Took my prius in for it's yearly N.C. state safety inspection at Stevenson toyota , car was taken back on time about 20 minutes later the girl that took my info came to see me I thought great it is done , nope she had a dirty interior cabin filter and 8 test tubes each fill with different fluids. She showed me the brake fluid that had water in it and was yellow brown , then showed me the trans axle fluid that looked to be a dark red. Then she proceeded to tell me that both needed to be changed because I had 33000 miles on the car. I smell a rat, I checked my smart phone and found that I could do the trans axel for the cost of the fluid much less than the $189 they wanted. So after paying $40 dollars for a $29 inspection I went home I took a syringe and drew some of the brake fluid from the reservoir it was clear, with no trace of water. I believe there is a maintenance scam going on here.
Toyota had better get a handle on their dealers. I saw the same thing in 05 when I bought my Harley. Phenomenal product! Abysmal dealership network!!! The test tube story goes well beyond pushing unneeded maintenance.
That's why I hate going to the dealer for service unless I really have to. I once went in for an oil change without an appointment. They told me 3-4 hrs (for an oil change??), but if I do other recommended service (about $250 worth), he can get me out in 2 hrs. I was so disgusted, I left the dealership and never returned there again.
That is really interesting. I have dealt with Stevenson Honda in Wilmington for years and they are the best service department that I have dealt with. Always very professional. Never any scams like you experienced. You would think being owned by the same parent company that they would have similar cultures but obviously not.
contact your attorney general's office of consumer affairs before they steal anymore money from unsuspecting innocent's.
The dealer I go to, Magnusun in Auburn California, has so far been completely honest with me and not tried any phony upsells. I realize that unfortunately that is the exception, but there are few honest ones out there. The Chevy dealer in Auburn I used to take my Corvette to, Goldrush Chevrolet, also used to be above board but the last time I was in there the service adviser tried to upsell me to some services that weren't needed and in one case were impossible to do on my car. I guess the message is, just because a dealer is honest for a few years doesn't mean they will always be honest. Watch your 6.
That's interesting. I'm over in Raleigh, our dealer here so far has been excellent, although I have only gone once for what looked like to be a low coolant situation. They charged under $50 to pressure test the cooling system, personally I felt that was a steal. I personally would change your tranny fluid though. You really can't change it often enough. If I had bought our Prius new I would've changed it around 3000-5000 miles, then 10k, then 30k, then every 30k. When transmission fluid starts to get hot it burns, and then all the lubrication qualities are gone. Between the M1 oil and Toyota transmission fluid changes every 30k, I hope the powertrain on this car will be the last thing to go...
Well thank God you caught it. If it were me that happened to here is what I would do: 1) write into Angie's list, and hammer them 2) call and file a report to the BBB, Better Business Bureau, you can do it online. this is very effictive 3) You already did it, right here. gave the name of the Dealer. i love to praise good service and not afraid to hammer poor service, if i get ripped off all bets are off. I damn don't sure don't want other to get screwed by them. In fact, I would feel responsible and just as wrong if I failed to speak up about some business screwing me. The more folks I tell the better I feel.
