SeattleRav4 said:
Back to service
I took mine into the local Toyota dealer for its 5K/ 6 mo service.
Michael's Toyota in Bellevue, WA
This is the dealer that assured me they had trained EV techs and could service my Rav4 EV before I bought it 7 months ago.
To their credit, they did exactly as advertised. It took a while longer mostly because the techs were all abuzz playing with a car they had read about but never seen.
The service manager did relay that while the techs were certified he was surprised to discover that the dealership wasn't and therefore there was some problem with them getting paid by Toyota. To his credit he sent me on my way with no hassles.
I did volunteer to find out who else in WA state was providing service so he could figure out what he needed to do. For any WA owners besides, who has done service? I am assuming Rodland in Lynnwood and somebody in Vancouver. Richard C. ?
Hi Seattle, Doug & all,
I wrote my experience on another thread (Out of state service in the General/Main forum), but I'll give a quick review here. The bottom line (for me anyway) was not good. Before actually purchasing my Rav EV, I contacted Toyota USA about purchasing. They initially told me out of state purchases would not be allowed, but weeks later relented and told me I should do two things first. See if there was a CA dealership willing to sell to an out of state buyer, and to verify my local Toyota dealership would commit to servicing my vehicle. Carson Toyota was willing to sell (they were great) and my local dealership confirmed they had 3 technicians trained to service my EV. I discussed the whole thing with them at length, making sure they were aware that the Rav EV was a unique vehicle, with Tesla powertrain, etc. They confirmed it all, and guaranteed me they would commit to full service for my vehicle. I asked for their guarantee in writing, which they supplied to me. So, feeling good about the whole thing, I ordered my Rav (back in January).
Then comes the kick in the backside. As my 6 month first service approached, I contacted my local dealership to verify I was soon to make an appointment, but wanted to make sure they were ready, since I had learned from this forum that the Rav required a unique plug for software updates, different from the one used for the PIP. They seemed unaware, and said they would check into it and get right back to me. After 2 weeks and no response, I stopped by the dealership. The service manager then sheepishly told me that while they would do any regular servicing for my vehicle, any EV related work would require it being shipped back to CA at my expense. This in spite of their verbal and written assurances to me before the purchase. They kept babbling about "doing whatever it took to make me satisfied" but I would still be out of luck for EV servicing. I was livid.
Bottom line is ... after grieving over the issue for a few days, my wife and I decided to sell the Rav (at a steep loss, of course). I didn't want to risk having an EV related issue, with no local options for service. I'm planning to make an appointment with a local attorney to discuss options for a lawsuit against our local dealership and possibly national Toyota. I have plenty of documentation to back up my argument. Funny thing too ... I never signed a form from Toyota about CA servicing, and I have since received calls from CA trying to get me to sign a belated form. No chance.
I wish the very best to Seattle, Doug, Madcow, Birddog, and the rest of you "out of staters", and hope you don't get screwed by Toyota like I did. I've learned a lot from all of you, and appreciate the camaraderie.
