Evening Scott!
I don’t have any questions today, I just wanted to share a quick story with you that I thought you might find interesting. A few days ago I drove my family car, a 2018 Toyota Highlander V6 (non hybrid) to work. I have a 42 mile drive to work. I parked and went into work, and went out on break 4 hours later. I noticed there was a trail of coolant coming from under my car. I am a maintenance tech by trade, and mechanic by hobby so I quickly ran in and grabbed my tools to go back out and figure out what happened. When I got the stupid skid plate off and popped my head under there, I was surprised to find that there was no damage to any of my coolant hoses or connectors, but instead coolant coming out of the radiator from behind the AC evaporator (of all places). The radiator had broken open. I found this strange because this particular spot on the rad has a skid plate under it, and an evaporator coil in front of it. The vehicle only has 40k miles on it and is still under warranty, so I simply had it towed free of charge to the Toyota dealer where we bought it, and had my fiancée pick me up from work in my Tundra that day. I called and explained why the vehicle was towed to the dealer and exactly what the problem was. This is where things went down hill. I was charged $160 for a ‘diagnostic’ charge, even though I told them outright what was wrong with it. They then called back and told me that this wasn’t covered under warranty because it was caused ‘most likely’ by ‘road debris’, and that I should file an insurance claim instead. I explained to them that it is nearly, if not entirely, impossible for road debris to hit where the leak was located due to it being behind the evaporator, above the skid plate, and neither the evaporator or radiator fins had any impact damage whatsoever. Their only response was ‘we’ve seen it all’ and that it’s still not covered. Sounds to me like they just don’t want to do warranty work because they don’t make money off of it. This is obviously a parts failure, and not a result of impact damage. I am not happy with their service and I will likely be fixing it myself at home and never taking it back there for any kind of service. What are your thoughts? Am I wrong in believing that this was a result of parts failure? I am a little disappointed in Toyota not only for how they handled this, but for such an important part failing at such low mileage. I own a 2012 Tundra and I’ve never had a random parts failure like this with almost 170k miles on the clock. I can’t help but ask myself, Is Toyotas quality slipping these days? What do you think?
Well, in a major turn of events, the stealership went to test drive our highlander and the mechanic didn’t bolt the hood back on or latch it so it blew off, smashed the roof, windshield, and bent both fenders. They can’t even get parts to fix it. because it was their fault, they gave us a bunch of money, enough that they’re not going to make anything on it by the time they sell it again, and a lowered price on a really nice 2019 Camry SE. I’m still not happy with how they handled the original situation, and they’re fools for not being competent enough to bolt body panels back on before driving it, but we got a nice car that’s way easier on the wallet with payments and gas out of it. Crazy story I thought y’all would get a kick out of it.
Am I wrong in believing that this was a result of parts failure?
It certainly seems like a failed part.
I can’t help but ask myself, Is Toyotas quality slipping these days?
People need to get over the fact that Toyota is perfect and has no faults. Every automaker has issues including Toyota, and IMO they are past peak reliability. That being said, when you grade on a curve they still come out ahead of all the other automakers. Also, for all you know, that may be one of the few issues you ever have on your Toyota. You should see the “rap sheet” on all the other automakers’ vehicles and then you will be glad you owned a Toyota.
am a little disappointed in Toyota not only for how they handled this,
I don’t even trust the stealership to tell me the correct time of day.
I agree completely that no vehicle is perfect. Trust me, I was a Ford guy for over a decade 😂. I don’t expect absolute perfection, 40k miles just seems very early for things like this to start breaking. It has also needed to have front struts and lower ball joints replaced in its first 4 years on the road, and who knows what else by the time we bought it with 15k on the clock. I’d still rather have my Toyotas than any other vehicle on the road today! Thank you for your input!
Also, the part suppliers can be having their own issues. Toyota is vertically integrated but still there are sometimes supplier issues.
.
It’s happening more often these days.
Make sure you get a good photo of the leaking area once the radiator is out. (and show us please! 😀 )
Road debris would have left some kind of visible mark. (dents, impacted fins etc.) If it's a pinhole leak then it's a defect and they either didn't even investigate before passing the buck, or they're lying through their teeth. Dishonest either way. Get a quote for radiator replacement (include parts, labour, the diagnostic fee, time you have to take off work... everything) , and find out what it costs to go to small claims court. (likely not worth it). Regardless, I would shame them as much as possible. Make a scene to the dealership manager in front of all their customers, shame them on social media (include photos), write to the news station, etc...
Well, in a major turn of events, the stealership went to test drive our highlander and the mechanic didn’t bolt the hood back on or latch it so it blew off, smashed the roof, windshield, and bent both fenders. They can’t even get parts to fix it.
Sorry to hear that. You can’t make this stuff up! Now I know why I haven’t gone to the dealership for service ever in my entire life!
Sounds to me like they just don’t want to do warranty work because they don’t make money off of it.
Definitely agree with this. Just do a quick search on this forum and you'll see many incidents in which people take their car to the dealership for an issue and the dealership says "it's normal" or "you did x, y, and z so you damaged it" to avoid doing warranty work. As you said they make no profit off of it. Even though you know the issue yourself maybe you should have an independent mechanic give you a diagnosis sheet and show that to the dealership or take it to the next level in order to get them to fix it under warranty.
I am not happy with their service
You're not alone; most people aren't happy with how dealerships treat customers.
I will likely be fixing it myself at home
I wouldn't suggest doing this because then it will give both the dealership and Toyota more excuses for denying further warranty related issues if anything else arises.
Am I wrong in believing that this was a result of parts failure?
It most likely is because as you said the location of it doesn't seem to be a place that road debris could have caused it.
I own a 2012 Tundra and I’ve never had a random parts failure like this with almost 170k miles on the clock.
We had a 2004 Sequoia that ended up with a fuel pump problem during the first month of ownership and had to take it to the dealership to get it fixed. So I think part failures are normal but it's just a matter of the extent of it and how many cases of it which I think Toyota is still better than many other manufacturers.
Is Toyotas quality slipping these days?
I would agree with this too. But I always say it's the extent of the issues that really matters. I mean for example take Hyundai or Kia; engines catching on fire, constant recalls, replacing engines under recall and even the new ones having issues, metal shavings in the engines, etc. Compared to this Toyota is still great when it comes to quality; not as good as before but still much better than many other manufacturers.
I’m still not happy with how they handled the original situation, and they’re fools for not being competent enough to bolt body panels back on before driving it, but we got a nice car that’s way easier on the wallet with payments and gas out of it. Crazy story I thought y’all would get a kick out of it.
Amazing - are you sure it wasn't these guys?
