I learned something today. With the minivan out of commission we are having to drive our Toyota Highlander™ everywhere. Not a bad deal but one of the rear seat-belt buckles isn't working. It's in the very back seat and doesn't get used often which is why it's so surprising it failed.
I called Jay Wolfe Toyota™ this morning and left a message. No one bothered to call me back so I stopped by this afternoon to ask the service shop about the buckle. I had a buckle in my Nissan™ go bad a fear years ago and Nissan replaced it at no cost because they warranty seat belts for life.
The guy at the dealer told me they don't warranty seat-belts. I called the national Toyota hot-line and spoke to a very nice service rep. He looked up my data and told me Toyota only covers seat belts under the power-train warranty which expires at 60,000 miles so essentially I am on my own to find a buckle and replace it.
Before you jump to any conclusions about foreign vs American cars, I bought them both used so it really didn't matter who built them. The Nissan was built by Ford™ in America. No idea where the Toyota was built.
Bottom line? If you walk into Jay Wolfe Toyota or another Toyota dealer to buy a Toyota, just remember after 60,000 miles, your family's safety is on your own. Your car manufacturer makes that very clear.
I guess I won't be buying that Toyota Sienna™ and for sure will be buying the Honda Odyssey™. Based upon the seat belt issue, the Honda Odyssey is a better mini-van than the Toyota Sienna.
Comments