05 Alternator Shot - Corrosion!

My battery light has been intermittant for a few weeks, and the charging voltage is high. I'm handy with this sort of thing but just haven't had the time to delve into the problem. So I brought my truck to my local dealer here in London, Ontario.

Well their report states a connector on the alternator is corroded badly, causing the above-named issues. The connector is said to be part of the alternator and cannot be replaced separate from it. "You need a new alternator." I am just off warranty a month or so ago. Bought the truck in December 2004 and am over the warranty period by mileage.

This seems to be completely unbelievable to me. I will make an attempt to contact Toyota Canada on this matter, and failing that will get a manual and attempt to repair this problem myself. The alternator is priced at over $600, plus the cost to replace of course.

Beware your battery light!

Time to look at a Ridgeline...

 

Ouch! Low blow!
I feel for you... the alternator shouldn't be going out this soon, or any part of it!

 

Whoa!!! something to look into. hmmm but the honda neh.....

 

Dude, don’t knock Toyota because you don’t know how to play ball. Your dealer is jerking you around and you are not an informed customer. You have to play the game.

Investigate the cause of the connector corrosion and ask you dealer to justify its disintegration in such a short time. Your warranty may have expired however your “Implied Warranty” may still be valid. Discuss implied warranty on component failure with your dealer in a calm and relaxed manner. If your dealer tells you to piss off, you don’t have run to Honda to buy a Ridgeline, yet.

If you are resident of Ontario and as a TW member I will help you resolve this matter to your satisfaction provided you are not guilt of poor maintenance, spilling battery acid or other corrosive substance on the said connector. Email me through TW, full details of your truck, total kilometers (then and now), date and place of purchase, home dealership, your full name and phone numbers, good photographs of the engine compartment and the failed component etc etc and I’ll have my legal counsel look into this and resolve this for you as best as they can. It will cost you nothing but you must promise me that you refuse to roll-over-and-die till you get what you want on principle. If you can’t do without the truck in the meantime, have your dealer repair it but obtain the defective part from them and keep all bills for possible reimbursement. Cheers

 

What you described sounded like more than just a game to me! But heh... Dealerships are out there to make money and so we have to learn to defend ourselves.. Thanks for the info Themaster.. I'm down here in the states but if I ever get stuck in his situation, I'll try to follow this councel.

 

Update on my situation:

I called my dealer to speak with the service manager. I had a polite conversation in which I asked him how this problem could occur on a two year old vehicle. He said he would look into the problem.

The next day I received a call from him stating he would replace the alternator free of charge. Yesterday (Dec 22nd) I took the truck to the dealer and the alternator was replaced. I paid $0.00 out of pocket. Merry Christmas

The problems seem resolved. Battery charging voltage is normal (13.8 - 14.0) instead of 15.4v. Also, the battery light now remains off. Thanks to Neil Showers of Competition Toyota in London, Ontario for his assistance.

I should also mention we bought two vehicles at this dealer in the last two years and all servicing is done there. Just two days before I brought my battery light issue to them, we replaced two front discs on my wife's Echo. This customer loyalty no doubt had some influence on his decision.

Thanks to all who posted on this. I'll be keeping a close eye on this four-pin plug to keep it weather-proofed and clean.