Recommended dealer for motor noise in San Fernando Valley???

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michael

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 2, 2014
Messages
117
I want to take my car in for evaluation of the dreaded motor noise problem. I imagine Carson is the best place since they sold so many RAV-4 EVs, but if at all possible I would rather go somewhere nearby to Canoga Park.

Any recommendations for or against? Simi? Hamer? Anywhere else closer than Carson?

Thanks!
 
I've hear people going to Hamer without issues.

To tell you the truth, it's not worth screwing around with. I live in the valley, bought mine at Carson, have taken each 5k service to Carson (have 27k on a 2014) and have already had the motor swapped out..

I've had ZERO issues with them where i've heard bad things from all the others with weird dealer experiences.

Why screw around? just set the appointment and get er done.
 
What was your experience? I presume one visit to identify if there's a problem and then another longer one a month later to do the work?? Did they provide a loaner?
 
michael said:
What was your experience? I presume one visit to identify if there's a problem and then another longer one a month later to do the work?? Did they provide a loaner?
My experience at Toyota Carlsbad was that they provided a loaner while diagnosing, and wanted to keep the car while waiting for the new motor to come in. I elected to turn in the loaner and take the car back home (they tried to talk me out of it) as it had been making the noise for months and I was confident it wasn't going to fail in the week they told me it would take to get the motor in. A week later, it was back for the motor replacement, and they provided another loaner. They said it would take three days, but it was done in one.
 
Just thought I should mention Carson isn't all smiles for service either. I had a terrible experience with them during my motor replacement (after having to convince them to even bother making the video to send to Toyota). They did a sloppy job putting the car back together (things left undone, cables unfastened) and the service adviser screwed me around with appointments and loaner cars twice. Not to mention she lied to me by telling me the car was being worked on when, according to my monitoring of Entune, it didn't move until the following day. I don't think I'd bother going back, to be honest - would likely just try Hamer.
 
I live in Chatsworth and I have the same dilemma as you. I wanted to get my RAV4 repaired at the most experienced place possible.

At first I was leaning towards Carson Toyota for the same reason as you but I'm asking myself if it is worth the drive.

My experience with service is hit or miss because it comes down to the person or team that is doing the repair.

Since they flag hours, they tend to work on a brisk pace which can sometimes hurt the quality and the detail of the job.

After much thought I might bring it to Toyota Simi Valley since I have no issues with them on my ICE cars.
 
So I took my 2012 RAV4 in today (9/14/15) at Toyota Simi Valley for the recall, check EV MIL (gateway ECU) and motor/trans noise.

The service adviser named Garson assisted me and seems to know the issues that plagued this car. After writing me up, I waited about 15 minutes to go on a test drive with a hybrid/EV master tech.

When Pat arrived we went for a test drive, I told him the noise is very audible from 55-65 mph with light throttle. As we got on the freeway and picked up speed he immediately heard it, turned to me and said "my friend you will need a new transaxle assembly".

After a quick chat with him on the drive back, I found out he has performed the work numerous times, including replacing the on-board charger and ECU. He is also aware that it needs a special TESLA connector which they have to service this vehicle.

I also asked him if any of the new motor/transaxle he replaced has came back for the same noise, which he told me none so far. :D :D :D

So far everything is looking good and the parts should arrive in about 7-10 days. I was offered a loaner but I decided to keep driving because I might need the carpool access.

I'll keep everyone posted on any developments.
 
CivicFerio said:
So I took my 2012 RAV4 in today (9/14/15) at Toyota Simi Valley for the recall, check EV MIL (gateway ECU) and motor/trans noise.

The service adviser named Garson assisted me and seems to know the issues that plagued this car. After writing me up, I waited about 15 minutes to go on a test drive with a hybrid/EV master tech.

When Pat arrived we went for a test drive, I told him the noise is very audible from 55-65 mph with light throttle. As we got on the freeway and picked up speed he immediately heard it, turned to me and said "my friend you will need a new transaxle assembly".

After a quick chat with him on the drive back, I found out he has performed the work numerous times, including replacing the on-board charger and ECU. He is also aware that it needs a special TESLA connector which they have to service this vehicle.

I also asked him if any of the new motor/transaxle he replaced has came back for the same noise, which he told me none so far. :D :D :D

So far everything is looking good and the parts should arrive in about 7-10 days. I was offered a loaner but I decided to keep driving because I might need the carpool access.

I'll keep everyone posted on any developments.

This is too funny. I talked to him not an hour ago and he told me he was working on the same problem for another customer. I've used Garson before and found him to be fair and easy to work with. Good! We will go with him. Thank you so much for the report.
 
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