We all know that dealership repairs are slightly more expensive but if you go, it is to get the most premium service. But not Sean at Bob Bridge Toyota. Bob Bridge Toyota does not employ service people who think out of the box, or that will go the extra mile. Don’t go there, go to someone you can trust and rely on. Sean at Bob Bridge Toyota would not allow a thorough inspection of why my 2 year old Toyota Camry was using up all its oil well in advance of the regular oil change time frame. He had absolutely no customer service skills and not at all accommodating. From check-in to check-out he did not provide any options, did not seem empathetic to my situation, did not offer any other remedies they could take to investigate why my oil keeps running low. He’s a man that reads you the guideline of what it says in the Toyota repair manual and has the ?that?s your tough luck? attitude. AND my vehicle is still under warranty. So I definitely will be going else where. I feel sad for them.
Since we have a very large nation with 50 states and many thousands of municipalities, it would be helpful if you shared the actual location of this Toyota dealership with us.
It would also be instructive if you were to give us specifics of the car’s oil consumption, maintenance, odometer mileage, engine type, transmission type, and typical driving patterns, in addition to a rant about one person at one dealership.
This dealership is located in Western Washington state.
It is in pretty good standing with the BBB. I’d suggest not starting a boycott, but posting the car’s details on here so the mechanics on this site can help find out what’s wrong with your car.
Why give details when you can just rant?
After all, if she gives details, she might be told that her complaints/concerns are not valid.
It is in pretty good standing with the BBB.
BBB is USELESS.
A dealership in my home town was considered by many the WORSE place for customer service anywhere. If you went to the BBB there were ZERO complaints against them…and I personally know of at least two complaints filed. Well the owner of the dealer was the President of the BBB. Funny how complaints against his company were never filed…but his competitors were.
Have you notified Toyota customer service of your dissatisfaction…they might be able to correct the situation…
Why not let Bob Bridge Toyota, and Sean, know about this site and your complaint.
There’s always a bit more to the story than what is being related and it would also be helpful to know the details behind your complaint along with their side of this tale.
Just for starters, how about some info on the car itself.
Mileage, oil change intervals, bought new or used, any overheating episodes, how much oil is being consumed and probably the most important question of all; just how often, if ever, do you raise the hood to check anything?
Yep, thats my opinion of the BBB too. Might as well ask the Chamber of Commerce about one of their members.
My name is Larry Armstrong, and I’m the Service Director at Bob Bridge Toyota. It is true that this customer’s car is using oil. According to Toyota’s specifications, the use is “normal”. It is also true that Shawn could have gone the extra mile, and involved me so that we could possibly persuade Toyota to assist us. The customer filed a complaint with the State of Washington BBB. After reading the letter and researching the case, I too felt that this vehicle’s oil use was excessive. I contacted Toyota, and they agreed to replace the engine at no cost to the customer. We left a message with the customer, and she has not responded back. She states in her complaint that she does not wish to return here. If she goes to another Dealer, they would just need to contact me because I have already received the approval to proceed.
Thanks for giving us your side of the story, Larry. It was clear from the start from the lack of details that the customer was being unreasonable, but your feedback and her decision not to elaborate suggest that while you might have been able to prevent this, it wasn’t 100% the dealership’s fault. It is good to have both sides of the story for once.
The fact that Bob Bridge Toyota and Toyota Motor Company is stepping in and taking care of the problem is great but it seems to me there is still a big issue here.
Unless the OP gets in the habit of raising the hood once in a while to check fluid levels rather than rely on hope and blind luck to get them through from one service to the next, I have a feeling that this replacement engine is also going to suffer a short life; especially if the OP is adhering to an extended oil change interval with a lot of short hop driving involved.
Stay tuned for Chapter 2.
It’s often true that there’s more to a story than we first hear. That may be the case in this instance too. But all we really know is that BB Toyota, when faced with the complaint, made a good recovery. That’s to their credit. But it doesn’t mean that the original set of facts as the OP told them were wrong, only maybe that, faced with adverse publicity and given a second chance, the dealership then acted responsibly. Maybe?
The problem is that if the oil useage is within what Toyota Motor Company says it should be the dealer’s options are limited as to what they can do. Any decision regarding an engine replacement belongs to Toyota Motor Company alone.
The point could be made that the owner of this vehicle may not be changing the oil regularly enough (severe service time frame) because if they’re following an extended interval such as 5-7k miles and their driving is predominantly city/short hop they’re actually abusing the vehicle.
Add to that the fact they apparently never raise the hood to check anything and it’s s double whammy on abuse.
From the sound of things, it’s possible they could have been driving around with the oil light illuminated; either full or part time.
An engine 2 or 3 quarts down on oil can suffer cylinder wall/ring damage (oil burning) as the cylinder walls rely on oil splash to remain lubricated. If someone is taking away a lot of that splash because they’re too careless to check the oil level then whose fault is that?
Another possibility is that the oil wiper rings have seized in the ring lands due to extended oil changes. Once they’re gunked in place oil consumption will occur.
The owner of the car has to be a tiny bit responsible for what’s going on under the hood of their car. With self serve gas stations being the norm, not raising the hood and checking anything has become the norm.