Advice needed with Toyota complaint/reject

linz81

Hi all
I'm looking for some advice on how to proceed with an issue with my Toyota Aygo which has gone on for 2 and half years now. It's a very long frustrating story but I'll still to the facts:

*I bought a 63 plate Toyota Aygo on PCP with a £1200 deposit from my trade in vehicle

*I specifically needed the handsfree calling option (as I work 2+ jobs at times so need to talk while travelling) so I paid for a higher spec model with this feature

*From day 1 I've had an issue with the Tom Tom unit in the car which provides the handsfree function. Basically it intermittently reboots itself when I try to make a call (there's no reason or rhyme to the fault)

*Over the last 2 and a half years it's been back to the Toyota dealer over 15 times (that I can remember) for them to "fix" this fault. The unit has been replaced 4 times, the housing twice, all wiring has been stripped out and checked including the full centre console replaced but the fault still remains. Toyota have since advised me that the Tom Tom unit isn't compatible with modern mobile phones (I've had 3 different handsets with the same problem) and the only way to solve the problem is to change my car (and pay them more!)

*Finally I've reached the end of my tether with it and demanded that my local dealer/Toyota either fix the problem, provide me with a replacement vehicle or a refund (I've asked for the difference in the amount of my monthly payments between the lowest model and mine which is approx £20ish per month)

*My local dealer have admitted that they can't fix the problem and that the problem is with the Tom Tom unit. They've raised it with Tom Tom who don't want to know. Toyota tried to pass me onto Tom Tom to take it up with them but my point is that I pay my money to Toyota not Tom Tom so why should I contact them (and I will not be contacting them)?!

*I've had several heated discussions with Toyota Customer Services about this and they've finally offered me £300 towards a new car which is being matched by the dealer so £600 in total

With this in mind I visited the dealer to give me quotes for a new car and they want me to pay over £100 a month extra for a lesser model than what I've got now! Toyota Customer Services won't accept me rejecting the car as they say the fault isn't with the Toyota car but with a other supplier part fault (and due to the length of time despite me taking the car back initially within 3 months). My argument is that they chose Tom Tom as their preferred supplier at that time and sold me a car that isn't providing me with the feature I'm paying extra for. Plus if there was a fault with say a fuel pump, would they try and pass me off to that manufacturer?

Basically my question is this - should I just cut my losses and walk away from Toyota with a voluntary termination? (I really don't want to remain a Toyota customer due to the disgusting handling of this issue and my complaint)
OR
Should I take this further (if so, how) and what should I be asking for?
OR
Should I still "serve" them with the rejection letter quoting whichever consumer law is relevant to my rejection/

Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance (sorry about War & Peace)!

bigjl

Your first problem is that the new Aygo seems to be a bit more expensive than the old one, I suspect it is likely a better car in many respects as the old Aygo is pretty long in the tooth.

Personally I would buy a Bluetooth kit and have that fitted to the car properly.

Then finish up the PCP and move on.

What kind of TomTom unit are you talking about?

Is it a seperate unit attached to the windscreen or is it fitted into the dash like on Renaults?

I don't think you can reject a car after this period of time due to a problem like this but by all means give it a go.

It could be worse as BMW deny the issues with 1 series (old shape) brakes failing, sometimes due to the hydraulic problems with the valve block and also with the vacuum pump. They didn't even offer a recall.

marlot

Just fit a parrot kit to the car.

ERICS_MUM

When I had a problem with the radio in my Avensis draining the battery, the local dealership from which I bought the car just couldn't solve the fault.

I referred it to the head office of Toyota UK and within a week the problem was fixed and remains fixed some years later.

I don't know why - was it the dealership didn't have mechanics/engineers with sufficient expertise ? Was the dealership trying a cheap fix ? Either way, Escalating it to HO really proved successful.

bigjl

ERICS_MUM wrote: »

When I had a problem with the radio in my Avensis draining the battery, the local dealership from which I bought the car just couldn't solve the fault.

I referred it to the head office of Toyota UK and within a week the problem was fixed and remains fixed some years later.

I don't know why - was it the dealership didn't have mechanics/engineers with sufficient expertise ? Was the dealership trying a cheap fix ? Either way, Escalating it to HO really proved successful.

If you read the first post you will see that the unit has been replaced several times.

It is likely that the OP has unrealistic expectation as far as the ability of this unit to be her sole handsfree unit.

Or indeed there is a phone incompatibility of some kind.

So the actual problem could be their phone not the TomTom.

But again, just having a handsfree such as the Parrot mentioned above is the real solution here.

God luck on getting a rejection for a TomTom unit.

The common denominator all along is the OPs phone as the TomTom has been replaced.

Referring to TomTom as Toyotas "preferred supplier" doesn't make much sense. After all not many electrical components on a car are made by the car manufacturer themselves.

It would be interesting to know if the OP has an Android or Apple phone, and if they have changed phones during the time there has been an issue.

linz81

Thanks for all of your replies.
I've had a parrot unit on a previous car but guess I was in the mindset of "I'm paying extra for a hands free feature so shouldn't have to pay again to put my own in" (I'm not saying this was the right attitude to have towards it).
Re my handsets, I've had 2 different models of iPhone and for the last year I've had an Android (Samsung Galaxy S5) and all have had the exact same issue. There are also other Toyota Aygo customers who've had/have the same problem and also have been unable to have a fix from Toyota.
I guess I'm going to just see my PCP out and go elsewhere.

bigjl

It would certainly make the most financial sense to see out your current deal.

EdGasket

Just turn the darn phone off while driving; problem solved and much safer.

linz81

EdGasket wrote: »

Just turn the darn phone off while driving; problem solved and much safer.

On the whole I agree with you but due to working 3 different jobs and travelling quite a bit I needed to be contactable while driving. Circumstances have changed no so I tend not to rely on it so much.

arcon5

EdGasket wrote: »

Just turn the darn phone off while driving; problem solved and much safer.

What problem does that solve? Certainly not ops!

pgoncalv

linz81 wrote: »

Hi all
*I've had several heated discussions with Toyota Customer Services about this and they've finally offered me £300 towards a new car which is being matched by the dealer so £600 in total

Well done!
I had an issue with a Toyota supplied and fitted DAB upgrade that never worked for too long. Toyota Customer services are keen to understand how you are progressing with the dealer that supplied and fitted but never ever did anything about it. They can also be very misleading when describing whether the part is original Toyota or not. Very sad to experience.
I am now trying to get a refund.