A tale of two Toyota dealerships

[SeanSanDiego]

I am a new customer to Toyota and leased a Rav4Ev just yesterday. I live in San Diego and have been leasing an active E for the past couple of years. I love the technology but the Active E and the i3 are too small to be truly functional for my family. Although I was very close to purchasing a Model S - I chose the Rav4 EV as a stop gap.

In researching the Rav4 EV I came across this forum and found it useful in my decision making process. I also discovered Dianne Whitmire at Carson Toyota. In a word - she is fantastic. We negotiated a deal over email and I was in and out of her dealership within 2 hours. She and her assistant, Jane are professional, courteous and thorough and as a long time BMW customer - I was impressed and pleased with the experience at Carson Toyota.

Now for the unbelievable part...I drove the new Rav4 ev home today from LA (24 hours after taking delivery) - I did not have time to fully charge it - but thought I would be close on having enough range to get from Palos Verdes to San Diego. Unfortunately, by the time I hit Oceanside - I realized I would be about 10 miles short. I decided to stop in at Toyota Carlsbad for a 10-30 minute top off. Normally, I would just use a public charger but my Chargepoint and Blink cards were in my active e. Anyway upon arriving at Toyota Carlsbad (with my son and 2 dogs), I asked a salesman if I could plug in for a few minutes. He informed me that he would ask the manager. A few minutes later, the"certified sales manager" Michael Boone came out and informed me that Toyota Carlsbad has chargers but they are not for public use. I explained my circumstances (including the fact that this was my first trip in the car) and I needed only 5-10miles in range. He told me that he would not make an exception or deviate from his dealership's policy due to liability concerns.

C'mon- good grief - liability concerns arising out of charging my brand new Toyota for 30 minutes. Instead he would prefer me to get back on the freeway with insufficient rangeland my son in the car. Unbelievable. I was just about to use the Toyota safety connect feature and have it towed to my home (where I have my own level 2 charger) and decided instead to ask the Chevy dealer directly across the street from Toyota Carlsbad if I could charge there instead. "If course" they said / "no problem". In the time it has taken me to write this and thanks to the courtesy of Chevrolet it am now charged enough to make it home.

I am Unbelievably disappointed and shocked. Needless to say I will be following up with the GM at Toyota Carlsbad will not likely use them for service on the car. Gosh - I hope I haven't made a huge mistake buying a Touota product

 

[fooljoe]

That is pretty terrible. I had a similar negative experience when I was planning a trip down to Legoland right after I got my Rav and emailed Toyota of Carlsbad asking if I could charge up there. They flatly denied that they even have a charging station (which is ridiculous because I know they're Rav-certified) and suggested I try the Costco down the road (which doesn't have charging stations.)

Gosh - I hope I haven't made a huge mistake buying a Toyota product

The way I see it, I didn't buy a Toyota product, I bought a Tesla product. Toyota merely exists to subsidize my purchase.

 

[Dianne]

The first thing that came to mind when you called me, aghast as you rightfully were to be, was "OMG those A-H's, how rude. Sour grapes..."
and I wonder if they'd have behaved as such with Carlsbad Toyota license plate frames / inserts.
There are no words for this. It was just a sad way for the guy to behave and a sad introduction to your possible dealership for service.

I almost always suggest that folks use them for EV service when they are nearby because of their hard-won awards and well-kept facility & super easy freeway access, but this is a shame.

People have their defining moments. It's not what you DO or even what you SAY you'll do. It's what you do when nobody's lookin'.

I'm sorry you were treated that way. But, I did tell you as devil's advocate that each dealership's chargers are private... not public. If that is their policy, then so be it. Your new policy might be to avoid dealerships with that kind of "heartless in a tough situation" policy!

Dianne

 

[SeanSanDiego]

We'll the plot thickens...I felt so bad about using the Chevy charging unit I unplugged with 13 miles in range. I almost made it home but I'm still about 5 miles shy. I called Toyota Safety Connect and they will flatbed the car but only to the nearest Toyota dealership - yep you guessed it Toyota Carlsbad! This is laughable. I'm completely at a loss.

 

[cwerdna]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. That sucks!

Normally, I would just use a public charger but my Chargepoint and Blink cards were in my active e.

I've never done it before, but I believe you can start a charging session via Chargepoint's smartphone apps. (I use it for other reasons, but never to start a session). And, you could call the phone # on their EVSEs to have them start a session for you. I've also never called to start a session, only to report trouble w/stations.

You might be able to make it if you go real slow and keep the HVAC totally off. Have you looked a Tony's range chart at http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=67? We're not big fans (esp. Leafers, like myself) of looking at GOMs (guess-o-meters).

Perhaps you should call for a tow from someone else only if the car totally dies before making it home?

Can you use http://www.plugshare.com/ (possibly via their smartphone app) to see if you can use someone's home EVSE? You'll need to register for an account for that though...

 

[SeanSanDiego]

Thanks for the tips. I think you're right about the remote access authorization. For now a flat bed is on the way and will take me home. Jeez - I feel like such a rookie. I've been driving an EV for two years and travelled 35k miles. I've never run out of juice - thanks Toyota Carlsbad. Well done on customer service.

Dianne- thanks again for your help - you were great.

Toyota does any of this make sense? We need to create a enthusiastic market of buyers for Ev's - please learn from this silly experience.

By the way sorry for the typos - posting one iPhone while stranded along a freeway is distracting at best !

 

[Dianne]

Excellent advice:

Can you use http://www.plugshare.com/ (possibly via their smartphone app) to see if you can use someone's home EVSE? You'll need to register for an account for that though...

 

[drmanny3]

Your story is just incredible. I cannot believe that someone would have refused to allow you to charge your vehicle. The guy could have driven it himself to plug it in. We need to communicate this story all over the internet. I have already written something on their Facebook page. The General Manager, the owner, and Toyota need to get involved. This sales manager "certified sales manager" Michael Boone, needs to find a new job. I am beyond words. No one would should ever send someone out on the road knowing that they will not make it home. Can you imagine the liability for refusing to assist someone who just purchased a car that your Dealership represents. If the owner supports this I would pull the guys franchise so quick he would not know what hit him. We need to take them down. How would any of you feel if your wife, daughter, son, or for that matter yourself had to deal with this. There is a bigger issue here of being a good neighbor and caring about your fellow man. The Chevy dealer should get kudos for trying to help. I cannot be the only person outraged by this behavior?
Manny

 

[drmanny3]

I posted your initial comments on their yahoo page. I recommend you fill out a Yelp page on Toyota of Carlsbad. I hope you also send a letter directly to Toyota Headquarters in Carson. They need to know about this situation and how it impacts other customers. If you go to their web site:
http://www.toyotacarlsbad.com/?_vsrefdom=ppc You will see to the top right a number of sites where you can post your comments. While they are hoping for lots of "how great they are", they also need to hear about what is not working. Their leadership allowed this to happen. We should all be very upset. By the way, take a look at the link below. It is their promise to provide great service and do no harm......

http://assets.dealeron.com/assets/misc/5769/116535.JPG

Manny

 

[SeanSanDiego]

Thank you, Manny. The whole thing is totally unbelievable. I have never posted a complaint about any vendor - but what happened to me at Toyota Carlsbad created a potentially dangerous situation for Me and my son.

As a post-script - after unplugging (too early) from the Chevy dealer - I made it to Del Mar before the "low range - charge immediately" warning came on. My wife came to pick up my son and I was able to convince a supervisor at Toyota Safety Connect to have the flat bed deliver my car to my home - where it is now charging in my garage. I basically told Toyota that it could not tow the car to Toyota Carlsbad under any circumstance.

Toyota Carlsbad and its management made some very poor decisions today and I can only hope that its GM and ownership will learn from this. Thank Goodness in the end it resulted in a mere inconvenience and some bad press for them. It could gave been much worse.

I intend to follow-up with the Carlsbad dealership and Toyota customer service. I am very disappointed overall. In retrospect, I should have had my Blink and Chargepoint cards with me - and found a public charger - but good grief give a guy a break. Hopefully, the worst of my Rav4 ev experience is over and I will grow to love the car. Dianne was a great ambassador and I can only think the Carlsbad dealership was simply off its game today.

I apologize if this is a double post - this whole forum thing is new to me.

 

[drmanny3]

Take a look at the link I posted above concerning Toyota of Carlsbad Missions Statement. It says do no harm! Glad you made it home safely. Keep us informed as to what you do and the responses you get.
Manny

 

[mark_rivers19]

. In retrospect, I should have had my Blink and Chargepoint cards with me - and found a public charger - but good grief give a guy a break.
.

You don't need the physical card ( Chargepoint and Blink)
just access your account online, using your smartphone.

For Blink, you can generate a code which you will type on the Blink station.
As for Chargepoint, you can Call the helpline and start a charge OR you can actually charge using the app on your smartphone.

Most Toyota dealership are like Carlsbad Toyota in terms of letting you access their charging station.
I will add Frontier Toyota ( Valencia, CA) who refused a charge when i was going very low.
Their excuse was they're not RAV4 EV certified, even though they have chargers for their plug in.

Next time, here's what you do.
Go in directly to the service bay. talk to a service rep and let them do a write up, that's the only way you'll get a charge

 

[mark_rivers19]

Take a look at the link I posted above concerning Toyota of Carlsbad Missions Statement. It says do no harm! Glad you made it home safely. Keep us informed as to what you do and the responses you get.
Manny

i didn't know Toyota of Carlsbad are in the healthcare business =)

 

[TonyWilliams]

Toyota does any of this make sense? We need to create a enthusiastic market of buyers for Ev's - please learn from this silly experience.

By the way sorry for the typos - posting one iPhone while stranded along a freeway is distracting at best !

First, dealers are private and not owned by the auto manufacturer by law. Second, Toyota does NOT want enthusiastic EV buyers to compete with their hydrogen car that's due out late this year.

Welcome to the Rav4 EV. I hope you'll reprise your trip this Aug 10, 2014 and join us at the World's Largest Electric Vehicle Gathering in Long Beach.

I just bought my second Rav4 EV from Dianne earlier this week, although I haven't picked it up yet to drive to to San Diego. Hope I don't need to drop into Carlsbad for a charge, although they've done great at repairing my other Rav4 many, many times! Ask for Kaziah.

 

[TonyWilliams]

... at Toyota Carlsbad (with my son and 2 dogs), I asked a salesman if I could plug in for a few minutes. He informed me that he would ask the manager. A few minutes later, the"certified sales manager" Michael Boone came out and informed me that Toyota Carlsbad has chargers but they are not for public use. I explained my circumstances (including the fact that this was my first trip in the car) and I needed only 5-10miles in range. He told me that he would not make an exception or deviate from his dealership's policy due to liability concerns.

I would attack this "liability" ********. What exactly is the liability from a brand new Toyota plug-in electric car plugging into a charge station at a Toyota dealership? Is the car, or their dealership unsafe? Will you be electrocuted?

 

[drmanny3]

I agree that because they are a private organization they are free to make decisions that are different from other dealerships. However, in this instance they turned away someone in harms way. He had his son with him, that not with standing you don't leave people to fend for themselves when it was so easy to accommodate his need for a charge. The liability issue was a cover in my mind. Even if the employee were telling the truth about allowing someone to charge their car, in this particular instance he could have shown leadership and done the right thing. I would expect nothing less from my son or someone I considered a friend. Can you imagine this poor guy going home runs out of juice on the freeway and then gets hit by another car. I would not want that on my conscious. Maybe I am too old, I guess I believe we need to help each other in this day and age. Anyway from my corporate days there was a saying that everything a company does is a marketing decision with consequences. I still believe that is true. One of the classes I teach for Cal State Fullerton is Customer Service. Toyota of Carlsbad would have failed the course. I posted this situation on my Facebook page and a couple of people responded. I just saw a note to one of the respondents from Toyota of Carlsbad saying they recognized this problem and are in contact with the Sean as I write.
Manny

 

[rcsting]

I agree that because they are a private organization they are free to make decisions that are different from other dealerships. However, in this instance they turned away someone in harms way. He had his son with him, that not with standing you don't leave people to fend for themselves when it was so easy to accommodate his need for a charge. The liability issue was a cover in my mind. Even if the employee were telling the truth about allowing someone to charge their car, in this particular instance he could have shown leadership and done the right thing. I would expect nothing less from my son or someone I considered a friend. Can you imagine this poor guy going home runs out of juice on the freeway and then gets hit by another car. I would not want that on my conscious. Maybe I am too old, I guess I believe we need to help each other in this day and age. Anyway from my corporate days there was a saying that everything a company does is a marketing decision with consequences. I still believe that is true. One of the classes I teach for Cal State Fullerton is Customer Service. Toyota of Carlsbad would have failed the course. I posted this situation on my Facebook page and a couple of people responded. I just saw a note to one of the respondents from Toyota of Carlsbad saying they recognized this problem and are in contact with the Sean as I write.
Manny

I posted on their Facebook and they responded to me that they recognized the problem, hopefully this won't happen in the future.

 

[TonyWilliams]

... you don't leave people to fend for themselves when it was so easy to accommodate his need for a charge. The liability issue was a cover...
Manny

Pure, knee jerk spewage that is so frequently used these days. I recall a LEAF driver who was denied a PAID parking spot in an RV park because of "liability".

Apparently the 100 motor homes that they likely had plugged into the same 50 amp sockets that this LEAF driver needed weren't a liability.

 

[toyotacarlsbad]

Sean,
We are really sorry to hear about this. Please contact me directly at your earliest convenience. Vanessa Clark, Customer Relations Manager, 760-918-3795, [email protected]

Manny,
Thanks for bringing this to our attention via our Facebook page.

We'll do our best to fix this situation and prevent it from happening again.

-Vanessa

 

[drmanny3]

Hey SeanSanDiego I tried to PM you to find out what is the status of your situation. Can you tell the group what has transpired?
Thanks,
Manny