jacattack

Hey All

Just wanted to share my experience and also get some advice from everyone on this. I took my car to Piercey Toyota in Milpitas for my 15k service. It was $200 for the service, which is still a rip, but cheaper than what Lexus is charging for it. When I dropped off the car, I told the service advisor "No Tire Rotation" because of the staggered sizes. Did they listen? Of course not. So the problem is that when I picked it up, I didn't noticed that the tires had been rotated so I just drove off. However after driving about 2 miles, I started noticing noises coming from the wheel wells when I was turning. I immediately pulled over and examined the tires and that's when I noticed that they had rotated the tires. I turned the car around and took it back and they apologized for it and switched the tires right back. I took a look under the wheel wells while they had the tires off just to make sure there was no visable damage but did not see anything.

My question to the forum is: Is there any permanent damage that could have been caused by driving for 4-5 miles with the tires in the wrong location? Should I take it in to another dealership for further inspection? Anything else I should consider? Any advice, thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

I know a lot of folks on here go to the Toyota Dealerships for service too so let this be a warning to always check on that. I don't know if the technician either did not notice that the tire sizes were different or he didn't care, but definitely be careful when you take your car in.

Thanks All.

-Jax

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

No, there should be no permanent damage for such a short ride, unless if you were riding your car as if in a race track.

I would take it back to the dealership and state that such service is completely unacceptable. I would ask for a quick fix and compensation for the inconvenience.

It's best to talk to the managers of the Service Department. And if all else fails, ask for the phone number of the Regional Service Managers if such issues are unresolved.

Good luck!

Evitzee

Maybe I don't get it, but why take your Lexus to a Toyota dealer?? Just because it is cheaper?? They are both Toyota products, but I wouldn't expect a Toyota dealer to have all the information and knowledge needed to do the 15k service. It may be cheaper, but you found out they goofed up the tire situation. What else did they do wrong, or missed?

15951

In all fairness, I've read many accounts on this forum of people going to Lexus dealers for service and driving out with the same problem.

All I've done for any car in the past 6-7 years are the actual maintenance items off the service schedule, and I've never had a problem with warranty or service. Pay for the tangibles - fluid changes, filter changes, part changes. Skip the intangibles - inspections of blinker fluid, test drive (why the hell would anyone PAY for a dealer test drive when nothing is wrong??), checking the windshield wipers, etc.

I do this basic service at the Lexus dealer, and they never give me a hard time about it. In fact, they've never once even suggested I pay for anything more.

mail_junky

Jax, did you take it to their brand new dealership next to I880?

It looks quite impressive from the freeway.

jacattack

Hey Junky, yeah, I went to the new location off of Great Mall Pkway/880. They've got a huge Express Lube and they're open 7 days a week. It is actually pretty impressive, everything seems state of the art. It's a real shame about the tire thing though, i would have liked to use them regularly. It may be a while before I can go back to a toyota dealership now.

sirkfc

did they do 5w-20 or 5w-30? some lexus dealers here still seem to be unaware of the TSIB. Also, did you call ahead to make sure they had the oil filter?

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

IIRC it's the same oil filter used on a 6 cyl. camry so I'd be shocked if they didn't have em on hand.

Honestly there's no good reason to pay the lexus premium for basic scheduled service... there's no magic to doing an oil change or any of the other stuff on that list...and as noted Lexus dealers seem just as likely to be unaware you're not supposed to rotate the tires.

sirCharles

15000 miles service?
I really do not know for sure, but I never go in before 30K miles other than oil changes and even at or after 30000 miles, just filters, coolant, etc.

Of course, if you need brakes or something go get it. I did my TSB fronts for 2nd Gen IS at 20K mikes.

I have had great success with Toyota vehicles primarily just doing oil changes. These cars are not Corolla's like I have had, but unless there is an issue, it is just too new to be giving away money.

Magellan

Perhaps in the long run it is not a good idea to take a Lexus to a Toyota dealer. They cannot perform warranty work, and they may not have all the parts on hand or expertise that is for Lexus’ only. It may be cheaper, but sometimes the cheap becomes expense.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

It wasn't taken in for warranty work.

It was taken in for the 15k mile service, which isn't a whole lot more than an oil change.

To be specific at 15k they:

Change the oil
Clean the AC filter
Check the brakes
Check some fluids


That's about it.

If you're -dying- to pay double for exactly the same service, by all means, hit your local lexus dealer. You're certainly not getting anything, beyond maybe better coffee, for your money though.

Now, if the Toyota dealer finds any problems, by all means, head over to Lexus for a nice free warranty repair.

k_dizzle

I dont get where all this 15k check 30k check crap is all about. Its a NEW car people, all you need is the regular 5k oil change. My dealer has yet to even try to convince me to do anything more than an oil change. Although they did try to ripp me off with the clear bra price.

Giggity

I bought my car from a toyota dealership and it took me 2 days to realize that they had rotated the tires. I kept looking it at and wondering why the tires on the rear were smaller than the front- Never bought a car that had a staggered set up from the factory, took me 10 minutes to swap the tires where they should be. I thought it was strange that the rear end stepped out so easy and the that the front wheels rubbed when I made sharp turns. Guess I was too excited about the Nav and ML to worry about the outside of the car?

sirkfc

It's not the same filter. It definitely is a special order for a Toyota dealer. The Camry one won't fit, from what I've read in other threads.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Ah, my bad... it's the same filter from Camry to ES350, IS is a different part #...