Service schedules and warranty

stclaim_2

I have a Toyota Yaris. I do less than 2,000 miles per year on average. The car was second hand purchased from Toyota main dealer.
I always have it serviced by Toyota, because they give a warranty on parts with full service.
Last time I had a full service but it was more than year after the previous intermediate service, I wanted to allign it with the MOT. This was then more than 2 years from the last full service.
A couple of months later I had a problem. Lights on dashboard, no speedo etc. This was pinned down to the ABS unit (very odd). £3,300 to replace.
Not covered under warranty because it had been over 2 years since last full service, when brake fluid is replaced, even though brake fluid was replaced this time.
Dealer says that because of this gap, damp could have gotten into system and started the fault that only materialised much later.
Seems like a getout clause to me.
How can I prove it was not the fluid?
I know that there are millions of cars that have not had brake fluid changed for many years but have no issues.

Car_54

You said it was not covered under warranty because it had been over 2 years since last full service".

I.e, your warranty is no longer valid. What caused the problem is irrelevant.

daveyjp

Age of the car and dates when various services happened would be helpful.

Stubod

I would think that any car not serviced inline with the manufacturers specification,s (ie usualy minimum 12 monthly), would mean the warranty would be void whether or not it is the real cause of the problem is irrelevant, (and I would guess it is a get out claus, but that's life).

Iceweasel

You can't prove it wasn't the fluid.
This is what happens when you ignore the service schedule.
An expensive lesson indeed.

Ganga

Can you not buy a second hand ABS unit and get your local independent garage to fit it? , the only problem might be that the replacement part does not cure the problem and then you are stuck with a car that is not fixed,if the dealer does the repair they will be left with a used very expensive part all though they MAY be able to return it to Toyota.

sheramber

If the terms of the warranty are that their must be annual service then it does not matter what caused  the problem as warranty was void when the 1 year service was missed which was  before the fault arose. 

Goudy

There are places that would test and rebuild your current ABS pump, like ECU Testing (there are others).
Depending on which pump, the price varies from around £150 to £250 plus a bit of postage, but quite often there will be somewhere local that does it.
Turn around is usually pretty quick, a few days at most.

Some also do a straight exchange but it's often double the cost above.

Taking the car somewhere that will use a rebuilt pump is going to save you big time over what the dealer charges to fit a new pump and you should get a similar parts warranty.

As for the current service/warranty arrangement from Toyota, it's pretty much a standard response for all dealerships and manufacturers to decline warranty repairs if you haven't had it serviced on schedule no matter what the casue of the problem is.

The top problem for ABS pumps can be the circuit connections between the control board and the pump motor or solenoids breaking due to vibration, though moisture inside control unit is also a big pump killer.

oldagetraveller1

Toyota have a 12 months or 10,000 miles, whichever occurs first, service requirement.

They do offer a bit of leeway but I suspect the delay of having the full service after an intermediate exceeded any grace period. Hence the warranty refusal.