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Toyota Extra Care Warranty refuses to cover blown engine.
Hello,
We bought a used 1998 Seinna minivan from Toyota with their Gold Extra Care warranty. A spark plug blew in the engine which rendered the engine useless. They estimate the damage to be over $6000 dollars. Toyota Extra Care say they will not honor the warranty because it does not cover spark plugs. We have talked to Extra Care Toyota Relations and the dealership who sold us the car. They to refuse to do anything for us. What recourse do we have? Is there anyone we could talk to in Toyota that can help us?
Thank you for your time,
Mark stinga
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look dude it's a spark plug those cost mayb a dollar to buy. and replacement is easy as hell to.now if it was the plug that blew along with the wire, and maybe the fuel injector for that point it might be $40 for parts. you're getting ripped off. $6000 my ass.
your first mistake is taking it to a dealer. never ever take your car to a dealer to get it fixed. they love making you wait in line, and charging $70 an hour to make you wait. then they love to give you crap about some random part not being the factory part just to give you more grief. i want you to find a friend who is a mechanic, or learn how to take care of such issues yourself. a dealer will rip you off, it's guaranteed. find a trustworthy mechanic, he'll fix anything with your car, and charge you fairly. i learned how to work on my cars so i know i trust my mechanic (me) but some people don't know a crankshaft from a camshaft and need some aid with their car from another source. so to you i say find a friend or neighbor who can help you out and never deal with the dealer's run-around.
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I work for a motor insurer in England (used to be Motor Claims, now Motor Complaints), so I'm hoping I can offer you some advice, having some across similar situations in the past.
Unfortunately, because your vehicle is second hand and eight years old, they are actually free of obligation to cover this item.
Spark plugs aren't designed to last for such a significant period of time and should, in theory, be changed upon services to your vehicle. If this has not been completed during the time the vehicle has been in ownership, either yours or the previous owner's, Toyota can happily turn round and refuse to cover it on a wear and tear basis. As a rule of thumb, almost nobody in the motor industry will cover damage that is caused as a result of general wear and tear.
However, if the spark plug has been replaced, again they are not under obligation to cover the item as it is not manufacturer fitted and in most cases, companies such as Toyota will not cover items that were not fitted originally by the manufacturer. This means that had your vehicle been involved in an accident and a part was replaced by another garage, the warranty would be invalid.
I know that it's not pleasent and I really do sympathise with you. I have dealt with many problems such as this in the past and it's always tough. Sadly, though, they have managed to wriggle successfully out of this one.
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