In September of 2007 I walked onto a local dealership in the Phoenix AZ area to purchase a new Toyota Avalon. Gas prices at the time were beginning to sky rocket and I wanted to purchase a vehicle with better gas mileage than the SUV I was driving at the time.
After some research I decided upon the Toyota Avalon as it seemed to have everything I needed in a vehicle. I was referred to a particular dealership by a co-worker as she knew someone who worked there. I had tried a dealership in my own neighborhood but found the process to be exhausting as the sales person and the staff would haggle the price of the vehicle for what seemed to be hours.
Once I had decided on a particular dealership and vehicle I noticed during the test drive that the vehicle I had chosen had a vibration in the suspension around the speed of 65-75. The steering wheel would shimmy and the car would slightly vibrate. I brought this issue to the attention of the sales person who was on the test drive with me and he assured me that any problems would be taken care of by the service department.
I moved forward with the purchase of the vehicle with an understanding that the problem would be resolved as noted by the sales person. I took possession of the vehicle and made a service appointment to have the issue resolved with the dealership.
Upon receiving my vehicle back from the service adviser I noticed that the problem continued to exist. I was told that the problem seemed to be a tire issue and the service department had decided to rotate the tires from the front to the back and this should have solved the problem. Needless to say this did not solve the problem and I ended up taking my vehicle back to the dealership a total of four different times and each time they would rotate/change the tires and the problem would continue to exist.
Upon my fifth trip to the dealership, the service manager told me my problem was a tire problem and even though they have rotated and changed the tires, there was nothing more they could do as it was not a manufacturing problem but a tire problem and because it was a tire problem, there was nothing more they could do for me.
Even though the tires were rotated and replaced on four separate occasions, Toyota continues to point to the tires as the vibration problem. Toyota refuses to accept responsibility for this issue and have fought me over this issue for the past three years.
It seems to me that Toyota has found a loop-hole in the lemon law as when there is any problem with a vibration or shimmy with their vehicles, they simply point to the tires as the problem and therefore they are not responsible for any such problems.
I purchased this vehicle in good faith and I expected that any problems I would have would be resolved in a professional and timely manner. As of today (March 2011) the problem continues even though I have my fourth set of tires on this vehicle and as of today, Toyota has not accepted responsibility for my issue and continues to blame the problem on the tires.
My argument is clear, if it is a tire issue as Toyota claims, why do I continue to have the problem after a forth set of new tires have been put on the vehicle?
I see the latest commercials from Toyota claiming that they are learning to listen to their customers and yet I find that my voice has not been heard or simply avoided.
In September of 2007 I walked onto a local dealership in the Phoenix AZ area to purchase a new Toyota Avalon. Gas prices at the time were beginning to sky rocket and I wanted to purchase a vehicle with better gas mileage than the SUV I was driving at the time. After some research I decided upon the Toyota Avalon as it seemed to have everything I needed in a vehicle. I was referred to a particular dealership by a co-worker as she knew someone who worked there. I had tried a dealership in my own neighborhood but found the process to be exhausting as the sales person and the staff would haggle the price of the vehicle for what seemed to be hours. Once I had decided on a particular dealership and vehicle I noticed during the test drive that the vehicle I had chosen had a vibration in the suspension around the speed of 65-75. The steering wheel would shimmy and the car would slightly vibrate. I brought this issue to the attention of the sales person who was on the test drive with me and he assured me that any problems would be taken care of by the service department. I moved forward with the purchase of the vehicle with an understanding that the problem would be resolved as noted by the sales person. I took possession of the vehicle and made a service appointment to have the issue resolved with the dealership. Upon receiving my vehicle back from the service adviser I noticed that the problem continued to exist. I was told that the problem seemed to be a tire issue and the service department had decided to rotate the tires from the front to the back and this should have solved the problem. Needless to say this did not solve the problem and I ended up taking my vehicle back to the dealership a total of four different times and each time they would rotate/change the tires and the problem would continue to exist. Upon my fifth trip to the dealership, the service manager told me my problem was a tire problem and even though they have rotated and changed the tires, there was nothing more they could do as it was not a manufacturing problem but a tire problem and because it was a tire problem, there was nothing more they could do for me. Even though the tires were rotated and replaced on four separate occasions, Toyota continues to point to the tires as the vibration problem. Toyota refuses to accept responsibility for this issue and have fought me over this issue for the past three years. It seems to me that Toyota has found a loop-hole in the lemon law as when there is any problem with a vibration or shimmy with their vehicles, they simply point to the tires as the problem and therefore they are not responsible for any such problems. I purchased this vehicle in good faith and I expected that any problems I would have would be resolved in a professional and timely manner. As of today (March 2011) the problem continues even though I have my fourth set of tires on this vehicle and as of today, Toyota has not accepted responsibility for my issue and continues to blame the problem on the tires. My argument is clear, if it is a tire issue as Toyota claims, why do I continue to have the problem after a forth set of new tires have been put on the vehicle? I see the latest commercials from Toyota claiming that they are learning to listen to their customers and yet I find that my voice has not been heard or simply avoided.
- Tony M., Avondale, AZ, US