12 Highlander 500 miles and

[bulkhead]

Brand new 12 Highlander less than 500 miles and I have a clunking sound from the steering when turning and going over a soft bump or dip. I feel it in the steering wheel and brake pedal as well as hear it. Just had my first service appointment and of course the service manager tells me that everything is fine and the tech tourqued everything and could not duplicate it. I gave him my un filtered opinion and the tech and I went for a ride. He never admitted to feeling it but when I pointed out the sound he didn't deny hearing it either. The tech wants me to bring it back when its cold out, weather today in Philly? 50 deg. I read all the threads about the 08 highlander steering shaft and this sounds like a very similar complaint to me. Anybody else experiencing similar? The tech told me there were no TSB's about steering noise.

[TrailDust]

See the link Steering Knocks From Intermediate Steering Shaft, located in the Common Problems & Solutions sticky thread. BTW, welcome to Toyota Nation!

[bulkhead]

Thanks sir, I read that and agree that it seems to be the exact same as described but those posts all list 08's. I'm pretty disapointed with Toyota if after 4 years they still have the same issue.

[TrailDust]

Welcome to the club of unfixed issues.... That's why I laughed when Toyota's CEO gave a news conference a few months back claiming that Toyota would be listening to customers' input. I think Toyota's customer input now and for many years has simply been thrown into the circular filing cabinet.... As an owner of two Toyotas I am now very hesitant at the thought of buying another in the future.

[becks]

Although I have only 2 of the circular filing cabinet complaints (creaking windshield in cold weather and Split plastic support under drivers side armrest) I think I have been very lucky so far. With that said, I agree with you TD. I highly doubt I will be returning to the Toyota bin for my next vehicle. My biggest concern is the "new" & "improved" oil line. I am not happy with the notion that it to can fail at any moment. Especially since a fix (the all metal line) is out there, and Toyota is to cheap to supply it as the fix.

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by becks

Although I have only 2 of the circular filing cabinet complaints (creaking windshield in cold weather and Split plastic support under drivers side armrest) I think I have been very lucky so far. With that said, I agree with you TD. I highly doubt I will be returning to the Toyota bin for my next vehicle. My biggest concern is the "new" & "improved" oil line. I am not happy with the notion that it to can fail at any moment. Especially since a fix (the all metal line) is out there, and Toyota is to cheap to supply it as the fix.

I'll be brutally honest about Toyota and their purported listening to "customer input." I've heard from a variety of sources that Toyota monitors Toyota Nation as part of their marketing for their cars. IMHO, they may (and I emphasize the word, may) monitor these forums for marketing/design aspects like performance and styling of certain models, but they sure don't do it for product improvement. If Toyota read and utilized the observations and complaints found in the Highlander forums, for example, we'd have seen a number of improvements to this vehicle by the 2012 edition, but we haven't. If Toyota was serious and worth their salt, they might even make contact with members to follow up on complaints and ideas, but to the best of my knowledge they never have. Finally, every single letter I sent Toyota to offer suggestions for improvement, such as a protective lip on the rear tailgate went unanswered and, as far as I know to date, virtually all these issues have not been addressed. That tells me that this is a company out-of-touch with its customer base, and one that had better start doing what it claims in press conferences if it wants another sale from this two-Toyota owner.

[becks]

I'm a pretty big Computer nut with respect to building my own rigs for various reasons. The computers I build are all pretty high-end rigs that have expensive components in them which, I purchase from Newegg. EVGA is a company I get the video cards from. My point of this is that anytime..ANYTIME, I have an issue, or another customer has an issue with their products we post it in the forums. An EVGA representative ALWAYS responds with help, and ends the response with an 800 # and an e-mail contact. That's why I always stick with EVGA. They stick with me. Toyota..I have never heard back from them. So, I don't think they will hear from me with respect to my dollars.

Sorry for the rant as well but, I'm pissy about their lack of support in product.

[sweeneyp]

Honestly I think a lot of car manufacturers are that way (from experience Toyota, Lexus, and Jeep). If you have a problem or complaint, the response is "bring it in" and then the ever annoying "its normal" (as for that oil line...don't get me started, more than a little angry about that). I have only found one dealership ever willing to tear into a problem and actively pursue it instead of blowing it off as normal. The way car manufacturers work (having the main entity build the cars and then a separate dealer selling/working on them), it seems that it separates them/builds a barrier between their customers. Most of the time when I mention or complain about something it stays at dealer level and rarely moves above that. If you try to contact Toyota corporate, its always that they set up a case #, take it to your dealer, and "deal" with them. But I agree with becks, I'm a bit audio paranoid (by that I mean I'm always working on it), and many times when I call or email JL Audio, Kenwood, Pioneer, and Boston Acoustics they are always very willing to help. By that I mean they listen to the problem and give creative solutions to enhancing or improving their products. They don't just say no/normal and disregard it like car manufacturers. I wish Toyota would try that some

[JMSinMD]

Once you've purchased the vehicle, Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) is done with you. You've already paid, they've gotten paid and unless your issue goes to arbitration there is nothing they're going to do.

The dealers are too concerned with money to care about individuals, the more of their time you take up the less than can make on the next 2-3 people after you.

This is nothing new for Toyota. When I worked for TFS we had a manager that was literally harassing the whole team. We took it all the way up the chain of command and nothing was done except moving people around/firing people. Toyota corporate subculture is only caring about the opinion of the person above you, not below you. The benefits were good working there, the pay/opportunity for advancement/job stability/etc were the pits.

If I was affected by the oil line and their fix (or lack thereof) I would be in communication with the news media (on the national level) to see if they'd be interested in another possible black eye that Toyota is lining up for. The only thing that makes TMS flinch is the loss of sales, which media outlet wouldn't want a scoop.

Heck, I'd love to tell them about all the cars that are "Toyota Certified" that were pushed through by sales as Certified (i.e. forged documents sent to Toyota) when the vehicles were totaled, sludged, etc that disqualified them from the program. (This was when I was in service)

When I was in finance there was a dealership in Massachusetts, that took advantage of the immigrant population and slammed everyone with high interest rates, overpriced GAP/VSA/ETC. They would sell 6 month/6,000k warranties on new cars for $2000!! I'd see so many cars default from this dealership and TFS kept taking the beating since the dealership was already paid. I told managers all the way up the chain of command and again nothing was done.

Toyota deserves the same future the Big 3 had by thinking they were invincible.