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

[mcd_ovrlnd]

@glocke12 I take my 6G4R to Thompson as well. Took my 5th Gen there too. I’ve really liked them over the years and I happen to causally know John Thompson (I considered calling him about my last two visits). My last two visits really sort of annoyed me. They mounted my spare on a new rim and road force balanced it. Two days later some of the weights fell off. Mind you, that visit took four hours. Took it back for them to re-road force balance it. I said “ain’t gonna take four hours again is it?” Nope. Three hours! I will say this. Thompson has a specific group there that does off-road mods. Maybe talk to those guys. Ask for Julian Mitchell.

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[Bryce0291]

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 ?

you should request to talk to the service manager.

 

[glocke12]

@glocke12 I take my 6G4R to Thompson as well. Took my 5th Gen there too. I’ve really liked them over the years and I happen to causally know John Thompson (I considered calling him about my last two visits). My last two visits really sort of annoyed me. They mounted my spare on a new rim and road force balanced it. Two days later some of the weights fell off. Mind you, that visit took four hours. Took it back for them to re-road force balance it. I said “ain’t gonna take four hours again is it?” Nope. Three hours! I will say this. Thompson has a specific group there that does off-road mods. Maybe talk to those guys. Ask for Julian Mitchell.

We'll see if I go back to them...My previous three Toyotas ( Tacoma than two 4runners ) were bought from Thompson and all my servicing on those vehicles was performed there. Never had an issue until now so I was surprised to see what is basically gross incompetence occurring.

On another note, when I went to go shopping for a 6th gen 4runner or a Land Cruiser in August of last year I was surprised to see that Thompson had 0 inventory of either and my recent visits there showed that they had no inventory either. In the past they usually had a few models of each to select from, which is how I ended up at Koch 33

 

[Colt1911]

I have also had a problems with warranty at my local dealer.
6 weeks ago, I took my 26 TRD Pro in because rear accessory outlet was not working. The dealer told me it could not be fixed without replacing the whole air compressor unit and would have to be ordered and they would need the truck for a week. I was leaving on vacation in a few days, so they put it back together for me and ordered the part. When I got back from vacation, I took it back to the dealer. This time they called me and said since I had an "unauthorized" accessory splitter in the FRONT accessory outlet and that the rear fuse for the rear accessory outlet was not blown, but had insufficient material in it, there would be $195 charge to install a new rear fuse. "Which is about a 2 minute job" Luckily my service writer took up for me and pointed out when I came in the first time, there were no accessories and the rear outlet was not working then. Also, the front accessory outlet has its own fuse separate from the rear. So, if overloading it was a problem then the front outlet would not be working.
Anyway thanks to the service writer, who will go on my Christmas list, it was resolved with no charge.
Just another in a long list of reasons why I don't trust the dealers.

 

[127.0.0.1]

it's probably a liability issue. if the vehicle is not stock, what is the benefit of trying to calibrate critical safety systems to not-specification vs calibrating them to factory settings
and also being a Toyota dealer who needs to do and not do things to keep that dealership

sensors only have so much fiddle room before it they can't compensate properly for more drastic changes. a single millimeter beyond spec can mean a hundred yards delay at 80mph

 

[ROBERT18452]

The person who you spoke to is full of

In light of the customer service you have experienced I would never go back ( strong emphasis). I would take it a step further and call Toyota corporate customer service and let them know what’s going on in Doylestown!

I highly recommend KOCH 33 Toyota, I have personally experienced incredible customer service and skilled technicians.

Johua Lawless - senior service advisor
(484) 373-5743 , his business cell

They competently install various after market accessories and will not steer you wrong.

They also have a body shop onsite.

I traveled from Scranton to Bethlehem to have them straighten out an issue with my Westcott modular rack ( who I also highly recommend). I drove away a very satisfied customer!

if you have specific questions, please call/text me @ 717 685 9100

Have a great weekend!

 

[mcd_ovrlnd]

@glocke12 i was recently back at Thompson and had a crazy experience with them.

 

[glocke12]

@glocke12 i was recently back at Thompson and had a crazy experience with them.

Hmmm. What happened ?

they finally got my passenger side seat vent fixed, and while ii was there i had them do an oil change and tire rotation.

when i dropped it off the low pressure warning was on for the spare and i just figured they would top it off with air.

nope. I got it back and it was still lit up when they brought it out to me so now my 59 year old ass has to crawl under there on my stone driveway to top it off.

i dont know what happened to that place but im never going back for anyything there.

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