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In the past several days I have published two articles about a 2024 Toyota Tundra turning into a warranty battleground, and how one owner had to take his 2022 Tundra to the dealership for the 3rd motor at 49,000 miles. Many of our Torque News readers gave great feedback and wrote very helpful comments describing various situations and sharing personal experiences. In the future I will try to share some of them here in the form of articles and today I want to share Cheryl's experience as to what happened to her 2015 Toyota Sienna and how swiftly and professionally Toyota acted pressuring the dealership.
After having an unsuccessful visit with the dealership, which didn't resolve their battery issue on their 2015 Sienna, Cheryl wrote to Toyota. She says Toyota "contacted me immediately," resolved the issue and "closed the case only after we were completely satisfied."
Cheryl writes:
In 2015 we bought a brand new sienna van. We hadn’t had it but a few weeks and I went to go somewhere and it wouldn’t start, acted like a defective battery. I took it to the dealer that I had purchased it from and it started right up for them. They checked it out several times said they couldn’t find anything wrong.
After it happened a couple more times I had it with the dealer, and I emailed Toyota Motor Corporation, told them what happened, and how I was treated by the dealership. I heard back from them almost immediately, they assigned a number to my case gave me the name of the person who was handling my case and they acted on it.
Evidently, Toyota contacted the dealership where we purchased the van had me take it back there and it turned out to be a defective battery like we thought. The dealership took care of the problem like they should have to begin with. Toyota continued to stay in contact with me until we were completely satisfied. Once we let them know we were completely satisfied they closed the case.
My experience with Toyota was a very good one and I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to contact them again if I had a problem with a new car with a warranty.
It's very good to hear Cheryl having such a great experience with Toyota. I would be interesting also know what Toyota did to resolve the problem. Also, what were the symptoms of the defective battery and how long did the entire process take?
It's very good to hear how Toyota went above and beyond to address your concerns with the Sienna. Their responsiveness and commitment to your satisfaction truly shines through in your story.
Stories like yours highlight the importance of customer advocacy, and I appreciate you guys taking the time to share your experiences as examples with Torque News. Toyota's swift customer advocacy reinforces the value Toyota places on its carbuyers' experience.
I once reviewed the Toyota Sienna years ago. Many of you probably don't know that the 2015 Toyota Sienna AWD has been named as the best all-weather minivan and particularly the 2015 model has the best resale value.
Have you ever had a frustrating experience with a dealership that required contacting the manufacturer? How did it go? Share your story in the comments below (the red link below)! What do you prioritize most when considering customer service – responsiveness, resolution, or clear communication? Does Cheryl's experience with Toyota influence your perception of the brand? Chime in with your thoughts below please by joining the discussion.
You may also want to see this repot from Torque News Youtube about this Toyota Tundra owner's experience.
Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and Youtube. He has more than a decade of expertise in the automotive industry with a special interest in Tesla and electric vehicles.
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Comments
For a year! They finally…
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For a year! They finally bought back my vehicle. They failed to even drive it for 8 months in till I made them. Call the 800 number and they'll get a higher up at dealership to call you and then they'll be oversight and hopefully results. If they don't resolve it on the next trip, call 800 back and ask for an engineer, open a case. Track the trips to dealership and the repair reports- my dealership didn't actually enter a service ticket each time I was there and they worked on the vehicle.
I take my car to an…
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I take my car to an independent shop after warranty ends. And when I have problems I make sure to be as detailed as possible, including taking a video if I can document it on my phone.
My last VW, the hatch held water, so that when the next time it rained, I had my camera handy and recorded the water dripping out and showed it to the dealership as proof. And when the wipers didn’t work, except after I shut off the car and restarted, I drove to the dealership in the rain, and let the car idle in the parking lot so that the technician can immediately experience the issue for diagnosis
I inherited my mom's 2014…
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I inherited my mom's 2014 Subaru Forester in February of 2022 with 29K miles. It had never been serviced anywhere but Subaru of Wichita where it was purchased.
After bringing it home to rural Arizona I had the next Regular oil change done at the local dealership with satisfaction.
During Covid, The Subaru dealership was sold to the Toyota dealership because they could meet Subaru franchise rules for a separate dealership. They did the next oil change.
The new dealership kept pushing to schedule service appointments online, and kept emailing me that my (next) oil change was overdue.Their service department is not computer literate. After weeks of trying, with no confirmation (and having to add oil between changes for the first time), I took it to the Toyota dealership for service. I've used them for years and trusted them. The service technician came out to talk to me, asking when the oil was last changed. I showed him the paperwork from the last service and he told me that the oil hadn't been changed by (their) Subaru dealership.
I contacted Subaru America and was told "By taking it to a non Subaru authorized shop, I might have voided my warranty." Which I found out later is illegal for them to do in Arizona, but I digress.
I attempted to make an appointment with the dealership manager and he refused to schedule an appointment. He wanted to deal with it "now". I don't play that game. I went to make an appointment with the owner of the Toyota dealership. I was taken to the general manager and, he too, didn't want to make an appointment, but did set one up the following week. Then I calmly presented my case and walked out of the dealership with a check from the Subaru dealership for the cost of the oil change.
Unfortunately I will probably have to go back to the former Subaru dealer for service I can trust.
Unfortunately Subaru also took down Toyota for me.
I told Toyota's manager that unless the quality of service at Subaru meets the quality of service at Toyota, the quality of service at Toyota will soon match Subaru.