Is the dealership/service center I go to full of it/incompetent ?

[glocke12]

I bought my 2025 TRD ORP from Koch 33 in Easton PA, but unfortunately going there for routine service is a hassle, its just too far out of the way so as a result I've been going to Thompson Toyota in Doylestown which until now had been my go to dealer for vehicle purchases, service and warranty work.

Really never had any issue with them until I started taking this vehicle there for warranty work.

Yesterday I was there to get some warranty work done and was asking about lift kits, basically I just want to get rid of the front rake and level it out and the guy at the service desk told me they can't do those mods on these vehicles because of the tow package and it will also screw up the radar sensors ( I asked about recalibrating those and he said that can't be done ).

I found everything he said unbelievable.

As a side note, this place has caused other problems for me.

Took it in for a warranty repair on the molding strips/weather stripping that run the length of the roof ( they were peeling off ). They said the ordered the parts, than called me claiming they had arrived. Took it in to drop it off for the day to get those installed and they gave me a free loaner. Went to pick up the vehicle at the end of the day only to discover the work had not been done because the parts were not actually there. That same thing happened again a few weeks later, dropped it off, went to pick it up and was again told they had not actually come in despite them telling me they had. At least that time I got them to comp me an oil change.

Same thing is happening now to fix a seat fan issue for the ventilated passenger seat. I brought it in to have that issue diagnosed, they said they ordered the parts, called one day to say they had arrived and I show up and drop my vehicle off only to get a call later to say the parts had not actually arrived. They called again a few weeks later saying they were here, and I asked them to visually confirm they were there. They did, so I dropped it off yesterday only to get a call at the end of the day saying not all of the needed parts were there but had now been ordered and asked me to leave the vehicle overnight in the hopes they show up today.

It's probably the last time I take this vehicle to that dealership/service center and I will probably just bite the bullet and go to the original dealer I purchased it from for future warranty work or service.

In any case, are they wrong about what they told me about lift kits/leveling kits interfering with the sensors ?

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[127.0.0.1]

when you lift it, every sensor should be recalibrated if you want
it to be to specification, and perform as closely as possible to how
it performs from factory in regards to vehicle stability and safety
mechanisms. headlights also need to be adjusted

 

[glocke12]

when you lift it, every sensor should be recalibrated if you want
it to be to specification, and perform as closely as possible to how
it performs from factory in regards to vehicle stability and safety
mechanisms. headlights also need to be adjusted

right...but the dealership is telling me they can't recalibrate it....who would I go to for that ?

 

[HVLA]

right...but the dealership is telling me they can't recalibrate it....who would I go to for that ?

You would go to a dealer..... Just not this one. Stop going there. They are highly incompetent and should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[Dead Horse]

The "we have the parts" - "oops we did it again" football pull would have me two to three levels above the service advisor the second time it happened. There's some wild systemic incompetence in that house.

And those are Toyota kits/parts for the level kit. They're 100% supported, as is the recalibration process.

 

[Joe Dirt]

I bought my 2025 TRD ORP from Koch 33 in Easton PA, but unfortunately going there for routine service is a hassle, its just too far out of the way so as a result I've been going to Thompson Toyota in Doylestown which until now had been my go to dealer for vehicle purchases, service and warranty work.

Really never had any issue with them until I started taking this vehicle there for warranty work.

Yesterday I was there to get some warranty work done and was asking about lift kits, basically I just want to get rid of the front rake and level it out and the guy at the service desk told me they can't do those mods on these vehicles because of the tow package and it will also screw up the radar sensors ( I asked about recalibrating those and he said that can't be done ).

I found everything he said unbelievable.

As a side note, this place has caused other problems for me.

Took it in for a warranty repair on the molding strips/weather stripping that run the length of the roof ( they were peeling off ). They said the ordered the parts, than called me claiming they had arrived. Took it in to drop it off for the day to get those installed and they gave me a free loaner. Went to pick up the vehicle at the end of the day only to discover the work had not been done because the parts were not actually there. That same thing happened again a few weeks later, dropped it off, went to pick it up and was again told they had not actually come in despite them telling me they had. At least that time I got them to comp me an oil change.

Same thing is happening now to fix a seat fan issue for the ventilated passenger seat. I brought it in to have that issue diagnosed, they said they ordered the parts, called one day to say they had arrived and I show up and drop my vehicle off only to get a call later to say the parts had not actually arrived. They called again a few weeks later saying they were here, and I asked them to visually confirm they were there. They did, so I dropped it off yesterday only to get a call at the end of the day saying not all of the needed parts were there but had now been ordered and asked me to leave the vehicle overnight in the hopes they show up today.

It's probably the last time I take this vehicle to that dealership/service center and I will probably just bite the bullet and go to the original dealer I purchased it from for future warranty work or service.

In any case, are they wrong about what they told me about lift kits/leveling kits interfering with the sensors ?

Make sure you note the mileage. And also make sure that you tell them that you don't want the car driven off the dealership premises. Risk management.
I'm getting ready to go in for the backup squeak. I dread it because I'm not sure if they're going to break something else; I have no faith anymore. I guess I shouldn't worry, but I don't lease a car or buy a new car every five years, nor do I want to support the dealerships keeping their doors open at my expense.

My friend took her almost new RAV4 in for an oil change. They overfilled and shot oil all up under the hood on the insulator.

They used a high pressure sprayer to spray down the hood insulator which completely ripped it and saturated it with water.

The service technician never mentioned that; they just brought the car out to her.

I saw how soaked it was and noticed the tear marks all across it from the high pressure washer.

I took her car straight back to the dealership and said I want the insulator replaced and I want an explanation why the service manager didn't mention any of that.

As usual they said they'd have to order that part. A week later it was repaired with an apology from the general manager.


This is the kind of lack of ownership to Quality.

I could go on and on from my experiences like over tightened oil filters and loose spark plugs.

Good luck. Great day!

 

[NWRes]

Something else you might think about. I have been driving 30 miles to the Toyota dealer I have been purchasing from and using for maint since 2003 when my local dealer fell short of my expectations. When I purchased our 25 ORP I started asking questions about lifts. From the responses I felt it might be a good idea to look elsewhere for lifts.

Then I started looking at various manufactures and found that Westcott listed a Toyota dealership about 125 miles away as one of their vendors so I went with them and ordered the Pre Collar lift. I was not sorry. Drove the two hours and 125 miles. The Toyota dealership installed the lift and that is now reflected in Toyota's maint records of our vehicle. I checked. I have not had any problems nor do I expect any but unless it is a Wescott warranty issue if anything goes wrong Toyota will have to cover it even though they are not Toyota parts. I figure that is important.

 

[SC4Runner]

right...but the dealership is telling me they can't recalibrate it....who would I go to for that ?

I had the front lifted 1.5 inches and no recalibration was required. Of course, I didn’t use the dealership at all.

 

[josiahg52]

I had the front lifted 1.5 inches and no recalibration was required. Of course, I didn’t use the dealership at all.

I think there's an important distinction between “I didn't notice any problems after a 1.5" lift” and “recalibration wasn't required.”

As far as I know, there isn't necessarily going to be a warning or DTC telling you that a camera or radar is somewhat outside its calibrated geometry. The systems can continue to function and appear completely normal without that demonstrating that they're still operating within Toyota's calibrated/validated tolerances.

These aren't just convenience features, either. The forward camera and millimeter-wave radar feed systems such as PCS, adaptive cruise and lane-assistance functions. Toyota obviously designs them to tolerate changes in vehicle attitude from passengers, cargo, towing, acceleration/braking, road grade, etc. So I'm certainly not suggesting that changing front ride height 1.5" automatically makes TSS unsafe.

The question is simply: what is the tolerance?

A 1.5" front lift over a ~112" wheelbase permanently changes static body pitch by about 1-degree. Maybe that's comfortably inside the system's allowable range. Maybe it's near an edge of it. I haven't seen a Toyota specification that answers that.

What we do know is that Toyota's own 2.5" lift installation procedure calls for calibration/adjustment of the relevant camera and sensor systems afterward. So at some point Toyota considers the geometry change significant enough that recalibration is part of properly installing the lift.

The difficult part is that being outside calibration doesn't necessarily mean an obvious failure. A system could continue working normally in virtually every situation you encounter while no longer meeting its originally validated performance at some edge condition. There doesn't necessarily have to be a “TSS calibration required” message to tell you that.

Ultimately that's a risk decision for the owner. I just wouldn't use the absence of warnings or noticeable malfunctions as proof that recalibration wasn't necessary. It establishes that you haven't observed a problem, which isn't quite the same thing.

 

[josiahg52]

right...but the dealership is telling me they can't recalibrate it....who would I go to for that ?

The dealership certainly should be able to. Maybe the dealer sucks and can't or just won't.

 

[Dead Horse]

I think there's an important distinction between “I didn't notice any problems after a 1.5" lift” and “recalibration wasn't required.”

As far as I know, there isn't necessarily going to be a warning or DTC telling you that a camera or radar is somewhat outside its calibrated geometry. The systems can continue to function and appear completely normal without that demonstrating that they're still operating within Toyota's calibrated/validated tolerances.

These aren't just convenience features, either. The forward camera and millimeter-wave radar feed systems such as PCS, adaptive cruise and lane-assistance functions. Toyota obviously designs them to tolerate changes in vehicle attitude from passengers, cargo, towing, acceleration/braking, road grade, etc. So I'm certainly not suggesting that changing front ride height 1.5" automatically makes TSS unsafe.

The question is simply: what is the tolerance?

A 1.5" front lift over a ~112" wheelbase permanently changes static body pitch by about 1-degree. Maybe that's comfortably inside the system's allowable range. Maybe it's near an edge of it. I haven't seen a Toyota specification that answers that.

What we do know is that Toyota's own 2.5" lift installation procedure calls for calibration/adjustment of the relevant camera and sensor systems afterward. So at some point Toyota considers the geometry change significant enough that recalibration is part of properly installing the lift.

The difficult part is that being outside calibration doesn't necessarily mean an obvious failure. A system could continue working normally in virtually every situation you encounter while no longer meeting its originally validated performance at some edge condition. There doesn't necessarily have to be a “TSS calibration required” message to tell you that.

Ultimately that's a risk decision for the owner. I just wouldn't use the absence of warnings or noticeable malfunctions as proof that recalibration wasn't necessary. It establishes that you haven't observed a problem, which isn't quite the same thing.

Agreed ^^^

If no warning lights light up, I put this sort of thing in the bucket with things like aftermarket bumpers and winches. You gotta know what you're getting into.

Yeah, they work great and my dashboard isn't telling me it's out of spec, but now things like my airbags might not function correctly any more because it will behave much differently in a crash with that winch, added weight, reduced crumple zone...


All that said...If I were to state that my front camera is "calibrated"...You'd have to have a really loose definition of that word. It's easily a foot off from the side view cameras on the screen. I've not lifted or changed anything yet on it. Factory ORP.

 

[josiahg52]

Agreed ^^^

If no warning lights light up, I put this sort of thing in the bucket with things like aftermarket bumpers and winches. You gotta know what you're getting into.

Yeah, they work great and my dashboard isn't telling me it's out of spec, but now things like my airbags might not function correctly any more because it will behave much differently in a crash with that winch, added weight, reduced crumple zone...


All that said...If I were to state that my front camera is "calibrated"...You'd have to have a really loose definition of that word. It's easily a foot off from the side view cameras on the screen. I've not lifted or changed anything yet on it. Factory ORP.

All true. I actually was wondering, you have to consider just how "calibrated" it is from the factory. They're pushing these things through. Is it a person doing 8t. Is there an automated factory procedure?

 

[Dead Horse]

All true. I actually was wondering, you have to consider just how "calibrated" it is from the factory. They're pushing these things through. Is it a person doing 8t. Is there an automated factory procedure?

I should go into that calibration menu that others have shown on the forum here, and adjust my camera. I need to figure it out anyway, as I have almost all the parts to do a full Trailhunter front end swap and the front camera moves about 14" with that grill.

 

[Paplaz]

I bought my 2025 TRD ORP from Koch 33 in Easton PA, but unfortunately going there for routine service is a hassle, its just too far out of the way so as a result I've been going to Thompson Toyota in Doylestown which until now had been my go to dealer for vehicle purchases, service and warranty work.

Really never had any issue with them until I started taking this vehicle there for warranty work.

Yesterday I was there to get some warranty work done and was asking about lift kits, basically I just want to get rid of the front rake and level it out and the guy at the service desk told me they can't do those mods on these vehicles because of the tow package and it will also screw up the radar sensors ( I asked about recalibrating those and he said that can't be done ).

I found everything he said unbelievable.

As a side note, this place has caused other problems for me.

Took it in for a warranty repair on the molding strips/weather stripping that run the length of the roof ( they were peeling off ). They said the ordered the parts, than called me claiming they had arrived. Took it in to drop it off for the day to get those installed and they gave me a free loaner. Went to pick up the vehicle at the end of the day only to discover the work had not been done because the parts were not actually there. That same thing happened again a few weeks later, dropped it off, went to pick it up and was again told they had not actually come in despite them telling me they had. At least that time I got them to comp me an oil change.

Same thing is happening now to fix a seat fan issue for the ventilated passenger seat. I brought it in to have that issue diagnosed, they said they ordered the parts, called one day to say they had arrived and I show up and drop my vehicle off only to get a call later to say the parts had not actually arrived. They called again a few weeks later saying they were here, and I asked them to visually confirm they were there. They did, so I dropped it off yesterday only to get a call at the end of the day saying not all of the needed parts were there but had now been ordered and asked me to leave the vehicle overnight in the hopes they show up today.

It's probably the last time I take this vehicle to that dealership/service center and I will probably just bite the bullet and go to the original dealer I purchased it from for future warranty work or service.

In any case, are they wrong about what they told me about lift kits/leveling kits interfering with the sensors ?

 

[Paplaz]

Years ago I was looking for an FJ Cruiser. Costco auto plan was supposed to save me about 1500 bucks and hooked me up with these morons. I contacted them, their internet coordinator took down my info and what I was looking for. After an hour or so they emailed me specs of an FJ that looked good. Made an appointment and drove the 90 miles to the dealer. Sat down with a "salesman" and he began reading off an FJ brochure about the specs. I tolerated this for a few minutes then stopped him and asked to go outside and look at the FJ. He looked puzzled and said, "We don't have any FJ's here but could get one delivered in a few days. I mumbled various obscenities under my breath and walked out. On the way home I drove past a Toyota dealer five miles from my house which had 3 FJ's sitting on the lot! A few days later I drove one home. Nuff said.

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