Drive shaft broke during test drive at Dealership

[ADee]

I took my 2008 Kluger into my local dealership today as it started making a grating noise 5 days ago, when turning right (full turn).

The dealership reported that while test driving the car and 'trying to recreate the problem' the drive shaft broke. As a result, I had to organise my road assistance to tow the vehicle back to the dealership; my responsibility apparently.

They have quoted me $1500 inc to replace with a new drive shaft, or $900 inc to send it out to be reconditioned, and then refitted at the dealership.

I'm looking for feedback on:

- the car breaking whilst in their care (bit of a grey area)

- the quote of $900-$1500 to repair it. Seems steep either way but I am not across repair costs as the car was under warranty til last year.

Any advice much appreciated! Thanks.

[(mr2)]

Personally, I think that they should be organizing the tow truck not you, but this is something that would also be billed to you, from them.

The drive shaft breaking, as long as they were driving it properly then I think it's bad luck, unless they were working on it prior to it breaking. If they were then it's possible that they forgot to tighten something or it might be something that they should of picked up.

Cost of repair, I don't know what they would cost to repair so can't comment on that.

2008... That's a bit new for having a drive shaft snap. Has it had a hard life?

[SuperDave]

If it is snapped, how does it get repaired?

I'd be reading the fine print carefully on who pays what in the event of a failure while they were driving. I'm thinking bad luck Toyota, the issue occurred under your care, if it was a crash, they would bill you for the repairs.

[Ratheesh Kumar]

Take it to get a legal opinion as the problem was already reported by you to the dealer and with out inspecting it at the first instance they took it for a test drive far away from the work shop .They should have done this test drive with in their premises.Also check whether any recall on this issue or something related to this issue from Toyota during the past.

[trentmeyer23]

Bend over, cop the bill, move on. They are not at fault for it breaking.

As far as the cost of the driveshaft, that is what you will pay for genuine. Aftermarket is the cheaper option.

[Hiro]

They should have done this test drive with in their premises.

What kind of dealership has the space to get out of first gear? Most people complain about mechanics/service centres just rolling the car around the carpark/forecourt and then claiming they took it for a test drive, not the other way around

If I want a car road-tested to sort out bugs, I want as many varied conditions thrown in as possible (speed bumps, roundabouts, hills, bumps, >80km/h etc etc). I've already had this problem with a dealership before in regards to a knocking sound going around right hand corners - they diagnosed the problem as worn rack ends (which were replaced) and then a worn steering rack (which got refurbished), only for me to experience the exact same problem not half a km away from the dealership after I picked up the car, at the first roundabout. Obviously the car wasn't test-driven before or after the diagnosis otherwise they wouldn't have handed it back with the problem still there (and completely unaffected by the work carried out).

And who is to say it was "far away" from the dealership? A broken axle would necessitate a tow whether it was 100km or 100m away from the dealership

[Ratheesh Kumar]

"it started making a grating noise 5 days ago, when turning right (full turn)."

You are right, but my opinion was merely based on the above statement, the client already informed them about the complaint and what they actually need to do is first carefully listen client’s concern and act on it.In this instance they should have checked the vehicle by taking a full right turn with the car on their driving track/parking space...

I have a similar bad experience with dealer representative's attitude. When I approached them with my brand new Kluger for a rear DVD rattle noise which felt to me like a loose fixing issue with the actual DVD mounting panel came from factory and that causing the noise issues. When I informed the same to the dealer rep ,they asked me to book my vehicle for a test drive. They took several test drive of my vehicle and informed its fixed .But soon after I drive past their centre I started hearing the same noise from DVD panel. After this incident I took my vehicle at least 4- 5 times for the same complaint and each time they did the same test and advised me they cannot do anything further. When I questioned about the mounting panel they even started arguing with me by saying that they are experienced engineers. At last I managed to make a complaint to Toyota Australia and through the complaint service the Toyota representative came and fixed the issue after his second attempts .At 1^st attempt he advised my dealer to change the DVD player but that also failed to fix the exact issue and in the second attempt he advised them to remove the actual mounting panel and put some more inserts to the mounting face which actually resolved the issue to 99%.( This was the same thing which I informed them at the beginning).

[Hiro]

"it started making a grating noise 5 days ago, when turning right (full turn)."

...

In this instance they should have checked the vehicle by taking a full right turn with the car on their driving track/parking space...

"Driving track"? Dealerships have test-tracks now? I know my local Toyota dealership would barely have room in their yard to be doing figure-8s etc (especially when full of cars in for service) to try and test out cornering noises, just because the customer says "I heard a noise turning full right" doesn't mean it can easily be replicated in a small area at low speed. I know my noise for instance only happens when turning right, but it has to be off-throttle at ~20km/h, and preferably off-camber too, something that cannot be replicated in a car park.

There is no point simply doing a reverse park in the carpark, hearing a grating noise and going "OK, put it up on the hoist and we'll spend hours tracking down what it could be". 15 minutes of real-world road driving in varying conditions can save hours of troubleshooting in the workshop as it can narrow down the causes of the noise and pinpoint the components to be inspected/tested, something that can be hard/impossible to replicate on a hoist.

[Ratheesh Kumar]

Driving Track means nearby road or Round ab't.My dealer has enough space here for a drive test even round ab't behind their service yard....So ignore my comments if this is not the case with most of the dealers...What i meant is dealer could look the issue in detail before they make blind steps...in this case they broke the drive shaft which could have been avoided and repaired if they checked it first instance and saved few dollars....

[Hiro]

Driving Track means nearby road or Round ab't.

And what makes you think that the OP's driveshaft didn't fail on one of these nearby roads? Like I said, if you break an axle you'll need a tow regardless of how far away you are from the dealership, even if it is just a block.

[trentmeyer23]

Driving Track means nearby road or Round ab't.My dealer has enough space here for a drive test even round ab't behind their service yard....So ignore my comments if this is not the case with most of the dealers...What i meant is dealer could look the issue in detail before they make blind steps...in this case they broke the drive shaft which could have been avoided and repaired if they checked it first instance and saved few dollars....

Go home, you're drunk!

[Andrew357]

Driving Track means nearby road or Round ab't.My dealer has enough space here for a drive test even round ab't behind their service yard....So ignore my comments if this is not the case with most of the dealers...What i meant is dealer could look the issue in detail before they make blind steps...in this case they broke the drive shaft which could have been avoided and repaired if they checked it first instance and saved few dollars....

How do you know they didn't take the necessary steps before resorting to a test drive?

Southside Woolloongabba is my nearest Service dealer (the service department is located on Logan road and has an exit on Jurgens Street. The nearest roundabout is 1.4km away.

https://maps.google.com.au/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&ie=UTF-8&q=southside+woolloongabba&fb=1&gl=au&hq=southside&hnear=0x6b915a6a19dc5429:0x502a35af3de9ea0,Woolloongabba+QLD&cid=0,0,12277707054466427967&ei=L67DUcLYFcmXiQe2kIHAAQ&ved=0CJwBEPwSMAA

Is that too far a drive for you? Would you be ok letting them take it out that far? Anyone who has been to the SS Woolloongabba department will know it is paired with Southside Ford so there are cars everywhere. No chance of doing a proper test drive on premise; so what are they to do given you don't want them to drive it 'far away' from the dealership?

You are what is wrong with people these days. You expect them to do an extraordinary job but are only willing to pay next to nothing, then you start talking about taking legal action when things don't go your way.

[Kenshin X]

[Ratheesh Kumar]

I didn't say take legal action,get a legal opinion thats it ,better than seeking comments and suggestion from friends if he thinks dealesr are responsible. Some one can advise me what happens during test drive if they end up in a vehicle break down due to tyre puncture or an accident ,do we responsible for towing the vehicle back to their centre?

Edited June 23, 2013 by Ratheesh Kumar

[Ratheesh Kumar]

Driving Track means nearby road or Round ab't.My dealer has enough space here for a drive test even round ab't behind their service yard....So ignore my comments if this is not the case with most of the dealers...What i meant is dealer could look the issue in detail before they make blind steps...in this case they broke the drive shaft which could have been avoided and repaired if they checked it first instance and saved few dollars....

Go home, you're drunk!

Edited June 23, 2013 by Ratheesh Kumar

[Kenshin X]

now, now... play nice, this thread will be cleaned up by the end of today... except for mr ed :P

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

The op has not been back so most likely has coughed up had it fixed and moved on.
Also who knows... the Kluger may have been a used one she purchased 2nd hand that had done a couple of hundred thousand k's chasing wild pigs in the NT and may be the reason for the worn out shaft?
It also may be the result of a previous accident... ?? who knows without a crystal ball.
I find it a bit rich that the dealer slugged her for towing costs when they were test driving. That's how some dealerships are though.

Edited June 23, 2013 by KX-R & ACV40R

[ADee]

Evening All

Thanks for all the input.

Toyota Sydney (waterloo) have now had the car for about 10 days.

All in all a pretty average experience. Lack of communication is probably the worst part and not helping jus us being on holiday in FNQ right now.

The car has had a very easy life , i.e. 50,000KM , 2008 model however The car did have an accident in April 2009 , (20K of damage) , someone ran into me at a junction. The drive shaft and many (MANY!) other bits were replaced by AAMI and the car had further work completed by AAMI in April and June 2012 as we believed the same issues were from the original accident.

Toyota keep changing their tack -

1) Having not accepted the $1000/$1500 fee , I suggested that it should be completed at cost / no profit seeming as it happened in their posession. They then suggested that the parts could be under warranty ...

2) Then they advised - the parts are not under warranty as they were 15 months old!

3) I the advised them that if it was 15 months old that they should still be fixed under warranty.

4) Have waited numerous days and now they have advised the parts were not replaced in 2012 but 2009 and its not under warranty and its not the drive shaft!!!

5) They are supplying a report so we can actually understand what the issue is and then on Monday we can contact AAMI as we believe they should pay as it seems to be related to that original accident and their work is guaranteed for life.

6) All in all , a real pain and we could get fixed for $1000 'ish but think this is worth a fight with AAMI or Toyota - simple fact is AAMI should probably never have authorised $20k of work on a car but I guess it was less than half of the book value at time.

The drama continues… next step AAMI on Monday

Cheers

Edited June 28, 2013 by ADee

[jeffy]

Good luck with that, AAMI has the worse communication service ever... keep us posted