Warranty

[grey_ghost]

So I was in a 4WD shop on the weekend and a customer walked in..

He had a brand new Toyota Fortuner that he had purchased 6 months ago. He tows a caravan with it, and when he bought the vehicle he asked Toyota "I plan on taking the vehicle on the Gibb River Road - is the standard suspension up to it?".. Toyota said: "no - you should look at upgrading the suspension"

So Mr Customer upgraded the suspension with a HD kit supplied & installed by said 4WD shop. (He didn't take his van on Gibb River btw - parked it, and then drove the road, and came back to it)

Anyway - gearbox on Fortuna went bang just after the guy returned back from his holiday...

* Toyota replaced the gearbox as a measure of good will - but stated (in writing) that they would not cover the new gearbox because the car had been modified outside of manufacturer specs
* The car was off the road for 2 months - waiting for the replacement gearbox

So Mr Customer was saying to the 4wd store "what do you think?" Naturally the 4WD store said: "Sounds like a load of rubbish to me."

I asked if the suspension kit included a lift - yes, it lifted the suspension by 45mm.

I felt really sorry for the customer (looked like a retiree) as he was in a bind... In his eyes his Fortuna didn't have strong enough suspension (Toyota admitted as such) to do the job BUT he was worried about another gearbox going "bang" and Toyota had clearly stated that it wouldn't be covered due to the mod.

Anyway - customer turned to me and asked what I thought... To which I replied: "I can't really understand why the gearbox would go bang, unless the lift was putting some kind of strain on the gear-box.. But I'm no mechanic either"

So 2 interesting points - it took Toyota 2 months to get a replacement gearbox, and Toyota drew a firm line in the sand because of the modification...

Cheers,
GG.

[loanrangie]

Sounds like a cop out by toymota to me, 45mm is nothing and should have nothing to do with the gearbox going bang.
They are based on a hilux so doesnt say much for the current hilux then.

[101RRS]

Under consumer law Toyota would have to show that the suspension mod caused the damage - there has to be a causal relationship.

I guess the guy did not get the advice from the dealer that the suspension was not adequate on paper - otherwise it is just a he said, she said type of situation.

There would be warranty on the new gearbox until the car warranty ran out and if the second failed the Toyota would have to prove the suspension caused the issue - if they can then the customer would go looking for the suspension company for making a system that was not suitable for the vehicle but then the customer would have to prove that was the case.

That is the issue with Consumer Law - it well covers the issues involved but fails to put in place cost effective means to enforce it. If someone like the ACCC takes up the issue all well and good but they rarely take on individual issues - more like class actions. So at the end of the day it is the customer who has to take the seller to court with all its risks as there is no other way for the public to enforce the Consumer Law.

Garry

[trout1105]

Maybe Old Mate should have walked away when the dealership said the stock suspension wouldn't cope with the GRR and bought some other 4X4 instead.

[Homestar]

Maybe Old Mate should have walked away when the dealership said the stock suspension wouldn't cope with the GRR and bought some other 4X4 instead.

Yeah, how did the conversation go?

’Will the suspension cope with the GRR?’
’Nope...’
’Ah, Ok - well take my money anyway’
‘Okey dokey’

Some people need to do more research...

[scarry]

I know from experience,toyota try their utmost to get out of any warranty claim.

'What warranty' we call them[biggrin]

When the guy next door picked up a new twin cab LC about 6 weeks ago,he was informed that if he modified the engine in any way,even an exhaust mod,the vehicle warranty would be affected,particularly the drive train.

The clutches in them since around 2013 have continual failures,so they are just trying to cover their arses.

[rangieman]

I know from experience,toyota try their utmost to get out of any warranty claim.

'What warranty' we call them[biggrin]

When the guy next door picked up a new twin cab LC about 6 weeks ago,he was informed that if he modified the engine in any way,even an exhaust mod,the vehicle warranty would be affected,particularly the drive train.

The clutches in them since around 2013 have continual failures,so they are just trying to cover their arses.
Oh the clutch a good mate of mine that own` his own 4wd shop and continually bags LR products replaced his clutch before 1000 ks in his brand spankers 76 series,
He didn`t bother about a warranty claim for obvious reasons[bigwhistle]

[Bytemrk]

Geez Tom.... I read the title and thought to myself "I'm sure all of Tom's Land Rovers are pretty much out of warranty by now.... [bighmmm]"

[biggrin][biggrin]

A great example of how poor Toyota can be at supporting warranty claims though......

[Tins]

I know from experience,toyota try their utmost to get out of any warranty claim.

'What warranty' we call them[biggrin]

When the guy next door picked up a new twin cab LC about 6 weeks ago,he was informed that if he modified the engine in any way,even an exhaust mod,the vehicle warranty would be affected,particularly the drive train.

The clutches in them since around 2013 have continual failures,so they are just trying to cover their arses.

Put bigger wheels/tyres on a HiLux and watch your driveline warranty evaporate, let alone a chip. Oh what a stealing.

[Homestar]

I know from experience,toyota try their utmost to get out of any warranty claim.

'What warranty' we call them[biggrin]

When the guy next door picked up a new twin cab LC about 6 weeks ago,he was informed that if he modified the engine in any way,even an exhaust mod,the vehicle warranty would be affected,particularly the drive train.

The clutches in them since around 2013 have continual failures,so they are just trying to cover their arses.

Yeah, the clutches are terrible but try and tell a Hilux die hard they should be getting more than 40,000KM from a clutch, they think it’s quite ok and normal. My mate runs 3 for his business and is quite ok with one of them having a new clutch every year, it boggles my mind.

[weeds]

Put bigger wheels/tyres on a HiLux and watch your driveline warranty evaporate, let alone a chip. Oh what a stealing.

And Land Rover would cover with a chip installed??

[trout1105]

I don't know about the newer Hilux's But our 2006 twin cab TD4 hasn't missed a beat in over 250,000K's, We did however have to replace the cab roof because it rusted out.
My 2004 D2a however has had a boatload of work done on it in the last couple of years But I put that down to the PO's negligence as I didn't take up ownership until 2015 at 200,000K's.
We didn't have any cause to test the warranty on the Hilux But I did have to use a warranty from my LR dealer on my D2a when I had a transfer case rebuilt that had problems and I got the problem solved absolutely free of charge and it was done within 2 days as well.
I think that most warranties these days all have an "Out" clause and I doubt that Toyota are the only brand pulling this caper.

[scarry]

Yeah, the clutches are terrible but try and tell a Hilux die hard they should be getting more than 40,000KM from a clutch, they think it’s quite ok and normal. My mate runs 3 for his business and is quite ok with one of them having a new clutch every year, it boggles my mind.

Yet we have a fleet of Tojo Hi Aces,two have almost 300 000KM on them,are driven almost on GVM,around town,and have never changed a clutch.The are all manual.
Actually, not even touched the brakes on either as well.

The LC 70 series of vehicles had very few clutch problems until around 2013.
Don't know what they did to them,but definitely another backward step they have got away with.

Now if LR did something like that.......

[mick88]

When I purchased my current Hi-Lux new back in 2003 I wanted a bull bar fitted, the Slippery Sam salesman was trying to sell me one of their own, however my preference was an XYZ bar, so in his "sales pitch" he said Toyota might not honour their warranty if I fit one. I said to him, gee that's funny, XYZ will not guarantee their bull bars if they are fitted to a Toyota....he looked dumbfounded! After purchase the Hi-Lux never even went back it's supposed first service, but has always been serviced by myself and has been a fantastic vehicle and given a trouble free life thus far. It even has the original clutch still in it, and has towed a bogie trailer laden with a series Landy, many, many miles. I was taught to have respect for a vehicle's clutch.
One thing my father always said to me when I was learning to drive, "get your foot away from that clutch, your driving a car, not playing a piano" ;)

Cheers, Mick.

[Tins]

And Land Rover would cover with a chip installed??

Don't see why not. My car had it's chip installed by a major Victorian dealer when it was pretty much new. There is documentation of work carried out by that dealer after that date. It also had the CDL retrofitted at the same time. Would that also cause warranty problems?

[weeds]

Don't see why not. My car had it's chip installed by a major Victorian dealer when it was pretty much new. There is documentation of work carried out by that dealer after that date. It also had the CDL retrofitted at the same time. Would that also cause warranty problems?

Looks like you had a win.....pretty sure if I had an engine failure on a D4 and they found the ECU was remapped I reckon Land Rover be just like Toyota and void warranty....I’m most cases. I’m sure there is owners that have had a win.

[Gordie]

One thing my father always said to me when I was learning to drive, "get your foot away from that clutch, your driving a car, not playing a piano" ;)

Cheers, Mick.Haha love that quote. Reminds me of an old mechanic I used to use, he did a roaring trade he said, in fixing gearboxes on Morris 1100's that old ladies would hang their handbag on the gear lever.

[Tombie]

Put bigger wheels/tyres on a HiLux and watch your driveline warranty evaporate, let alone a chip. Oh what a stealing.

In that regard - I don’t see a problem with that...

[Tombie]

Don't see why not. My car had it's chip installed by a major Victorian dealer when it was pretty much new. There is documentation of work carried out by that dealer after that date. It also had the CDL retrofitted at the same time. Would that also cause warranty problems?

The dealer may cover it, but that is all...

I have on my laptop a document from LRA - very clearly stating NO modifications are to be fitted...

Your Chip would end your engine warranty immediately.

[scarry]

The dealer may cover it, but that is all...

I have on my laptop a document from LRA - very clearly stating NO modifications are to be fitted...

Your Chip would end your engine warranty immediately.

And completely justified by any manufacturer.

It would also probably end your drive train warranty as well,also completely justified by any manufacturer.

[Tombie]

And completely justified by any manufacturer.

It would also probably end your drive train warranty as well,also completely justified by any manufacturer.

Spot on.

And trying to hide it and claim a warranty constitutes fraud.. a criminal act...