engine rattle

Anonymous · January 6, 2004, 14:03

My car is finally back to me and 'fixed' after 3 months of hassle, the engine rattle finally fixed, but the dealer were hopeless

markiii · January 6, 2004, 14:09

inlet or exhaust manifold?

Anonymous · January 6, 2004, 14:14

Sorry, Exhaust manifold (got it right most of the time), I have edited the original post, thanks.

aaronjb · January 6, 2004, 14:14

Reading James' other post, Mark, exhaust manifold, I believe..

markiii · January 6, 2004, 14:18

James,

Whereabouts are you? I'd be interested to see if you think my noise sounds liek your did.

Anonymous · January 6, 2004, 14:29

Hi Mark,

I am in Taunton, Somerset, but could tell you over the phone if your noise was like mine - well I would probably have to text you as you wouldn't be able to hear me :-) :-) :-)

My noise started out as a bit of a rattle under acceleration, only noticable with stereo off, got a bit louder like a diesel noise, then got a bit louder and more rattly like valve noise.

This was over a period of about 3 months, and very gentle driving of only about 600 miles.

Hope this helps.

James.

Peter Laborne · January 6, 2004, 15:49

Quote from: "jblackmore"Anyway, as I have been told 'mine is the only car in the UK with this problem' as I'm sure loads of others have been told, and I am not convinced, I would very much appreciate if anyone who has had their exhaust manifold replaced in the UK before 12th Nov 03 could let me know

You can put me down for one of these s:lol: :lol: s:lol: Actually put me down for a couple!!!

Anonymous · January 6, 2004, 16:02

Quote from: "jblackmore"Anyway, as I have been told 'mine is the only car in the UK with this problem.

You know, Toyota really take the piss.

Anonymous · January 7, 2004, 13:51

Sorry, I should state, the claim was actually that my car was the first in the UK to have this problem, which I still think is pretty unlikely.

But as so far only Peter has confirmed this, I am a bit fazed as I expected to be inundated with 'mine too's' !!!

Anyone ?

James.

markiii · January 7, 2004, 19:25

I seem to remember Benvic (ex member) got through 2 or 3 as well.

Anonymous · January 14, 2004, 11:00

Just as a followup, I spoke to soon, I have a new and exciting loud hollow metallic knock when turning left, which I imagine is related to the exhaust being changed by the dealer.

markiii · January 14, 2004, 11:37

James,

yo have a couple of PMs froma month or so back, might be of help.

Mark.

Anonymous · January 15, 2004, 09:46

Mark - Thanks for PMs, just replied - sorry it took so long.

Update, ToyotaGB are at least predictable, I asked to escalate the problem with them as the dealer has been unable to resolve it for over 3 months, Toyota say I should go back to the dealer and their procedure is not to get involved - nice.

I also asked when a ToyotaGB Field Service Manager is next visiting the dealer so i could speak to them and they could inspect the car, and was told this could only be requested by the dealer, so I cannot request this, and ToyotaGB will not organise it for me.

Nothing like a bit of support from Toyota's national presence eh s:-( :-( s:-(

Anonymous · January 23, 2004, 14:49

Took the local dealer service manager out in the car on Thurs 15th Jan, he 'accepts there is a noise' but doesn't seem to know what it might be, and won't say if its a fault until he can compare it with another car.

filcee · January 23, 2004, 14:58

It may be worth sending a letter to your local trading standards dept., especially if you have a list of dates, times and instructions to the dealer for each dealer visit you have made. Suggest you also copy the dealer and Toyota customer services on the letter (as a matter of courtesy s;-) ;-) s;-) ). I find including the words "Without Prejudice" somewhere near the top of the letter can be helpful - if they are savvy they will realise this means you intend to take it further than trading standards if necessary.

Anonymous · January 27, 2004, 12:42

At last making some progress, after 3 phone calls and a fax to Toyota customer relations and a couple of chase calls to the dealer, I got a grumpy call from the dealer this morning to tell me the Field Service Manager will see my car on Thursday.

Anonymous · January 29, 2004, 12:47

Just an update. The Field Service Manager saw my car this morning and immediately accepted the noise, and has told the dealer what to do.

Quite why it takes 3 months of aggro to locate someone who can actually diagnose a fault is beyond me, but I just hope this actually fixes the rattle !

James.

Anonymous · January 29, 2004, 14:18

Quote from: "jblackmore"Quite why it takes 3 months of aggro to locate someone who can actually diagnose a fault is beyond me

Sounds like Toyota only really employ a couple of people who know what they're doing and the rest are just monkeys who follow instructions. Well that's the cyncial view I'm getting driven towards.

markiii · January 29, 2004, 14:23

exactly.

See my point in the turbo kit thread.

Anonymous · January 29, 2004, 14:40

Quote from: "jblackmore"I spoke to Jenny Shipley in Toyota customer relations again, who says the Field Service Manager is booked up till April (does this means they have a lot of dealer problems??), so it is not looking hopeful.

I sent a long complaint to ToyotaGB about this problem on 6th Jan, detailing the dealers inability to fix this problem over 3 months and 15 visits. ToyotaGB just forwarded my letter back to the dealer to respond to, and I have heard nothing, so I wonder if they will ever reply with any explanation for all the problems.

I once had a problem getting a document from Hyundai UK so I could register an imported car in the Uk. So I sent an e-mail detailng the problem to Hyundais head office customer relations in Korea. The document was delivered by DHL overnight express from Korea 3 days later. Sometimes you need to find a contact near the top, and contact them to get things done.

Try to find the e-mail of Toyota Customer relatioons in Japan and send them a copy of Toyota UK's email and CC Japan on any others. I bet things would soon move if Japan thinks they have unhappy customers.
s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Anonymous · February 5, 2004, 16:29

Just an update, car is booked in for 23rd Feb (soonest the dealer can do), and FSM has emailed to say he will check progress daily and will personally inspect the car before it is returned to me so hopefully this should be fixed properly this time.

If anyone has an email address for Toyota Japan I would appreciate a PM.

Oh well, just hope this fixes it, and I guess I go from there.

Comer · February 5, 2004, 16:42

My missus wants to trade in her Clio for a Yaris and it's this sort of behaviour from Toyota that really puts us off.

markiii · February 5, 2004, 16:59

James,

I realise that we shouldn't have to do this. But I have come to the conclusion that at £350 a pop for a 1zz engine it's almost a disposable commodity. Toyot should do better, but if sticking a new engin in at that price every 3 years is what it takes, I can probably live with it.

Anonymous · February 5, 2004, 17:21

Quote from: "markiii"But I have come to the conclusion that at £350 a pop for a 1zz engine it's almost a disposable commodity.

While I agree the part isn't too costly, any idea what the labour would cost to do the switch? I realise you're pretty handy when it comes to a spanner, but I guess we're not all as good s:)

s:) hence how much we'd have to pay to get it replaced.

markiii · February 5, 2004, 17:23

would I attempt it myself? not sure.

If you supply a known running engine it's not rocket science so it shouldn't be too bad. anyone care to comment, I've never had an engone changed?