ToyotaCare (or lack thereof?) Roadside Assistance

Hey, new member here, relatively new Tundra owner (less than a year). Loving the truck, but had an issue come up and wanted to see if anyone else has experienced similar. More of a ToyotaCare issue than a Tundra issue, but still wanted to put this out there.

So the other day I probably started and stopped my 2017 Tundra with less than 12k miles a total of 9 or 10 times. Got home, unhooked my trailer, pulled into the garage. Later, I needed to get back out and the truck is dead, won't even attempt to turn over. Dash lights flicker, interior lights are dim. Hoping it's just a dead battery, I jump it with my wife's car. As soon as I disconnect the jumper cables it dies. Jump it again and let it run for a few minutes before disconnecting cables, dies again immediately. This is all after 9pm so I just borrow my father-in-laws car for the next day, pull the battery from the Tundra, and plan on hitting up the dealer to test the battery.

So next day I get to the dealer and the test the battery, sure enough it's dead. They tell me, due to warranty reasons, I have to take the dead battery back home, put it back in the truck, call ToyotaCare roadside assistance and have them tow my truck to the dealer so they can install the new battery. This was around 3pm and they said they could have it replaced by close (6pm) once I got it there. Sounds crazy, but I kind of understood, so I did just that. Called for a tow, waited an hour, no response. Called ToyotaCare back and got the response of "Sorry sir, all I can tell you is someone is working on it. I cannot tell you when you can expect someone to show up." Waited another hour, still no response, so I called the dealer back and explained the situation again. They immediately said they would send out a porter to try to jump start it (they don't have a tow truck) so they could drive it in. They show up, successfully get it started (using a trick I read up on when researching it, fyi - turn the AC on full blast to draw more from the battery to get the alternator to kick in), and drive it back to the dealership and had the battery swapped out in 30 min.

Next day and I still have yet to get a call back from ToyotaCare to let me know my tow is on the way. I didn't call and cancel it because I wanted to see how long it would take. Maybe the dealership called and cancelled it for me, but I doubt it since they couldn't call and initiate the tow in the first place.

So my question is this, has anyone else had poor experience with ToyotaCare? Is it worth my time to try to use them again if something else comes up?

 

Thanks for the welcome. I'm in a city of over 100k, so tow trucks are not in short supply (unless they only contract with a very small number of them). I was just amazed at the lack of response. Imagine if I'd have been stranded on the side of the road! Luckily it decided to die in my garage and not while I was out working with my trailer.

 

Maybe ToytotaCare has gotten fat and lazy because no one ever calls....... LOL

Remember the Maytag Repairman?

 

I'm happy with AAA

 

Haha, didn't think of that, good point.

 

What a hassle and the lack of real time updates on the tow is ridiculous.

 

Not exactly sure how I would go about doing that, and it actually be effective. I already called them back once after waiting an hour and got a very nonchalant response, so not sure another call would do any good.

 

I have never heard anything as crazy as that in my life. So, if you were 100 feet away from a Toyota dealership when all that happened to your truck, you would have to get them to take you back home first? These companies are crazy. All they want is our money, but, they don’t want to give us what we paid for.

I would not have gone through all that shit. They would have taken care of all that red tape right there and then at the dealership. Whatever happened to customer service?? Ridiculous.

 

The problem was that my truck was at my house, but I had taken the battery out and took it to them. For warranty purposes they had to be the ones to install the new battery, so they couldn't just give me the new battery to install myself. A huge hassle, yes, but I felt they were looking out for me and not just giving me a new battery with a voided warranty since I would have installed it myself. The dealer has always been great to me, it's just the way ToyotaCare handled this that is crazy. Still waiting for a call on that tow, btw.

 

Welcome. Sorry you went through this nonsense. The whole situation seems absurd.
Following up with ToyotaCare would be a good idea although I don’t think they will do anything but “note” it and it will never be looked at again.
Good thing the dealer stepped up and took care of you.
I have never used TC for roadside. I have USAA as well and after reading your story that will be the the first call I make.

 

I see. I understand the situation much better now. Well, it does seem like the dealership is helping you out the best way that they can. Now, about the tow....

 

Had my truck for 700 miles and ran over a nail the other day when taking my son to the dentist. Used the app and had a tow truck outside when the appointment was over to change into the spare. Could have done it myself but was in a suit and I remembered I had it. Seamless. Sorry your having this issue.