Wow, this looks like a SCAM.. TOYOTA & tires. Whadda ya think?

Started by Belenus, March 24, 2018, 07:23:30 AM

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Belenus

OK, maybe I am more suspicious and a bit more cynical than most; I'll drink to that, BUT, look this over:
(I'll bet others here have had similar experiences.)

PURCHASED: New Highlander SE- leather, heated seats, moon/sun roof, auto everything.. beeps, whistles, chirps galore.

PROBLEM: Ride started to get jittery.. shaky. I had the tires balanced, rotated, and the front end aligned (3,500 miles).

DEALER'S "EXPLANATION": "It's the tires." Bridgestone OE.. and they are shaking the vehicle annoyingly... not dangerously, yet.

WHY I THINK *SCAM*: Toyota refuses to even entertain adjustments or help-- all who I have contacted tell me the same thing, "Well, we did not make the tires, you have to contact FIRESTONE for help with that."
Sure, TOYOTA did not "make the tires", but TOYOTA chose those tires, installed those tires, right? So, get this- If I manufactured tires and produced some 'seconds' I could get TOYOTA to install them on the new cars, TOYOTA buys thousands of them for pennies and when the hapless customer contacts FIRESTONE, well, there's the possibility of an "adjustment" which brings even more money to FIRESTONE.

This run-around has all the makings of a scam, to my way of thinking. I could be wrong... but...

"It's hard to predict... especially the future."

Rick

Did you talk to Firestone?

It is not just Toyota , all car manufacturers do this, and have for years.

Might try running them a little lower on air.
I dream of the day a chicken can cross the road with out it's motives being questioned.

Solar

Cord separation is usually caused by over/under inflation and seriously bad roads.
Be sure and document your contacts with Toyota, they are the ones responsible. If you can't get satisfaction, call your local news, most have a consumer affairs reporter looking for cases like this.
Do this, and the dealer will give you brand new tires, no one wants bad publicity. First rule of business, never piss off a customer because they will tell ten people, but make one happy, and you're lucky if they tell three.
The last thing this dealer wants is tens of thousands being told of how badly they treat their customers.
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Sick Of Silence

Don't buy Toyota in the first place?

I have had Fords for a long time. I usually keep them for up to 10 years because they don't get driven a whole lot. I can't control what vehicle my company me gives from their fleet vendor, but I personally own an American car.

I'm not Debbie Waterhead Schultz; I support American car companies.
With all these lawyers with cameras on the street i'm shocked we have so much crime in the world.

There is constitutional law and there is law and order. This challenge to law and order is always the start to loosing our constitutional rights.

Frauditors are a waste of life.

Solar

Quote from: Sick Of Silence on March 24, 2018, 11:16:21 AM
Don't buy Toyota in the first place?

I have had Fords for a long time. I usually keep them for up to 10 years because they don't get driven a whole lot. I can't control what vehicle my company me gives from their fleet vendor, but I personally own an American car.

I'm not Debbie Waterhead Schultz; I support American car companies.
Ford is American in name only. Toyota makes just as many vehicles in the US as does Ford.
Buy a Buick. :biggrin:

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2011/06/what-company-builds-the-most-car-models-in-the-united-states/index.htm
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Sick Of Silence

Quote from: Solar on March 24, 2018, 11:27:29 AM
Ford is American in name only. Toyota makes just as many vehicles in the US as does Ford.
Buy a Buick. :biggrin:

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2011/06/what-company-builds-the-most-car-models-in-the-united-states/index.htm

Throwing some change at the particular state is one thing; but ultimately where does the profit go to?
With all these lawyers with cameras on the street i'm shocked we have so much crime in the world.

There is constitutional law and there is law and order. This challenge to law and order is always the start to loosing our constitutional rights.

Frauditors are a waste of life.

Solar

Quote from: Sick Of Silence on March 24, 2018, 12:19:20 PM
Throwing some change at the particular state is one thing; but ultimately where does the profit go to?
Shareholders. It's a global market and corporations no longer have any loyalty to the US, though Trump is working to change that, God knows that's a huge undertaking.
The problem started with the crony corporatism in both party's, eventually, the GOP lost their support, (remember the auto bailouts) and the left invaded the upper echelons of corporate America, Clinton gave them NAFTA and the rest was down hill.
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Sick Of Silence

Quote from: Solar on March 24, 2018, 12:28:32 PM
Shareholders. It's a global market and corporations no longer have any loyalty to the US, though Trump is working to change that, God knows that's a huge undertaking.
The problem started with the crony corporatism in both party's, eventually, the GOP lost their support, (remember the auto bailouts) and the left invaded the upper echelons of corporate America, Clinton gave them NAFTA and the rest was down hill.

I was talking about the companies themselves. Buy a Toyota and the money goes to a Japanese company.

I'm not against buying what you want. Toyota does have certain vehicles that are interesting (Sienna minivan), some that are boring (Corolla) and some cars that ruin it all (Prius). But, when I go for my next vehicle, I'm gonna look at Ford first.
With all these lawyers with cameras on the street i'm shocked we have so much crime in the world.

There is constitutional law and there is law and order. This challenge to law and order is always the start to loosing our constitutional rights.

Frauditors are a waste of life.

Solar

Quote from: Sick Of Silence on March 24, 2018, 02:29:53 PM
I was talking about the companies themselves. Buy a Toyota and the money goes to a Japanese company.

I'm not against buying what you want. Toyota does have certain vehicles that are interesting (Sienna minivan), some that are boring (Corolla) and some cars that ruin it all (Prius). But, when I go for my next vehicle, I'm gonna look at Ford first.
True, to a point. Money is fluid, trade is what creates allies, and Japan is one of our strongest allies. The money they make from the American marketplace eventually finds its way back into our economy where they invest and grow our economy. They also employ American workers, even Subaru, a Japanese co. Their cars sold here are 100% American made, something Ford can't claim.
Keep in mind, Ford also took a bailout, though different than that of Dodge, they still received millions of taxpayer dollars.

I'm not bashing Ford, they make great vehicles, I myself bought a Ford 150 till it died then bought a Dodge 3500 diesel 4x4, the last truck I'll ever buy because it'll outlive me.
I bought the wife a new Subaru because of its safety features and all-wheel drive, probably her last car as well.
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Quote from: Solar on March 24, 2018, 02:53:33 PM
I'm not bashing Ford, they make great vehicles, I myself bought a Ford 150 till it died then bought a Dodge 3500 diesel 4x4, the last truck I'll ever buy because it'll outlive me.
I bought the wife a new Subaru because of its safety features and all-wheel drive, probably her last car as well.

Now if you had said Chevy, then the war would have been on.

Ford > Dodge > Chevy

:ttoung:
With all these lawyers with cameras on the street i'm shocked we have so much crime in the world.

There is constitutional law and there is law and order. This challenge to law and order is always the start to loosing our constitutional rights.

Frauditors are a waste of life.

Solar

Quote from: Sick Of Silence on March 24, 2018, 04:21:31 PM
Now if you had said Chevy, then the war would have been on.

Ford > Dodge > Chevy

:ttoung:
:biggrin:
I liked Chevy, bought a brand new 1970 ElCamino for $2.800 in 1969, still have it, but I'll never work on it again, it just sits, kind of hard to part with all those memories.
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Sick Of Silence

Quote from: Solar on March 24, 2018, 04:49:55 PM
:biggrin:
I liked Chevy, bought a brand new 1970 ElCamino for $2.800 in 1969, still have it, but I'll never work on it again, it just sits, kind of hard to part with all those memories.

I hate you.

You're one of these people who has a classic car sitting around going to waste and it gets "discovered" after several decades.
With all these lawyers with cameras on the street i'm shocked we have so much crime in the world.

There is constitutional law and there is law and order. This challenge to law and order is always the start to loosing our constitutional rights.

Frauditors are a waste of life.

Solar

Quote from: Sick Of Silence on March 24, 2018, 07:19:00 PM
I hate you.

You're one of these people who has a classic car sitting around going to waste and it gets "discovered" after several decades.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Yeah, I restored it 3 times, last time to show standards, but I bought land and the engine blew so I bought a truck, parked the car minus an engine and there it sits.
Brand new tires and upholstery, new bumper sitting in the cab, but after 30 years, I no longer have the drive to put it back on the road.
I have a feeling the wife's kids will give it and their son, a year old, will most likely be the one to restore it.

I remember a similar situation when I was a kid. The guy that donated land for our baseball field had an old beautiful 1905 Studebaker-Garford, in mint condition in his barn.
That was 1960, he bought it when he was young also. I soooo wish I had befriended the old guy, he died a few years later and they auctioned off everything.
Look up 1905 Studebaker-Garford, beautiful car, his was a cherry red.
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Belenus

Quote from: Rick on March 24, 2018, 08:36:29 AM
Did you talk to Firestone?

It is not just Toyota , all car manufacturers do this, and have for years.

Might try running them a little lower on air.

Yes, it is, from what I understand, a universal, business-wide practice among dealers/manufacturers, but it is just another way to kick the work-a-day consumer in the teeth--- and pocket book.

I have spoken to Firestone and they want to see the vehicle.. all I have to do is find time to take the Highlander in and let them mess with it... That and bring my check book, naturally. Oh, and will I opt for another set of Bridgestones? No way!

My next vehicle-- I have purchased eight new Toyota trucks, Camrys, Highlanders over the years without any issues whatever (my 2007 TUNDRA: Everything works, always did). It's NOT Toyota machinery.. it's the corporate policies that are in dispute.
"It's hard to predict... especially the future."

Belenus

FOR those still following, I thought what this professional- retired service dept manager for Toyota - had to say on the topic.

"The dealer is correct, in policy, as far as the warranty states.  I would have handled it differently and several times over the years did so. First, questions: did the dealer force balance the tires and measure the runout of the rims. Vibrations are rarely caused by all 4 tires at the same time. Which one? Was the vibration there from the beginning? When they could not determine the problem did they swop 4 new tires and rims off another Highlander to insure there is not a chassis issue?
Ride disturbance warranties normally only cover the first 2/32 of tread wear so I would not wait too long to pursue the difficulty.  What is size and model of the tire and I will check to see if this is a common problem with a particular combination of model and tire.
Hope you and the family are well,"
"It's hard to predict... especially the future."