Failure to perform scheduled service by Toyota Ballito

I am writing to formally express my dissatisfaction with the service—or lack thereof—provided by your Ballito dealership regarding my vehicle. This matter requires your immediate attention and resolution.

The vehicle in question, Toyota Hilux 2024 GD6, NT 58754, was due for its 20,000 km service as per your prescribed maintenance schedule. I booked the vehicle for the service on the 29th July 2024. Despite my proactive efforts to ensure the service was carried out, the Ballito dealership failed to perform the required service, directly contravening your standards for vehicle maintenance and customer service.

On 13 July 2024 I sent an email to a service representative, Siva Ganesan about the service invoice that was not printed and handed to me because as per the service advisor they were offline on the day of 29 July 2024. The reason I requested the invoice was because my husband smelt a burn as he reversed out the driveway. He stopped at the garage and when the oil was checked the oil was low. We emailed Siva immediately. We received a call from the service advisor on the 14th to enquire what was the issue we had, and both my husband and I chatted to him and he gave us a very pathetic excuse as to why the oil was low. Because my husband and I both started new positions in August we could not take time off from work to get the vehicle to Ballito.

On 29 November 2024 I took my Bakkie in for 30 000km service to Killarney Toyota in Stanger only to be told that the 20 000kms service had been skipped.

I contacted Ballito straight away and no one contacted me on both occasions that I left messages. I then contacted the salesman that sold me the vehicle I explained to him what happened, and he then gave me the principal dealers contact details. Only once I contacted her, the service manager finally contacted me. Upon his investigations he found out the service was not done; the service advisor did make mention on the call on 14 August that the van was serviced. The service manager called me in on the 03rd December we listened to the call together, he apologised to me and took full ownership of the failure to service my vehicle and he was going to email me a letter stating the fault on their end and that my warranty should not be affected should anything happen to the vehicle. To date I have not heard back from him.

This negligence has severely impacted my trust in the Toyota brand together with the lack of empathy and communication from the dealership in keeping me updated as to why the letter was not received and how will the letter impact me should I go to another province and my vehicle breaks down as it places the safety, warranty, and overall reliability of my vehicle at risk. The dealership’s failure to meet its obligations is both unacceptable and unprofessional, and I hold Toyota South Africa accountable for ensuring its dealerships uphold the quality and standards your customers expect.

Given these circumstances, I am requesting Toyota South Africa to take immediate steps to: 1. Arrange for the return of the vehicle, as I no longer have confidence in its maintenance or safety due to the missed service. 2. Provide a clear resolution date as to when this vehicle can be returned as I would prefer dealing with a different service provider now. I have no faith in Toyota any longer and this disappointing service has left me with ongoing anxiety each time I drive with both my daughters.

Please treat this matter with the urgency it warrants and provide a written response within 2 business days detailing your proposed resolution. Should I not receive a satisfactory response, I will have no choice but to escalate this matter further, including exploring legal options.

I look forward to your prompt response.