.

Question, before I go rip the head off someone at my dealership, is there an easy way to fix this?? I'd prefer not to have to go through all the ...... to have them 'fix' it...


Actually, come to think of it, I'll have to check my UHF aerial cable, it runs THROUGH the bar..........

[grande1810 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grande1810]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

So, had my 70k service and the bar recall attended to yesterday.
My dealer did a great job on the bar, considering I bought mine really cheap 2nd hand and fitted it myself. Bought a new fitting kit, but misaligned it sideways by about 8mm... But during the recall, they removed and realigned it, lifted the front just that little bit extra too, those little things that were on my 'to-do' list. Nice shiny new mounts to boot..

What was NOT on my to-do list, however, was to break the mounts for my Blitz 240's. Got home late last night after picking it, didn't use the spots until not far from home, they were all over the place, I thought, cr@p, now I have to realign them, but one was VERY loose. Tried to tighten this this arvo, only to find the bolt head spins in the socket.

Question, before I go rip the head off someone at my dealership, is there an easy way to fix this?? I'd prefer not to have to go through all the ...... to have them 'fix' it...


Actually, come to think of it, I'll have to check my UHF aerial cable, it runs THROUGH the bar..........

I had the recall done last Friday @ Toyota Coffs Harbour & they misaligned it by 10mm, had to take it back on Wednesday to get it fixed, second time all good, and they wonder why most of us dont use "TOYOTA" for regular servicing..

[BigDog816 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BigDog816]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

Could someone please PM me the mounting instructions. Mine was done last week, picked it up when it was dark and didn't notice that one side has a 15mm gap and the other side is pressing against the guard. and the whole thing looks like it's off centre. Would like the ammo ready when I go in to get it sorted.

Any help is much appreciated.

[404pug Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 404pug]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

Finally got the time to have a fiddle to fix up the spacing of the bullbar after the shody work done by the dealer in fitting the new brackets [see post early in this thread].Hmm..... I loosened the 4 bolts under the plastic over rider...... no movement. I took 1 or 2 bolts right out to see how much movement the [square!] holes allowed. Not much. I had to losen most of the bolts on the 'wings' to get any movement at all. I did succeed in increasing the space from the bar to the guards from 7mm to 10 or 11mm but there was no way there was any more movement here. It was lined up pretty well by the dealer and I haven't managed to stuff this up! To get anymore I suspect that all bolts attaching the bar to the mounting bracket and the mounting bracket to the chassis will have to be loosened and even then I suspect that no more than a mm or 2 will be available. I don't think that 15mm is achievable with these brackets so maybe they are designed to fit closer than the old ones because the bar does appear to move less than it did with the old brackets [and yes I know it is really the body moving] but others have also observed this.
At the same time I tightened all bolts having previously replaced all the missing ones they left off.Does anyone actually have 15mm between the bar and the side of the guards with the new brackets? Neil :?

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

Received my letter today and I don't even have a sovereign bullbar...

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

Received my letter today and I don't even have a sovereign bullbar...

Maybe you got my letter by accident?

[willykj Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close willykj]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

Had my 80K service done yesterday & my bar recall. Very happy with the Dealer - the bull bar alignment is very good. Measured the spacing & it is 10mm.

[Lesa Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Lesa]

Re: Sovereign Bar Mount Recall?

Received letter from Toyota today which states - "On a range of Prado 120 series that are fitted with Toyota genuine accessory alloy bull bar, especially if they operate for long periods in harsh conditions such as corrugated roads, the bull bas mounting design can allow excessive load to be applied to the bull bas brackets that supports the bull bar. This excessive load may result in these brackets fracturing. Please be assured that this customer service exercise has been undertaken purely as a preventative measure to ensure ongoing customer satisfaction.
Our records indicate that your toyota prado was manufactured within the range of vehicles that may require restification if equipped with a genuine accessory alloy bull bar. Accordingly we kindly request that you contact your Toyota dealer and schedule an appointment to have the bull bar mounting brackets replaced.
Rectification is free of charge. Labour time is approx 2.5hrs."

Must involve a lot of vehicles because they also sent a letter covering my previous 2004 DFD which I sold 3 years ago.