I won't again buy any Toyota vehicle

[4x4 rav]

Originally Posted by Dr. Dyno

I'd certainly like to know more before I decide never to buy another Toyota. Your only other post was to do with painting fender skirts on a 4.1. I'm wondering what could be or have gone wrong with a car that old that Toyota could be considered responsible for.

BTW, I'll never buy a Government Motors car. But then I guess I was forced to buy part of one in my taxes.

my 2nd posting had nothing to do whatsoever with my 1st post.
let me summarize the bad experience i was dealt by the parts department manager. i was at Lafontaine Toyota purchasing some parts for a project i was doing on the rav4 i own. while i was getting my parts, i asked the parts clerk for some specs. about the rav4. a mechanic who happened to be standing behind the counter willfully gave me harmful advice, not knowing i was myself a certified technician by the state of Michigan. i complained to a salesman who directed me to speak to the manager. the parts and service manager was not apologetic, but said something that essentially could be translated like " it was my fault that his mechanic was giving me harmful advice". i stopped this parts manager from continuing any further and said that i would rather speak to someone higher up. during that time, his employees were listening to our conversation. the parts manager tried to "backtrack his rhetoric" by becoming soft knowing that i wasn't buying his excuse, so the parts manager asked me me what i did for a living. i replied to him that what i did for a living was none of his business. and remember, his employees were listening. so this parts manager got angry and said he didn't like my behavior, and said he wanted me to leave the premises. i lodged a complaint with Toyota Motors with complaint reference number 1211051443.
Remember that the parts manager attacked my behavior only after i said to him:" what i do for a living is none of your business." since when "defending yourself" has been considered bad behavior? is that what this world has come to.

This problem could have been solved with a simple apology from the dealership, but this dealership chose to attack me with its response to Toyota Motors headquarter, and in the process use lies and fabrications in order to support their position. But i was able to prove the parts/service manager was lying because he got himself into a "catch 22". please correct me if 22 is not the right number for the phrase i was referring to. thank you all for your support.

[Carbon]

"22" is right.

What was the "harmful advice"?

[4x4 rav]

Originally Posted by Carbon

"22" is right.

What was the "harmful advice"?

the harmful advice given to me by the employee at Lafontaine Toyota was a torque specs. of 285 ft/lbs, and this Toyota employee even went further and said i should reach 285 ft/lbs and not go less or else it wouldn't work right.
The actual torque specs. recommended by the manufacturer was/is 159 ft/ lbs.

[Pim]

So the guy makes a mistake, you make a fuzz about it, he feels to be openly attacked by you and retreats in a defensive position and is not completely honest (i know many who have difficulty staying honest when feeling openly attacked) while you get full out by making it an even bigger fuzz.

Recommendation from my side: Relax and chill. No need to get all fuzzed up over nothing. Most people don't use torque wrenches and the harmfulness of the advice is really low, since you can think for yourself too.

If that however is a reason to 'not buy a Toyota anytime' is your own decision to make. You make a bit of a figure posting this on a forum. Let it slide. It's not worth the fuzz. And ofcourse choosing another dealer or mechanic to do business with is also an option.
Greetz

Pim

[vanib]

I had Mazda and Toyota recommending the wrong fluids for my car. That does not mean that I will not be buying these brands again.

You could have taken it differently. e.g. make a $100 bet with the guy that he is wrong, lighten up the mood, show him he's wrong and might even have a friend.

Anyway, I was not there to see how what the mood really was.

[RTexasF]

This is really Bull$hit. You got bad advice and popped off at a manager who asked you to leave......so you'll never buy a Toyota again? Would you stop buying food if you had a problem at the grocery store? You have only four posts and come on here for that? I call Bull$hit and trolling, get over it and go buy a Daewoo.

[Dr. Dyno]

Originally Posted by RTexasF

This is really Bull$hit

More accurately bull-headed. And probably what I'd have done 30 years ago.

That was before I reformed and got some humility.
No, really I did!!!

[RAV N US]

Why would you be asking for torque specs that you obviously already knew?

[Freedom55]

As for me, this is my 3rd Toyota product but I don't know if I will ever buy another one, it depends on the offering; the new RAV 4.4 is not my cup of tea because they dropped the V6 and they don't offer a turbo. I could deal with the restyled body but I'm part of the +/- 20% of drivers that want more power...

I always buy what I think is the best vehicle for my money at a given time for my personal needs or the family needs.

I will probably never buy again a VW or a Chrysler product after having two of each and numerous problems not to mention low resale value. VW claims they want to be the #1 car manufacturer but they have a lot to prove here in North America. Chrysler has focused on Hemi V8 or weak 4 cyl for improved fuel economy, again not my cup of tea; only the Journey R/T AWD would fit the bill but I'm not a big fan...

Sorento V6 and new Santa Fe 2.0T cost as much as a RAV but have low resale value; same for Escape 2.0 Ecoboost and Equinox/Terrain V6. New 2012 CRV, nice vehicle still no V6 just like Tucson, Rogue, etc. Outlander V6, if you keep it for 10 years fine but I don't like the current design and they stopped selling in the U.S. New 2014 Forester XT seems like the best compromise but I have to see it and check pricing as here in Canada they use to come only fully loaded so quite expensive in the end; I've had two Subaru's and I was quite disappointed with quality (I'm very picky) . Who said life would be simple??? JuneBug and I seem to think along the same lines

[Dr. Dyno]

Originally Posted by RAV N US

Why would you be asking for torque specs that you obviously already knew?

I honestly think the mechanic was just trying to have a little fun and it went wrong to say the least. Anybody with any mechanical clue knows that 285 ft-lbs and Toyota aren't in the same sentence. Toyota's don't have any 3/4" bolts. Neither do my PowerStroke Diesels, except on the driveshaft.

I've never even seen a torque wrench than big. They must be 5 feet long. Next time I'm at my local Diesel repair shop I'll ask them what takes that much torque.