I am having a hearing for dispute settelement with Toyota in a couple of weeks. I was wondering if anyone has gone through this procedure with a vehicle and any insight into the hearing process. What was your outcome? I live in California, and the Toyota program here is called CDSP.
This is in regards to our 2006 Avalon XLS failing to start intermittently. They have been unable to dianose and fix the problem after 6 service visits.
Check the fine print, hire a court reporter to record it if you can, that freaks them out, but you don't have to tell them you are doing it ahead of time. Be prepared to be belittled and harrassed. Go in with all the records and maintain your cool. Don't let them shake you up. I have been there, the process sucks. You may want to chat with an attorney to make sure you are not giving up your rights by going through this. I felt the arbitrator was definitely not in my corner.
No doubt other Toyota owners have gone through this process. Might post in the Camry forum (Avalon and Camry are almost the same car) as this section gets the most amount of hits. Also the alt.auto.Toyota.camry section. Do a Google search on “Toyota CDSP” and see what you find. California has statistics on consumer satisfaction with CDSP. It seems Toyota customers were not very satisfied with the process. See if there is some place in you city that provides low cost or free legal advice and can run you through what to expect and how to prepare. Remember, the people from Toyota will most likey have gone through these many times, whilst this will be your first.
i'm just wondering if your trying to get them to buy it back under a lemon law. in texas, you have to give a dealer 3 tries to fix a problem, then you can invoke lemon law and they have to buy it back. good luck, and be sure to let us know your outcome.
Yes, the car unfortunately still fails to start a few times a week. Personally, I think it is an electronics problem with the ECU or engine immobilizer, and it is exacerbated by ambient heat (worse in the summertime). Nonetheless, it's a $35,000 car that doesn't always start.
I'm not a newcomer to hearings, I testify in court frequently, so I'm not intimidated. I just hope the process is as "fair" as the brochures alleges it to be. In California, it appears that it's not mandatory, but recommended that you use this arbitration process before filing any lemon law civil suit. The outcome is binding on Toyota, but not on me.
At this point, I am trying to get a buyback. The only way I would agree to another repair attempt would be that if I wasn't satisfied, they would complete a buyback.
I really think they can't diagnose the problem, rather than a lack of effort. If I were them, however, I would have started replacing some parts that are the likely culprit. They have chosen to do nothing instead because they aren't sure what is causing it. The last service visit they had the car for a week and they insisted they couldn't replicate the problem as they once did. Unfortunately, when I picked up the car, the odometer hadn't changed even 1 mile, despite my explaining to them that the car had to be driven to warmup and then parked in order to replicate the failure. Not every problem can be determined by hooking up to the diagnostic computer. Unfortunately, this process leaves you VERY sour on Toyota. Their demeanor is going to determine if I ever buy another one or not.
I here what your saying about being sour on Toyota, I can't blame you. On the other hand - you could have gotten a fluke of a car - one in a thousand that may have this problem. I am sure more will surface. I am also under the impression that the dealership your going to is just not trying hard enough, that is too bad because they could save the company some time and money by expending some more effort up front. I think you have a solid case here - and as much written documentation you can bring the better. Your going to win this one way or the other so long as you keep pushing.
I agree that this problem is a very rare issue. I have only found 3 other people online in various forums that seem to have the same issue on 2005-2006 Avalons. It's not Toyota's reliability that has turned me off of them, but their lack of response to a legitimate complaint. Personally, I can't imagine how they can argue against having to "make it right", up to replacing the car if necessary. The arbitration process makes for a very adversarial climate. I'm looking forward to hearing their position, to this point they haven't had one that they have shared with me.
I realize that Toyota doesn't want to lose $30k on a buyback, but you'd think someone in public relations could determine the other ramifications of an unhappy customer, and how much that could potentially cost.
You hit the nail on the head - the ramifications from an experience like this could cost them a heck of a lot more than the buy back. If the buyback goes through - heck it may bring in customers.
it surprises me more because toyota won't lose 30k on the car....they will only lose the profit on one car. if they were to buy it back, it is issued a title that reflects a lemon buy back, then they can discount it and sell it again....someone would come along willing to save 8 to 10k, and the dealer wouldn't be subject to buy back again. it's a small price to pay to show eagerness to provide customer satisfaction when there is a problem beyond their ability to fix it.
I thought some TN Avalon/Camry owners were have problems with non-starting. One owner stated they found leaving the key in the ignition was the problem. One would think Toyota could replace the ignition key, lock, immobilizer system and ECU. Might state this is a safety issue, your loved ones are in the middle of nowhere, its dark, bad neighborhood, and the &#^$ car will not start. It would seem to be just a matter of replacing parts.
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