How to handle this....
 

So I had a brake tsb done on my 2010 tundra about a week ago and all seemed fine. Today I took my first longer trip with my family since the tsb fix. I was about 60-70miles from my house getting on the George Washington bridge and I notice brake noise. Then the truck started to feel like it was being held back. I then notice the brakes were starting to lock up. I was able to make it to the first gas station in site and pulled in. The front wheels were trouble free but the backs were smoking hot. I checked to see if the emergency brake was on but it was not. I then climbed under the rear of the truck only to find to my surprise. Wait for it...... They left a f'n vice grip on one of my rear brake lines!!!!!!! I pulled it off and couldn't regain pressure. The car was towed to the nearest dealer where it now sits till the morning. The dealer was nice enough to give me a loaner and is going to completely go through the truck tomorrow. Your damn right I'll be at my local dealer when they open. How would you approach this situation?http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1405575892.jpg

I would be dialing my lawyers..............

From the dealer doing the work I would want compensation for completely new brakes in the rear including calipers (the seals were hot and may be bad) I'd want the brake line with the vice grip replaced along with new axle bearings and seals. and the work done at a different location.

I think you have a strong case but start out with the soft approach as you can always escalate it up but once there you can never get back to the point where (hopefully) they are looking to work with you and help you sans lawyers.

Hi,

well that could have ended up in a desaster. Think about blocking rear breaks at high speed cornering. So not only your car and your family could be hurtened but other people too!

One thing is the damage to the car. The other the responsibilty of the mechanic and workshop manager if they work on brakes and other security stuff.

I think this is an absolutely no go. Let's see what they say.

Regards
Markus

I have had all of these thoughts in my head already. I am going to call the dealer that the truck is at and tell them that I want them to check and replace all mentioned. I really feel for safety all that should be replaced.

Wow, you could have been in a no rear brake on one side situation that could have resulted in dire results for you and your family.

I would show the manager these pics and ask him who in his garage would he have work on his own personal family car and to personally test drive the car after everything in question has been replaced.

I'd like to see the mechanic stand in the middle of the parking lot and you do a dodge and brake maneuver with him being the dodge cone :p.

I am surprised that Toyota issued a TSB calling for the installation of a used vise grip tool on only one of the rear brake lines - shouldn't there be a vise grip on both sides? :)

Glad that nothing serious happened. I've seen some lame arse stuff come out of a dealer but never something this bad.

Hope that they do the right thing.

You are a lucky man. They basically just gambled with your life. I would switch brands ASAP.


Toyota apparently have not been taking brake issues (and service apparently) as seriously as others. This is one of those things you don't recover from in my book.
They may try to brush it off as the fault of the hourly wage guy doing the wrenching, but if experience has taught me anything it is that this error is simply a symptom of a sub-standard regime.
Consider this first near miss a friendly warning.

A free set of vise grips
 

Seriously, it was and is a bad situation.

Way back in 1980 I took my FJ40 in for a brake job and when I drove it out of the lot it felt wrong. I stopped before leaving the lot and looked....guess what?

They left the caliper bolts out......caliper just sitting on the disc......I mean OMG

I never darken their doors again.

Dwight

Be nice, it pays. I was sweet as pie once with Subaru regarding my wife's Forester with the blown head gasket. Typical problem on 98-2000, but the car was purschased private-party, 8 years old, and had 96,000 miles on the clock. Subaru put in a short block, gratis. Even gave me a loaner for a week. If I'd screamed, they'd have told me to pound sand since I didn't have a leg to stand on.

We have never had good luck with Toyota service, luckily the cars are reliable and it's rare that we do have to visit, but I think they just have way too many cars on the road to do a good job. Last time the family Camry went in for the X-point inspection the car wouldn't start a week later because the battery had corroded, funny that the inspection did not catch that.

yes, start out nice, but a little perturbed. Bump it to the service manager and then the General Manager if needed. Remind them that their mistake not only damaged your car, but could have caused an accident where you and others could have been badly injured or killed

If that get you nowhere, become a VERY squeaky wheel. File a complaint with the Automotive consumer agency, etc. Call Toyota and be really mad

Hopefully they will take care of you right away as it was their major screw up

And of course had it be a Porsche dealer, it never would have happened :p

Also remember that the pen is mightier than the sword.

My mother had a dead battery issue with her Eclipse. In and out of the shop at least 7 or 8 times and all they kept doing is replacing the battery. Occasionally, they would say she was not shutting the door all the way, but had nothing to say when it died while at their shop.

She wrote a letter, an actual letter with paper and a stamp, to somebody important at Mitsubishi. I'm not sure who. And they gave her a new Eclipse to replace her 3 year old one.

She's been writing letters to everybody since then.

I second this, heard alot of lemonade from lemons stories from guys at cars and coffee that wrote letters.