‘Keeps giving him the runaround’: Mechanic calls out Toyota dealership’s A/C repair after disgruntled driver brings it to him

A mechanic calls out the Toyota dealership’s A/C repair after a disgruntled customer brings in a vehicle they couldn’t fix.

TikTok user JohnBrian (@johnbrian210) is a mechanic who often posts videos about the vehicles he works on. In a video posted on June 25, JohnBrian shows viewers the Toyota he recently had a customer bring in. “Customer states the Toyota dealership keeps giving him the run around,” JohnBrian writes in the video’s text overlay.

As he pans the camera under the hood, JohnBrian explains, “Apparently, they did some air conditioning repairs and it still does not work well.” He then shows the invoice, which shows a total of more than $1,900. “It definitely adds up fast,” he says.

JohnBrian then gets into the vehicle and starts it. The interior of the Toyota is extremely dirty, with some sort of dark residue on the paneling and carpet. “There is an unusual knocking noise when the engine is running,” JohnBrian says. “To my knowledge the ac compressor clutch was replaced, along with a service. Using a stethoscope, I verified the noise coming from the AC compressor.” 

He continues, “The air conditioning definitely does not cool, even being nearly full.” The then shows a machine that displays the pressures. “Let’s see what I can do to get air conditioning back in this Toyota,” he says.

How did the mechanic fix the Toyota?

In a follow-up video, JohnBrian shows how he disassembles the front end of the vehicle and replaces the air conditioning system. He also gives the interior a good detail.

The two videos have amassed more than 400,000 views as of Friday afternoon. In the comments, users weighed in on dealerships as well as the initial filthy state of the Toyota’s interior.

“Dealership seen the inside and said Fuuu that,” wrote one user.

“Customer never heard of soap in his life,” said a second user.

Someone else said, “When someone brags that they have a Toyota with 300k and '“'no issues'”' this is exactly how I imagine the car looks.”

After the detailing reveal, one user wrote, “A mechanic that goes above the call of duty and cleans up the car. You’re a top notch person.”

This doesn’t seem like a unique problem. About nine months ago, a Reddit user posted to r/Toyota with a similar issue. “I have a 2023 Highlander Hybrid Limited with just over 10k miles. Around 9k miles, the 12.3" display stopped working. At first it just stayed black but then it worked periodically but sometimes wouldn't respond to touch. I have had it back at the dealership three times now with various attempts to fix it but the issues still persists. It's really annoying to drive because basically everything is controlled with that screen. I have asked the dealer about giving me something else that just works but have not heard anything back at all. Seem they are fragging their feet on this problem. What do you think I should do?” the user wrote.

In response, a user wrote, “Look into what the lemon laws are in your state. Start asking questions about the problem on social media tagging the dealership. Have a lawyer send them a letter. It all depends on how far you want to take it - but the car is covered under warranty and they have an obligation to make it right. The 2024 Grand Highlander’s are a pretty sweet upgrade - maybe hint that you’d take a deal on trading yours for one of those.”

@johnbrian210 How mad would you be? #customer #customerstates #toyota #diagnosis #diagnostic #ac #airconditioning #mechanic #mechaniclife #mechanicsoftiktok #automotive #autoshop #autorepair #foryoupage #viral #fyp ♬ original sound - JohnBrian

In this case, it appears that the car is so old it may no longer be under warranty. It would depend on the terms. In terms of lemon laws, the situation must meet a set of criteria depending on the state. In general, it must be a substantial manufacturing defect covered under warranty.

The Daily Dot reached out to JohnBrian via TIktok comment and direct message for comment. We also reached out to Toyota via website contact form for comment.

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