Out of State service

[TonyWilliams]

Good luck on the suit, but I would argue that you were never "wronged" unless you actually incurred some expenses associated with the warranty. Your choice to sell the car at a loss wouldn't be considered. Plus, the service guy will just testify that you misheard / he didn't say that / etc.

You needed to get an directive from the dealership in writing that refuses your warranty claim, and directs you to ship the car to California.

Then, do it.

When the car rolls off on to the truck bound for California, file you suit for your expenses for a rental car, shipping costs, etc.

If the dealership won't give you the written "proof", just leave the car there and sue that your warrantied car isn't getting repaired.

 

[doug401]

Back to service


Hi Seattle, Doug & all,

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.

Wow,
I was afraid of this. I too have been told 3 separate times that "It will be serviced, including Tesla drive train". My 5K is scheduled for Monday the 26th. I won't ask for, or mention, software updates at that time, but only later after another local Rav4 ev gets its 5k completed. Frankly, I'm happy with the current software... We don't have variable utility charges so timer issues don't matter to me. Looking back to my time of purchase, I accepted the fact that I may have to ship to California for service, worst cast. I'm still good with that... the car is that good . For me, there is no other car I'd rather have. If my dealer, Rodland, reneges, the game plan will change. I could attempt to replace the 2 most probable failing components myself and eat the costs, but save $1000 in shipping. The heater core should be attainable, and the ECU gateway... easy to change, but probably hard to get and expensive. Of course gear box issues would be a CA fix. Cell failure too.

Time could be on my side. What if Toyota issues a recall in the future for the gear box or ECU? If mine are still operating fine, I could just do a road trip to San Francisco.

I've had zero issues with the car, so if Rodland doesn't want to walk into the future with me, screw 'em. We as an eventual community of 2600 need to think about self reliance. Toyota probably won't be around when all warranties are past. We should group purchase an ECU for trouble shooting. Hell... I could rent it out for $25/day to those who prefer to troubleshoot themselves.

Monday the 26th... It could be a make or break day for WA service. To be continued :|

 

[jspearman]

Back to service


Hi Seattle, Doug & all,

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.

Wow,
I was afraid of this. I too have been told 3 separate times that "It will be serviced, including Tesla drive train". My 5K is scheduled for Monday the 26th. I won't ask for, or mention, software updates at that time, but only later after another local Rav4 ev gets its 5k completed. Frankly, I'm happy with the current software... We don't have variable utility charges so timer issues don't matter to me. Looking back to my time of purchase, I accepted the fact that I may have to ship to California for service, worst cast. I'm still good with that... the car is that good . For me, there is no other car I'd rather have. If my dealer, Rodland, reneges, the game plan will change. I could attempt to replace the 2 most probable failing components myself and eat the costs, but save $1000 in shipping. The heater core should be attainable, and the ECU gateway... easy to change, but probably hard to get and expensive. Of course gear box issues would be a CA fix. Cell failure too.

Time could be on my side. What if Toyota issues a recall in the future for the gear box or ECU? If mine are still operating fine, I could just do a road trip to San Francisco.

I've had zero issues with the car, so if Rodland doesn't want to walk into the future with me, screw 'em. We as an eventual community of 2600 need to think about self reliance. Toyota probably won't be around when all warranties are past. We should group purchase an ECU for trouble shooting. Hell... I could rent it out for $25/day to those who prefer to troubleshoot themselves.

Monday the 26th... It could be a make or break day for WA service. To be continued :|

I would request the software update so it will be documented that they refused to fix it. If you decide to file a BBB claim you'll need this, and the sooner the better. Our car has been flawless, too, but I now have strike one against Toyota in case I need to take more drastic measures.

 

[amped up]

Thanks for the updates, keep us posted please. While it's not looking good for me when it comes to owning one of these vehicles, I really hope Toyota will make it right instead of trying to get out of supporting these vehicles.

 

[SeattleRav4]

To be fair to Michael's Toyota, the did the 5K service and sent me on my way. My RAV4, with the repaired mirror is doing great.

 

[doug401]

Back to service


Hi Seattle, Doug & all,

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.

Wow,
I was afraid of this. I too have been told 3 separate times...
Monday the 26th... It could be a make or break day for WA service. To be continued :|

My 5K appointment with Rodland Toyota was very reassuring. I voiced concerns about future maintenance with the Assistant Service Manager. Specifically software updates, and how they would need an adapter harness to connect. They just asked for advanced notice so they could communicate with Toyota/Tesla on details. I also let it be known that I would be posting my experiences online, and that many out of state owners are interested in this topic. Furthermore... I mentioned I had heard that some Wa. owners were considering legal action when service was denied. That raised some eyebrows. But timing is everything. While leaving, next to my Rav, were the Service Manager Bob, and Owner of Rodland Toyota, Buzz Rodland. I thanked Bob for servicing my Rav even though they aren't required too, and how much I appreciated them stepping up. Buzz Rodland was a 1st gen Rav Ev owner and knew all about our 2nd gen and its Tesla drive train. Rodland's extreme professionalism and willingness to service our vehicles is no fluke. Mr. Rodland will be President of the Washington State dealers association for 2013-2014.
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20...Buzz-Rodland-to-lead-state-auto-dealers-group
I really don't like car dealerships very much. But this place sets the bar.

 

[user 504]

I don't want to threadjack, but what's included in the 5k/6-mo service? Why is that even a thing? Most cars would not have cause for any service that soon, other than an oil change. Folks over on the Leaf forum complain about solicitations from their dealers for a 6-month service when there's nothing at 6 months on the Leaf service schedule.

 

[eplantz]

I don't want to threadjack, but what's included in the 5k/6-mo service? Why is that even a thing? Most cars would not have cause for any service that soon, other than an oil change. Folks over on the Leaf forum complain about solicitations from their dealers for a 6-month service when there's nothing at 6 months on the Leaf service schedule.

Fluid checks and tire rotation

 

[user 504]

Fluid checks and tire rotation

I see, thanks. I would never bring my car to the dealer for that.

 

[miimura]

Fluid checks and tire rotation

I see, thanks. I would never bring my car to the dealer for that.

It's included at no charge for 2 years & 25,000 miles with the RAV4 EV.

 

[eplantz]

Fluid checks and tire rotation

I see, thanks. I would never bring my car to the dealer for that.

It's included at no charge for 2 years & 25,000 miles with the RAV4 EV.

I believe ONLY in California do you get this service for free.

 

[miimura]

I see, thanks. I would never bring my car to the dealer for that.

It's included at no charge for 2 years & 25,000 miles with the RAV4 EV.

I believe ONLY in California do you get this service for free.

Yes, the fine print says "Covers normal factory scheduled service performed at an Authorized Toyota RAV4 EV Dealer for 2 years or 25K miles, whichever comes first." Maybe some other out-of-state owners can say whether they were charged for this or not and whether they got firmware updates at the same visit.

 

[Kohler Controller]

In Austin, Texas, the dealer has performed the normal 5k services (rotate tires and check fluids) for free under the Toyota Care Program.
As for updates, they don't have the necessary hardware. There is a field tech that comes through from time to time that supposedly has the equipment to perform the updates, but I have to be flexible to his schedule and drop off the car when he's in town. I will try to meet up with him this Friday and see if I can talk with him about what version of software I have and what the new version of software fixes. I have also had two Check EV System screens come on at 5900 and 6830 miles, but they always cleared after ~5 restarts of the power button. My dealer said they could capture/freeze frame the sequence of events that occurred when the first error popped up (i.e. changing the shifter from D to B) but wasn't able to see the second one. I've asked for all of this info. We will see if they send it to me. He used the following inspection procedure:

Doc ID: RM0000024CN03BX
Last Modified: 3/14/2013 6.4C
Title: Hybrid/Battery Control-Hybrid Control System
DTC P312F-448 Electric Propulsion Control Module Requested MIL Illumination

Step 1 says to Check Alert Code Output by connecting the RAV4 EV diagnostic tool to the No. 2 DLC3.
This is where they stopped because they didn't have the connector for this ECU.
Hopefully the field tech will, otherwise I'll have to go to the Tesla Service Center in town and see if they will scan it for me.

I currently have 10,500 miles on my car.

 

[doug401]

Sadly, but not unexpectedly, I was contacted by Rodland Toyota minutes ago. They have been informed by Toyota corp that they are NOT to perform service on the Rav4 Ev. I stand by my praise for Rodland and staff. For myself, this experience with Toyota, and similar corporate ignorance by Nissan, is driving this early adopter straight into the arms of Tesla... For life.

 

[qwk]

Sadly, but not unexpectedly, I was contacted by Rodland Toyota minutes ago. They have been informed by Toyota corp that they are NOT to perform service on the Rav4 Ev. I stand by my praise for Rodland and staff. For myself, this experience with Toyota, and similar corporate ignorance by Nissan, is driving this early adopter straight into the arms of Tesla... For life.

That's very sad to hear. I wonder if you ask for such information in writing, if they will provide it. My guess is that they won't, because a manufacturer cannot sell a car in one state and deny service in another. What if you were a military member that bought a rav4 EV while stationed in California, and then had to move to another state, and denied service? The bad press from something like this could become another "floor mat issue" for Toyota. They really don't need anymore bad press.

 

[Kohler Controller]

I imagine Toyota Corporate doesn't want any unauthorized dealer trying to work on it for liability reasons. However, I hope that they would allow any dealer anywhere to at least do as much diagnosis as possible, and allow simple fixes like replacing gateway ECUs, etc.

 

[miimura]

Sadly, but not unexpectedly, I was contacted by Rodland Toyota minutes ago. They have been informed by Toyota corp that they are NOT to perform service on the Rav4 Ev. I stand by my praise for Rodland and staff. For myself, this experience with Toyota, and similar corporate ignorance by Nissan, is driving this early adopter straight into the arms of Tesla... For life.

Does your car NEED EV specific service at this time? If it does, I would demand a letter from the service manager stating what needed to be done and why they could not do it. I would encourage them to send a copy to their contact at Toyota before giving it to you so that Toyota Corporate people have the opportunity to get the message straight. I would also approach this from the other direction and call Kevin Spillane and make sure that Toyota Customer Service knows what you are hearing from the dealership end. He may confirm what they are telling you but I would not take any verbal communication from the dealership at face value as the final word.

 

[mkjayakumar]

I am really interested in learning how this plays out. With days away from Leasing, this matters a lot to me.

Are there any PiP certified dealers in the Dallas area ? Short of calling each one of them, it is hard to find out.

-Jay

 

[Kohler Controller]

No, I don't NEED any EV service at this time. As long as the previous Check EV System warnings don't interfere with the use of my car, I don't care.

Even if a dealer is PiP certified, I don't think they will do anything different. They haven't been trained on this vehicle nor do they carry the hardware to hook up to the Tesla equipment.

 

[madcow]

I think we're going to be in for a battle. Please see my post here: http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=590&p=7516#p7516

I love my car and don't regret for a minute my decision to buy it, but I think this will eventually come to a head.

I have a hard time believing that I'm the first person outside of California to have a problem that required replacement parts/firmware upgrade. I mean, I know I'm not the only one because someone else has one here in Hawaii and several months ago they also needed to have work done on their car. I think that's pretty amazing considering how many cars are located outside of California and how many problems there are with the car. How did the 2 of us (or there are at LEAST 2) in Hawaii get so lucky to get cars that needed replacement hardware and the 30 or 40 others located outside of California have not had this happen yet? Have others had problems and Toyota also fixed them but forced them to remain silent?