Toyota Voided a GR86-Owners Warranty for Doing What the Car Was Built For
Toyota has reversed course after denying a warranty claim for a driver who used his GR86 for its advertised purpose.
Written by Andrew Kidd
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
When you
buy a vehicle
that's advertised as track-ready, you'd expect its warranty to cover issues related to hard driving.Not the case for one
2022 Toyota GR86
owner, whose damaged vehicle was considered "out of warranty" by a Toyota field technician who used social media photos of the driver drifting the car at a tuner event in a parking lot as evidence against the claim.What happened?
The owner, Blake Alvarado, who goes by the username "Aon" on the
FT86CLUB
forum, gave fellow GR86 enthusiasts a warning about his experience with his practically new vehicle, which only had 13,770 miles on the odometer and two oil changes on its record.According to Alvarado, his GR86 suffered an engine failure due to oil starvation.
After inspection, the culprit was a failed cylinder rod bearing, as well as gray sealant in the oil pickup—which he said was a long-recorded defect that has been covered under warranty in the past for other owners.
Toyota assigned one of its field techs to the case to inspect the vehicle. But per Alvarado's account, the tech didn't inspect the vehicle, instead choosing to look him up on social media and finding photos taken several months earlier at a Test and Tune event.
These photos, which the field tech used as evidence that the vehicle was abused, caused the dealership to deny the
warranty claim
, leaving Alvarado with an estimated repair of $11,000.Toyota wouldn't budge
After further inquiring and sending photographic proof of the engine problems to Toyota corporate, Alvarado was essentially told to pound sand. He then approached the dealership to try to come up with a compromise, and the dealership wouldn't budge.
The service manager at the dealership told Alvarado to either pay up for the repairs or get the car off the lot. He ended up having it sent to a
Subaru
specialty shop, where he ordered a low-mileage pullout motor to drop in the car—which would cost around $7,000.'A huge misstep'
"This is a huge misstep for Toyota," Alvarado wrote in the July forum post.
"They claim on their website that the GR86 is 'track-tested with the soul of a true sports car' which implies being on track at 100+ mph for 20-minute sessions as seen at many track events, including the ones they pay for their customers to participate in which are very demanding on the car; the oiling system in particular.”
"However, if a manufacturing defect occurs and causes a failure while participating in said track day, or even an autocross course that will never exceed highway speeds nor last longer than 60 seconds on average, Toyota has essentially said you are on your own and they will comb social media and other sources to reinforce that you abused the vehicle."
Alvarado warned other Toyota GR86 owners to protect themselves by being careful about what they post on social media and to remove other identifying information when attending track days or tuner events.
Social media backlash
After Alvarado's forum post hit social media, Toyota faced a huge backlash for how they handled their customer.
As
The Drive
reports, Toyota did a 180 and decided to honor the warranty after the company's executive office spoke to Alvarado. That means his engine will be rebuilt at no cost. And after speaking with Toyota reps, Alvarado told The Drive that he should be able to use his GR86 at future track day events without voiding his
warranty
. Good news for Alvarado—and, hopefully, for others who find themselves in a similar predicament.Until then, always be sure to read the fine print of your warranty.
4.7
