Musty AC--took car to dealership with TSB

[NinjaGo]

Hi guys, I don't really post but I've lurked around here for years.

I went for my 5K silver service today because I just reached 25k recently on it so I thought id get the AC taken care of as well thinking that I was still covered under the 3 years/36K warranty. I failed to notice the "whichever comes first" part.

So, The guy at toyota told me I wasn't covered and he rarely ever sees the TSB performed anyway...(it sounded like he had never done it himself) then he said they'd do an "ac evap service" that will cost $159 and replace the cabin filter for $89. This on top of the silver service fee. I balked at first but he started talking bacteria and molds and he got me then..(I'm a little OCD)

I'm so mad at myself for not checking all these years to see if I really did have a cabin filter or not. I saw the filter diy's just now and I can't believe they are charging me 89!

I just got a call from him saying my car was ready to be picked up. I hope this really does fix the odor issue.

yea just wanted to share my woes with other yaris folk out there.


Nina

[BLH]

Mine didn't even have a cabin air filter from the factory.
I had to install one myself.

[thepartsmancometh]

never seen a yaris with a pollen filter from the factory in our shop. Mine has one, but I put it in myself

[ROCKLANDTOYOTA]

my car was the only one here to have that tsb done. most likely due to fact that tsb itself came out almost 3 years into ownership of a 2007....

[jonathankoji]

Mine came without a cabin air filter too. Installed one myself.
I don't think I've ever heard of a Yaris having one in stock set-ups.

[CTScott]

my car was the only one here to have that tsb done. most likely due to fact that tsb itself came out almost 3 years into ownership of a 2007....

Did you get to see the evaporator when they pulled it out of the airbox?

[NinjaGo]

So...I had to go back to Toyota because the ac evap service did nothing at all.

They finally said that my Yaris does need the HVAC service and if I get my dealership to do the service out of pocket, they will credit the cost ($250) of the previous evap service. (aren't I so lucky?)

HVAC Service that could've been covered by the TSB had I been still under warranty will cost $1,258

The service guy advised me to call National and ask for assistance since my car only has 25000 miles on it, maybe they'll cut me a break. So I called and they logged a case for me and said someone will get back to me. A couple of hours later, a guy from my dealership called and said, they can't do anything for me unless National agrees to cover the costs...I should call them back, he says. So back on the phone with Toyota CS I went and after being put on hold, I was told that since Parkway already decided they can't help, that they will stand by what they said. So yea, I guess this is what a pingpong ball feels like.


So now I don't know what to do exactly. Should I try to find a place that will fix this for me for a lot cheaper than the dealership? Or should I write a letter to National, as my boss suggests.

The service guy at the dealership who advised me to call National in the first place is telling me to keep at it. I don't know tho, it's all very exhausting. I'm not sure if I should spend more effort and energy fighting or just shut up and eat the cost. It is just I can't help thinking that I shouldn't have to pay for anything that I didn't break in the first place. He acted sympathetic and said that all recalls start out as TSBs.

Is there anyone out there who has this same problem? I'd love to know how you took care of it.



Driving with my windows down,
Nina

[bronsin]

The order problem is caused by excessive running on RECIRC.

To prevent odors run on FRESH at least the same ammount of time you run on RECIRC.

Dealers suck.

[CTScott]

So...I had to go back to Toyota because the ac evap service did nothing at all.

They finally said that my Yaris does need the HVAC service and if I get my dealership to do the service out of pocket, they will credit the cost ($250) of the previous evap service. (aren't I so lucky?)

HVAC Service that could've been covered by the TSB had I been still under warranty will cost $1,258

The service guy advised me to call National and ask for assistance since my car only has 25000 miles on it, maybe they'll cut me a break. So I called and they logged a case for me and said someone will get back to me. A couple of hours later, a guy from my dealership called and said, they can't do anything for me unless National agrees to cover the costs...I should call them back, he says. So back on the phone with Toyota CS I went and after being put on hold, I was told that since Parkway already decided they can't help, that they will stand by what they said. So yea, I guess this is what a pingpong ball feels like.


So now I don't know what to do exactly. Should I try to find a place that will fix this for me for a lot cheaper than the dealership? Or should I write a letter to National, as my boss suggests.

The service guy at the dealership who advised me to call National in the first place is telling me to keep at it. I don't know tho, it's all very exhausting. I'm not sure if I should spend more effort and energy fighting or just shut up and eat the cost. It is just I can't help thinking that I shouldn't have to pay for anything that I didn't break in the first place. He acted sympathetic and said that all recalls start out as TSBs.

Is there anyone out there who has this same problem? I'd love to know how you took care of it.



Driving with my windows down,
Nina


Many others on here have had the same issue, and many have run into it after their warranty expired. It's an expensive repair with a ton of labor involved, which is why you'll have a very difficult time getting them to give in.

If I was in your situation I think I would try pushing from another direction. I would talk to the local TV consumer advocate (every market seems to have one) and see if he/she will get involved. With all of the bad press that Toyota dealt with last year, the threat of media exposure might just work.

[ROCKLANDTOYOTA]

Did you get to see the evaporator when they pulled it out of the airbox?

i work for dealership and handle warranty claims when they get called back for inspection so answer is/was yes.....

[ROCKLANDTOYOTA]

So...I had to go back to Toyota because the ac evap service did nothing at all.

They finally said that my Yaris does need the HVAC service and if I get my dealership to do the service out of pocket, they will credit the cost ($250) of the previous evap service. (aren't I so lucky?)

HVAC Service that could've been covered by the TSB had I been still under warranty will cost $1,258

The service guy advised me to call National and ask for assistance since my car only has 25000 miles on it, maybe they'll cut me a break. So I called and they logged a case for me and said someone will get back to me. A couple of hours later, a guy from my dealership called and said, they can't do anything for me unless National agrees to cover the costs...I should call them back, he says. So back on the phone with Toyota CS I went and after being put on hold, I was told that since Parkway already decided they can't help, that they will stand by what they said. So yea, I guess this is what a pingpong ball feels like.


So now I don't know what to do exactly. Should I try to find a place that will fix this for me for a lot cheaper than the dealership? Or should I write a letter to National, as my boss suggests.

The service guy at the dealership who advised me to call National in the first place is telling me to keep at it. I don't know tho, it's all very exhausting. I'm not sure if I should spend more effort and energy fighting or just shut up and eat the cost. It is just I can't help thinking that I shouldn't have to pay for anything that I didn't break in the first place. He acted sympathetic and said that all recalls start out as TSBs.

Is there anyone out there who has this same problem? I'd love to know how you took care of it.



Driving with my windows down,
Nina

if i was you id try another dealer like PRESTIGE or even myself. calling toyota a few more times to log complaints wouldn't hurt either....

[CTScott]

i work for dealership and handle warranty claims when they get called back for inspection so answer is/was yes.....

Was it corroded or moldy, or was there something that visibly showed why it was causing the stench?

[ROCKLANDTOYOTA]

Was it corroded or moldy, or was there something that visibly showed why it was causing the stench?

NADA, then again i had TSb done cause i work here and it generated shop hours....

[EmaSwicth]

The service guy advised me to call National and ask for assistance since my car only has 25000 miles on it, maybe they'll cut me a break. So I called and they logged a case for me and said someone will get back to me.