Service

<p>Dear Toyota …</p> <p>Brace yourselves for this review based off a level of service received over the past few months on one of your premium products. Before continuing it’s worthy to note we are fortunate enough to own several Toyota vehicles, from delivery Hilux vans to your Land Cruiser VX200 products.</p> <p>This focus is on the service received in general over a particular Land Cruiser VX200. Sales team … fantastic …. The vehicle as a package …. Fantastic …. You’re after sales service …. Probably ranks in the worst I have ever received. This is a bold statement considering I am ranking you against VW, Ford, Nissan and Land Rover.</p> <p>As mentioned above I am driving a VX200 YM2012 and have since experienced services at several dealerships in my area. I need to note that while the manners at each service centre were courteous and well met we are just a number on that specific day and our vehicles are just passing through the standard daily routines of the various mechanics. Our assigned service advisors do their “best” to update clients should there be any minor delays or extra added problems. In order to not make this increasingly painful to read I will only date back to my previous service received and the break down will be short.</p> <p>My vehicle was booked on the specific day, one follows up was made to confirm an approx. time of collection (around 3pm to be specific). A call was made prior to leaving to collect the vehicle where a new updated time of 4pm was relayed. I arrive at the said dealership at 4pm only to be greeted with a car still on the platform and tyres removed, requested work on the pollen filter had not commenced as yet. After a wait of approx. 1 hour my car was handed back and I was given the green light to depart .. while driving home I reached for a small USB stick previously plugged into the port in the middle console, pity it was no longer where I left it. The next day Toyota care contacted me to obtain a service rating on their efforts, my response was how I felt about the service (very poor) and that my USB stick had gone missing. What followed was a one-line email with an attached picture of my USB … Is this your USB? The email deserved a simple response which was, yes, it is mine indeed how have you come into possession of this device? The last emailed communication to me was that it was removed by employee in the wash bay. I still do not have my USB device, we are several weeks past this issue.</p> <p>My latest current issue is next … hold tight.</p> <p>I parked my LC at home on the evening of Sunday 30th July 2017, on the morning of the 31st my vehicle would not start (@5:30am) …. Completely dead. My next action was to try jump start the vehicle as my assumption was that the battery flat, this result unfortunately ended with the VX200 still not starting. I waited for 8am to phone my nearest dealership which is about 4km away, after explaining my small issue I was advised to call AA to assist me. AA arrived a few hours later with a flatbed and delivered my car to this dealership (Yes, we are now late morning on Monday), the assigned service advisor calls me to confirm the vehicle is in the workshop and an updated will be forth coming. Monday late afternoon there is still no resolve. Tuesday morning, I decide to follow up, I am advised the batteries are flat which was my initial assumption. What followed blew me away … I was instructed to go BUY two new batteries and deliver them to the dealership for my LC VX200. This was confusing to me however thinking this could be the norm I requested for an email to be sent with a confirmation of the required battery codes so I could source and buy the parts. I then phoned battery centre 2 km’s from the dealership who confirmed stock of the batteries and the cost, I then sent my driver to go collect these batteries and deliver them to Toyota as requested. I was unaware of the requirement for the old batteries which became another hurdle. At this point the service manager got involved only after a complaint was made, a further arrangement was made for Toyota to take the old batteries and collect new ones. This places us now on Tuesday afternoon and leaving me without a vehicle while this unnecessary chain of events complicates the issue. After replacing the batteries, the vehicle still displayed warning lights on the dash and it was noted the problem was now unknown however I would need to wait another day for further assessment, at this point we can only wait on the technician to diagnose the issue and proceed. Friday 4th of August arrives and there is still no resolve on the problem, I have been without my “premium” Land Cruiser now for 5 days with no sign or a courtesy or hired car from Toyota as there is no solid diagnoses on the vehicle. At this point I have hired a car to ensure I can commute and continue my daily business routine. Monday 7 August arrives and I am notified that the ECU box will now be extracted and examined for damage, this is noted as a lengthy process however best effort are being made. Tuesday 8 August (Today) I am contacted in the AM that fortunately the ECU is testing fine! What a delight! The problem still exists ………… I will be contacted by the end of the day for further update as a trace electrician may need to be contacted. This brings us to our current time and me drafting this complaint, while driving the hired car I am paying for as Toyota fumble around in the dark without a plan or estimate as to when my vehicle will actually be ready. Tomorrow is National Woman’s Day so it’s safe to assume no progress will be made. Thursday 10 August will be my next update I’m sure.</p> <p>Let me make this as clear as I possibly can. Your product is undoubtfully a good well-oiled machine with a fantastic track record … however …. I will NOT put my hand in my pocket to purchase another Toyota product. The level of after sales service and lack of urgency I have received has been atrocious, I continue to be without a vehicle and what’s worse without any actual plan moving forward. I am forced into a position to hire my own vehicle and wait for a call at the end of each day with a report of how it’s a mystery.</p> <p>This marks the end of my sad short story and should you wish to communicate with me further or require additional clarification to the mentioned issues I am available. </p>