I went to the Piercey Toyota dealership in Milpitas CA because of a recall on the 2014 toyota prius that they told me was just a software update. They had my car for about 5 hours & did an inspection where they tried to sell me spark plugs, an alignment, front brake pads, wheels, etc. They also told me about a nail I had in the front right tire, which I agreed to have patched up. When I got the car, everything seemed fine, but after a week & no more than a 150 miles, i’m driving to work & I hear a clunk sound coming from the left front wheel. I thought the brake pads were worn out & maybe scraping, but the sound alarmed me alot so I avoided the freeway on the drive back home & took the city streets. The clunk was nonstop on the way back, & when I got home to check, the lugnuts on the front left wheel were so loose to the point where I was unscrewing them by hand. The wheel had so much play, & when my dad got home & saw, he said that the wheel being that loose could have killed me, especially at highway speeds, which i’m almost always driving at since i’m a delivery driver. I immediately called the dealer & spoke to the manager & they told me their mechanics didn’t touch any of the wheels except for the one with a nail (front right). After the “multipoint inspection” they also did on my vehicle while at the dealer, they gave me a detailed paper with the measurements of all the brake pads, tread depth, & all that. My dad found it hard to believe they could measure the brake pads without removing the wheels, so I brought this point up when speaking to the manager & he told me that they don’t remove the wheels to check the brake pads, & that if they do remove the wheels, they have to document it. He said that they check the pads from the bottom… whatever that means, so I bought what he said & hung up. Upon removing the wheel that was already almost coming off, I noticed it had white almost grease-like coating on all the threads for the lugnuts, & the plate that they’re on. Also, two of the threads were not even tight & in their socket, they were able to be pushed in with my fingers. Me & my dad had to hammer them back in to their sockets. After noticing the white substance, I took off the other wheel, the one that they worked on, & again, it had that white substance, maybe thread lock? So I took pictures & decided to check the back wheels, & what do you know, ALL the lugsnuts except for two on the back left wheel, were not tight at all. I was able to take them of using only one hand of force with my tire iron. After taking each back wheel off, again they all had that white substance that I have never owned, or never put on any of my wheels lug nuts or plates, since I bought the car from that Toyota dealer. Did I just get lied too? It seems like they definitely took of all the wheels, & didn’t properly tighten any of the nuts. I’d like to add that when telling the manager that I went in on the 25th of October, & it’s been about a week since then, he told me that if the lugs were loose like I mentioned, they should have been obvious within 2 miles of me driving. I don’t know how true that statement is, but I’ve watched so many of yours videos & have done as much maintenance on my own thanks to you. I’m expecting to call them back tomorrow. Please help Scotty. I’m not sure what to do or what I can even do.
Obviously they are just covering their own asses. Service managers often lied they have no idea what the mechanics are actually doing I've had them say I watch them do a brake job on your car to people who had the brake job not even done at a dealership. It's unfortunate but that's what happens when you have dishonest Americans running and owning Toyota dealerships I'm sure this does not happen in Japan. I would contact Toyota Japan myself or if you're near Clarksville Tennessee bring the car by and I'll make a cool video
Sorry for the late response, but I appreciate the help & fast reply. I’d love to bring in my car in the future for a video, hybrid technology fascinated me, & I always look forward to watching your videos about them. I’ll definitely let you know in advanced if i’m ever around Tennessee. Thanks again Scotty.
Send this info to Toyota corporate for starters -they need to know what their dealers are doing - check the "dealership service experience"
https://www.toyota.com/support/#!/app/ask
Sorry for the late response, but thanks so much for the help. As I bought the vehicle used from the dealership that did this to me, I don’t even know if I should ever still go back there.
You should also get in touch with the state agency that regulates and licenses auto repair shops in your state and file a formal complaint. Maybe call the local TV station to do a story on your experience. The white stuff in the studs was probably lithium grease.
I actually heard bad stories about that dealership. Thats one reason when i bought my corolla i didnt even look at them. Avoid fremont toyota also.