8:40 AM. Completely unaware, I arrived at Toyota Manhattan to drop off my car for its third scheduled maintenance. After handing over the car, I approached an available manager and said I wanted to add an oil change to the scheduled work for the day. The response I received was that an oil change was not included for today. I repeated to the manager that I wanted to have it done, to which he replied that only tire rotation was scheduled for today. I opened my Toyota app and showed him what services were planned for the day besides the tire rotation (there were not only tire rotations but also about a dozen other scheduled maintenance checks), and once again, I insisted that I wanted to use one of my two free oil changes. Finally, on the third attempt, the manager agreed with me and added the oil change. After that, I told him I would pick up my car at 4 PM. We said goodbye, and I wasn’t even offered a taxi or shuttle, considering it was 10°F outside. But that’s fine, I’m not a person spoiled by luxury, and I can handle it. However, the morning mood was ruined by this point.

4:00 PM. I return to pick up my car, and the first thing I see on the car mat is the broken keychain from my car keys. This was a gift from my 6-year-old daughter, bought with her first saved-up money. Yes, it costs only a couple of dollars, but it holds immense sentimental value for me because it’s a gift from someone close and dear to my heart. I immediately called over the guy who brought me my car and asked how this happened. Instead of talking to me, he called over the manager, and I explained my complaint to him. At this point, I also discovered an empty water bottle left by someone between the seats on the car’s console. I didn’t take a photo because I was stunned, but I believe the manager present at that moment is an honest person and will confirm my words 100%. My question is: why does Toyota think my car is a trash bin for its employees? And why do they believe they can leave their garbage in my personal vehicle, which I entrusted to them for maintenance? As for the keychain, I don’t recall the manager apologizing for it, but I do remember him asking how I’d like the issue resolved. I said I didn’t understand what had happened to Toyota and didn’t need anything from him. I just wanted him to know that it was a gift from someone very dear to me. I only asked for the supervisor’s business card, just in case I found more issues with the car—and, as you can guess, I did.

4:20 PM. I didn’t mention that I usually check the oil level and quality after a change, and I did so this time as well. I opened the hood and found how poorly the car had been washed. The upper air intakes were full of leaves and dirt (photos attached). When they changed the oil, no one seemed to care about the condition under the hood. Their only goal was to return the car as quickly as possible, without regard for quality or service. After seeing the mess under the hood, I decided to check the trunk and found the same situation there. And yes, the work order included both washing and vacuuming. I think there’s no need to describe the quality of the exterior wash—it was terrible, as you’ll see from the additional photos attached to this review.

4:50 PM. Considering all the issues described above and the quality of today’s “service,” I stopped to inspect the car more thoroughly. The first thing I noticed was a detached roof rail. I put it back in place and continued inspecting the car. Somehow—maybe I was lucky, or maybe my work in photography helped—I noticed how the light hit my wheel, casting a small shadow on the tire. It turned out to be a bubble in the tire. I’m not claiming this happened during the service or tire rotation, but I am an extremely cautious driver and don’t recall hitting any significant potholes. Moreover, the rim is visually intact and undamaged. I just hope Toyota Manhattan’s management will investigate this, and if it’s found to have occurred during their service, they’ll offer...

October 2025

Another visit for scheduled maintenance at 104K miles on my Sienna - the best hauler there is. Remove the middle seats and there’s room for 4x8 plywood or full size sofas. It does it all, and thanks to Toyota of Manhattan my “Toyo” is super well maintained. The least I can expect at these $$$ prices LOL.

Service is great and everyone pays attention to your needs, not to mention the building is like a temple for autos. Immaculate.

My service advisor, Ritchie, handled everything so well as he always does, and Toyota of Manhattan does a great job using text message portal to keep you posted on the work including approving or declining work, with pics showing signs of wear and tear, and more.

Two notes for readers with Siennas: My sliding doors needed attention in the past when the auto close travel slows too much due to a dirty roller track. The safety then engages and the door re-opens. Easy to DIY fix using a damp cloth to remove dirt, and lithium grease (not WD40). My Toyo spends time outdoors in a rural upstate locale and is plagued by rodents nesting in the cabin air intake manifold. I purchased a cabin filter with steel mesh cover to prevent chewing thru standard filter and nesting within the blower fan. Imagine what happens when the fan starts with active nest onboard. Yuck!

My Tech easily cleaned and disinfected the mess above the cabin filter thanks my filter’s steel mesh. One recourse for owners is placing or spraying peppermint under the hood, since that is how rodents get inside. I tried closing orifices with wire lathe but it’s not perfect, and Techs often remove lathe barriers during service without replacing.

I consider this a serious design flaw well documented on the web, together with news that rodents love chewing wire insulation containing soy.

End

Another visit to Toyota of Manhattan for scheduled maintenance went just as I expected - GREAT!

In and out in a timely manner, and everyone there does whatever it takes to make you feel welcome. I am grateful for their efforts to keep my Toyo in top form. 100K miles here I come.

Recently, my garage smashed the driver side mirror so I took my Sienna straight to my go to guys at Toyota of Manhattan, who got the mirror replaced in no time at all. Everyone and everything about Toyota of Manhattan is first rate. They care about me and my Toyo. 95K miles and still humming and hauling. ❤️

I have said it before and it remains true today: Toyota of Manhattan is the go to place for sales and service. I couldn’t ask for more. Simple. No hassle. I love my Sienna and remain loyal to this Toyota dealer.

Adding the following after visiting on 1/21/22 for a DMV inspection...

The new building is absolutely amazing and the service level is better than ever!!!

Rarely have I felt this good about a car dealer’s service department.

Toyota of Manhattan is simply the best.

UPDATE 3/11/23: my last routine maintenance visit brought me to the parts desk for touchup paint. What I found is amazing - an automated stock keeping system to store and retrieve parts that operates with pushbutton ease. Nothing is in view. It just magically appears when the safety gate rises to reveal the platform laden with storage trays containing parts.

Just one more thing: the hired help is great! Very personable and caring. That speaks volumes about the management too, of course.

UPDATE 8/17/23 - 75000 mile service for my 2016 Sienna and everything went well. Yes the labor rate is high, but what do you expect in NYC. Manhattan may not be its former self these days, but Toyota of Manhattan has never been...

I am still in shock with how terrible the service was with the sales team. I sent a request for availability on a hard to find Sienna two evenings ago. To my surprise, the sales manager Kevin responded almost immediately (not sure if it was automated), saying that the vehicle was still available. The next morning at 10am, I received a call from Darlene who was very nice and also confirmed that the vehicle was still available. I told her great, I would like to purchase the vehicle and will be paying in all cash and can wire the money and or place a deposit on the Sienna right away, but she then explained that she could not help me with the sale because she was not a sales associate, but that she would have a sales associate call me back ASAP to start the sale. That sounded great, but I knew how quickly these vehicles sell and asked her to place it on hold and I can put a deposit or whatever was required because I did not want someone else to walk in and purchase it. She said not a problem, I can't take payment, but I will put it on hold for you... Five hours later, I still hadn't been contacted by Darlene or a sales agent, so I decided to call and talk to Darlene again to see if I could speak with someone in sales. She apologized and explained that they were understaffed and that unfortunately there wasn't anyone in sales there to take my call, ok fine, can I please speak to Kevin the manager or any other manager in? Her response was no, unfortunately there are no managers available to speak with and are in meetings. Strange... I said okay, please have a sales associate or manager call me ASAP as I would really like to get this deal done and again, please make sure the vehicle is on hold. She assured me that someone would contact me. I also emailed the sales manager Kevin to let him know that I am eagerly awaiting a sales associate to call me to to purchase the vehicle, but no response. Well... Here we are 24 hours later and still no contact from a sales associate, Darlene, or Kevin, so I called again today at 3pm to speak with Darlene or any available human being. Darlene answers and immediately apologies she hadn't called me back and that she did not forget about me, HOWEVER, I am so sorry, but the Sienna you wanted to buy was sold last night. Wait WHAT?! How is that possible if there were no sales associates available to take my call and purchase this vehicle?!?! Well sir, someone came in last night before closing and purchased it... WOW, so I had been trying to contact someone in sales ALL day yesterday and today to buy the vehicle, and now miraculously there is a sales associate available to sell it from under me?!?! UNBELIEVABLE, I have never experienced such a shady interaction trying to give a dealership my money! Literally the easiest type of sale. And... NO, I'm not interested in being on your wait list for the opposite color Sienna as I clearly explained to you that this was the exact model I was looking for. Nothing else. Anyways, good luck with your staffing issues, but for now you've lost a customer due to the poor service from the help you do have. Also, it sounds like your manager is in week-long meetings according to his availability, so if you missed out on this sale, there are...