[boarder5o]

I had a Viper remote start/keyless entry installed on my '06 Tacoma at Best Buy. It worked perfect for a month and a half then the keyless entry quit working. I took it back and they told me it was fixed. I took it home and it would not work when I lock it with the button on the door - it would only work when I used the fob. I also found that it would unlock if I remote started it, but not if I did it the old fashioned way.

I brought it back again and the installation tech said the Tacomas are wired differently and the only way the keyless entry would work is by locking it with the fob. "Well, why did it work for a month and a half?" -- she couldn't answer that.

After I left I was driving home and my gauges went completely dead. Tach, speedo, fuel, everything. I was pissed. Not only did they not fix the problem, they broke my truck.

I talked to the store manager and he said they would have their most experienced tech look at it. I took it back AGAIN and he said that there is nothing wrong with it and that my dash problem just happened to surface at this point in time. (Yeah, right)

After going back and forth with the store manager I find that they are not willing to fix this or pay to have it looked at by the dealer. My only options are to solve this on my own or take it to the dealer and pay through the butt and hope they can fix it.

Can any of you shed some light on this? It is an intermittent problem and seems to occur after about 30 minutes of driving. After the dash dies there is nothing I can do to make it work again aside from letting it sit for a few hours. There is a code that pops up after this happens. It is P0500 - Speed Sensor Circuit Malfunction.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[socalman22]

All i can say is wow you need to take it up the chain, as far as them fixing it go corporate if you dont get any where with the manager. Your truck didnt do that when you brought it in to them, thats bullshit i would go crazy if my truck did that, i too got my viper alarm installed through them sometimes it gives me crap i could be right next to it press the unlock button and it comes back beeping, but other than that thats it.

 

[SJlittlefoot]

wow, if i was in your position they would not have gotten me out of the store until they fixed my truck or called the police. Best Buy's doesn't exactly have great business practices, went to go buy a new laptop from them a few weeks ago and the only one they would sell me was the one that "Geek Squad" "optimized" and wanted to charge me another $200 on top of the laptop, screw that, i can do that crap myself for free, why would i pay a bunch a high schoolers to? I just left the store and told the guy to fuck off i'm going to circuit city to get a laptop.

Seriously take it up the chain, because thats their mistake not yours there's no reason it should be coming out of your pocket.

 

[socalman22]

wow, if i was in your position they would not have gotten me out of the store until they fixed my truck or called the police. Best Buy's doesn't exactly have great business practices, went to go buy a new laptop from them a few weeks ago and the only one they would sell me was the one that "Geek Squad" "optimized" and wanted to charge me another $200 on top of the laptop, screw that, i can do that crap myself for free, why would i pay a bunch a high schoolers to? I just left the store and told the guy to fuck off i'm going to circuit city to get a laptop.

Seriously take it up the chain, because thats their mistake not yours there's no reason it should be coming out of your pocket.

Exactly and be persistant stick to your guns demand they fix it, if you do have to get it fixed through toyota get it done but send bestbuy the bill after you agree and they agree to fix the problem that is.

 

[thmper321]

ok, the door locks are a simple negative trigger. There is nothing special about them. The dash lights and gauges turning off could be a loose accessory connection where they wired the remote start up to the car. I have been in the car audio industry since the late 80's and wired my own remote start in my truck with none of these problems. The hardest thing about these trucks is that they have two start wires and if they are not isolated the check engine light will come on and the transmission will not shift correctly.

 

[taco4me]

Take your truck to the dealer & have them find the problem & fix it! Then talk to the manager & let them know that you will do what is needed to be repaid for your cost,time & Trouble!

 

[TacomaRider]

I recently had a Viper 3002 installed by Best Buy and it works great. I only had the alarm part wired up and the keyless. No remote start. They honor their work anywhere. I would take my truck to another Best Buy. Maybe they can find what is wrong or have them rewire the whole thing from scratch. Hope this helps.

 

[turfdoc]

Best Buy's doesn't exactly have great business practices

Are you sure you to talked to the store's GM? I know they will parade out the manager on duty, not the top dog. I would go back tomorrow ask to see the store's general manager, if its the same guy, get the number of his/her District Manager, and call that person right in front of them, if plead your case to the gm. Above all keep your cool, if get irate it won't help you any. Next I would demand that they restore your truck to working condition, and pull that DEI junk outta your truck for a full refund. This is pulled directly from the best buy website: Satisfaction guaranteed and lifetime workmanship warranty.

Just stick to your guns and make them fix your truck.:thumbup:

turfdoc

 

[TacoFreak18]

I work for Best Buy as a Car Installer. All you need to do is call best buys corporate and report a damage claim to your truck. At that point it goes through Best Buys insurance and they have no choice but to pay for your truck.

 

[mjonags32]

I work for Best Buy as a Car Installer. All you need to do is call best buys corporate and report a damage claim to your truck. At that point it goes through Best Buys insurance and they have no choice but to pay for your truck.

well... there ya go :clap:

 

[boarder5o]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I am going to call the corporate office and heed TacoFreak18's advice of reporting a damage claim. I hope that works.

I'm not going to give up on this.

 

[viet2100]

wow, if i was in your position they would not have gotten me out of the store until they fixed my truck or called the police. Best Buy's doesn't exactly have great business practices, went to go buy a new laptop from them a few weeks ago and the only one they would sell me was the one that "Geek Squad" "optimized" and wanted to charge me another $200 on top of the laptop, screw that, i can do that crap myself for free, why would i pay a bunch a high schoolers to? I just left the store and told the guy to fuck off i'm going to circuit city to get a laptop.

Seriously take it up the chain, because thats their mistake not yours there's no reason it should be coming out of your pocket.

If they don't have what you want, order it. No ones forcing you to buy anything :jerkit: Last time I checked, Best Buy was company of the year in 2004 Forbes magazine. Car sales guys push you into buying something you don't really want all the time... and they're on commission.

To the OP, have you checked your fuses? Thats the first thing I would do. If you lived near me, my manager would make sure its right no matter what. Its obviously the installer's fault and Best WILL/SHOULD take care of it.

 

[K2DAMFJ]

For the guy that posted this post about his instrument cluster dying.

I work at Circuit City as an installer and I have an 08 Taco. I have the Python 990 on mine and have never had a problem.

What you need to do is have them remove everything they installed. If the problem is still there, then they will probably not cover it. If the problem goes away, then not only will your truck be fixed but they will not have a leg to stand on. Get a refund and go somewhere else. The only thing that is messing you up is that it worked for a month and a half. If they broke your truck right after you had it installed then it would be a different story.

For this guy

i too got my viper alarm installed through them sometimes it gives me crap i could be right next to it press the unlock button and it comes back beeping, but other than that thats it.

When you are right next to your truck the two way technology sometimes will not work. They are all like that. You need to be 15 feet away before it will work 100% of them time or get one that does not have 2 way. If it does not communicate it will beep at you. They have all done this, and I always inform the customer that it will happen when they are in/too close to there vehicle.

 

[K2DAMFJ]

I work for Best Buy as a Car Installer. All you need to do is call best buys corporate and report a damage claim to your truck. At that point it goes through Best Buys insurance and they have no choice but to pay for your truck.

Yeah, good luck with that. I worked for Best Buy for 5 years and now Circuit City for 6. The only way the insurance company is going to have "no choice" but to pay for it is if Best Buy were to admit that they did something neglegent. Paperwork will have to be filed by Best Buy and sent to Corporate. They will then sign off on it and then and only then will the insurance cover it. They are not just going to roll over and die and let insurance pay for it.

Get the Shit removed and see if the problem goes away. Then take it from there. If the problem does go away, you should be able to get a complete refund including labor (If they cant make it work anyway.)

I installed my 990 myself and thought it was cake. There is nothing even remotely difficult about our install (2nd Starter is not that uncommon anymore).

 

[Rem3Dy]

LoL I am a former S&I manager for circuit and your advice is a little flawed. I would not rush to the conclusion that they should take out the product to see if the problem still exists or not. And the fact that you say if the problem is still there they will not pay for it after they remove it is just a noob answer. Removing the alarm will not prove whether or not the installation caused damage. I can tell you right now the alarm is not the problem if anything it would be the installation. Bestbuy will take care of the issue as would Circuit City. I feel for you that the manager is being a tool which he could loose his job over. All you have to do is explain to the Store GM that the alarm is the only thing that has been changed, that the problem never occurred until the alarm was installed, and that you no longer trust the people working at the store to work on your car and would like to take it threw their insurance. They will be forced to make a claim, and you will be done dealing with that store, and it will be resolved. One thing though no matter what you do afterwards dont go to CC those **** laid me off after 8 years :/ That company is going down hill fast and will soon be bought out or closed.

For the guy that posted this post about his instrument cluster dying.

I work at Circuit City as an installer and I have an 08 Taco. I have the Python 990 on mine and have never had a problem.

What you need to do is have them remove everything they installed. If the problem is still there, then they will probably not cover it. If the problem goes away, then not only will your truck be fixed but they will not have a leg to stand on. Get a refund and go somewhere else. The only thing that is messing you up is that it worked for a month and a half. If they broke your truck right after you had it installed then it would be a different story.

For this guy



When you are right next to your truck the two way technology sometimes will not work. They are all like that. You need to be 15 feet away before it will work 100% of them time or get one that does not have 2 way. If it does not communicate it will beep at you. They have all done this, and I always inform the customer that it will happen when they are in/too close to there vehicle.

 

[K2DAMFJ]

LoL I am a former S&I manager for circuit and your advice is a little flawed. I would not rush to the conclusion that they should take out the product to see if the problem still exists or not. And the fact that you say if the problem is still there they will not pay for it after they remove it is just a noob answer. Removing the alarm will not prove whether or not the installation caused damage. I can tell you right now the alarm is not the problem if anything it would be the installation. Bestbuy will take care of the issue as would Circuit City. I feel for you that the manager is being a tool which he could loose his job over. All you have to do is explain to the Store GM that the alarm is the only thing that has been changed, that the problem never occurred until the alarm was installed, and that you no longer trust the people working at the store to work on your car and would like to take it threw their insurance. They will be forced to make a claim, and you will be done dealing with that store, and it will be resolved. One thing though no matter what you do afterwards dont go to CC those **** laid me off after 8 years :/ That company is going down hill fast and will soon be bought out or closed.

First of all the fact that it worked for a month and a half has huge bearing on whether or not the company will cover it. There is a point after it is installed that liability will stop for something failing and for both BB and CC it is 30 days.
I am just saying that it is easy to remove the whole thing (including all wiring) and find out if the install was the problem. It may/may not fix the problem but if it does you will know and be able to get a refund and if it doesnt then you will know that it will not cause the problem again after it is fixed (If it caused the problem in the first place). You have to at least consider the fact that the cluster just simply failed. 45 days is along time for an installation error to just pop up (Not saying that it doesnt happen).
If I put a remote start on something and it comes back a month and a half later with a failed cluster I am most definately not going to take an SIL (Self Insured Loss) on it. Parts do fail on cars without reason, even on new cars. It is up to corporate to decide wether they will cover it or not.

I am not rushing to the conclusion that they will just take it out. He stated that he has been back there numerous times with numerous different people looking at it. In the end they told him that he had a Wierd lock system and that he was going to have to just unlock it before remote start. So, right there they are "tools" because it worked for a month and a half correctly. The fact that it did work correctly for a month and a half is going to be the wrench that is thrown in the works. A lifetime installation warranty is offered by CC and BB and should no matter what fix this problem with the alarm for him. However after 30 days Best Buy and
Circuit City are going to fight you on wether or not the install caused the cluster to go out (Car parts do fail afterall). I am just saying that if they cant make it work correctly then they should take the damn thing out. It may just fix the problem with his truck and save everyone involved a whole mess of time and heartache. It would take me about 30 minutes max to remove the entire thing and about an hour or two to put it back in (Being very meticulous about it), so why wouldnt one do just that?

As a current CC employee and as someone who watched all of my friends/Coworkers get laid off I can tell you that CC is not going downhill. In fact it is quite the contrary. I can understand how you would be bitter because you were a casulty of a flawed business plan but your angst isnt going to help this guy get his truck fixed and lets not forget that that is why we are here.

P.S.

Most of the people that got laid off got offered their jobs back about 5 months later (At least here anyway).

 

[jscheu]

Call 888-BESTBUY. They will talk with the proper person at the store level and it will get taken care of.

 

[rydr1]

edit:

 

[kwalton]

as a former 9 year best buy installer it is generally the more experienced guy doing the remote start installs especially in MN where it's always cold. i would imagine that the dash problem is either a toyota problem or a wiring problem related to the alarm install. i know if we ever came up on any problems we would send the customer to the dealer and to have the car checked out. if the problem was directly related to the alarm install all you would need to do is bring back the invoice from the dealer and best buy's insurance would reimburse you. the only down fall would be that you had to front the dealers fee.

 

[K2DAMFJ]

i would imagine that the dash problem is either a toyota problem or a wiring problem related to the alarm install.

Not to be rude, but is there anything else it could possibly be? Thanks for narrowing it down for us.:clap:I am sorry about that but it was just too funny not to post. I almost fell on the floor when I read it. I guess you are saying that it is probably not the alarm itself, but the wiring. But it came off funny to me.

i know if we ever came up on any problems we would send the customer to the dealer and to have the car checked out.

Wow! You guys must have had alot of insurance payouts then. Do you really think for one second that when the customer goes to the dealer and tells them "I had (insert aftermarket electronics here) installed and now my (insert factory electronics here) doesnt work right that they are not going to blame the electronics. The fact of the matter is that this dudes truck worked fine for a month and a half! And now they cannot make their own install work properly anymore. If this were to happen to me at my shop, and we couldnt make the install work properly due to a failure of a factory part of the vehicle, we would not pay for it. If it happened the next day and we couldnt fix it then we would, but a month and a half is just too long to blame the install. Unless of course there was proof that the install did it. IE wires touching somewhere or a pinched wire. I talked to my stores GM today about this and he agrees with me 100%.