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Hi All,
Well, I thought I would tell you of my saga - which is why you don’t buy an ex-mining Prado OR service at a Toyota Dealership !!
I picked up my 2010 Prado GX on the 19th April 2013 from the dealership. Did close to 5000km in just over 8 weeks - booked it into Toyota thinking they would know the vehicle best and if there are any issues covered under warranty could take it to the dealer for sorting.
Dropped the car off on Tuesday 18th June 2013 to the Toyota Dealership for the 90,000km handbook service. When I dropped the vehicle off, I requested:
I got a call around midday to advise the results of the safety check were that the car was in “good nick” with a few exceptions. The whirring noise was a wheel bearing, the front and rear pads required changing and the power steering fluid needed flushing. All in all, nothing detrimental. Permission was sought from Novated Lease company and the approval was given in the afternoon. The wheel bearing didn’t arrive in time so I got a call they would need the car the following day. They had also not de-wired the lights.
I hadn’t heard anything the following day, so called them around 3:30pm (Wednesday 19th June) and was advised all mechanical work was completed but the foreman was stumped as to how the lights were wired. They needed the car the following day and was offered a loan vehicle.
Got a call on Thursday 20th June - the light wiring issue had been found and that the cause was corrosion in the Body Control Module and associated wiring harnesses. It was the opinion of the workshop that the vehicle had “taken a swim” or been submerged in water at some stage. I asked for a report and quote for fix and it was $10,800 (Toyota Dealership parts & labour)
Got a call later that afternoon (Thursday 20th) advising that when they moved the car a knocking noise was discovered that sounded like “someone hitting the engine block with a hammer”. They kept the vehicle another day to finalise the report / pictures.
Told the car dealership I bought the car from and they organised a flatbed to take it to another workshop for verification.
On Monday the 24th June, the dealers preferred workshop confirmed the engine knock, the dealer then authorised preferred workshop to remove the engine and investigate the cause. The dealer also gave me a VE Commodore loan vehicle. Dealer was prepared to replace my vehicle given the number of serious issues.
Before they could get me a replacement (about a week after engine removal) the dealers preferred workshop advised engine failure was due to lack of lubrication / oil starvation.
Adrian Carmichael (AIMTech) inspected and provided an official report confirming the cause.
At no stage during the 5000 kilometre (8 week) period my wife and I had possession of the vehicle did we notice:
In other words, apart from the lights being permanently on - we had absolutely no issues with the vehicle.
Toyota dealership did not inform upon initial completion of the service / safety inspection (day 1 & 2) that the knocking noise was evident. It was only discovered on day 3.
Toyota dealership have officially denied causing damage - professional opinion "is that it is highly unlikely the damage to the engine was a result of us conducting a service on the vehicle" they "believe the damage has occurred over a period of time and is not commensurate with the catastrophic failure which would occur if the engine was completely starved of oil. Further to that, the vehicle only travelled 9 kilometres whilst in our case, and that was on the test drive during which the knocking noise manifested and was immediately reported to you"
They continue to lay blame on the vehicle's history - that it could have been cause when vehicle submerged.
Dealers preferred workshop reckons vehicle hasn’t been submerged in his opinion, that it’s been caused by muppet detailers being a bit liberal with high pressure inside the cab... who on earth high pressure the inside of a vehicle.
Nevertheless, I am stuck with a rather expensive paper weight at this moment in time until sorted. Complaint has been logged with consumer protection. Car dealer has said I can have the loan vehicle as long as it takes - obviously they acknowledge the electrical issues lie with them but wont fix the engine as the fault was not pre-existing according to report.
Everyone believes (with the exception of Toyota dealership) Toyota caused it - so I have to follow the bouncing ball which may eventually lead to law courts....
Cheers,
Kevin
Well, I thought I would tell you of my saga - which is why you don’t buy an ex-mining Prado OR service at a Toyota Dealership !!
I picked up my 2010 Prado GX on the 19th April 2013 from the dealership. Did close to 5000km in just over 8 weeks - booked it into Toyota thinking they would know the vehicle best and if there are any issues covered under warranty could take it to the dealer for sorting.
Dropped the car off on Tuesday 18th June 2013 to the Toyota Dealership for the 90,000km handbook service. When I dropped the vehicle off, I requested:
- 90,000km Logbook Service
- Investigation of a “whirring” noise (wheel bearing)
- Rattle in the tail gate (not related to the spare wheel/mount etc.)
- The low/park lights to be de-wired from the ignition on (mining spec vehicle)
- Additional labour for safety check / thorough go over
I got a call around midday to advise the results of the safety check were that the car was in “good nick” with a few exceptions. The whirring noise was a wheel bearing, the front and rear pads required changing and the power steering fluid needed flushing. All in all, nothing detrimental. Permission was sought from Novated Lease company and the approval was given in the afternoon. The wheel bearing didn’t arrive in time so I got a call they would need the car the following day. They had also not de-wired the lights.
I hadn’t heard anything the following day, so called them around 3:30pm (Wednesday 19th June) and was advised all mechanical work was completed but the foreman was stumped as to how the lights were wired. They needed the car the following day and was offered a loan vehicle.
Got a call on Thursday 20th June - the light wiring issue had been found and that the cause was corrosion in the Body Control Module and associated wiring harnesses. It was the opinion of the workshop that the vehicle had “taken a swim” or been submerged in water at some stage. I asked for a report and quote for fix and it was $10,800 (Toyota Dealership parts & labour)
Got a call later that afternoon (Thursday 20th) advising that when they moved the car a knocking noise was discovered that sounded like “someone hitting the engine block with a hammer”. They kept the vehicle another day to finalise the report / pictures.
Told the car dealership I bought the car from and they organised a flatbed to take it to another workshop for verification.
On Monday the 24th June, the dealers preferred workshop confirmed the engine knock, the dealer then authorised preferred workshop to remove the engine and investigate the cause. The dealer also gave me a VE Commodore loan vehicle. Dealer was prepared to replace my vehicle given the number of serious issues.
Before they could get me a replacement (about a week after engine removal) the dealers preferred workshop advised engine failure was due to lack of lubrication / oil starvation.
Adrian Carmichael (AIMTech) inspected and provided an official report confirming the cause.
At no stage during the 5000 kilometre (8 week) period my wife and I had possession of the vehicle did we notice:
- the vehicle low on oil or “consuming oil”
- any warning lights illuminated on the dash
- any signs of oil leaks on the engine / vehicle chassis / driveway
- any knocking or abnormal noise emitted from the engine bay
In other words, apart from the lights being permanently on - we had absolutely no issues with the vehicle.
Toyota dealership did not inform upon initial completion of the service / safety inspection (day 1 & 2) that the knocking noise was evident. It was only discovered on day 3.
Toyota dealership have officially denied causing damage - professional opinion "is that it is highly unlikely the damage to the engine was a result of us conducting a service on the vehicle" they "believe the damage has occurred over a period of time and is not commensurate with the catastrophic failure which would occur if the engine was completely starved of oil. Further to that, the vehicle only travelled 9 kilometres whilst in our case, and that was on the test drive during which the knocking noise manifested and was immediately reported to you"
They continue to lay blame on the vehicle's history - that it could have been cause when vehicle submerged.
Dealers preferred workshop reckons vehicle hasn’t been submerged in his opinion, that it’s been caused by muppet detailers being a bit liberal with high pressure inside the cab... who on earth high pressure the inside of a vehicle.
Nevertheless, I am stuck with a rather expensive paper weight at this moment in time until sorted. Complaint has been logged with consumer protection. Car dealer has said I can have the loan vehicle as long as it takes - obviously they acknowledge the electrical issues lie with them but wont fix the engine as the fault was not pre-existing according to report.
Everyone believes (with the exception of Toyota dealership) Toyota caused it - so I have to follow the bouncing ball which may eventually lead to law courts....
Cheers,
Kevin
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