Bingham Toyota, Clovis, CA - 2001 Toyota Tacoma truck tires wearing abnormally - need problem fixed

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on July 26, 2002:

From:

RE: Bingham Toyota, Clovis, CA - 2001 Toyota Tacoma truck tires wearing abnormally - need problem fixed

In late May, early June of this year, it was pointed out to me, that the front tires on my 1 year old Toyota Tacoma truck, were wearing abnormally. The rear tires were fine, but the front ones were wearing in a 'choppy' fashion. I was told to get it checked as soon as possible, because the wear of the tires meant that there was a severe tire imbalance, or something was wrong with the front end of the truck.

I was assured by several mechanic friends, that this would be taken care of by the warranty, since the problem was intrinsic to the truck, not to anything I had done wrong. After several desperate, failed attempts to contact the dealership where I bought the truck: Bingham Toyota

895 W. Shaw

Clovis, CA 93612

559-291-5544 my husband was finally able to contact the service department at Bingham Toyota, only to be told that he could not schedule an appointment to have the truck checked and repaired, that he could bring it in early, on a 'first come, first serve' basis. On July 24, he dropped the truck off, with instructions to find out what was causing the abnormal wear of the tires, repair it, and replace the now-defective front tires, and that the truck was covered by warranty.

He also told them that we needed to have the truck back by 3 in the afternoon, to be able to handle job commitments, since Bingham Toyota told us they had no 'loaners'....(although when I bought the truck, I was told that any time warranty service was done, they would provide a loaner) At 3:15 that afternoon, I finally received a call from a service advisor, Charles Dodd...who informed me that there WAS abnormal wear of the front tires...no surprise...but then proceeded to blame the problem on me, for not having the tires rotated every 7500 miles!

He stated that the 'owners manual' for the truck said this must be done. Mr. Dodd, obviously has never read the owners manual, because there is nothing in the owners manual stating any such thing. However...in the "schedule of maintenance guide" it DOES recommend rotating the tires of a truck every 7500 miles, under "SPECIAL CONDITIONS"...these conditions include, 'driving on rough roads, off road driving, driving on snow, ice, etc..." basically, what you would do with a 4-wheel drive vehicle.

My Tacoma is a 4 cylinder automatic transmission truck. I am also disabled, and not likely to drive off road in a truck not meant for such things. My truck is used on paved highways, primarily for local use, and to transport my wheelchair. Mr. Dodd insisted that the fault was mine, even when confronted with the facts from the manuals PROVIDED by Bingham Toyota at the time of sale.

He also told my husband that only a visual inspection had been done of the tires, and they did not do anything to ascertain the reason for the abnormal wear...so why he could say it was due to 'not rotating the tires' I don't know. Also, I have NEVER had a car exhibit such wear EVER, and I have lived in this area, and driven the roads up and down California, across Nevada and Utah several times. He refused to repair the truck under the warranty agreement. On July 25, I contacted the service manager, Ms Wendy Baker, and informed her of my displeasure with the treatment and service. Ms. Baker tried several 'stonewall' tactics, and instead of staying on point about the cause of the abnormal wear, which she admitted she didn't know, because the service department hadn't checked, she kept asking inane questions about the owners manual, and what page I found the information on, and after nearly 20 minutes of trying to keep this woman on focus about the problem, I gave up...and she said she would call someone named "Cody" a 'higher up' to discuss the problem. In about an hour and a half, she called me back. and stated that they would not honor the warranty...that her techs told her that the problem was due to 'neglect to rotate the tires'...even though she ADMITTED they never checked to find out the cause. I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and also contacted the local newspaper, and the headquarters for Toyota. I am disgusted and disappointed that they seem to need to 'cut costs' in the service department, to keep from having to cut into their sales receipts. Also I found out that their service technicians are paid on commission..and warranty work is not paid very highly, so they will do or say anything to keep from having to do it. Non-warranty work, is done immediately, and cheerfully. I want several things to happen to make this right. 1. Bingham Toyota is to schedule an appointment to thoroughly inspect, and ascertain the problem...then repair the problem, and replace the two front tires. I should have gotten 15 to 20 thousand more miles from those tires, and truck tires are NOT cheap...all repairs and replacement of the tires, should be covered by the warranty, or absorbed by Bingham Toyota. 2 Bingham Toyota is to provide, at their expense, a rental car to provide transportation while my truck is in the shop. 3. Mr. Dodd and Ms. Baker should provide a written apology to me, and to my husband, for treating us as if we were stupid, for poor customer service, for blaming us for the problem, and for the deceptive advertising and deceptive business practices of this warranty infringement, and for the false advertising used to sell their cars and trucks, describing how wonderful their warranty and service is. I have found it to be neither wonderful, nor 'service'. I am planning a boycott of Toyota, and an informational picket line outside their business. I am tired of the 'service industry' getting away with murder at the expense of the consumer. M. Gabrielle Ludwig

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