Dealing with dealerships

[Shilpa]

My parents have a 2008 Toyota Camry LE, four cylinder. Sometimes I drive it to save some gas money. Over a year ago, when I would pull out of the driveway, put the car into drive and slowly accelerate I would hear a loud clunk. I took it to the dealership and they said nothing was wrong but I am positive there is. So I took it to a local garage that I've been going to for years and the mechanic told me the front engine mount is defective. So I went back to Toyota and told me what the mechanic told me but again they said the car was fine. Since it was my parents car, I didn't feel like I should take the initiative to get it fixed. Now, I currently drive their Camry daily and the clunking noise is a lot worse. I can feel the clunk through the pedals and even hear. Its really bad when I have to brake and the car clunks and moves forward. So I took the car to a different Toyota dealership and the customer service was even worse. This time a mechanic didn't even see my car. A person from the front desk of the service department looked it and said it was fine. He even said that there might be something wrong with the transmission, which I don't believe. A transmission would jerk the car, but I hear a loud clunk. Long story short, the service department treated me like an crazy idiot and told me I'm hearing noises. Does anyone know if dealerships know how to recognize a bad front engine mount?

[Proliphik]

I wouldnt have left until someone actually looked at the car, then i wouldve shown them the noise. If your car is still under warranty force them to look at it and listen to it. Maybe even get a free quote from the other garage stating what they think is wrong with it and take it to Toyota.

If all else fails, speak to the manager, the customer is always right.

[MrSo0h0o]

The front engine mount can be seen from your engine bay. look to the left of the engine cover and you will see a black round metal piece; it looks like a dogbone. Look at the innards of this metal piece and see if the rubber is cracked. If it is, your mount is shot.

[Shilpa]

My mechanic told me to put my foot on the brake and lightly hit the gas so someone at Toyota would see that the engine mount wiggles around too much. I showed it to the front desk person at the service department but they said it looked fine. Then he drove it and said it felt fine. For some reason, it didn't make the clunk noise. So he said there was nothing wrong with my car. I told him there was something wrong with my car. That's when the service manager got into the conversation and told me to go back to the dealership I bought it from and told me to get out. I refused and kept arguing with the service manager because I knew something was wrong with the car. Then he told me that it would cost me if one of the technicians had to check it. Plus, he said that the front desk person was a technician(bullshit!). I know the service manager was peeved that I was being assertive and loud but I just wanted to be taken seriously. I left and called the General Manager to file a complaint. He told me Toyota does not take advice from third parties because they don't work on Toyota's everyday. Plus, he told me that technicians would have to take off the engine mount and send it to a testing facility to figure out if it was bad. I get the feeling Toyota has no da^% idea about engine mounts but won't tell me that.

[gdanaher]

Go to Performance Toyota and see what they say.