Dealerships LBJ Repair Story from Hell

So, it's kind of a long story, but hey, though some of you might be interested and maybe even have some advice on my next steps.

I bought my 2010 tacoma late Summer of 2016. Upon picking it up, I noted some dodgy noises coming from the front end (clunk and loose steering feel over bumps). I was able to purchase a set of newer Toyota OEM struts/springs from a local guy and replaced those. This helped significantly, and I proceeded to book an appointment for an alignment on my truck at my local Toyota Dealership.

Later that day, I get a call from the dealership, they are not able to align due to bad sway bar bushings and loose lower ball joints. I am quoted over $700 of repairs, but agree to it, as I know changing the LBJs requires a press and I have heard horror stories about failure on the road.

Upon return of my truck, I note the occasional hum/grind on the highway, particularly when cornering. First thing that comes to mind is wheel bearings, so when I get home, I jack the truck up to check for play, and noise. I clearly hear the grinding again, and upon closer inspection find this:


Youtube vid for clearer example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV8VzESKvxs

Pretty surprised to find this, and I distinctly remember the old LBJs not having a zerk fitting, so I look up the part number on my invoice (MS86527), and find it to be some cheap aftermarket replacement part.

Now I am a little angry, so I contact the dealership and request this be fixed. I send an email with pics, and after not hearing back for 2 days, I return in person and speak with the service manager. He gives me a bit of a runaround, and states that the tech that did the job is on vacation, so he can't ask him about it. The tech that installed it is the one that has to repair it, so they won't be able to fix my truck for over a week. He mentions they will just remove the zerk and cap it for more clearance. I argue this should have been a genuine toyota part, and why was it even used in the first place. The service manager states that the OEM LBJ is not sold alone, and comes as a lower control arm assembly. This is their alternative to it.

When I get home, I decide to try and fix things myself, as I have a long road trip coming up to run a trail with some buddies in 2 days, and don't really want to have to deal with this anymore or knock out a zerk fitting while on the trail.

Using a small metal saw, I am able to cut the head of the zerk fitting off, which gives me room to unscrew the entire fitting:


I then seal the threaded portion with some JB weld and allow it to dry:


I am able to use the treaded portion as a cap, which seals the LBJ back up, and instantly I have clearance again!


No more noise!

Trail run was awesome by the way:

I cancel my appointment and email the service manager a few days later telling him I fixed the problem myself, but again insist this was not a satisfactory repair, nor was I pleased with my service. This is the response I got:

"I spoke to the Tech. who worked on your vehicle…..he does admit the clearance between the CV boot and the grease fitting is minimal, but he maintains there is clearance with no rubbing once the vehicle is sitting on its wheels with the full weight of the truck bearing down. When the vehicle is up in the air with the suspension hanging down, the suspension angles minimize/lessen the clearance of these two parts……having said this the Tech. did not notice any rubbing sounds after completing his road test on your vehicle. He would not have intentionally released the vehicle back to you had he heard anything rubbing and the dealership was prepared to re-visit this repair at no cost to you. Now you have resolved the issue and unfortunately this was completely before your service appointment. I do apologize for any misunderstanding/inconveniences this may have given you."

I had to kinda LOL at this message. I wonder if they ever considered that suspensions travels up and down on regular driving circumstances like cornering and hitting potholes/speed bumps, and even more so during off-road articulation?

Anyway, I gave up on the matter as I was tired of dealing with it and assumed I was in the clear now.
________________________________________

6 months later, after having put about 9000km or so on the truck, I have a road trip coming up, so I decide to do a nice check over on everything (fluids/breaks/lube/suspension). I jack up the front to check for any wheel play, and discover my right front tire does have some wiggle to it. When pulling the tire, you can hear a little clunk and see a bit of movement at the LBJ.

Looking a little closer, I can already see cracking starting in the boots:

What the heck! These are still almost new!!!

What do you guys think? Should I fight this or just deal with it myself?

I emailed the dealership to see if they offer any warranty on their work, but I am expecting a solid no, or expecting that once they inspect it, they will blame the failure on my zerk repair. Haven't heard anything yet, will update when I do. Thinking of escalating this to Toyota Canada.

Anyway, the adventure never ends. Thanks for reading, Cheers.

 

That sounds like some serious BS to me, that they had to wait for the tech to come back from vacation to fix it? Huh? I'd be pissed too. Good luck.

 

Quick question,how did they replace anything,that nut in the picture dont look like it has been removed in years.

 

Yah, I agree, looks pretty bad, but unfortunately thats what one Canadian winter will do to unprotected parts. The salt they place on the road is terrible for the underside of the car. I always have my vehicle undercoated (oil sprayed) before winter, but the shops don't usually focus on small parts like this, just the frame and undercarriage.

 

Damn,that much rust addition in 1 year.

 

kinda surprised a toyota dealer even actually sold and installed you those napa lower ball joints, my local toyota would only replace the full arm since that was what the manufacture offered...

that being said, i don't think i am letting my local guy put napa lbjs in my current arms tomorrow morning... thanks for sharing your post OP

 

Agreed...also, They should have explained what they're were doing before they put aftermarket parts on...explanation sounds fishy.

 

If you still have the paperwork, look at it and see what they charged you for a what, $30 part. If it was several hundred bucks then they charged you for the OEM LCA and padded their pocket.

Dealers should be using OEM parts unless they talk with the customer first and explain why they are not and get approval, after all, that is one of the reasons people do go to dealers and pay the extra coin.

In one minute I found a OEM Toyota LCA from a Toyota dealer for $270. Aftermarkets are around 1/3 of that.

 

fxntime, is that CAD or USD?

The $700 also included an alignment and labour. I do have the invoice filed away, I was charged $52.02 each for the balljoints which does sting a little for how quickly they seemed to have failed.

When I was quoted on the phone regarding the LBJs, I was told if the tech would try and replace the LBJs, but if he/she couldn't get them out they would have to replace the whole LCA assembly at about $700 a side. Never was it mentioned that the replacement LBJ was aftermarket or that the OEM part was a LCA/LBJ assembly only. I was only told this after I brought up the issue of having aftermarket parts in my truck.

Anyway, after speaking with the dealership about the balljoints failing, I was told there is warranty on the parts, but I would have to pay labour. Needless to say, I am not taking that route. Looking at the moog assembly (Lower control arm with LBJ) as a temporary fix, as I'd eventually like to upgrade to something like a camburg or total-chaos system with the uni-ball setup in the LCA. Still doing some research on that, and my driving needs don't really require this yet, but for the cost of OEM, it doesn't seem like a bad idea to throw a little more cash at it and upgrade.

 

That was USD. Still, $700 for one side should have netted you a Toyota LCA along with labor. How many hours did they take? Did they do both LBJ or just one side.

 

The tech was about to go on vacation... That explains the quality of his work. If this was his first time doing this job, and he had no mechanical aptitude, I could probably understand this. The fact that there was an audible cue that something wasn't right makes this unacceptable. I would be angry too. Did he not test drive it after the repair, or did he just not care?

Too bad dealerships can't distinguish "parts changers" from mechanics.

 

Agreed. Sounds like a lot of shady work done at that Toyota dealership