Another 2Ad Engine Story.

[kaitos_dad]

In June 2012 I bought a 57 plate 2.2 litre diesel Verso from Toyota in Worcester. On the day I was to collect the car, they noticed a warning lamp and when I arrived I was given the story of the 2AD engine fault. 2 weeks later the car was delivered to me with a recon engine fitted.

14 months and 25,000 miles later I was driving home when there was a radiator blow-out. I took the car to my local Toyota dealer, Fish Bros in Swindon, who told me the head gasket had blown. The man I spoke with, Paul, then asked me if I knew of the cars' history and I told him what had happened 14 months before. Paul said that by the look of the inside of the engine and in his opinion, the gasket blowout was caused by the known engine fault of carbon clogging. As the car had already had an engine refit and was now 2 months beyond the warranty supplied with a second hand Verso, Toyota (the manufacturer) was under no obligation to replace the engine again. Toyota said this was a straight forward head gasket repair, Paul did not agree or find this acceptable and contacted Toyota Customer Care to ask for some goodwill towards the cost of the repair.

At this point, I was looking at a bill for over £1500 to repair the gasket. Paul asked me to contact Toyota Customer Care and present my case. I did so, informing Toyota that this was the second Verso we have owned, the first was a 54 plate 2 litre model that gave us over 100,000 miles of trouble free motoring, a reliable workhorse for our family. On a family holiday in France in 2011, it saved the day when my parents' car was involved in an accident, the Verso went out with four but came home with six. A few days later Paul called me to advise that Toyota had agreed to pay 2/3rds of the repair, leaving me to find 1/3rd. I accepted the offer and left for a holiday in Cornwall.

After a week on Cornish beaches we arrived home and I called Paul to check progress with the Verso. At this point Paul explained that he was not happy with Toyota's offer, stating that fixing the head gasket would not fix the problem lower in the engine and that in a year or so, the same fault would occur. Paul went back to Customer Care and pleaded my case. This time Toyota agreed to replace the engine if I met the cost of the labour.

A fortnight I collected the Verso from Fish Bros Toyota in Swindon, the new engine is noticeably quieter. The cost to me has been almost £2000 (not including over £500 in hire cars) but I now have a car that is fit for purpose. I work as an IT contractor and average over 400 miles a week, if I don't go to work I don't get paid, so I had no choice.

I'd like to express my sincere thanks to Paul of Fish Bros Toyota in Swindon. Without his tenacity and opinion of what customer service should be the outcome of this may have been very different. He could have easily washed his hands of the story and just repaired the head gasket, but he feels Toyota owe their customers (even the ones who buy second hand cars) more than just lip service.

Big thanks also to Toyota Customer Care, I'm glad to say this won't be my last Toyota, although I’ll steer clear of the 2AD problem engines.

[Heidfirst]

"Big thanks also to Toyota Customer Care, I'm glad to say this won't be my last Toyota, although I’ll steer clear of the 2AD problem engines."

supposedly the problems are meant to be fixed post 2009 cars.