dealership robbing me?

im getting the intermediate shaft in my steering column replaced under my warranty at the Toyota dealer. they say I will need a wheel alignment after, that will cost me $129 +tax! my ques is shouldn't the dealer cover the cost of the alignment? my old ford dealer did in this situation

 

I would say it should be covered unless it states it isn't in the fine print of the warranty..

 

If they say it'd not covered, take it to another shop that's way cheaper

 

Seems to me that if warranty work causes a need for an alignment, then they should align as part of the warranty.

 

If this is for the steering TSB, then yes the alignment should be included for free.

 

call toyota corporate in california, see what they say about your particular problem, they will start a case #, and if they support you, tell them about your particular dealer and then see what happens.

 

call another dealer and ask them is it included with the warranty, Just to have something to back you up.

 

That's like saying if your frame was replaced under warranty, then you pay to have everything put back on.

 

There is no need to perform an alignment for replacing a steering shaft. Only the steering wheel needs to be centered, and should be included in the labour to re+re the shaft.

 

Lol

 

Yes, they are slipping you the shaft.
call corpo, then go somewhere else if you need the alignment

 

An Intermediate Shaft replacement should NOT Require an alignment. It is on the input side of the rack. The Output Components are what effects the alignment. If the alignment was fine before it should be fine after.

They are fucking you!

 

This

 

There has always been a discussion about if an alignment is needed after replacing a steering shaft section. Typically it does not, HOWEVER it is not uncommon that the steering wheel becomes slightly off-center. That being said, if warranty work is being done to fix a problem, and and alignment IS required as part of the repair, they cannot charge you for said alignment. I would start at the easiest point and talk to the service manager. Yes, corporate will come in and say yes, but it could take a week. Explain your concerns to the service manager that there was nothing wrong with the alignment BEFORE it was worked on, therefore you see no reason you should have to pay for one. If he turns you down, then I would go to the General Manager.

 

^^ This. I've done both intermediate shafts (upper and lower) at different times. The steering wheel centered perfectly both times and there was zero change in alignment. The problem comes when they are not real careful at indexing the intermediate shaft and the steering wheel comes back crooked (off center) because they got it a spline or two off. As I recall there are about 29 or 30 splines on the very end so getting it one spline off would be a very noticeable 11-12 degrees in the steering wheel. They may then try to please you when you complain by quickly monkeying with the tie rods.

 

Sounds like a rip. Call Toyota and ask for copy where warranty excludes other work related to your problem. Just trying to sell you I bet.

 

The TSB procedure doesn't say anything about an alignment...Maybe a steering wheel centering if they don't follow the procedure correctly....but I'd go back and ask them if the alignment is related to the repair or because your truck just needs an alignment anyways...

 

thanks for all the helpful responses! I personal feel its big pile of B.S!! my truck is not currently out of alignment! therefore, the dealer installing my warranty covered parts will cause the need for an alignment. I will let u guys know how it goes