I was very excited to pick up my new "S" model a little over a week ago. Well, I have got one good rattle that the dealer cannot find, a defective paint bead in one of the wheel wells, a small crack and utility knife style cut in the rear deck and a strange scratch pattern in the headliner. Dealer says they will "eventually" get it all taken care off. Nice for a brand new car. Some say Toyota quality is making a comeback? Don't think so.
Told the dealer I wanted them to take the car back. They said it's out of their hands and up to Toyota Canada. They were quite fast in washing their hands of the whole matter. Wouldn't even act on my behalf. Gave me Toyota's 800 number and email address. They did offer to take the "S" in trade less 4000 bucks! I am so frustrated I am actually considering taking this offer and either trying an XRS or moving up to a Camry SE which some say has better build quality.
The International Car Show is here in Calgary this weekend and I talked to the "factory rep". He listened intently, said Toyota stands by their product and that he has a "special" number I should call to get this taken care of. Ends up being the same general customer service number I got from the dealer (which is nothing more than the number posted on their corporate website). No help their either.
This is my first time back with Toyota after many years of non-Toyota cars and trucks. Not very impressed.
Maybe I didn't read your post clearly but did you discover those issues (not the rattling noise) when you first picked up your car?
I know you must be feeling very frustrated about your issues and that the dealer isn't doing much for you...Call this number 1(800) 331-4331 and ask them for Toyota Canada Customer Relation #.
I will be picking up my XRS this Wednesday and I shall carefully inspect my new toy...
Maybe I didn't read your post clearly but did you discover those issues (not the rattling noise) when you first picked up your car?
I know you must be feeling very frustrated about your issues and that the dealer isn't doing much for you...
I will be picking up my XRS this Wednesday and I shall carefully inspect my new toy...
.Eric
Rattle was there when I picked it up. Told no problem getting rid of it. Two full days in the shop and no luck. After I got the car home, while I was showing it to friends we found the large paint drips at the top of the wheel well and it was obvious someone at the factory ran his finger up the entire length of the front wheel well lip while the paint was wet. Everything else regarding the interior was in back hidden by the headrests, except for the headliner flaw which is above the rear passenger seat. Those flaws were discovered while looking for the rattle.
Case files have been opened on the paint and headliner but can't proceed until the dealer hears from corporate.
Let me know how your experience goes.
Would appreciate it if you could sit in both the S and your new XRS and tell me if there is more cushion (lower back support) in the XRS seat.
Jeff has an XRS as well and I'm sure he can sure tell you more about the seats and there are several "S" owners here...
What I would do is to take pictures for reference and send them off to Toyota for proof...As with your case files being opened, I would call in every day to check on the status.
Jeff has an XRS as well and I'm sure he can sure tell you more about the seats and there are several "S" owners here...
What I would do is to take pictures for reference and send them off to Toyota for proof...
.ERIC
Dealer has already forwarded the high-res photos I took of all the items in question. Now it's just a waiting game. I HATE this. This was the exact reason I bought a NEW car and made it a Toyota (so I wouldn't have to go through s@#% like this).
You just wouldn't expect to have those issues in a new Toyota eh...I hope everything goes well for you as well and definitely keep us posted re: this matter...
Can you take pics of the cosmetic problems, I want to see...
I guess that's to be expected with a newly launched car, its always a good idea to waited a little longer to buy when they fix the hiccups. I think that also happened to the Camry when it was first launched. Many people complained about misaligned interior fittings. But after 2 or 3 months all the cars built after that time had the problems miraculously disappeared. I guess the plant workers was given a good talking to straight things out.
"Told the dealer I wanted them to take the car back. They said it's out of their hands and up to Toyota Canada. They were quite fast in washing their hands of the whole matter. Wouldn't even act on my behalf."
Until you sign that deed of sale, you are their best friend. They'll kiss your behind and offer the shirt on their back to wipe your butt with.
However, after you sign it, they don't give a flying "f" about you.
Where is this rattle? There is a rattle on mine... on the left side of the driver's side, i think. I can hear it sometimes... only sometimes. And when my music has a ton of bass. It's like a vibration buzzing sound.
Can you post pics of the defects that you found on your Corolla?
I haven't found any defects on my XRS really, the one thing I noticed on all the 10th Gen's I've seen is there seems to be an over-use of seam-sealer around the rear wheel wells on the quarter panel, it's not a big deal, but it seems excessive, lol. I noticed it more on a white LE than on my XRS.
When I picked up my XRS, it was dead silent inside and since then I've put about 1000km on it, and the only thing that I've noticed is that there is a small rattle on the A-pillar on the driver's side. It goes away if I push everything back together tightly, but comes back after a day or so. It is booked in to get looked at this week.
Kind of disappointing to have a rattle in a brand new car, though it was a very early production car (first month of production). I'm pretty sure it's just a clip or a plastic piece that isn't being held in tightly enough, I'm going to get it fixed one way or another.
Overall I am still very happy/impressed with the vehicle and I understand that there are a lot of parts held in the interior and that going over bumps, etc, can make things come loose. Having a car that remains 100% rattle free forever is pretty much impossible, but having a rattle after 1000km is kind of disappointing, even though it is in a cheaper car.
Funny how all our rattles are on the Driver's left side. It's somewhere by the left tweeter. Maybe the dude who was assembling that part of the car was always sleeping on the job.
Funny how all our rattles are on the Driver's left side. It's somewhere by the left tweeter. Maybe the dude who was assembling that part of the car was always sleeping on the job.
Perhaps, but with mine, it didn't even show up until after I drove it for a few hundred miles, so there would have been no indication at the factory or dealer to know it was there until after I took delivery, unfortunately.
My rattle is actually in the back somewhere around the passenger side seat. Actually all of the stuff except the paint is in the same area. It looks to me as if there was work done in that area for some reason and then the car somehow got "moved on". Was told the dealer concentrates mostly on the exterior for pre-delivery. Most of this is hidden cosmetics and unless you were in the back seat and looking directly behind the headrest and then up, you would miss all of this. As both I and a friend did.
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