Is my mechanic at fault?

Hey folks,
Took my truck in yesterday for a what seemed like a power steering issue. Turns out it was a bad/frozen joint on the intermediate steering shaft. They replaced the whole shaft, and I get back in the car to drive home and my horn doesn't work, my airbag light is on, and there's a faint clicking everything I turn the wheel.
I drove from where the car was parked back to the front of the shop and mentioned these issues. They looked it over, and two hours later told me that the Clock Spring had been broken at some point while they were replacing the shaft. Then he started rattling off the price of the part and labor... Sorry, but I am not sure how I am responsible to pay for this. Can I get some opinions on this? I just forked over a bunch of money for him to fix something, I get back in my car, and more shit is broken, and now he asking for another $154 and change for a part he broke, plus labor!? Doesn't make any sense to me...

 

Yes he is at fault. He did it wrong. If you turn the steering wheel with the steering shaft not connected you will break the clock spring.

 

I think its up to them to make good on it. Did you get them admitting to fault in writing?

 

These matters can go either way,your first approach and what you say and how you say it, can make all the difference. If he wants you as a customer, he should work with you, It he wants just your money, you don’t need him. Sometimes it’s cheaper to pay the bill,move on and don’t go back.

 

Nope. Their fault. A competent and do-the-right-thing individual will make you whole.

 

It's their fault. I did that same thing to my own truck.
You can replace it yourself easily if you end up not having the guy fix his mistake. And save yourself some money

 

This is a shop I've been going to for years, I have always thought they do great work, and I have never had an issues with them. So hopefully he's willing to do the right thing... He admitted that they "must have broke it" with they were removing the shaft... He said it's a fragile part...

 

He broke it, he pays for it. Simple as that. Don't let up on them, make them fix it.

 

Thanks for all the feedback, will certainly help me when talking to him. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't being the a-hole customer who just wants to get his way. If you all feel so strongly about it, then that's what I'm sticking to.

 

Print this and take it to them. This will have a lot more credibility than, "The guys on TacomaWorld say you screwed up".

https://www.freeasestudyguides.com/clockspring-steering-column.html

 

This doesn't answer the OP's question but gives some insight on a clock spring and I learned something about my truck I never knew.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI98pGCCFD4

 

Keep us up, hope he does the right thing.

 

he is claiming that it was "unavoidable contact" and therefore it's not their fault. It only happened as a result of the work they were doing, and it couldn't have been avoided... according to him

 

I don’t get it, if he’s admitted he broke it, then he should fix his mistake at his cost. Is he the owner or hired help?

 

The guy I have been dealing with is the owner.

 

This Toyota part is notorious for breaking. There was even a recall for a number of vehicles in a specific VIN range. Search this site and you'll see many many people with the same problem just from regular use.

 

That guy is so full of crap.

Somewhere there's a Toyota TSB that details the steps to replace the steering shaft. It goes into detail about locking the steering wheel to prevent breaking the clockspring. Nowhere in it does it say that breaking the clockspring is unavoidable.

 

had they locked the steering wheel in place, this wouldn't have been an issue. they disconnected it and the steering wheel rotated under its own weight due to them not locking it and it caused this issue.

 

Pay with credit card? Visa is pretty good with disputes

 

I would get him to put in writing that they broke it while repairing the other item. Tell him you want to try and get it covered under some vehicle repair warranty you bought. Then take that in writing and dispute the credit card charge