Just need to vent...

Update: She used the money from her insurance settlement on the Highlander and got a new Subaru Outback. And, no Toyota Corporate was no help at all...even though the theft is on video where you can, clearly, see the garage door being opened. (Only the Toyota folks can open/close the doors but the one who did it isn't on camera, which is a bummer.)
He is going to get a lawyer and sue the dealership for what it cost them to replace the Highlander, which was about $7,500.
Sad Toyota is willing to take such bad publicity for such a small amount of money...the video is being shared ALL over town on folks Facebook. (Probably also on TikTok but I don't have that app.)

 

Well I've learned the Toyota Corporate auto builders and their dealerships are two very different animals....which is sad.

I'm scared because I have to bring my wife's new Corolla into the SAME dealership that allowed the Highlander to be stolen because of a recall on the ECM module that controls the brakes! (Next Thursday)

I'm going to direct them to NOT leave the key fob in the vehicle when they bring it back to the bay but to put them directly in my hand.....idiots....

 

When I had the wire harness recall on my 2017 Prius, I drove 2 hours to my preferred dealer because I did not trust the work or judgement of my local dealer.
I hope your recall goes without incident.

 

I would've dragged the service-, dealership- managers and/or dealership owner out and taken pictures.
Tell them your giving me a rental car, because I've got someplace to be. Be back tomorrow afternoon to pick it up, or these pictures are going to corporate and local consumer affairs division.

 

Hopefully, they will be more mindful after that happened and has changed their procedures...

 

The dealerships are independent billionaire owners that are highly protected from lawsuits in most states.

 

Wow my Toyota dealer's mechanics SUCK! I got the oil changed in my Tundra a few months ago just so I could get their vehicle inspection and let me know what she needs for service.
They wrote up my front timing cover was leaky and needs replacement, $2,600. They asked me if I wanted them to start on it, nope.
So my local mechanic has had the truck for a few days (was going to do the reseal on the timing chain cover for me for about $1,000 plus $300 for parts.)
He called me, yesterday, and said the V-8 has ZERO oil leaks from any gaskets. What's leaking is power steering fluid. But he wasn't sure where (pump or hose or clamp). So he just cleaned it all up and put some dye into the power steering fluid. I'll bring it back in a few weeks to get the leak id'd and fixed.
Toyota prices are strange....a new Power Steering pump is $250 but the power steering hose assembly is $375. (That's for them all, not sure if you can break it up to just the one that's bad but it doesn't look like it.)
Sad when you can't even trust Toyota Mechanics anymore....imagine spending $2,600 just to find out you still have something leaking!

 

A number of years ago I bought a used (1985?) Camry. I had it in for a few minor dealer warranty things and one time, they just left the hood on the safety latch without closing it!

A few years later I had a real strange cold start issue. I happened upon a local mechanic who had been a Toyota mechanic.He had to replace a fairly expensive dealer part and the car then ran better than when I bought it. i suspect the dealer knew what was wrong and did not want to replace the part. That is one reason i only use my local dealer for test drives.

 

If for some reason or other a dealer opens MY hood, I presume that there are several good reasons for me to ALSO open my hood......BEFORE I LEAVE the dealership.

 

Dang, what's the deal with mechanics these days? One of my managers has a beautiful blacked-out Toyota Sequoia but doesn't want to put too many miles on her so got a 25-year old beater for his commuter. (A Honda Civic)
Recently the Civic refused to go over 30 mph...just wouldn't do it. He had it looked at by a "mechanic" and the said it needed a transmission....$5,000-$8,000. (He only paid a couple for the old car)
I told him how my Tundra was mis-diagnosed at our Toyota Dealer so he took the Honda to a local transmission shop and the engine and tranny are fine....his old catalytic converter is clogged...just needs a new one. (A couple hundred bucks) They put one on and the old Civic is running better than he's ever seen it.
Pretty sad how mechanics aren't very well trained these days.

 

IMO they are trained to maximize dealer profit. When I lived up in Canada, a friend of the family had problems with a Pontiac. The transmission shop they visited said the transmission needed to be replaced.
I took them to our trusted small transmission shop. The mechanic drove it and saw it was not shifting properly. He drove back to the dealer & fiddled a bit under the hood. He then drove it again and it worked fine. We asked him what was wrong. He needed to lube the shift linkage at no charge. When we told them about the repair estimate, he said they must use more expensive oil. LOL

 

In the 1970s, GM used the 4 speed "rock Crusher" M22 Muncie tranny that you can still rebuild for under $2K at many shops - if it ever even goes out.
Nowadays, the 10-speed Allison will cost you 4X that much to rebuild. Complexity typically equals higher costs when it comes to vehicle parts.

.

 

The M22s were for 3-pedal cars.
We're too......something, to drive those in 2025.....

 

AI captions for news photos.

"Historical photo of a large group of people in uniform outside a building. The scene likely depicts a moment of gathering or waiting"

If you've got no one on staff with time to read the first graf of the story and write a caption that says who those people in uniform are and what building ...

just don't put an effing meaningless caption on the photo!

The readers can figure it out faster from the story the less of their time you waste with useless garbage.


I'm sure some clever kid on the web team sees it as an easy way to make sure every page complies with the web-accessibility standards saying every image should have a text caption.

But it couldn't be further from the web-accessibility purpose of having a text caption that conveys the meaning.

 

I found out the other day that a lot of people don't believe in race, as in, races don't exist.

Some also believe any comment that could associate a person with either a race (which they say don't exist) a nationality or an ethnicity (or even sometimes a sex or sexual orientation) is discrimination, especially if that person is a child.

I'm not saying I feel this way or have an opinion on what others should feel or do.

 

Let's see, Hispanic, Italian, Black, Middle Eastern, American Indian or many other origins.

Second, do we call 911 when we see any kid that meets the profile?