Toyota Sienna Van / Oil change and Smog check

Freeman Toyota Dealership

2875 Corby Ave.

Santa Rosa, CA 95407

On Dec. 5, 2006 I took my 2000 Toyota Sienna van to Freeman Toyota for what I thought was a routine service. Oil change and because the license renewal was upcoming I also requested a Smog Check. The car was left there at 9:00 am for a 2 hour routine service. I returned an hour and half later and the vehicle was read. I paid at total of $124.29 for the requested services. I drove the vehicle for less than 2 miles when the "check engine" light on the dash came on. No other warning lights came on and the car ran fine. No overheating.

I returned to Freeman Toyota and requested they look and see if something they had done with the smog check or oil change had triggered the "check engine" light to come on. I was promptly informed that no one could check the vehicle and it would need to be left all afternoon until someone could look at it. It would not be diagnosed until later in the day and I could pick it up after 5:00 pm. I was not offered a shuttle to my home or anyplace else. When I asked about a "Loaner car", I was told I couldn't have one. No explaination, I just couldn't have one! I would ned to stay all afternoon at the dealership or rent a car, or find someone to come and get me. I find this attitude and response to my bringing the vehicle back to the dealership just an hour and a half later after their service very poor customer response.

I called my husband to come and get me. He had driven home earlier. Our home is over 20 miles round trip to and from the dealership. He returned 35 minutes later to get me and we left the vehicle for diagnosis. We traveled 35 minutes back home and were home not even an hour when Freeman Toyota phoned to say our vehicle had been diagnosed with a faulty "air fuel ratio sensor" that would cost approx. $500.00 to fix!

We told them we would return to get the vehicle and not to repair it. Upon are arrival we were presented with a bill of $69.00. We argued those charges but paid them very reluctantly as we felt like it is Freeman Toyata's fault that the engine light came on, and also that we spent our gas to travel back and forth to the dealership 5 times in one day because of their poor service. We questioned their diagnosis due to the fact that we remembered having the "engine light" activating one other time when the gas cap was not properly tightened on our Sienna. This causes the engine light to come on. We asked if this could be the problem and that perhaps the mechanic working on our Sienna had left the gas cap loose. We were told that couldn't have happened. Not a possibiltity.

I returned to our vehicle and before starting up the Sienna I removed the gas cap and then put it back on tightening it several turns beyond tight. It makes this clicking noise when you tighten it correctly. I started it up to return home and the "check engine" light did not come on when I started the vehicle and it did not come on for the 35 minute return trip home! The vehicle ran smoothly as it always has.

We feel Freeman Toyota should reimburse our $69.00 diagnosis fee--plus reimburse us for gasoline that we used to travel back and forth to the dealership ($35.00) --- as there appears to be nothing wrong with our 2000 Toyota Sienna van and they just wanted to get us to pay a $500.00 erronous repair bill when it appears that all that was wrong is that they did not tighten up the gas cap on the vehicle and if we had not been knowledgeable enough about this we might have paid them for a repair that was not needed. The irony of all this is if they had been nicer about loaning me a car for the afternoon I probably would have even gone along with their scam to get $500.00. As luck would have it their attitude didn't pay off!

Sincerely,

Angie Kiker

Santa Rosa, CA

(7070823-5652