Am I being scammed by the dealer?

No Im not expecting Toyota to pay for it...that wasnt the point. I was just wondering if them replacing the bearing with a bushing and re-using the scored cv axle would make the vibe worse because that is essentially what happened.

 

As it wears more, yes the vibration will get worse. But that will happen over a period of time.

 

Wait let me get this straight. You installed an aftermarket lift onto your truck, it is the route cause of the failure, and now you want toyota to pay to fix it?[/QUOTE]

You're right, but the needle bearing is a weak part. A lot of people have had them go bad without a lift. Doesn't change anything. Just sayin.

 

I agree with it being weak. However, when the tech writes his story to get paid he will have to write that the taco has an aftermarket lift. If they get audited he will get screwed out of all that pay as most dealers will put the loss in pay on the tech. That's why I find it interesting that they did the first repair under warranty and no the second one they want CP.

What's even more interesting is that my buddies with a 3" lift got the aftermarket warranty to cover both front wheel bearings at the dealer. Then again its aftermarket so any liability from repair falls on the aftermarket warranty.

 

i am willing to bet $$ that they did NOT install a bronze bushing in place of the needle bearing.

I have never had a dealer offer to install any sort of "aftermarket" part like that, and do it in 3 hours?? No way, IMO.

Heck they can't even change the engine oil in less than an hour.

Pull the CV out and take a pic of the "bushing".

 

There was a case that went to courts saying that the dealer has to prove that modifications caused the problem. So lifting a truck, and most aftermarket modifications do not void the warranty.
I'm surprised no one bought this up yet.

 

truth^

 

With the proper factory tools I can swap out both CV needle bearing assemblies in less than 3 hours. Easy.

The law I believe is the Moss-Ferguson Act that states that it is Toyota's responsibility to prove that the lift caused the failure. The dealership itself cannot make the claim that your warranty is denied because of a lift. That is a violation of the Moss-Ferguson Act. I would print out a copy and take it to the dealership. Then remind them that they "fixed" it the first time, and are now liable to make the repair right. They can't just say: "Your lift being installed voids your warranty." Saying that is against the law.

 

You mean this?

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

I would also add that the truck was not installed with said lift from the factory. Toyota is only obligated to cover parts and service of factory equipment. According to this act, toyota is not liable for issues that are caused by the lift. Any nimrod can argue that the lift fatigued this part due to it not being in its original factory format, with angles of CV not within factory tolerances.

 

I wasn't saying the job could not be completed in 3 hours, I am just doubting Joe Blow at the dealership could or would do it in 3 hours.

i want to see someone call a dealership and ask to have their needle bearings replaced with bushings to see what they say. The dealerships around here would look at you like you are from outer space.

 

Do you work at a dealer? And did you stop to think they charged 3 hours Warranty for something completely different? There is a reason dealerships get audited. And why is that not possible? I had half shafts pulled and CV boots replaced on a honda in under 2 with no air with floor jacks. I dont see why you couldn pull a half shaft and slop in a brass bushing in 3.

 

That's what I was thinking. The ECGS bushing has worked fine for hundreds of people (at least), but they couldn't pull it off?

 

Actually I used to work at a dealership. I have seen service writers and managers lie straight to a customer's face.

They have been known to charge stuff on warranty, then turn right around and try to make the customer pay for it. 2X$$

As a customer I have also caught them lying and trying to crawfish out of it.

 

It does not matter if the lift was installed by Toyota, or aftermarket. Toyota has to PROVE in court that the lift itself is what caused the needle bearings to fail. Any lawyer right out of law school could pull records on the NUMEROUS problems with the needle bearing assembly that Toyota has had for years and Toyota would not stand a chance. Besides, Toyota would spend less money just fixing the problem, rather than deal with a legal battle. Sure they have lawyers on retainer, but still, it would cost them more to pay the lawyers.

Well I happen to be a "Joe blow" as you want to call us that has worked in dealerships and I can easily do the job in less than 3 hours. Hell, the book itself calls for 3 hours warranty time to do the job.

 

So I walked into the dealership at 1:30pm and left at 4:30pm...so the repairs were under 3 hours technically. I am not trying to make Toyota pay for a new differential. They completed work on the differential that has made the problem worse. Now I would call that poor workmanship...The issue degraded from needing a bushing replacement on Friday to a new differential on Wednesday. That seems a little excessive warranty void or not. I have just called Toyota Corporate to ask them about my options plus I have emailed the Toyota dealer GM with my problem. I just gave him all the facts without resorting to pointing any fingers as to who was to blame...just the straight up facts of what occured. He has already responded that he will investigate on his end and see what he can do in this situation. I am not expecting a miracle but anything will help out in this situation.

 

You are definitely not your typical Toyota tech... I would bring my Taco into a stealership to be worked on if I knew it was being handled by someone who I could trust or knew what they were doing.

Sadly after the last few trips to the stealership I have lost a lot of faith in them.

 

Hopefully he will get something worked out that will fix your truck, and satisfy your needs.

I disagree. I think I and those I know like me are the norm, and it is the rare few screw ups that give us a bad name. I mean seriously, do you REALLY think all the dealerships in the entire US are filled with piss-poor techs, and are still able to keep the doors open? Toyota corporate would be yanking franchise licenses if that were true. I know of a couple of dealerships that DID get their license revoked for bad practices.

Out of the about 200 techs I have worked with over my career, I would say 5 or 6 were the crap shoot. The other 194 or 195 were quality guys who did quality work and cared about what they were doing.

 

Should have gone to the service manager first, if op hasn already. Skipping straight to the gm leads me to believe he is just another customer looking for the dealer to pay for an issue he caused post installation of lift.

And I'm with you on this part bama, that the dealer has its one to two rotten eggs within its tech line. But 98% of those guys are honest knowledgeable dudes looking to make a living like everybody else. That they aren't looking to screw the customer.

 

Actually I spoke with the service manager first...he was the one that told me that they had to drop my transfer case in order to change out the drivers side needle bearing. He also just kept telling me that you need a new differential but when I asked him why I need it and what the problem was he would avoid the question and just bring up the warranty issue, it seemed odd to me.

 

interesting, it is possible that you have found a shitty service center. I know my post have shown that I am also weary of what you are trying to get out of this, but you have to understand I worked in the industry for 4 years, my old man has been in it for 29. I have heard all the stories of why customers dont want to pay for things.

Just to give you an idea, we had a local abc network convince the GM that the dealer should cover 3k in work because the family couldn afford to repair the used ML they bought. He had no option being that the whole dealer was on the nightly news, but it was a load of bullshit.

If you can get access to alldata or if bama can you will want to print out the repair procedure for needle bearings.