I leased a 1999 Toyota Avalon from Fred Anderson Toyota, 9101 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, North Carolina 27613, phone 919-787-0099.in the beginning the car operated reasonable well with a few minor problems. The sub woofer for the radio buzzed when we played hip-hop music from the cd player, the driver side power window would stay down and the passenger side seat back trim panel would fall off.
Each of these items was taken care of after several trips to Fred Anderson's service department. A word to the wise, don't try and help service technicians by suggesting what the problem might be, this just seems to delay the process into additional trips to the garage.
Anyway last year after our 2000 mile round trip from North Carolina to Ohio for vacation our Avalon developed its current problem. Note, this started last year in August. My wife would go out to the car to go to work and it would fail to start.
The car would crank over but would not start as if it had run out of gas. It finally started and we didn't think anything of the problem until it happened again. We took it to Fred Anderson Toyota and they could not find anything wrong with the car and returned it to us without doing any more work.
This went on a few times and each time because the car ran when we arrived at the garage and the computer did not capture any codes the car was not repaired since there was nothing broken. After a few more times and the fuel pump was replaced at the request of Toyota Motor Corporation.
This failed to fix the problem. Once the car would not start while parked in my garage at home. I called for a tow and the car was towed to Fred Anderson Toyota. After it was parked on the back lot a mechanic went out to look at it and it started. The car was returned to me with no further work done.
But now the car has developed an additional problem. It would stop running while driving. This is a more serious matter. The car has become a safety hazard while on the road. My wife and daughter refuse to drive the car so it is now mine while my wife drives my 1995 Toyota. I have had the car fail several times the past two months that I have had the pleasure of driving it.
Yes the problem has gone away when I have taken it to be serviced at Fred Anderson Toyota.By now my concern has elevated. I have a family car that the family refuses to ride in and when it stops running on the road I am in danger of being hit by the vehicle in back of me.
I have become a little emotional about this problem and first requested and then pleaded that Fred Anderson Toyota service department please help me fix this problem. They suggested that they bring in the southeast region Toyota technician to look at my car. Last week I called Fred Anderson Toyota service department to make an appointment to bring in my Avalon.
We agreed to drop it off last Monday the 27 of May. I reminded the Associate Service Manager that Monday was a holiday but he told me they would be working. We waited until Wednesday and my wife called the Associate Service Manager to find the status. She was told the southeast region technician would arrive the next day to look at the car and so far they could not get it to fail.
My wife told the manager that we were under the impression that the car would have been looked at on Monday and he informed her that there was no way the southeast region Toyota technician would be in town on a holiday.
I became somewhat more emotional and called the Fred Anderson Toyota Customer Relations Manager and dumped my entire story on her. Yes, I was angry. Yes, I was hurt. Yes, I am tired of this problem. Yes, all of these feelings and more came pouring out into her waiting ear.
I was loud and rather crude but I am also at the end of my rope with this problem and I am looking for anybody from Toyota to take responsibility for their problem. The Customer Relations Manager took notes and told me she would look into the matter and call be back. We agreed that due to being the end of the work day that I would not hear back from her until the next day or perhaps the day after.
It is now two days later and I am at Fred Anderson Toyota ready to pick up my car. The southeast region Toyota technician could not find any problem but using his expertise he decided to replace two relays that are part of the motor control circuit. I still not have received a call from the Fred Anderson Customer Relations Manager so I went into the main building to speak with her.
She told me that she did not return my call because I was rude to her on the telephone. I started to tell her why I might be rude when she suggested we go downstairs to the employee break area to discuss my problem. Once again I became emotional (rude perhaps?) and it was then she admitted that she did not return my call because her boss, the Fred Anderson Toyota Service Manager, said he would take care of the problem.
I told her it was just this kind of attitude that caused me to call her in the first place and I asked to see the General Manager of Fred Anderson Toyota. She agreed to take me to his office and while walking through the hall I once again said that if only she would have just called me then I would have not had to be doing this. It was then she told me that she did not realize that I wanted a telephone call back.
My wife and I were told at the time the General Manager of Fred Anderson Toyota was on the road and would return shortly. We waited for a little over an hour and he arrived he asked we go into his office. I covered much of what I have already written above. I started to get the sense of being up against a brick wall when he made comments like "in these matters there are truths and untruths and fortunately yours are mostly truths".
He also told me I was the only person that the Customer Relation Manager had ever called rude so he believed her side and that I must have been rude to her. I told him I was emotional about being in a position of owning an unsafe and unreliable car that nobody at Fred Anderson Toyota seems to care about. He told me it was out of Fred Anderson Toyota's hand and I should deal with the Toyota Motor Corporation.
I challenged why I should do this since I was a repeat customer and was this the return I get for trying to be a loyal customer. I was getting quite angry and told my wife we were going since we were not getting any satisfaction from the General Manager. When I walked out of his office I said some snide remark and much to my suprise he made a remark back to me.
I quickly told him that was just the attitude his Service Manager and Customer Relations Manager had and that is why I asked to speak to him in the first place. I then suggested that if he thought this treatment of the customers was correct that perhaps he should give the Customer Relations Manager a salary increase. He said he would do that today.
I popped another snide (or was this one rude?) remark at him and then he told me to get out of his dealership and not to return and he did not want me to bring my car back to his service department. Once again I told him that he had a great attitude and then the General Manager of Fred Anderson Toyota to me to leave the premises or he would have the authorities remove me bodily.
This happened on a Friday. On the following Monday the car failed to start and two days later it stopped running while driving home from work.
Tim
Raleigh, North Carolina
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