Bones
08-13-2010, 11:08 AM
We have an '08 RAV4 V6 Ltd 4WD that is great overall. One thing that got to be an annoyance, however, was a rattle from somewhere behind the front seats. It didn't even take a bumpy road to get it going. Something was obviously not right.
Eventually, after much searching and experimenting, we determined it was coming from the right rear seat, which is the 40 section of the 60/40 rear seat. We took it to the dealer and went for a test ride with the tech; he heard the sound, too. Left the car for the day. Later I got a call from the dealer saying that Toyota would not agree to pay for a warranty repair because the sound was "normal" for a 60/40 seat with multiple adjustments.
I've had nine Toyotas, six with a 60/40 rear seat, and none has ever had a rattle like that. A $30,000 car shouldn't make that kind of noise. I called the regional field office. A case manager looked into the situation and called me the next business day to say that noise is "normal." When I asked what she suggested I do to resolve the issue, she said I should buy another car! I asked to speak to the next person up the chain of command. The case manager told me that if I wished to escalate the case that I would be put in touch with her supervisor who would defer to her because "I am the case manager." I asked how it is that her boss answers to her...she had no response.
Rather than continue with the stone wall I was facing, I wrote a letter (on paper, delivered by U.S. Mail) to the president of Toyota Motor Sales USA. I described the situation and asked for his company to please address the issue. It wasn't angry, but it was serious and specific with names and dates. In a week I got a phone call from a member of the executive staff, a very helpful man who arranged for a Toyota field service rep to visit the dealer and go for a ride with me. The field rep took a ride and said he saw the seat moving around more than he'd expect. I left the car for the day.
I got a call later from the service manager who said the seat track was isolated as the problem. They ordered a new one and it would be in the next day and installed. At the end of the next day I went to pick up the car and went for a ride with the tech to ensure it was fixed. On the ride he shared with me that the field service rep insisted he couldn't hear the rattle, even though the tech pointed it out to him again and again during their test ride. He had the field service rep sit in the back on the other side, still couldn't hear it. He made an audio recording and played it back at the dealer -- and then the field rep heard it. They went to work to isolate the source. Apparently it took a few hours to determine it was the seat track. With a new seat track unit installed, the rattle appears to be fixed (at least after the first couple days have been rattle free).
I am sharing this experience because it took a willingness to pursue the matter in order to get it fixed. Toyota's regional field office is not your final arbiter and by not accepting "it's normal" as a satisfactory answer I got problem addressed. Though I wish the dealer had initially gone to bat for me with Toyota, I appreciate that their hands were tied as far as not being able to do the job at no cost to me unless Toyota approved. Once I got Toyota's executive offices involved, things happened.
Two thumbs up :tu::tu: for the dealer's master tech who convinced the Toyota's field service rep that the customer wasn't hearing things. In the end, that's what got the problem fixed.
Eventually, after much searching and experimenting, we determined it was coming from the right rear seat, which is the 40 section of the 60/40 rear seat. We took it to the dealer and went for a test ride with the tech; he heard the sound, too. Left the car for the day. Later I got a call from the dealer saying that Toyota would not agree to pay for a warranty repair because the sound was "normal" for a 60/40 seat with multiple adjustments.
I've had nine Toyotas, six with a 60/40 rear seat, and none has ever had a rattle like that. A $30,000 car shouldn't make that kind of noise. I called the regional field office. A case manager looked into the situation and called me the next business day to say that noise is "normal." When I asked what she suggested I do to resolve the issue, she said I should buy another car! I asked to speak to the next person up the chain of command. The case manager told me that if I wished to escalate the case that I would be put in touch with her supervisor who would defer to her because "I am the case manager." I asked how it is that her boss answers to her...she had no response.
Rather than continue with the stone wall I was facing, I wrote a letter (on paper, delivered by U.S. Mail) to the president of Toyota Motor Sales USA. I described the situation and asked for his company to please address the issue. It wasn't angry, but it was serious and specific with names and dates. In a week I got a phone call from a member of the executive staff, a very helpful man who arranged for a Toyota field service rep to visit the dealer and go for a ride with me. The field rep took a ride and said he saw the seat moving around more than he'd expect. I left the car for the day.
I got a call later from the service manager who said the seat track was isolated as the problem. They ordered a new one and it would be in the next day and installed. At the end of the next day I went to pick up the car and went for a ride with the tech to ensure it was fixed. On the ride he shared with me that the field service rep insisted he couldn't hear the rattle, even though the tech pointed it out to him again and again during their test ride. He had the field service rep sit in the back on the other side, still couldn't hear it. He made an audio recording and played it back at the dealer -- and then the field rep heard it. They went to work to isolate the source. Apparently it took a few hours to determine it was the seat track. With a new seat track unit installed, the rattle appears to be fixed (at least after the first couple days have been rattle free).
I am sharing this experience because it took a willingness to pursue the matter in order to get it fixed. Toyota's regional field office is not your final arbiter and by not accepting "it's normal" as a satisfactory answer I got problem addressed. Though I wish the dealer had initially gone to bat for me with Toyota, I appreciate that their hands were tied as far as not being able to do the job at no cost to me unless Toyota approved. Once I got Toyota's executive offices involved, things happened.
Two thumbs up :tu::tu: for the dealer's master tech who convinced the Toyota's field service rep that the customer wasn't hearing things. In the end, that's what got the problem fixed.