Sheared CV while stuck in snow, covered by warranty?

Yeah it really is simple to do, I'm ashamed to admit that when I blew a boot on one a few months ago I took it in to a shop to have them replace it with the spare I had, because I hadn't done one myself and was supposed to do a trail run the next day. That shop took all day to do it and charged me more than I care to admit openly, lol.

As luck would have it, that same CV blew a few weeks later up in Big Bear and Alex was there, he helped me swap it out in the snow in under 45 minutes. Was incredibly easy to do, wish I had taken the time to look into it before I had that shop do it the first time around.

 

Relative load Delta between the two states is a lot less than no traction to sudden traction.

 

That is my biggest gripe with the situation. I am going to call Toyota today and ask for there official explanation/proof.

Yeah, the tires were spinning. I won't do that again now.

I've swapped CV's on smaller cars before. I just don't want to pay to tow the car 3 hours just so I can do the work on the street next to my house (no garage). I'm sure in the end I would save myself a couple dollars, but a 150 mile tow is not negligible imo. Does anybody know if a shattered CV could cause a car not to roll, or am I likely looking at trans damage as well? From what I hear the truck will go in reverse, but not forward.

 

Yes, broken and loose parts can cause binding

 

I would get on the phone with corporate ASAP, and make them physically show you these supposed marks. This sounds a little fishy that they can’t show or explain any better than this.

 

That sounds dumb. I have scratch marks from driving through 2 feet of snow, on the normal road... I live in Alaska.

However... I have seen Dana 60 shafts break just from the wrong combination of foot not off the brake soon enough, tire spinning, and going into reverse too soon.

 

Might be a stretch but if Toyota won't cover it you could talk to your insurance company. Maybe the comprehensive coverage would cover the repair.

 

Toyota says they have to go with what the dealer tells them. I am going to call the dealer later and ask for the proof of rough use this afternoon. If it is just because there are 'extrusion marks' (which by the way would actually be indicative of a faulty extrusion if being used correctly) then I don't find that acceptable.

 

if it starts to get really expensive I will probably have to go that route

 

You could call your insurance and ask a general question of what all does your current comprehensive coverage cover. You could also ask if they have different levels of comprehensive coverage. You don't need to tell them about the CV issue.

 

Just to update anybody who cares. The latest dealer CS rep said she "thinks it has to do with trying to pull somebody out, she is not sure if that is old or what". I asked for a written copy of their report. It sounds like nobody over there has any idea what happened and they don't want to put the claim in. I have never towed or winched with the truck. My biggest frustration is that nobody can explain to me what is going on. I feel like they have my truck hostage. I have no idea how much it is going to cost, how long it is going to take or anything. All I know is that right now it is on my dime and nobody can give me an explanation as to why.

 

Stick it out dude. It sounds like they’re just trying to scare you into paying out of pocket

 

I'm a little confused myself...if you engaged 4wd while the tires were slipping, that's almost certainly why the CV snapped...it says in the manual to never engage 4wd when spinning the tires.

I mean, I get it...if my truck were under warranty and I had that happen, I'd take it in just to see if there was a chance they'd do it. But if not, I wouldn't argue with them over it because in the end it was user error that caused the failure. Unless I'm missing something here

A shattered CV should not cause the vehicle to become immobile...as long as it's back in 2wd it should work fine. When mine blew, it would still move in 4wd but would clunk like crazy...in 2wd it operated normally. Sounds like there's something else going on

 

Sequence of events goes: sees snow, engages 4wd, drives in snow, gets stuck, tries to get out, cv breaks. I didn't engage 4wd while tires were spinning. Is what you are saying that once you are stuck you have to winch or get towed you cannot try to drive in 4wd? Also you can engage 4-hi while going up to 60 mph i though. I am super confused. Also I am not necessarily trying to argue, I am just trying to get an explanation. nobody has said "don't engage 4wd while in snow" they have just said "extrusion marks" "signs of rough use" and now "somebody tried to pull"

Also crap. If my trans is fried or something I am getting rid of this thing and buying a minivan lol.

Spoke with the other CS rep and she is saying the master tech's initial observation was that there had to have been some sort of impact, which I don't know how that possibly could have happened in the snow. She also said they haven't gotten the tuck in off the ground yet to really have a final analysis since they can't move it (apparently this shop doesn't have dollies). I asked if the CV was bent, she said she didn't know. I have seen the fracture surface which was definitely cause from shear loading which does not jive with there current impact explanation. She said if they are going to make the waranty claim they will have to do the repairs at Toyota rates with Toyota parts and send the broken parts back for analysis which could ultimately get rejected. They still have not told me the cost to fix it with either method, but I stressed that I need to see the proof of the master techs conclusion and they said they will update me.

 

Just an aside to clear up the 4x4 engagement thing...

You can engage 4x4 while all four tires are rotating at the same speed up to ~60mph.
You should not engage 4x4 while the rear tires are spinning and the front tires are not.

With respect to your situation the scenario could have been as follows. Driving in 2wd, get stuck in snow, on the gas, rear tires spinning but not going anywhere thus front tires stopped, engage 4x4 while still on the gas, CV goes boom. This can and will happen in said scenario but according to your description above this is not what happened to you.

 

I wonder if a rock or large ice chunk got wedged under the truck and caused damage? If they’re saying impact, I wonder if something was under the snow that you couldn’t see.

 

I'm mostly confused as to why they can't move your truck now...a busted CV axle doesn't prevent the truck from being able to move (like a seized differential would, for instance). You should still be able to drive it normally in 2wd

 

I would take the truck to the dealer if it were me. Who cares if you were wheeling or on the road, shouldnt make a difference. Its not a "TRD ONROAD"

 

I personally would get an attorney, sounds like they are trying to get out of fixing under warranty. From your description of events you did nothing wrong. If the tires were spinning and he pressed the brakes (normally...ie not mashing them) then the cv shouldn't have broken, its not the greatest thing to do but still shouldn't have sheared it.

 

I would suggest patience, keep your cool and work through the situation. From what you said it doesn’t seem they have made a final, final determination. Be persistent but patient. Treat the dealership like you are on the same team, until you are clearly not, then burn the house down.