The Check engine light in my Mom’s RAV4 came on. She took it to a local independent mechanic who read the codes and found:
SUBJECT REGARDING ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM) CALIBRATION UPDATE - MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT ON WITH DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES P0420 OR P0430 AND ENHANCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE. ( NHTSA ITEM NUMBER - 634045 )
The car is a 2001 with 74,478 (one year out of it’s 8-year/80,000 mile warranty). The Service Bulletin is from April 2002. The local mechanic feels that the Toyota Dealer should fix this. When my mother called the dealer they bought the car from the dealer told her that they would not cover the costs of the repair. In fact he was a little snarky about it.
Do we have any further recourse on this matter? Or do known defects become our problem the second the warranty is up?
Most service bulletins cover issues that are not ‘recalls’. They describe particular solutions to particular problems for that vehicle. There is no obligation for Toyota (or any maker) to fix it for free once the warranty expires.
You have confused a RECALL with a TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN.
A RECALL is an item that the Manufacturer has to pay for on their dime.
A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN is a repair procedure that the Manufacturer tells its dealerships about when a vehicle comes in exhibiting a certain type of malfunction. If the vehicle is still under warranty, then the dealer pays for the TSB. If the vehicle is NOT under warranty, then the consumer has to pay for the TSB.
I can’t tell you what you consider snarky, but I do know that if anyone from a business was snarky with me, they would have instantly lost all my business. What I would recommend is that you contact the actual OWNER of the business, and explain to him how you didn’t appreciate his employee’s conduct, and see if you can work out with him a way to keep your business at his place. Maybe split the cost of the TSB 50/50.
BC.
As has been said ;
A service bulletin is not warranty,
A service bulletin is not a recall,
it’s just a “what to do IF” instructional.
Therfore your local indi can do that for you if they can learn the specifics from Snarky.
My feeling is that any snarkiness by the dealer was likely caused by snarkiness on the other end of the phone.
I can hear the phone conversation now; “…well, the mechanic who read the codes said that you should pay for it”.
Her local mechanic has apparently never worked for new car dealers and is unaware of exactly how warranty works because his statement is off-base.
This car is also a 2001 model that was likely built in 2000. Whether it’s 1 year out of warranty is debateable. That depends on the in-service date.
Problem is that everyone on Earth always wants an exception.
Reset the CEL and drive on…