Hollywood Toyota Woes

A Prius breakdown, LA biking, California-crossing micro-odyssey

18 min readMar 19, 2022

Mountain Biking Trip Interruptus

The plan was a four city, week long, mountain bike/vacation trip to coincide with what we in Northern California call Winter Break or ski week. The trip would include:

Sat Feb 20 — Mon Feb 21: visit to the daughter at USC in Los Angeles with a ride through the hills of Santa Monica and Altadena,
Mon Feb 21–Thr Feb 24: stay in Flagstaff with two days of biking in Sedona and one in Flagstaff, and
Thr Feb 24-Sun Feb 27: stop in Vegas to visit with friends and go to Mystere Saturday night.

SATURDAY, FEB 19, 2022: A distressed dashboard

Traction Control, ABS, and Brake lights: not good

The trip originated in Campbell, CA, 337 miles from my Los Angeles hotel destination in Koreatown, not far from the USC campus. For 320+ miles, the Saturday drive was smooth. I forgot my toiletries so I added a stop for the North Hollywood Dollar Tree* on Lankershim Boulevard. After I exited the freeway, my Prius started pulling hard to the right. I was experiencing the beginning of my Prius’** woes. The car had a mechanical malfunction with the braking system which triggered the warning lights (ABS, tracking control and brake lights). In response to the problem, the car locked the emergency brake. I limped 3-5 miles to the Pep Boys across from the Dollar Tree.

*for toothpaste, shaving cream and toothbrushes, Dollar Tree has a good selection at a quarter of the price of similar items at a CVS drugstore

**2011 Prius with 123,000 miles and no previous service issues

I checked in to the shop around 12:45PM. Being the Saturday of the 3-day President’s Weekend, the staff was short and the repairs ahead of me were many. I had no choice but to wait. The car was barely mobile. I read a large chuck of “The End of the Affair”, not my favorite Graham Greene, which helped kill the time. I spend a good chunk of the 5 hour wait in the Starbucks across the street listening to showtunes and the staff singing along surprisingly well while reading.

Pep Boys were cool

Pep Boys ran a diagnosis and determined the car might need a replacement for the ABS control system. They do not carry this item in stock and recommended I take the car to an official Toyota dealership. The folks at Pep Boys did not charge for the diagnostic work. The question was how to make the 11.5 miles to my hotel. During my long wait, I did some research and discovered the following hack.

How to disable traction control on a Prius

Step 1: Set the ignition switch to ON, not READY. To do this press the power button two times, without pressing the brake pedal.

Step 2: While the transmission is still in park (P), fully press the gas pedal two times.

Step 3: Apply the parking brake to ensure that the vehicle will not move during this step. Put the transmission in neutral (N) and fully press the gas pedal two times.

Step 4: Put the transmission back in park (P) and fully press the gas pedal two times. The car will display “Maintenance Mode” in the upper left corner of the LCD screen.

Step 5: Press the brake pedal and turn the ignition switch to the start position, without going back to the ready position, to start the engine.

This helped. The car’s brakes lacked the confidence that a fully operation car has, but the hack did prevent the parking brake from dragging the car. I avoided the highways and made it to my Koreatown hotel.

SUNDAY, FEB 20

…and on the 7th Day, the Mechanics rested; visit and hike with daughter in AM; bike ride to Griffith Observatory and Hollywood sign in afternoon

I called around to different shops and posted a Yelp “request for quote” for the ABS control on my Prius without any luck. Sunday was not a day for any movement on my Prius’ health recovery. I threw in the towel early and decided to get on with my day.

Against better judgement, I drove 3.3 miles to USC to see my daughter and have coffee. We drove an additional 6+ miles to Kenneth Hahn state park for a short hike. With the above hack, the car seemed ok, though not fully safe. After the brief visit, I made my way back to the hotel.

I went online and booked an appointment with the closest Toyota dealership to my hotel, which ended up being Toyota of Hollywood. This proved to be a fateful decision. The earliest appointment was for Monday, President’s Day, February 21 at 1:30PM.

12:18PM

Bike ride to Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood sign, around Griffith Park and back. [32.28 miles, 2526 feet elevation gain, 2:43:46 moving time]

MONDAY, FEB 21

My kingdom for a brake pump booster, a daughter gets the homesick blues

I had to get my stuff out of my hotel by the 11:00am checkout. I was hoping against hope that the car would be done by the end of the day. Depending on how fast Toyota Hollywood could do the repair, I might be able to make the 461 mile trek to Flagstaff.

Into the Prius went my:

mountain bike,
acoustic guitar,
biking gear and tools,
rollaway luggage,
cooler,
laptop case, and
backpack.

I checked out of my hotel and make the 3.9 mile drive to Hollywood Toyota around 11:30AM. My service advisor was A. There would be plenty of time for more reading. I started and finished “A Fountain Overflows” by Rebecca West. It was a chilly 6 hour day at the Toyota service lounge.

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, it came to my attention that my daughter was wanting to come back to the Bay Area and get away from school for a needed and unplanned break.

3:35PM

I go looking for A to see if they fixed my car. A notifies me they have determined the problem but do not have the proper part to complete the repair. They need a brake booster pump. A tells me that it will cost $1800 “out the door” to repair but that the part will not be in till Thursday or Friday.

I tell A I will call around to the other Toyota dealerships in LA to see if they have the part.

Calls:

3:38PM [3.0 minutes] North Hollywood Toyota, nope.
3:42PM [2.05 minutes] Glendale Toyota, nope.
3.44PM [2.06 minutes] Culver City Toyota, no answer.
3:47PM [1.42 minutes] Keyes Toyota, nope.
3:49PM [2.55 minutes] Toyota of Downtown, no answer.
4:01PM [3.33 minutes] Toyota of Downtown, no answer.
4:05PM [1.24 minutes] Culver City Toyota, no answer.

The three dealerships I talk to tell me this the prat is not a commonly stocked part and they are in the same boat as Toyota Hollywood. I send out a Yelp “request for quote” for Toyota service garages for the part. Two respond and say they do not have the part and I should stick it out with the dealership.

Problem A: homeless in LA.

Problem B: all my stuff is in a broken Prius.

Problem C: a daughter who needs a break from school.

Problem D: with problems B and C; Flagstaff, Sedona and Vegas are now off.

I give up on finding the part and work on problem A.

4:27PM

I book a different hotel in Koreatown through Priceline. The first was a bit rough around the edges. This hotel was listed only slightly more than my previous hotel. I book the hotel through Thursday.

I tell A that I’ll bring the car back on Thursday or Friday after they have the part in. He says, NOPE. I can’t take my car. It is a safety issue. Although I doubt that he can truly hold my car hostage, the car’s brake are suspect. I decide that it is probably a good idea not to try my luck with any more journey’s in its weakened state. I ask A where the part will ship from. He tells me the parts depot they order from is in the San Francisco Bay area. I shake my head at the irony but am relieved that the distance from the depot center to Hollywood is not far. I hope that the part will come in early and I can head back to the Bay Area with my daughter on Thursday.

4:40PM

I begin to chip away at problem D. A simple 1.28 minute calls resolves the Vegas hotel reservations. The hotel agent sends a refund and cancellation notice to my email.

Now I have to confront problem B. I have a lot of stuff in my Prius. A offers to send my to my hotel through Lyft. I ask A if Lyft can take a bike. He make a call and tells me no.

It is now around 5:00PM. The sun will be setting soon. I tell A I’ll ride my bike to the hotel, Lyft back and then take his courtesy Lyft back to my hotel with the rest of my stuff.

I take my bike, backpack and laptop. It take me less than 20 minutes to make the 3.9 mile journey. I check into my hotel, put my bike and laptop away, and order a Lyft.

I make it back to Hollywood Toyota around 5:50PM shortly before the service center closes at 6pm. A orders me a Lyft. I lug my guitar, cooler, rollaway and other belongs into the car and then up to my room. I get back to the hotel around 6:20PM.

Phone calls made on the Lyfts to resolve problem D:

Lyft from hotel to Hollywood Toyota.

5:27PM [8.45 minutes] 1st attempt to cancel and get a refund for Flagstaff hotel. Priceline agent recommends I call the hotel directly.
5:36PM [2.0 minutes] Call directly to Flagstaff hotel. Agent recommends I call Priceline back.
5:49PM [5.49 minutes] Call to Vegas.com to cancel and refund the Mystere tickets. The agent was very helpful and sends me a cancellation refund confirmation to my email.

Lyft from Hollywood Toyota back to hotel.

6:09PM [9.38 minutes] Second call to Priceline to request the Flagstaff refund and cancellation. This agent was more helpful. He recognized I am double booked for hotels (one in LA and one in Flagstaff), contacts the hotel while I’m on the line, and authorizes a full refund and cancellation of my hotel reservation with the blessing of the Flagstaff hotel.

TUESDAY, FEB 22

Will Rogers State Park bike ride, A’s day off

Stuck carless in Los Angeles, I still have my mountain bike. I decide to tour Los Angeles by bike and check in with A later to see if he can get a better reading on the ETA of the part.

7:47AM

12:12pm on the descent from Will Rogers State Park

Bike ride to Will Rogers State Park in the hills of Santa Monica, down the coast through Santa Monica and Venice beach and back. [60.41 miles, 4767 feet elevation gain, 5:37:23 moving time]*

*I broke the screen on my phone while taking photos at one of the lookouts from the hills of Will Rogers.

During a brake on my ride, I send the following text.

10:30AM [text] Hi A, can you check on the approximate eta of the brake boost pump when you have a moment and text me back? Thank you

After returning to the hotel from my ride, I try calling A.

2:10PM [3 seconds] call to A’s mobile phone. Voicemail, no answer.
2:51PM [10 seconds] call to A’s mobile phone. Voicemail, no answer.
3:29PM [3.29 minutes] call Hollywood Toyota service, no help. They tell me to talk directly to A. They send me to A’s voicemail which is full and can’t take any more messages.

3:11PM Ordered new phone from Best Buy West Hollywood.
3:25PM Email from Best Buy that phone is ready.
4:19PM Receive new phone after 4.1 miles bike ride to Best Buy West Hollywood.

Return ride to hotel.

Restaurant recommendation: Zzamong Restaurant

While staying at the first Koreatown hotel, I asked the hotel employee for a recommendation for a restaurant that makes the Chinese/Korean black bean noodle dish Jjajang Myun. He gave me a great choice. Zzamong Restaurant on 3rd street is amazing! The prices are fantastic and service is fast and polite. They also make a good seafood noodle soup called Jjampong, but the Jjajang Myun is unbeatable. I ate at this restaurant 3 times during my short Los Angeles trip.

https://zzamongrestaurant.com/

The day ends with no text or call back from A.

WEDNESDAY, FEB 23

USC visit, A’s back, parts in transit?

9:15AM I ride my bike to USC to see my daughter [10.04 miles, 198 feet elevation gain, 1:19:04 moving time]

10:14AM [17 seconds] connect with A, but connection is bad.
10:15AM [15 seconds] connect again, but still connection problems.
10:16AM [31 seconds] A apologies for not getting back to me. He tells me Tuesday’s are his day off. I ask him for status on the part. He says he will check and get back to me.

No call back from A.

11:42AM [text] Hi A, this is Ken R. Can you text me the status of the fuel booster pump eta when you get a chance. Thank you

[A text reply] Yes will do

[text] Thumbs up emoji

1:37PM [text] Any updates A?

2:01PM [1.47 minutes] Call to Toyota Service line. They tell me to talk to A and send me to his voicemail.

2:03PM [59 seconds] A says that the part should be in hopefully Thursday or at worst Friday. I ask him to make sure the part ship status shows that. He says he will check and get back to me.

I have to make a decision to extend my hotel to Friday or not. Considering all my stuff and that I have to go to USC to get my daughter in the best case scenario, I arrange for another night with the front desk.

THURSDAY, FEB 24

Altadena Echo Mountain bike ride and Cross fingers for parts arrival

7:24AM Altadena Echo Mountain bike ride [54.99 miles, 5885 feet elevation gain, 5:32:05 moving time]

12:35PM [6 seconds] Call A’s mobile. Voicemail.

1:50PM [text from A] Hey ken checked with parts and it didn’t come in today.

[my text reply] Oh. Showing tomorrow?

A has told me a number of times that if the part did not come in Thursday Feb 24th, that it would be in on Friday Feb 25th. I pressed him numerous times throughout the past few days to confirm the shipping status of the part. A never definitively confirmed that he had checked and confirmed the parts tracking status despite my hectoring. I make it abundantly clear that I was stuck in LA and paying hotel fees on his assurance that “Friday we should be all set” promise was accurate. I worried that he was being too nonchalant and not taking the time to verify his eta estimate.

I talk with my daughter to give her the bad news. She is anxious to get home. I take a Lyft to and from USC to bring her to the hotel so we can leave out Friday as soon as the car is ready.

With all our stuff, there is no way to get check out of the hotel by the 11:00AM time. I extend our stay for another night.

FRIDAY, FEB 25

Unhappy parts tracking information, a car rental, escape from LA

The morning begins our anxious waiting game.

10:43AM [7 seconds] Call to A. Voicemail.

10:43 AM

[text from A] Can I call you later?
[my text reply] Sure
[text from A] I’m with a customer
[my text reply] thumbs up emoji

12:42PM

[text] Did you get all your part shipments today?

1:22PM

I reconnect with A at 1:22PM but our connection is bad. 1:22PM [19 seconds]. 1:24PM [50 seconds]. 1:25PM [13 seconds]. 1:26PM [6 seconds].

Our calls keep dropping.

1:26PM A calls me from the Toyota dealership phone [1.35 seconds].

A informs me that the parts for the day have come in but the fuel booster pump in not on the shipment. Not happy!

A tells me maybe Monday. I complain that this is why I have been calling and texting because I wanted him to check the parts ship status so this didn’t happen. I tell him to send me the tracking document and I’ll call the 1–800 TOYOTA line to see if I can get a shipping status.

1:41PM [18 seconds] Call to A, No answer, voicemail full.

2:06PM [4 seconds] Call to A, No answer.

2:17PM [4 seconds] Call to A, No answer.

2:19PM [38 seconds] Call from A. He tells me he has the parts shipping document and is texting it to me so I can contact 1–800 TOYOTA for status.

2:24PM [text of parts order information]

2:27PM [3.44 minutes]

Looking at the document A sent me via text, I call him and tell him to look at the text. I complain to A. Why didn’t he check this status as I asked him to? I tell him to look at the Ship Depot. It is not coming from the San Francisco Bay Area. It is coming from Japan! Like an ocean away! I asked A shouldn’t this document have worried you about his Friday, Feb 25th eta quote? I reiterate that I can’t stay in Los Angeles forever. Had I known the part was going to be backordered indefinitely, I would likely have make other plans. I tell him I’ll call the 1–800 TOYOTA number to see if they can give me a better ETA.

2:32PM [17.1 minutes] 1–800–331–4331 call to Toyota Service line. I log my complaint and open a case. I give the information from the parts document that A sent me so they can help me track the part. The lady on the line tells me they will have to investigate. It will take one to two business days to do the investigation and reply.

2:57PM Call to A. While going over the document with the 1–800 TOYOTA representative, I notice the “*Please click on BO Qty to view the staging details” note on the document. A and I again have a series of dropped calls. 2:57PM [13 seconds], 2:57 [3 seconds], 2:58 [7 seconds], 2:58 [3 seconds].

2:58PM [11.45 minutes] A calls me back from the Toyota service line. I mention to A to look at the parts document he sent me. I tell him to look at the “*Please click on BO Qty to view the staging details” note. I ask him to let me know what the computer says. He tells me he has to get that from the parts manager. I tell him please do. He puts me on hold. He tells me he the parts manager is busy. I tell him I need this information. He puts me on hold. Silence. More silence. More silence. I hang up.

3:11PM [2.32 minutes] I call A and tell him I am going to rent a car and leave Los Angeles. He still doesn’t have the update from the parts manager. Now that I have decided to leave my car behind, the ETA is not as pressing. I am annoyed but that is not going to solve my problem. I tell A I will have to fly back to get my car once it is ready. He promises that I can leave my car at the service center even it if might be a week or two before I can come back.

3:15PM I book a Chevy Impala from the LAX Thrifty Rental location through Priceline.

3:29PM Bike ride to LAX [14.74 miles, 231 feet elevation gain, 1:13:27 moving time].

I return to the hotel around 6:00PM. We pack up and drive back to the Bay Area. We make it home a little after midnight, thus ending this chapter in the Prius brake booster pump saga.

END PART ONE

MONDAY, FEB 28

9:02AM I missed the callback from the Toyota customer service line.

4:02PM [1.58 minutes] I called Toyota back, but my case manager was not available. The lady asked me to call back tomorrow to talk with my dedicated agent.

TUESDAY, MAR 1

7:46AM [8.42 minutes] I call Toyota back. The lady I speak with tries to find my case manager but he is away from his desk. I ask her to leave him a message to send me a status report via email. I ask if he has an email or direct line so I can avoid this phone tree issue. She informs me that calling the main line is the only way to connect with my case manager.

7:59AM [Text to A]— Hi A, can you check with your parts manager to see if this part is showing any updates?

9:02AM I miss a call from my case manager again.

12:18PM [13.02 minutes] I finally connect with my case manager. Despite the fact that I already gave the scenario, dealership info, part #, backorder info and such when I opened my case, my case manager asks these same questions again. He tells me there is a global supply chain issue that is causing issues with parts. I tell him that I know, but is that the problem with my particular part order? He says that requires investigation. This is puzzling. I thought when the case was opened that the information I provided in the questionnaire would have been sufficient to begin the investigation. My case manager dodges this question and mentions he will begin investigating and get back to me.

12:35PM [3 sec] I call A at Hollywood Toyota but get his voicemail.

WEDNESDAY, MAR 2

7:23AM

[Text from A] Good morning, let me check for you today once my parts manager gets here i’ll let you know.
[Text response] Thank you A.

12:52PM [5 sec] I call A at Hollywood Toyota but get his voicemail.

12:56PM [1.08 minutes] A calls me back and tells me the part is now showing shipped with an ETA of Friday. Finally, a definitive parts status. Good news.

FRIDAY, MAR 4

10:23AM Missed call from A.

3:49PM [1.43 minutes] I call A back. He informs me the car is now ready. I tell him that I will have to come to get it next Saturday. He says no problem and will have the car ready then.

SATURDAY, MAR 12

I fly into Burbank and catch a ride to Hollywood Toyota around 11am.

THE SURPRISE!

Early in this saga, my service advisor A told me that the price for the repair out the door would be $1800. He scribbled the figure on one of the documents he was using for my case. I thought that was a pretty big hit, but there didn’t seem to be an alternative.

As I was thanking A and ready to receive my car, A informed me that he had the car washed the day previous after I called to tell him that I was indeed coming in this Saturday afternoon to retrieve my car. A then handed me the invoice.

$4000!

More precisely $4061.38

I am in shock. After a pause to take in this unexpected figure, I remind Adrian he quoted me a price of $1800 out the door. We look through the paperwork. He says the $1800 was the cost for the labor and not the part. I scan the invoice incredulously. At no point in this multiweek process was the quote of 4000K given to me. I would have clearly remember such a huge number. He claims he told me this. I tell him that is not possible. I would have remembered that conversation or quote. He tells me the service manager is out and there is nothing he can do. He says maybe he can listen to our phone conversations which are recorded. I say, YES! please do. I am certain there was no mention of this $4000K amount. He tells me he will have to look into the matter and will get back to me on Monday.

I pay and leave. I was not planning on writing a meticulous history of this event. In order to make sure I had my information correct, I looked back on all my phone and text data and metadata in order to record a clear and accurate report. I was originally not thrilled about the experience prior to the price shock. Receiving a $4k service bill provided the motivation to get this story together.

I do not know if this repair cost is fair. I made a concerted effort to stay on top of the situation and keep the lines of communication clear. I feel justified in claiming the backorder status was not checked as I requested multiple times during the first critical days of my forced stay in Los Angeles.

A minor, but representative example of my experience was the “car wash” that A claimed to have done for my vehicle the day before pickup. My car was covered with dirt. The interior was in the same disheveled state I left it including disposable coffee cups, dust and crumbs. I did not expect or demand a clean and detailed car, but I can’t understand how Toyota Hollywood or A could consider my car washed. Why even mention they provided this service if they did do it?