On December 19, 2016, I had my premature bald Michelin tires replaced with new ones at Sears Automotive in Phillipsburg, NJ. They gave me a wheel alignment diagnostic as part of their service. The Alignment check showed my car in dire need of a wheel alignment, especially the back end. When I told the technician to go ahead and do one, he came back and said he couldn’t because of a bar I have in the rear which has no screws to adjust and is epoxied in place, with a sticker saying “ Do Not Remove”. He said he can do the front but it will not be correct because the back has to be aligned as well. I immediately called Muller Toyota in Clinton, NJ.
The technician, Doug said that was done as a fix to a recall in 2014 and it cannot be out of alignment because the arms cannot move. He said to bring it in and he will put it on the lift and show me.
He said sometimes there are ways to make it look like I need an alignment ( insinuating that Sears was scamming me).
On 12/20/2016 I brought my car into Muller Toyota in Clinton, which is where they put that bar on due to the recall. Muller Toyota checked my vehicle. Although they did not call me in to show me when the car was on the lift, the technician Doug did admit the back was way out of alignment. He looked to see if there were any recalls to the recall and found none. He explained he didn’t know what to do but he will call corporate and get back to me on how to proceed from here. He said an alignment would cost $89.00 which I was ok with. (same price as Sears) and I would have to pay that if I wanted an alignment. Then he handed me a bill of $59.00 to check the alignment! I told him no one told me that I would have to pay to check the alignment. I was only told to bring it in and they would check it. I told him I am in agreement to pay $89.00 for an alignment when I can get one but not another $59.00 to recheck what another service dept. already proved but could not perform because of what Toyota did to my car. Then Allen Prince, the Director of the Service Dept. at Muller Toyota came over and was extremely nasty. He said his techs do not work for free and I have to pay for their time. I explained my position again and he became agitated and told Doug the tech not to call corporate, and not to help me at all. He told me to go and call corporate myself and I am on my own and to leave!
When I got home I called Bill Muller, the owner of Muller Toyota in Clinton and left a message, I also left one for his son Michael. I then called corporate. I spoke to Shannon, she opened a case with case number,1612201323.
After an hour conversation Shannon said there was a paper saying that if the bar had to be removed it would be at the customers expense. When I asked who was that letter sent to she could not reply. I never was told that nor did I receive a letter. She said she can do something about the way I was treated at Muller Toyota but that was all. I then asked for her supervisor to call me which he did the next day.
Drenton H, Shannon‘s supervisor called and said more or less the same thing. When I told him it was a safety hazard to drive my car so out of alignment he advised I don’t drive it. He said all he can do is to make sure Muller Toyota followed Toyota protocol . He said there was no one higher than himself to speak to and there are no other numbers I can call.
On 12/22/16 I called Bill Muller again and left a message. This time he did call me back. I explained the situation to him. He was already aware do to my posts and not happy about them. He said after the holidays they will call me and a technician will look at my car and then make a determination if he will help me. He implied that something was dented under my car, and I must have hit something. I told him that this is the first mention of a dent by anyone. ( I since had my car checked for dents by a mechanic and there are none.) Then he implied that since I do not bring my car for service at Muller anything can happen and he is not responsible. I told him I brought my car to him for the past 4 recalls and no where is it stated I have to service my vehicle there. Bill Muller was annoyed that I posted ‘Toyota ruined my car and would not help me.’ I told him that up till now that had been the case. Bill Muller, the owner of Muller Toyota made excuses to avoid fixing my car but made no apologies for the way Allen Prince, his service director treated me.
The reality is that I had to bring my car in for a serious recall where vehicles were getting into accidents because the screws rusted and made the cars go out of alignment. I brought my car in to “fix” the problem.
Muller Toyota must not have aligned my car before placing the “arms” or did something incorrectly because everyone is in agreement that it cannot go out of alignment with the bar epoxied . Now my car has this permanent bar on the back end which no one will touch. What kind of company would epoxy a bar to your vehicle preventing you from being able to get your car aligned. My car is dangerously out of alignment and Muller Toyota will not correct it. Toyota’s recall is not a fix but a recipe for disaster. The corporation or the dealership should be held accountable not the consumer!
On 1/5/17 I noticed the following tweet from Muller Toyota:
I just saw this tweet from Toyota from December 27
Thank you for your feedback, we regret to hear that your service with us wasn’t up to your level of satisfaction. We at Muller Toyota strive every day to deliver expert customer and car services to everyone who enters our dealership. We understand your car was damaged, causing the alignment to be out. However, due to the service of your vehicle being done 3 years ago, there is no warranty. Pricing was discussed in terms of your vehicle’s damages so feel free to contact us with any further questions you may have or if you would like to follow through with pricing.
On 1/6/17 I called Bill Muller and was transferred to the Service Dept. I explained my car was and is not damaged with the exception of what Muller Toyota did to it on the recall. Tech said to repair car it would cost $576. Toyota agreed to pay half the cost of the repair. I refused and explained that was not what Bill Muller and I agreed to before the Holidays and I needed to speak to him. The tech said he would have Bill Muller call me. I have received no call. On 1/9/17 I called again and left a detailed message on Bill Muller’s VM. As of today I have not heard from him or anyone at Toyota.
Muller Toyota Reviews
On December 19, 2016, I had my premature bald Michelin tires replaced with new ones at Sears Automotive in Phillipsburg, NJ. They gave me a wheel alignment diagnostic as part of their service. The Alignment check showed my car in dire need of a wheel alignment, especially the back end. When I told the technician to go ahead and do one, he came back and said he couldn’t because of a bar I have in the rear which has no screws to adjust and is epoxied in place, with a sticker saying “ Do Not Remove”. He said he can do the front but it will not be correct because the back has to be aligned as well. I immediately called Muller Toyota in Clinton, NJ.
The technician, Doug said that was done as a fix to a recall in 2014 and it cannot be out of alignment because the arms cannot move. He said to bring it in and he will put it on the lift and show me.
He said sometimes there are ways to make it look like I need an alignment ( insinuating that Sears was scamming me).
On 12/20/2016 I brought my car into Muller Toyota in Clinton, which is where they put that bar on due to the recall. Muller Toyota checked my vehicle. Although they did not call me in to show me when the car was on the lift, the technician Doug did admit the back was way out of alignment. He looked to see if there were any recalls to the recall and found none. He explained he didn’t know what to do but he will call corporate and get back to me on how to proceed from here. He said an alignment would cost $89.00 which I was ok with. (same price as Sears) and I would have to pay that if I wanted an alignment. Then he handed me a bill of $59.00 to check the alignment! I told him no one told me that I would have to pay to check the alignment. I was only told to bring it in and they would check it. I told him I am in agreement to pay $89.00 for an alignment when I can get one but not another $59.00 to recheck what another service dept. already proved but could not perform because of what Toyota did to my car. Then Allen Prince, the Director of the Service Dept. at Muller Toyota came over and was extremely nasty. He said his techs do not work for free and I have to pay for their time. I explained my position again and he became agitated and told Doug the tech not to call corporate, and not to help me at all. He told me to go and call corporate myself and I am on my own and to leave!
When I got home I called Bill Muller, the owner of Muller Toyota in Clinton and left a message, I also left one for his son Michael. I then called corporate. I spoke to Shannon, she opened a case with case number,1612201323.
After an hour conversation Shannon said there was a paper saying that if the bar had to be removed it would be at the customers expense. When I asked who was that letter sent to she could not reply. I never was told that nor did I receive a letter. She said she can do something about the way I was treated at Muller Toyota but that was all. I then asked for her supervisor to call me which he did the next day.
Drenton H, Shannon‘s supervisor called and said more or less the same thing. When I told him it was a safety hazard to drive my car so out of alignment he advised I don’t drive it. He said all he can do is to make sure Muller Toyota followed Toyota protocol . He said there was no one higher than himself to speak to and there are no other numbers I can call.
On 12/22/16 I called Bill Muller again and left a message. This time he did call me back. I explained the situation to him. He was already aware do to my posts and not happy about them. He said after the holidays they will call me and a technician will look at my car and then make a determination if he will help me. He implied that something was dented under my car, and I must have hit something. I told him that this is the first mention of a dent by anyone. ( I since had my car checked for dents by a mechanic and there are none.) Then he implied that since I do not bring my car for service at Muller anything can happen and he is not responsible. I told him I brought my car to him for the past 4 recalls and no where is it stated I have to service my vehicle there. Bill Muller was annoyed that I posted ‘Toyota ruined my car and would not help me.’ I told him that up till now that had been the case. Bill Muller, the owner of Muller Toyota made excuses to avoid fixing my car but made no apologies for the way Allen Prince, his service director treated me.
The reality is that I had to bring my car in for a serious recall where vehicles were getting into accidents because the screws rusted and made the cars go out of alignment. I brought my car in to “fix” the problem.
Muller Toyota must not have aligned my car before placing the “arms” or did something incorrectly because everyone is in agreement that it cannot go out of alignment with the bar epoxied . Now my car has this permanent bar on the back end which no one will touch. What kind of company would epoxy a bar to your vehicle preventing you from being able to get your car aligned. My car is dangerously out of alignment and Muller Toyota will not correct it. Toyota’s recall is not a fix but a recipe for disaster. The corporation or the dealership should be held accountable not the consumer!
On 1/5/17 I noticed the following tweet from Muller Toyota:
I just saw this tweet from Toyota from December 27
Thank you for your feedback, we regret to hear that your service with us wasn’t up to your level of satisfaction. We at Muller Toyota strive every day to deliver expert customer and car services to everyone who enters our dealership. We understand your car was damaged, causing the alignment to be out. However, due to the service of your vehicle being done 3 years ago, there is no warranty. Pricing was discussed in terms of your vehicle’s damages so feel free to contact us with any further questions you may have or if you would like to follow through with pricing.
On 1/6/17 I called Bill Muller and was transferred to the Service Dept. I explained my car was and is not damaged with the exception of what Muller Toyota did to it on the recall. Tech said to repair car it would cost $576. Toyota agreed to pay half the cost of the repair. I refused and explained that was not what Bill Muller and I agreed to before the Holidays and I needed to speak to him. The tech said he would have Bill Muller call me. I have received no call. On 1/9/17 I called again and left a detailed message on Bill Muller’s VM. As of today I have not heard from him or anyone at Toyota.