Condenser struck by (something) Toyota will not replace under warranty

[oxi]

Thanks to anti-consumer, pro government meddling regulations that on one hand require pie in the sky "I just pulled a number out my butt" mpg standards that necessitate lighter vehicles and the contradictory regulations requiring a lot of weight be added with mandated nanny systems, no manufacturer is making a tank like they used to. Everything is light duty now.

When I was extensively researching small and mid size trucks, since none of them really impressed me, I was on several other brand's Forums. You should see all the complaints about the Santa Fe's cheap radiator that apparently can be put out of commission by a medium sized gnat. The owners on that Forum have take to rigging screening material in front of their radiators and there's even a company that makes them.

I also bought this first Toyota based upon the Fan Boys always talking about their durability and because the Tacoma looked like the best one offered these days. I also am disappointed at the quality of some things.

As far as your wanting Toyota to cover the bill, unless you can prove a defect like a leak at a weld or seam, it ain't gonna happen with Toyota or any other brand. You didn't state WHERE the leak was. Might be worth checking into. And $3k sound wayyyy too high. Yes, it's not your fault. But lacking a defect in manufacturing, it's not Toyota's fault either. Blame the people who voted for the folks who made the manufacturers answer to government rather then their customers. If there were no CAFE standards the manufacturers would still be making heavy duty parts or the consumers would go to another brand.

It will only get worse with the over "safety" society we have and the "I have a right" types out there.

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[oxi]

Update to all:

The service manager called and talked with me at length and he explained the sitch. He agreed after I file an insurance claim that he would waive the original diagnostic fee to determine what happened into the insurance claim.

So, for now it is all out of my hands and the stealership and insurance thieves will take it from there and call me when parts are in to finish the j o b.

I tried to get some credit for a truck that barely has 25,000 miles, but they all work like drones these days. Must comply with set policy or regulation because the one guy out of the group is always the one that ruins it for all for us.

Going back to glory days of installing cheap chicken wire somewhere like past trucks. My 2010 SR5 had some above the massive front skid plates I installed on that 80 lbs bumper.

I do recall the original felt thing underneath to protect the whole lower front half of the engine bay. That should have been the sign to improve more, but I only added the Victory front plate down there. Toyota is going down to cheap by the generation.

Having 4.30:1 ratio 9.5" axle with a 6-speed manual and fully boxed frame is tough enough the boy band would state, but it comes with weak components elsewhere.


Even my little blue 2wd with the 4-speed manual had chicken wire in the corners.

 

[IDontWorkForTheWaterCo]

Actually, it is the time of day. I am on the road between 330am to 430am to start my daily serfdom, so plenty of bugs out in that time.

Less bugs in the afternoon.

I'm in the same boat. On the highway well before sunrise

 

[oxi]

I'm in the same boat. On the highway well before sunrise

This nose attracts it all compared to my Camry

 

[PUMPKINKING]

You will get the same response from any other manufacturer. As previously stated, this is not a warranty issue, it is an insurance issue. It would be the same if I ran into a utility pole (by accident of course) and tried to claim it as a warranty issue, makes no sense.

 

[JayTech]

You are expecting an accident that is in no way a result of defective parts to be covered under warranty. This will never happen. Sure for things like tires and rims, you can buy additional coverage that covers for accidents like punctures or damaged wheels, but under the basic 3/60 warranty, no damage caused by road debris will ever be covered by any manufacturer. I have had this happen on my Civic and on my old Silverado while they were still new. It sucks, but things like this happen. Can't expect a dealership to pay for your accidents.. They'd go bankrupt in no time with how many they'd have to cover.

 

[Sner]

I did not design the front bumper, grill and air inlets, they did.

I simply don’t understand what you want. As others mentioned, it’s not a warranty issue. It’s also not a design issue, if you understand refrigeration systems, you’d know that they need a lot of airflow through them for them to function (removing heat from condenser), which needs to be in the front of the vehicle to get airflow.

 

[oxi]

You will get the same response from any other manufacturer. As previously stated, this is not a warranty issue, it is an insurance issue. It would be the same if I ran into a utility pole (by accident of course) and tried to claim it as a warranty issue, makes no sense.

It was not my design the front grill and connectors. Toyota designed it and it failed the customer.

I already had to add to this cheapened design:

Metal front skid plate because Toyota put a felt fabric one.

Proper front retrieval points and added rear ones because none back there.

Better tires than stock nonsense.

TRD air filter from OEM type.

Failed transmission from faulty design.

LED turn signals up front from cheap OEM style so drivers can see me better turning.

Yeah, you can argue why I bought it in the first place, but how many new manual's do you see out there, and Jeep sux.

Toyota's design has some flaws that the customer has to fork out thousands to repair and they do not care about it, driving up costs and insurance rates. Customer service is lacking for 25,000-mile vehicle under full warranty, not just powertrain.

And the techs in back are getting sloppy in their work. My Camry oil change sticker says to come back at 155,000 miles on it when I took it in for 15,000 service. It has only 18,000 miles on it.

They also lost or stripped my original Victory plate low-profile bolts for the oil filter access and replaced them with something they found in the shop. Heck, at another stealership they never did the oil change at 5,000 miles when I told them. Luckily, I spotted they did not do and went back in to their embarrassment.

Little known to them while working on my truck back there, I have my forward-facing camera that records when truck is on. I have some interesting comments on the camera (including talking about double charging for freon by sending me home with it fully charged to leak out again when I come back) as well as the tech driving my truck on public streets without seatbelts on.

Not going to bend the knee for any manufacturer anymore. Thankfully the manager back there is willing to waive the diagnostic fee when the insurance bill comes in because I was a stickler to this.

But I will have my one on one with the General Manager when I go in to repair. He sponsored my X-Runner back in the day. Toyota is far from Lexus when it comes to service, and they need to know about my recent experience.

 

[oxi]

You are expecting an accident that is in no way a result of defective parts to be covered under warranty. This will never happen. Sure for things like tires and rims, you can buy additional coverage that covers for accidents like punctures or damaged wheels, but under the basic 3/60 warranty, no damage caused by road debris will ever be covered by any manufacturer. I have had this happen on my Civic and on my old Silverado while they were still new. It sucks, but things like this happen. Can't expect a dealership to pay for your accidents.. They'd go bankrupt in no time with how many they'd have to cover.

No, I had to lie to the insurance company that I had some "accident" and figure out a day when it happened, also known as a lie. Plus, I had to lie about what road and time it happened on likewise.

It was no "accident" because I have no police report either.

 

[oxi]

I simply don’t understand what you want. As others mentioned, it’s not a warranty issue. It’s also not a design issue, if you understand refrigeration systems, you’d know that they need a lot of airflow through them for them to function (removing heat from condenser), which needs to be in the front of the vehicle to get airflow.

It can be a design issue, if the support was just a few inches over, this would have never happened. I did not approve of final front bumper/ plastic design though, they did.

 

[Sner]

It can be a design issue, if the support was just a few inches over, this would have never happened. I did not approve of final front bumper/ plastic design though, they did.

Wow, I sure feel sorry for the dealership that has to deal with you as a customer. So your logic, move the support over, so it would block the opening where a stone went through your condenser to have an alternate spot open for a stone to hit it. Clearly you simply don’t understand how AC works and thermo dynamics. Do some reading on it.

 

[TacoBirdinNW]

It was not my design the front grill and connectors. Toyota designed it and it failed the customer.

I already had to add to this cheapened design:

Metal front skid plate because Toyota put a felt fabric one.

Proper front retrieval points and added rear ones because none back there.

Better tires than stock nonsense.

TRD air filter from OEM type.

Failed transmission from faulty design.

LED turn signals up front from cheap OEM style so drivers can see me better turning.

Yeah, you can argue why I bought it in the first place, but how many new manual's do you see out there, and Jeep sux.

Toyota's design has some flaws that the customer has to fork out thousands to repair and they do not care about it, driving up costs and insurance rates. Customer service is lacking for 25,000-mile vehicle under full warranty, not just powertrain.

And the techs in back are getting sloppy in their work. My Camry oil change sticker says to come back at 155,000 miles on it when I took it in for 15,000 service. It has only 18,000 miles on it.

They also lost or stripped my original Victory plate low-profile bolts for the oil filter access and replaced them with something they found in the shop. Heck, at another stealership they never did the oil change at 5,000 miles when I told them. Luckily, I spotted they did not do and went back in to their embarrassment.

Little known to them while working on my truck back there, I have my forward-facing camera that records when truck is on. I have some interesting comments on the camera (including talking about double charging for freon by sending me home with it fully charged to leak out again when I come back) as well as the tech driving my truck on public streets without seatbelts on.

Not going to bend the knee for any manufacturer anymore. Thankfully the manager back there is willing to waive the diagnostic fee when the insurance bill comes in because I was a stickler to this.

But I will have my one on one with the General Manager when I go in to repair. He sponsored my X-Runner back in the day. Toyota is far from Lexus when it comes to service, and they need to know about my recent experience.

Idk man, I get that it's a shitty situation, but it's not a design flaw, it happens on other vehicles too. Re: the upgrades .. If you didn't want to upgrade those things at a fraction of the cost like you did then you could have purchased the Pro and had them off the lot (skid, hooks etc). This was honestly just irritating to read. I pretty much despise dealers, but I feel bad for the service center having to deal with this BS.

 

[maxx075]

It was not my design the front grill and connectors. Toyota designed it and it failed the customer.

I already had to add to this cheapened design:

Metal front skid plate because Toyota put a felt fabric one.

Proper front retrieval points and added rear ones because none back there.

Better tires than stock nonsense.

TRD air filter from OEM type.

Failed transmission from faulty design.

LED turn signals up front from cheap OEM style so drivers can see me better turning.

Yeah, you can argue why I bought it in the first place, but how many new manual's do you see out there, and Jeep sux.

Toyota's design has some flaws that the customer has to fork out thousands to repair and they do not care about it, driving up costs and insurance rates. Customer service is lacking for 25,000-mile vehicle under full warranty, not just powertrain.

And the techs in back are getting sloppy in their work. My Camry oil change sticker says to come back at 155,000 miles on it when I took it in for 15,000 service. It has only 18,000 miles on it.

They also lost or stripped my original Victory plate low-profile bolts for the oil filter access and replaced them with something they found in the shop. Heck, at another stealership they never did the oil change at 5,000 miles when I told them. Luckily, I spotted they did not do and went back in to their embarrassment.

Little known to them while working on my truck back there, I have my forward-facing camera that records when truck is on. I have some interesting comments on the camera (including talking about double charging for freon by sending me home with it fully charged to leak out again when I come back) as well as the tech driving my truck on public streets without seatbelts on.

Not going to bend the knee for any manufacturer anymore. Thankfully the manager back there is willing to waive the diagnostic fee when the insurance bill comes in because I was a stickler to this.

But I will have my one on one with the General Manager when I go in to repair. He sponsored my X-Runner back in the day. Toyota is far from Lexus when it comes to service, and they need to know about my recent experience.

Your name wouldn't be John, would it?

 

[IDontWorkForTheWaterCo]

Pedestrian impact requirements have shaped the design of vehicle fronts. Fronts are designed to give way to some extent for low speed pedestrian contacts. That why there is so much empty space between the grill and radiator. It's also why some of the materials seem "flimsy" and held to together by plastic clips. They are literally designed to break and give way. It's not about being "cheap". Once you get past that though, modern vehicles are actually things of wonder in actual crashes. Modern vehicles save lives everyday.....at the vehicle's expense though.

 

[Will721]

It was not my design the front grill and connectors. Toyota designed it and it failed the customer.

I already had to add to this cheapened design:

Metal front skid plate because Toyota put a felt fabric one.

Proper front retrieval points and added rear ones because none back there.

Better tires than stock nonsense.

TRD air filter from OEM type.

Failed transmission from faulty design.

LED turn signals up front from cheap OEM style so drivers can see me better turning.

Yeah, you can argue why I bought it in the first place, but how many new manual's do you see out there, and Jeep sux.

Toyota's design has some flaws that the customer has to fork out thousands to repair and they do not care about it, driving up costs and insurance rates. Customer service is lacking for 25,000-mile vehicle under full warranty, not just powertrain.

And the techs in back are getting sloppy in their work. My Camry oil change sticker says to come back at 155,000 miles on it when I took it in for 15,000 service. It has only 18,000 miles on it.

They also lost or stripped my original Victory plate low-profile bolts for the oil filter access and replaced them with something they found in the shop. Heck, at another stealership they never did the oil change at 5,000 miles when I told them. Luckily, I spotted they did not do and went back in to their embarrassment.

Little known to them while working on my truck back there, I have my forward-facing camera that records when truck is on. I have some interesting comments on the camera (including talking about double charging for freon by sending me home with it fully charged to leak out again when I come back) as well as the tech driving my truck on public streets without seatbelts on.

Not going to bend the knee for any manufacturer anymore. Thankfully the manager back there is willing to waive the diagnostic fee when the insurance bill comes in because I was a stickler to this.

But I will have my one on one with the General Manager when I go in to repair. He sponsored my X-Runner back in the day. Toyota is far from Lexus when it comes to service, and they need to know about my recent experience.

Nothing you listed here with the exception of possibly the transmission issue is a design flaw. Everything you "changed", with the exception of the LEDs are available from Toyota and are standard on other non street oriented trims. The LEDs are a nice upgrade, albeit technically illegal.



Also a quick note on dealerships, they aren't actually part of the manufacturer they represent. That's a common misconception. Manufacturers do not make any money from dealerships at all past the point of selling them the vehicles which they sell you. Plus yearly "franchise" fees of course. If you have a bad experience at any dealer, go to a different one. If it is a legitimate concern, you can and should report it to the manufacturer who will pressure them to make it right. If you have good experiences at other dealers you can go back to that dealer. There's no law or rule saying you can't have a Toyota serviced at Lexus.

Infact, unless its warranty work or the "free" maintenance, there's nothing that says you can't service your Toyota at a Chevrolet or Ford dealer. Or at home yourself for that matter. We had several customers when I worked for GM that brought in other brands just because they prefered their vehicle be serviced by specific techs or dealt with certain service advisors.

Frankly the mismatched bolts thing would have chapped my ass enough on its own to go elsewhere.

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