I am NOT “Miss Fix It”. Vince can truly fix anything . . except cars! It scares me to death when he opens the hood on any of our vehicles. We’ve been having this ongoing discussion about a new vehicle . . it’s really quite a one-sided conversation. If Vince had his way, we would never get a new vehicle. I do not care whether I drive an old or a new vehicle . . it isn’t that I’m embarrassed by the age of my vehicle, it’s that I take off on 10 hour drives and a 10 year old car makes me a bit nervous. But, it has few miles, looks brand new and I don’t see a new vehicle in my future.
Yesterday I had to run to the mail box and there was too much stuff in the back of the RTV so I was going to take my car. Cat was under the car and I asked him to move. No! I honked the horn hoping he would move. No! I started the car and then got out to make sure he had moved before I backed up. When I opened the car door, there was a heck of a noise coming from under the hood but you couldn’t even hear it with the door closed. My first thought was “Cat jumped under the hood” so I was happy to see over by the well house. I turned off the air conditioner and the noise stopped. I turned the air conditioner back on and the noise started. At least I knew what was causing the noise.
When Vince got home, with trepidation, I said “My air conditioner in the Highlander is making a horrible noise!” Vince said “We’ll call the Toyota dealer and make an appointment.” I said “Can you just look under the hood? It might be a dirt dauber nest on a fan or something.” So, we both went out. I popped the hood button. He raised the hood. I started the car and turned the a/c on. He was listening. I was in the driver’s seat. He couldn’t see anything so I asked him to sit in the driver’s seat and I would listen.
I thought the noise was coming from the right. He thought it was coming from under some cover in the middle. He said “I think I have the right whatever (I forgot if it was a screw driver or something else). Let me go get it and I’ll take this cover off. No! No! . . You’re not taking anything under the hood apart.
I was saying . . we’ll just take it to the Toyota dealer next week. I don’t need to go anywhere right away! He was off to find his tools. I happened to look down and there was this little hard rubbery cap thing on the end of something and it had slipped off just a little. I pushed it back on and started the car. No noise! I went and found Vince and told him I fixed it. He didn’t believe me . . truly, I never can fix anything.
Last night I got to thinking . . maybe that little rubber thing is loose and shouldn’t be and it could come off while I’m driving and ruin my whole engine so I called the Toyota dealer here this morning. They said “bring it by . . we’ll look at it.” I did. They did. They said it was fine.
Here’s the unbelievable part. They were so nice! They stood there and explained to me what it was, how it worked, why it had to be removable and that someone had probably bumped it while changing the oil. They only charge about $5 more for oil changes than does the quick lube place I’ve been going to and they check belts, hoses, wiper blades .. people were coming and going . . getting their oil changed. Everyone seemed happy and like they were all friends with the staff. The place was amazingly clean. We bought my car in Joplin and one of the sales pitches was that they change the oil free for some amount of time . . maybe as long as I own the car. I went back once and it took FOREVER and they were not friendly, and I said . . forget this . . I’ll pay to have my oil changed, and I never went back there.
I told Vince at lunch . . if you go there and talk to the people in the service department, which to me . . that’s what really matters when you buy a car . . you’ll want to buy a car from them. Maybe next week! 🙂 Doubtful but I was impressed and I would definitely buy a car from them but our next car would probably be another Honda CRV. But, if we’re buying a truck, which would be my choice, it would be a Toyota Tundra.
Anyway . . my air conditioner is fixed. I liked the Toyota people. I will take my car there for my oil changes in the future. Oh . . they also reset that little “check engine” light which the quick lube place doesn’t do and that darn thing always comes on when I’m flying down the interstate going to or from MO. I know it just means change the oil but I still don’t like it coming on especially when I just got the oil changed.
Peg says
Hey Judy ~ sometimes the check engine light comes on because the gas cap isn’t screwed on tight enough! Ridiculous, scary and a PITA to have to have a dealer reset it, I know. I’m glad you had such a great experience at the dealership. I worked for Toyota’s regional office in Houston for 25 years and we took great pride in our wonderful dealers and their staffs. I can also highly recommend a Tundra or even a Tacoma if you’re ever in the market for a new truck, 😀
Joyce says
I must say I love our Honda dealership! The service guys generally greet me by name when I come in (I know they are likely looking it up on the computer). It is a great feeling, though. They also went above and beyond on saving me money when I had to get the air conditioner replaced several years ago. I know some dealerships aren’t like that…I remember one in Chicago that was the pits, so I really appreciate a good one!