Toyota Venza Forum

The full meaning of my thread takes a bit of explanations so hang in there with me.

NOTE: As you read on it may help for you to know that my home dealer is relatively small and stocks very few accessories whereas a very large dealer about 20 miles away stocks almost all Toyota accessories.

PART A.
Today, I called a major Dallas area Toyota dealer's service department to learn if they had seen the warpage problem on Venza's dashboard. I should explain that I did not call my dealer because they are much, much smaller so I expected the larger dealer would have had more service experience with the Venza. To my shock and awe I was told that this major dealer to date HAD NOT HAD ONE SINGLE Venza issue. To make matter's even more unbelievable this con artist continued by saying NO Venza's had even been brought into their service department! I just checked this dealers inventory and they have 990 new Toyota's in stock and of that number 46 are VENZA'S!

PART B.
Next, I asked to be transferred to the parts department to inquire about purchasing and dealer installation of splash guards. During this conversation I happened to mentioned I was displeased with the rattle from my chrome license plate frames purchased from them. The very courteous Parts Salesman quickly apologized and said that they (Parts Department) AND THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT were well aware of the problem because over a dozen Venza owners had brought their Venza's to the service department with the same issue. I then told the Parts Salesman about my conversation with the Service Manager. The mature and seasoned Parts Salesman politely stated that there had indeed been Venza's brought in to service with a variety of issues.

THE IRONIC HUMOR IN THIS.
While this so called premier Toyota dealer's service department knows nothing about the dashboard or any other Venza issues yet the honest parts guy knew of such a minor issue as a rattling license plate frame.

LESSON LEARNED.
Tomorrow I will take my beloved Venza into my small dealer and file a formal service issue regarding the worsening warpage of my dashboard top (left corner boarding the left speaker). The gap is now 1/4 inch wider than normal and at least 1/8 inch higher than normal.

To be honest and fair I shall should tell my home dealer about my dealings today with the larger dealer. I plan to be very professional and polite as I clearly state this dashboard top problem is not acceptable for a $32K Toyota. Additionally, I shall simply and again clearly explain that no one is to experiment on my Venza as they attempt to arrive at a solution. My expectation is that they correct this problem per Toyota's guidelines. And by the way, due to the way this panel is warped it cannot simply be repositioned. Although it may not be the best manners, Toyota as a whole will pay for the lies told to me today by one of their so called premiere dealers.

Pal, all I can say is you have an interesting battle in front of you. I just purchased my Venza a few days ago, and thus far not one complaint. No rattles, nothing.
Sorry for your loss!

__________________
Ken
Severna Park, Md
6 cyl., AWD, Metallic Silver
Prem#2, NV, SR, & TO packages, Curtis hitch
Door edge guards, Body side moldings, rear bumper protector

Hello Ken,
If you would like to follow along as a number of us deal with quality issues see this thread over at ToyotaNation.com : Dissatisfied customer from non-repairable problem - Toyota Forums :: Toyota Nation

Louis