“I didn’t know I needed to press every button in the car.”
A woman says she recently bought a 2025 Toyota 4Runner, only to discover that it had electrical issues. Is the dealership responsible for fixing it?
In a video with over 19,000 views, TikTok user McKenna (@mckennaalauren) explains that she recently went to a car dealership to purchase a vehicle. After a little debate, she settled on a Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road with approximately 10,000 miles.
Initially, everything seemed fine with the car. McKenna says the test drive went well, sales staff were helpful, and that she was able to complete the deal without issue.
However, just two miles after leaving the dealership, she encountered a problem.
“My son rolled down his window in the back seat, and he was like, ‘Mom, can you roll it up for me please?’ And, of course, there’s controls up here in the driver’s side,” she recounts. “I went to go roll the window up—and the controls don’t work.”
The problem wasn’t solely with the window controls, according to McKenna.
“So these buttons, none of them, just this one. This is the only button that works,” she explains, showing her window control alongside the other controls on the driver’s door. “None of these buttons work. Unlock, lock, nothing works. Child lock, nothing works.”
Concerned, McKenna says that she reached out to a salesperson, who informed her that her car could be looked at in a few days.
“I mean, I expect if I buy a car that there’s an inspection done,” McKenna says. “Maybe that’s negligence on my part, but I didn’t know I needed to press every button in the car to make sure that it worked.”
In a follow-up video, McKenna says she was able to bring the car back to the dealership. The workers were unable to determine what was causing the malfunction, she says, and asked her to return later to give them time to diagnose the problem.
During that time, McKenna and her husband purportedly contacted the general manager, who told them something previously unknown about the car’s history.
“They sold me this 2025 Toyota 4Runner knowing that there was an electrical issue,” McKenna alleges. “They didn’t disclose it to me during the purchase, but I guess the previous owner…had tinted the windows. And when they tinted the windows, they moved, messed up some sort of harness or something inside the door that caused an electrical issue.”
McKenna says that the dealership was told the issue had been resolved and that everything was in working order. It appears this was not actually true.
“The biggest issue is the fact that Toyota knew that there had been an electrical issue,” she states. “They didn’t do their own due diligence to fix it or look into making sure that it was working after the previous owner had sold it back to Toyota.”
While the dealership allegedly offered to take the vehicle back, McKenna says the decision was difficult because she needs to have transportation.
“They’re willing to give me a refund for the car, but then I’m screwed without a car, so there’s not really a solid option yet,” she says.
McKenna eventually posted an update saying that she was on the path to a resolution. In the video, McKenna says that the dealership allowed her to continue driving the malfunctioning 4Runner while they ordered a replacement. Rather than another used vehicle, McKenna says she’ll be getting a new 2026 Toyota 4Runner TRD.
“They are ordering me a 2026 [TRD] 4Runner, so getting a brand new one, which is fantastic,” she says.
While she says that she and the dealership “still have to work out pricing and stuff to see if we can come to terms on that,” she believes that “basically, it’s a done deal.”
What a dealership has to do in this situation largely depends on the state and the terms of sale.
Federal law prevents a dealership from misrepresenting the state of a vehicle’s mechanical condition. If the dealership knew that the car’s electrical system didn’t work, but sold her the Toyota without disclosing this fact, it could be accused of engaging in deceptive business practices.
If the dealership genuinely believed the issue had been repaired, however, establishing wrongdoing would likely be more difficult.
What may further complicate matters is the fact that the car could have been sold “as-is.” If there was no intentional misrepresentation found, McKenna could’ve been stuck with the 4Runner—unless, depending on the state, she wanted to return it.
Some states allow a customer to return a car within a certain amount of time, while others require a dealership to take a car back if it cannot repair a warranty-covered defect.
Regardless of what is legally required, McKenna seems content with the solution she reached with the Toyota dealership.
“I’m getting a new car,” she says in her final update. “That’s all that matters.”
Motor1 contacted McKenna via email and TikTok direct message. We’ll update this story if she responds.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motor1.com?
– The Motor1.com Team