My family and I have been loyal Toyota/Lexus customers for almost 30 yrs. List of cars we own/owned are Toyota's Supra Turbo, 4runner limited, Sienna 2004, Sienna 2010, Sienna 2016(just bought new 2 months ago), Rav4, Lexus 400LS, Lexus GS300. This is just my parents, brother and myself. This list does not include the many family members and associates we convinced to buy Toyota/Lexus over the years since many ask us why we always purchase Toyota/Lexus. All were bought new except the Lexus GS300(currently still own) and the Toyota Supra Turbo.
My complaint is with our Sienna 2004 and currently our 2010 Sienna. But mostly my complaint is with the customer service person who hung up on me(Irene Torres-800-331-4331). Not sure if that's her first name but Torres is her last name.
On our 2004 Sienna the transmission went out at the 5 year mark with 120k miles. We spent $3600 to put a new one in and sold the car at big lost. We weren't happy about it but figured it happens. We decided to purchase a new 2010 Sienna as my parents take a lot of road trips and I wanted them to be safe. We traded a old cargo van we had during the "cash of clunkers" deal at the time and picked out a new 2010 Sienna at Toyota of Cerritos, CA. The sales person really pushed us into buying the extended warranty for an additional $2500. Since our previous Sienna had transmission problems we decided to purchase the additional plan. Later walking out of the office I see another salesman give a thumbs up to our salesman who responded with a wink and a smile and a thumbs up. My father and I felt like crap feeling we just got taken advantage of. And sure enough 2 months later we see TV ads that Toyota is including a free extended warranty with all new purchases. We just chalked it up to the sales tactics at Toyota of Cerritos, CA. Nonetheless it didn't feel good being treated this way as loyal customers. If you want to celebrate taking extra money off your customers, do it when the customer leaves and not if front of them.
We would buy our next 2016 Sienna from Longo Toyota. All in all the salesmen was good to us. Roughly 2 months after buying the 2016 Sienna, our 2010 Sienna's CEL came on(5 year mark, 120k miles and out of the extended warranty purchased at $2500). We took it to Downtown LA Toyota and they said we would have to replace the ABS Actuator Pump for $3600+. WOW. After all the bad experiences leading up to this and the recent purchase of a new 2016 Sienna 2 months prior, we felt really upset. I went online to see if the ABS Actuator was a common problem or if there are any recalls. I found in the forums that they did a extended warranty program for their Camry and Prius Hybrids. Others with Highlanders also have complaints with the ABS Actuator Pump but isn't currently covered. Neither was my 2010 Sienna. Feeling I had a legitimate complaint I called Toyota Customer Service at 800-331-4331. The first lady was really helpful and seemed to want to help considering our loyalty to their Brand. She offered to take 50% off the repair bill which was nice of her but still a large bill to fork out for us. With other Toyota's having ABS Actuator problems(some issued extended warranties and some not as of yet), along with all the bad experiences leading up to this problem, and the recent purchase of a new Sienna, My father really expected Toyota to fix the problem free of charge. I asked if I can perhaps speak to a manager to help further reduce the bill. Although we were 20k over the extended warranty we purchased for $2500, we really thought Toyota would make an exception for our continued loyalty and multiple purchases by extending our warranty to cover the ABS Actuator. They already had extended warranties offers to Camry and Prius. Highlanders owners also reporting complaints. Ms Torres could not be bothered. She said since we rejected their offer of taking 50% off the repair bill she wouldn't make any other offers. Then I said "so 50% is the best you can do" and she said NO, she's taking that offer off the table since we rejected. WOW, WOW. Then she said "if that's all..." and hung up on me. WOW, WOW, WOW. Great customer service. Its really sad. We had 2 Sienna's break down with a $3600+ bill(at the 5 year mark), back to back, and just bought a 3rd new Sienna, and she just hung up on me. For customer loyalty, How much would it cost them to offer me a extended warranty for a ABS Actuator problem with seems to include multiple models? They already offered extended warranty for Camry and Prius. With others now complaining about the Highlander too. After all I did pay additional $2500 to purchase a extended warranty(granted it expired at 100k, just 20k over). Or even take a little more off to keep me happy? At the least be professional and not hang up on your customers. I never raised my voice, cursed or used any sort of bad language.
I will no longer buy any Toyota or Lexus and I will make darn sure no one around me buys one either. Not only did she lose a customer, she made a enemy. I was going to sell my gs300 for a new Lexus GX but that's out the door now. Guess I'll look into the Acura MDX or BMW X5. Honda will be my next mini van purchase. It doesn't seem Sienna lasts more than 5 years, 120k miles before having a $3600 repair bill. I know a few Honda owners with 5-10 years without any issues what so ever. I will be posting as much as I can about my experiences with Toyota. Or a least until I get an apology from Ms. Torres for her unprofessional behavior. Having owned many myself, my reviews and comments should have some weight. It is a real shame. If they only took better care of their loyal customers. You don't have to spend millions on Ads. Word of mouth also sells or block sales of your cars. Believe me I've convinced so many people to buy a Toyota or Lexus in the past 20 years. That won't be the case now. Had she not have been so rude I would probably not waist my time and effort advocating against Toyota now.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
My family and I have been loyal Toyota/Lexus customers for almost 30 yrs. List of cars we own/owned are Toyota's Supra Turbo, 4runner limited, Sienna 2004, Sienna 2010, Sienna 2016(just bought new 2 months ago), Rav4, Lexus 400LS, Lexus GS300. This is just my parents, brother and myself. This list does not include the many family members and associates we convinced to buy Toyota/Lexus over the years since many ask us why we always purchase Toyota/Lexus. All were bought new except the Lexus GS300(currently still own) and the Toyota Supra Turbo.
My complaint is with our Sienna 2004 and currently our 2010 Sienna. But mostly my complaint is with the customer service person who hung up on me(Irene Torres-800-331-4331). Not sure if that's her first name but Torres is her last name.
On our 2004 Sienna the transmission went out at the 5 year mark with 120k miles. We spent $3600 to put a new one in and sold the car at big lost. We weren't happy about it but figured it happens. We decided to purchase a new 2010 Sienna as my parents take a lot of road trips and I wanted them to be safe. We traded a old cargo van we had during the "cash of clunkers" deal at the time and picked out a new 2010 Sienna at Toyota of Cerritos, CA. The sales person really pushed us into buying the extended warranty for an additional $2500. Since our previous Sienna had transmission problems we decided to purchase the additional plan. Later walking out of the office I see another salesman give a thumbs up to our salesman who responded with a wink and a smile and a thumbs up. My father and I felt like crap feeling we just got taken advantage of. And sure enough 2 months later we see TV ads that Toyota is including a free extended warranty with all new purchases. We just chalked it up to the sales tactics at Toyota of Cerritos, CA. Nonetheless it didn't feel good being treated this way as loyal customers. If you want to celebrate taking extra money off your customers, do it when the customer leaves and not if front of them.
We would buy our next 2016 Sienna from Longo Toyota. All in all the salesmen was good to us. Roughly 2 months after buying the 2016 Sienna, our 2010 Sienna's CEL came on(5 year mark, 120k miles and out of the extended warranty purchased at $2500). We took it to Downtown LA Toyota and they said we would have to replace the ABS Actuator Pump for $3600+. WOW. After all the bad experiences leading up to this and the recent purchase of a new 2016 Sienna 2 months prior, we felt really upset. I went online to see if the ABS Actuator was a common problem or if there are any recalls. I found in the forums that they did a extended warranty program for their Camry and Prius Hybrids. Others with Highlanders also have complaints with the ABS Actuator Pump but isn't currently covered. Neither was my 2010 Sienna. Feeling I had a legitimate complaint I called Toyota Customer Service at 800-331-4331. The first lady was really helpful and seemed to want to help considering our loyalty to their Brand. She offered to take 50% off the repair bill which was nice of her but still a large bill to fork out for us. With other Toyota's having ABS Actuator problems(some issued extended warranties and some not as of yet), along with all the bad experiences leading up to this problem, and the recent purchase of a new Sienna, My father really expected Toyota to fix the problem free of charge. I asked if I can perhaps speak to a manager to help further reduce the bill. Although we were 20k over the extended warranty we purchased for $2500, we really thought Toyota would make an exception for our continued loyalty and multiple purchases by extending our warranty to cover the ABS Actuator. They already had extended warranties offers to Camry and Prius. Highlanders owners also reporting complaints. Ms Torres could not be bothered. She said since we rejected their offer of taking 50% off the repair bill she wouldn't make any other offers. Then I said "so 50% is the best you can do" and she said NO, she's taking that offer off the table since we rejected. WOW, WOW. Then she said "if that's all..." and hung up on me. WOW, WOW, WOW. Great customer service. Its really sad. We had 2 Sienna's break down with a $3600+ bill(at the 5 year mark), back to back, and just bought a 3rd new Sienna, and she just hung up on me. For customer loyalty, How much would it cost them to offer me a extended warranty for a ABS Actuator problem with seems to include multiple models? They already offered extended warranty for Camry and Prius. With others now complaining about the Highlander too. After all I did pay additional $2500 to purchase a extended warranty(granted it expired at 100k, just 20k over). Or even take a little more off to keep me happy? At the least be professional and not hang up on your customers. I never raised my voice, cursed or used any sort of bad language.
I will no longer buy any Toyota or Lexus and I will make darn sure no one around me buys one either. Not only did she lose a customer, she made a enemy. I was going to sell my gs300 for a new Lexus GX but that's out the door now. Guess I'll look into the Acura MDX or BMW X5. Honda will be my next mini van purchase. It doesn't seem Sienna lasts more than 5 years, 120k miles before having a $3600 repair bill. I know a few Honda owners with 5-10 years without any issues what so ever. I will be posting as much as I can about my experiences with Toyota. Or a least until I get an apology from Ms. Torres for her unprofessional behavior. Having owned many myself, my reviews and comments should have some weight. It is a real shame. If they only took better care of their loyal customers. You don't have to spend millions on Ads. Word of mouth also sells or block sales of your cars. Believe me I've convinced so many people to buy a Toyota or Lexus in the past 20 years. That won't be the case now. Had she not have been so rude I would probably not waist my time and effort advocating against Toyota now.
- David L., Los Angeles, CA, US