[SeeHR]

Hi all,
Wondering if anyone can shed any light on something that's been nagging at me.

Bought a used 2018 C-HR in 2020, before the Relax warranty was announced. I knew when I bought it that the car had been over the mileage for its first service (13,995 miles vs the 10k it should have been), it's been serviced to schedule since then and is running flawlessly.
I've been taking it for main dealer services on the assumption that it'll be covered by the Relax warranty and that if I did need to get warranty work done, they wouldn't notice/make a fuss about that first service.

But does anyone know if this is the case? I have a nagging feeling I'm wasting my money on main dealer servicing because in the event of anything big going wrong, they'd use that first late service as an excuse to wash their hards of it?

Any thoughts or experience along these lines of thinking?

 

[gavinrissone]

I got the impression from their radio advertising that they didn't care about the cars history, for example they mentioned that it didn't matter if the car had been serviced by a non-Toyota garage. As long as the car was under 10 years / 100k miles and you had it serviced at a Toyota dealer it would get a further 12 months warranty. You could ask them to confirm that this is the case.

 

[SeeHR]

Thaks for your reply Gavin,
That was certianly the impression their warm fuzzy advertising gives. Call me cynical, but I wonder if they'll be quite as friendly if a large repair is involved.
The wording in the FAQ is clear that the historic servicing doesn't need to have been done by Toyota, you could even have done it yourself. But there's nothing about late or missed servicing.
I struggle to believe you could rock up with a car that's not been serviced at all in 9 years and walk away with a Relax warranty in place?

I'm probably just being paranoid, I've got a few Toyota services under my belt now and the car is running flawlessly. I'm more worried about resale time and whether I can claim it's under warranty when I sell it if I know the first service was late?

 

[drabisan]

I would have the same concern you have! Previous owner decided to breach the contract regarding service and that's a big red flag.
I know some arguably stupid people that redline the turbo charger when oil temperature is low. Because they can. It's not really the same for a C-HR, but I would definitely like a clear statement from Toyota regarding engine warranty.
Failing an annual/km/ml service most times nullifies any warranty. Not due to your direct fault, but you inherited the bad service history.

 

[gavinrissone]

Did you buy it from Toyota? Did they tell you at the time that there were any exclusions from what was presumably the remainder of the original 5 year warranty?

 

[Toybaru1]

These are the t&c's off the website, hope they are of help.

 

[Alan432]

Under the Not Covered section - "Damage or defects as a result of failure to maintain or repair the vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations; This is a requirement that is valid as of the date of first vehicle registration."

This looks like a get-out clause to me, since your vehicle hasn't been maintained per their recommendations since first registration.
In your shoes I’d contact Toyota customer service and get a definite answer one way or the other.

 

[Huey]

Did you buy from a Toyota dealer?
if “yes” then surely they missold the policy knowing the service history?
if “no” looks like you might have probs if a claim is made

 

[SeeHR]

Thanks for the responses so far, gang!

It wasn't purchased from a Toyota dealer, I knew about the late service and paid a price comensurate with that. It's now only after the announcement of the Relax warranty that I appear to be in a bit of a T&Cs no-mans land.

@Toybaru1 Thanks for that. I've already checked and it doesn't appear to actually state that the service interval has to be followed prior to taking it to Toyota.
And my previous service invoice had a little line that appeared to indicate the Relax warranty had been activated.

And finally, having done some Googling, it appears that if the car were to break down the warranty would only be invalid if the failure could be attributed to the late service. It doesn't seem like a late service completely invalidates the warranty by default?

I'm tempted to ask Toyota customer services, but I'm also wary of tipping my hand. The mileage of the late service isn't in the paper logbook, it's only on Toyota's janky online record of the car. I do kinda think if I were to rock up with a fault and a logbook full of perfect main dealer services, what are the odds they dig into that first service to confirm the mileage?

 

[Huey]

Thanks for the responses so far, gang!

It wasn't purchased from a Toyota dealer, I knew about the late service and paid a price comensurate with that. It's now only after the announcement of the Relax warranty that I appear to be in a bit of a T&Cs no-mans land.

@Toybaru1 Thanks for that. I've already checked and it doesn't appear to actually state that the service interval has to be followed prior to taking it to Toyota.
And my previous service invoice had a little line that appeared to indicate the Relax warranty had been activated.

And finally, having done some Googling, it appears that if the car were to break down the warranty would only be invalid if the failure could be attributed to the late service. It doesn't seem like a late service completely invalidates the warranty by default?

I'm tempted to ask Toyota customer services, but I'm also wary of tipping my hand. The mileage of the late service isn't in the paper logbook, it's only on Toyota's janky online record of the car. I do kinda think if I were to rock up with a fault and a logbook full of perfect main dealer services, what are the odds they dig into that first service to confirm the mileage?

Keep quiet and fingers crossed

If you ask they will probably get negative

 

[Alan432]

I've already checked and it doesn't appear to actually state that the service interval has to be followed prior to taking it to Toyota.

I reckon it does, it states that the car had to be maintained per the manufacturers recommendations since the car was new, as I quoted in post 7 above.

 

[Alexr]

I reckon it does, it states that the car had to be maintained per the manufacturers recommendations since the car was new, as I quoted in post 7 above.

No, it states that the warranty only excludes defects which are the result of any variation from the recommended servicing, not that the whole warranty is invalidated.

 

[Alan432]

No, it states that the warranty only excludes defects which are the result of any variation from the recommended servicing, not that the whole warranty is invalidated.

Yes I agree. It gives them significant wiggle room with any engine related problem tho.

 

[roshart]

I bought my September 20 70 plate from a Toyota dealership - it was an employee's car so owned by Toyota! The first service was not done until 12,800 miles - just before I took ownership of it in April. The paperwork initially said 10,000 on delivery as the salesperson did not know the exact mileage. This shows on the car's online service history now as a Vehicle Health Check but not a service (unless it has updated recently). I have the service invoice from the garage now but I am a bit concerned - I paid top whack for this car and all is not what it seems. I have emailed the garage asking them to confirm that this late service is not detrimental to the value of the car and future claims, if any are necessary.

 

[roshart]

I bought my September 20 70 plate from a Toyota dealership - it was an employee's car so owned by Toyota! The first service was not done until 12,800 miles - just before I took ownership of it in April. The paperwork initially said 10,000 on delivery as the salesperson did not know the exact mileage. This shows on the car's online service history now as a Vehicle Health Check but not a service (unless it has updated recently). I have the service invoice from the garage now but I am a bit concerned - I paid top whack for this car and all is not what it seems. I have emailed the garage asking them to confirm that this late service is not detrimental to the value of the car and future claims, if any are necessary.

I am attaching the service record which the garage sent to me. I have just checked on My Toyota and the service is not showing other than a VHC. I can't understand all the information on the invoice but £52.50 doesn't seem that much for parts? Can anyone in the know confirm it has had everything necessary done? I am a bit concerned as I am covering quite a few miles (2,500 since I got it on 4 April!)

 

[Alexr]

I am attaching the service record which the garage sent to me. I have just checked on My Toyota and the service is not showing other than a VHC. I can't understand all the information on the invoice but £52.50 doesn't seem that much for parts? Can anyone in the know confirm it has had everything necessary done? I am a bit concerned as I am covering quite a few miles (2,500 since I got it on 4 April!)

That is not a service record, it is an invoice for some work done on the car preparing it for you ( eg new number plates.). It has one vital clue in that it says next service due next year, implying a service was done in April. Ask them to confirm this ( or is it stamped in the service book?)

 

[roshart]

Hmmm ... the manager said it was "serviced" prior to coming to me - it was driven to my home 200 miles from the garage!! I dont have a service book - I have asked the question - as I said, there is no service on my Toyota app for my vehicle other than a delivery entry and Vehicle Health Check!! I await his response.

 

[roshart]

Well, at the risk of becoming boring, I decided to go to my local Toyota garage and ask them to check what had been done. They confirmed that the invoice showed a service had been carried out but it had not updated on the app. They could not update it as it was carried out by another branch, but said St Albans should be able to do so - so back to the garage I bought it from for that. They also confirmed that service books are no longer issued, because we have the My Toyota app! Most interesting was that my car is subject to a brake bracket recall - not actioned by the St Alban's branch even though they had had it from new (employee's company car!). So, not only was the service late, but they were not aware of the recall. Arghh!! I now have to spend an hour or so sitting at the local dealership to have it checked so the recall indicator can be removed. Note: the recall was issued on 19 November 2020. Might be worth other owners checking the recall site to see if their vehicles are affected if they haven't been notified.

 

[drabisan]

That says a lot about the quality of this St Alban's dealership or branch or whatever it is.
I agree with service book is very much useless IF dealership updates the online records.
But failing to pursue a recall...come on!

I would fix the service record and make sure it's accepted by Toyota. And never ever visit that dealership again!

 

[forkingabout1978]

Is it an official safety recall OR just a service action?

"Get safety recalls fixed or risk prosecution" DVSA warns car dealers

www.tradingstandards.uk