From what I've heard, it seems that Toyota dealers will need get additional tools and equipment to service the Supra since it's basically a BMW underneath. Are all Toyota dealers going to be required to purchase these tools and equipment? I wonder if I go to a tiny Toyota dealer in the middle of nowhere, are they going to be able to work on the Supra? Also a somewhat related question, are there any benefits to getting the Supra serviced at a BMW dealer? BMW generally has higher parts and labor prices so I can't think of financial reasons to go there, but they could have more expertise in diagnosing any issues (outside of warranty of course).
Toyota techs will get trained to service the MKV but take each dealership's knowledge with a grain of salt. FR-S/86 owners are going through the motions with Toyota w/Subaru engines and Toyota isn't doing squat about it. http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133306
I actually just took my FRS to the dealer. Despite my strong objections, dealer manager convinced me that they have one special tech that does the recall work and he's done a few with no complaints. So, I've asked him for an assurance letter that they'll take care of me. During the chat he did mention, he was a consultant to Toyota before and he wouldn't trust some dealers with an oil change laughing matter This is also somewhat Toyota's fault for not putting the up-to-date info on their portal, however, I don't know if Subaru had shared the latest updates/bulletins with Toyota at the time. Anyhow, this recall issue f'up wasn't specific to Toyota dealer. Subaru ones screwed it up as well. Example; Full Tread Also, there was a CEL error with FRS in the first years, some dealers even took apart the whole engine to find the problem. Interestingly of those folks no one came back with a blown up engine, but I guess numbers were much lower.. Anyhow, I think unless your Supra is 60K+ miles, nothing drastic should be changed or should, in theory, go wrong. Getting proper training for techs perhaps is required, but may not be strictly enforced. For example, trained tech leaves dealer, half asses training the next guy or not at all, then if you come in at that time, you're shit outta luck...
What's the status with your FRS? It's a sad situation and Toyota will not accept blame unless there is bloodshed like their sticky pedals. I don't want to jump to conclusions but the lack of shared information between 2 car manufactures like this could also happen with the MKV. Once the car has left the lot, it's a gamble with customer service and finding the proper tech. It's funny how Tada praised the MKV for being aftermarket friendly but we all know too well that once you bring it for any warranty work and recalls with mods, those aftermarket parts will get you denied. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
So far, the answer appears to be “no, not yet”. Their scantool doesn’t appear to be working with many of the parts that require it. It’s holding up cars well past 30 days and causing lemon law invocation.
I went to the biggest Toyota dealer in the USA, LongoToyota, and they didn't have the oil filter in stock. So I don't think Toyota is prepared to service the Supra yet.
IMO, ability of a small Toyota dealer to provide service or repair for a Supra would be highly limited; from the status of stock of fast-moving parts to trained technicians. Obviously an oil change doesn't take much more than the ability to follow instructions. So far, the more complicated process that put my LE under lemon law is a great "mystery" that baffled the engineers at Toyota FTS. This is a very bad news. In a nutshell, Toyota per se does NOT know how to repair the halo/flag ship car that they're selling. Furthermore, if you want to be insulted, contact Toyota Customer Care regarding this problem with the body control module (BCM in GM speak) or body domain controller (BDC in BMW speak). No, don't take your Supra to a BMW dealer for a fundamental repair. I suppose if you liked the price for an oil change that a typical BMW dealer charges, you could take it there.
It started with the car having problem deleting transport mode from all modules during PDS. It also had problem with navigation activation. Earlier before PDS, it also wouldn't unlock doors and start (not a battery problem). Long story short, it was diagnosed with a faulty BDC and after frustrating process of acquiring a new BDC (they didn't know which part number would fit the car), which had to be flashed in Germany, it wouldn't integrate with the car and the car was dead (wouldn't even operate the trunk release). Today, FTS people tried again to no avail. It has been nothing but an absolute nightmare.
That's a nightmare. You deserve better treatment than that. Fully support your lemon law action. Good luck and post your progress.
