How many of you have had a dealer installed TRD exhaust and over time it's come loose?

How many of you had it fixed under warranty? and after the repair, is the tailpipe centered in the exhaust cutout, or is it to the left or right?

If it's not centered, are you okay with that?

Did you have the paint (and plastic) damage repaired under warranty as well? and if you did, does the paint match exactly?

If the paint doesn't match, are you satisfied or are you/will you escalate the issue until it's done right?

Here's my story...the TRD muffler came loose on my xB and burned through the paint and into the plastic in the exhaust cutout. It burned a spot about the size of a quarter. I took it to Temecula Valley Toyota (where I bought it) for repair and SPECIFICALLY detailed how I'd like the burn mark fixed. The vehicle is in pristine shape (not a ding or scratch) and I wanted minimal intrusion on the factory paint job.

Before I go any further, I'm 45 minutes drive one way from this dealer. I called three local dealers to have the warranty work done locally to avoid drive time and these were the responses I'd received:

Poway Toyota (service writer): "We don't have an in-house body shop, call Toyota of San Diego."
Escondido Toyota (service writer): "I have to check to see if we'll do warranty work on a car not purchased here." (after checking) "No, we can't do the work."
Toyota San Diego (service writer): "You'll have to call the guy that runs our body shop."
Toyota San Diego (body shop mgr.) "We'll have to get a hold of a Toyota representative to assess the damage. I'll give you a call back when we can get one here." No one called back.

I wanted whomever was going to repaint the damaged area to simply grind/sand down the burned rough spot, fill it and airbrush it. The damage was located in a spot that a touch-up job would go unnoticed. The service writer told me it was out of his hands since they'd have to send the4 xB out to a body shop. I told him to please at least convey my wishes to the body shop. The service writer then told me that they'd probably just R&R the part and paint it. I then explained that I really didn't want to intrude on the factory paint job, but he suggested all will be fine.

The next day I receive a call that my car's ready. The dealer had sent only the new right half of the lower apron to the body shop for painting. Well, when I saw the car, my jaw dropped. The repainted section was an order of magnitude whiter than anything else on the car!!! It's not just that I was upset the paint didn't match, but why the heck didn't anyone QC the thing before calling me??? talk about feeling dissed that they'd have the audacity to release the car to me when it was painfully obvious it was wrong!! When I conveyed my disapproval to the service writer, he said: "Don't worry, if we have to repaint the whole car to get it right, we will." NO, NO, NO... I told him I'd appreciate it if NOTHING else on the car was touched and that the offending apron half be redone.

When I brought the car back to the dealer to fix the paint, I again told the service writer that nothing be touched except the offending apron piece. The next day I got the call to come get the vehicle and all was fixed. THEY REPAINTED THE APRON ON THE OTHER SIDE TOO!!!! AND IT DIDN'T MATCH THE FIRST PIECE THEY PAINTED!! Prior to taking the vehicle home, the service writer called the owner of the body shop so I can explain what's wrong to him. In no uncertain terms did I tell him that not only was the repair work unacceptable, but that nothing else on the vehicle was to be touched. FWIW, my demeanor through this whole ordeal has been one of courtesy and patience. Never got upset once. After assurances from the body shop owner that they'll make my car whole again, I felt relieved...until I picked it up the next day.

THEY PAINTED THE BUMPER TOO!!!! <exasperation>

I told the service writer that they would not be touching my paint again and I'd take the issue up with Scion. So far, all I've gotten from Scion and the dealer is a "Gee, we're sorry." The dealer wanted me to bring the vehicle up to the deler on May 5th because they'll have a regional Toyota parts and service manager? to inspect the vehicle. I asked the dealer what exact time the individual would be there so I can plan my day and speak to them in person. The dealer told me that the customer is NOT allowed to speak with the Toyota rep. The customer is only allowed to submit a written statement describing the problem. I'm expected to drop my car off, let someone with a vested interest in the dealer take a look at it, and then let this person decide what's to be done without consulting me? NFW.

Now for those of you that may feel I'm overreacting, here's what I've put up with to date from the dealer:

-- Dealer installed foglights -- driver's side upper corner of the lens chipped on installation. Recently replaced by dealer.
-- Dealer installed CAI -- MAF sensor wasn't screwed in all the way. One screw was halfway out and the other, loose. The air filter was also hitting the foglight connector. I repaired both problems.
-- Dealer installed TRD exhaust -- see above
-- Had dealer check for possible rattling in driver's side front door window. They left out the screw behind the door latch and the plastic insert/screw in the door jamb. The door latch screw was found under the driver's seat and I could only find the insert for the door jamb...in the rear compartment with plier marks all over it. I'm going to replace it myself.

I'm getting close to the point of contacting a local media consumer watchdog reporter. BTW, I purchased the vehicle in 9/03 and I have a whopping 3,500 miles on it. Think I'm not upset?...and not just at the fact that the work wasn't done correctly, rather at the fact I feel dissed that my wishes went unheeded and that they'd knowingly try to pass off substandard work on me. I have a background in the automotive industry (The Bug Doctor in the late 70's, early 80's) and I let them know that.

 

i would be totally ____ed... and f the dealer that said they couldnt co anything because you didnt buy it there thats bs

 

Might I direct you to the topic that I posted a couple of days ago.
I found out why thye muffler moves!
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12729
Its to bad I couldn't find out the problem sooner, but I was doing research on it first, didn't wanna post and find out later I was wrong. I had to have it to a precise. :D

P.S.
Sorry about your bumper problems.

 

yah, i'd go back over there and knock some heads around until someone listened to me! i'd be sooo ____ed i can't even describe it. sue 'em do whatever it takes to make your baby whole again :twisted:

 

Oops, almost forgot...the dealer said that to fix the mufller from loosening again, they'd have to send my car out to a muffler shop "otherwise, it'll just happen again." I told the service writer to please have the mods done to the exhaust pipe, not the muffler (because I'll be replacing a muffler before an exhaust).

After I brought the car home from the first repainting debacle, I put the beast in the air to see what they'd done...they installed a couple of new rubber donuts on the muffler. The exhaust seems tight right now, but it's not centered. It looks like another botch I'll be repairing... ARGH!

 

I gave a call to your shop earlier (5:15PM PST) after reading your post on the subject. In fact, I e-mailed the post to myself so I'm well armed in case I have to escalate the issue beyond where it already is. Send me an e-mail with your phone and I'll drop the dime. Thanks.

 

Sorry to hear about your ordeal.

I had the same bumper meltage, slipping, rattling, leaks, etc. with my TRD exhaust. The very professional folks at the local independent muffler shop said the flange on the TRD was the wrong size and would never stay centered w/o welding ... simple as that. Maybe TRD's supplier took measurements off a prototype, or there were production variations, or something. Maybe this new gasket will work ... I might just give it another shot.

Now I think I understand where the J.D. Power numbers came from ... combine hastily designed accessories, inexperienced dealership installers and throw in a few service writers who ignore simple requests and you've got a problem.

 

I just gave you a call, but you probably just left, so call me tomorrow at the shop 408-263-8474 I am there from 8am-5pm. Thats why you missed me when you called, sorry.

I know it will work, i have been working on this for a month.

 

Sorry, I had to eat. Catch you manana.

 

That really friggin' sucks. I'd be so ____ed. I have the TRD muffler as well. O am gonna have to keep an idea out for this problem. Mine was installed in 3/04.

 

I also have the TRD exhaust - YES it does sit on the left side of the opening, I will be taking it back and having them correct it ..... Hmmmmm

 

Glad I was able to help ya.

 

The photos used by (STYLIS) are of my car. I didn't realize this was such a big problem for so many others. At this point I thinnk we have a pretty good case against Toyota ( TRD) I am very interested in taking legal action in this matter!!!!!!! For those of you who are interested as well, please respond. The larger the number......the bigger the noise!!!!!!

 

Maddworxx and I were inspecting the trd muffler and noticed that it didn't hug the gasket like the precisionmuffler.com Axle back and I even compared it to the dimensions of another axle back (5 Zigen) The TRD jsut might have been a bad design for the gasket. :?

 

I agree. We have a Borla one here in the store and it appears to have the same issue as the TRD one. Probably used the replacement toyo one.

Mike

 

The DC Sports one has the same problem, but after adjusting it and ensuring that it was in the right place, it never moved again...

 

mmm..I might have to check the dimensions of the other axle backs as well. The dimensions on the precision muffler axle back is based off of the dimensions from the stock muffler. I would assume the other companies would to, just more research for me to do.