As I'm sure some of you are aware, I recently replaced the radiator in my '98 with a TYC 1998 from RockAuto.com After the replacement, I can't shut the hood. The radiator is too tall. I contacted RockAuto this morning to try to remedy the sitaution, this my email to them and their response:

Tom Mellett

9:25 AM (1 hour ago)

to Service

Good morning. I finally got around to installing all of these parts last weekend and ran into a problem. The radiator that was shipped to me is too tall for my 4Runner. My hood won't shut, it hits the top of the radiator before the hood latches. I've owned 7 of these 96-02 4Runners over the last 3 years, I buy and sell them a lot. I've done radiators in 3 other ones, the radiator I was shipped is definitely too tall for the 4Runner. I took pictures of my buddies 4Runner to compare them, this radiator I was shipped is taller.

I need to hear back from you on how we can remedy this. I did install it and it is full of coolant at this point. Please get back to me and let me know how we can handle this.

Thanks,

Tom Mellett
(267) 688-XXXXX

RockAuto Customer Service

9:55 AM (44 minutes ago)

to me
Good afternoon,

Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, this order is past our 30 day return policy, and the item was installed which unfortunately makes it non-returnable. Please see our return policy:

RockAuto Policies

In the future, please verify that the parts you received will fit your vehicle within the 30 day return policy and before you install them in your vehicle.

Thank you,

Erin K.
RockAuto Customer Service

phone: (608) 661-1376
fax: (608) 819-6350
RockAuto FAQ
RockAuto Parts Catalog

Not satisfied with their answer, I called and spoke to Mark. He was less than friendly and re-iterated what Erin said. According to them, since I installed it, they won't return it. I asked how I would know it didn't fit if I didn't install it? He replied that I could've laid it in there without bolting it in and checked for the hood clearance. Great theory...

Although their prices are good, their customer service should you have an issue SUCKS!!!! I've ordered from them a few times over the past year or so, NEVER AGAIN. And I'd advise all of you to do the same.

i had a bad experience with them as well and do not buy from them anymore.

Threads arise too often about how poor Rock Auto's shipping, packaging, and customer service is. If I were you, I would go with "Go-Parts.com" and call it a day.

Replacement Radiators for Toyota 4Runner @ Go-Parts »

They have 2: One is a Koyo for $138.95, and the other is a knockoff, for $108.95. I'm sorry to hear about your poor customer service interaction. I would get the Koyo while its in stock. They have raised the price of that radiator a few times within the last year. It started @ ~$119.99 and has worked its way to $140.

Not to be a deddy downer, but you need to know what you are getting into with rockauto. Are they good for some things, yes. Customer service is not one of them I will give you that but I do not agree that they need to replace it after you did install it without verifying fitment especially if you have replaced multiple of these one various vehicles.

Sorry I know this is not the answer you are looking for.

When replaced my radiator I used 1-800 Radiators, quick delivery and great customer service.

Well, it falls under the fact that Pitbull HAS done plenty of these, and he KNOWS what he is doing. And I can almost gaurantee that Pitbull bought a radiator for a 1998 Toyota 4Runner, and he got a radiator that does not fit a 1998 Toyota 4Runner. It's false advertising.

He shouldn't have to test fit the radiator if the radiator's intended install is on the given vehicle. You just trust the source and attempt the install. Rock Auto should stand by their parts, and fix the situation. Pitbull was given a part that obviously isn't OEM standards, as the sizing is incorrect, and is intended for his vehicle.

The only matter that sucks is that Pitbull left his parts lying around for a month, and the warranty fell through. It sucks, and I would argue it, but success is questionable.

I guess they may have sent you the wrong one and in that case should be liable but then again you did not check the fit and waited a month...

Kind of a bummer for you but a relatively cheap lesson. I bet you'll never install parts without checking fit again! We all learn this lesson once or twice or multiple times (in my case :P ) throughout our "careers".

This is prescisely why I try to buy local even if it costs a few bucks more. I bought the Spectra radiator from Autozone and it has a lifetime warranty.

I recall reading reviews of the TYC on Amazon and many people complained the mounting holes were off but were able to get it to fit. You may have a shot at getting it in...

Good luck,

W

Not arguing with you but how am I suppose to verify fitment if I didn't install it? It's literally about 1/4 too tall, just enough for the hood not to close. Their advice was I "should've just dropped it in there without bolting it up and closed the hood to see if it fits." Yeah, because I'm sure it would've been in the exact same spot after bolting it in...

That's my next move. I'm going to have to try to modify the fit. I can't see throwing away an otherwise brand new part. I'll just have to drill through the mounts and see what I can come up with. Pisses me off though.

Oh man...just a 1/4" off...that is maddening...

Being a bit obsessive I investigated throughly about radiators and found this to be a common issue with TYC's.... I also found threads that said people ordered KOYO's and got TYC's (from Ebay)! So despite the overwhelming vote for KOYO I went local as I said.

I bet you can solve it! Keep us posted if it was possible.

Good luck

W

Careful trying to lower the radiator too much. Make sure it will clear the skid plate or any other parts under the radiator. Also be sure it doesn't hang too low.

Any time I need to return something is never admit to installing it or doing anything other than inspecting it.

I do agree that rock auto should take it back. But, you're buying something online and you should inspect it and compare it to your old part before installing it. I would suggest to chalk it up as a learning experience and move on. Whether you buy from rock auto or not is up to you but I think you share equal fault here.

For the record, although I'm obviously PO'd, the point of this thread is to help others avoid making the same mistake I did and to bring to light RockAuto.com's terrible customer service.

At this point I have no choice but to deal with the radiator they sent me. But hopefully others will look elsewhere when they need one.

I'm with pitbull, telling someone they should have mocked up the radiator prior to installation is a bit ridiculous. If you ordered a 98 replacement radiator and got one that was too tall then you have every right to ask for an exchange.

I cant believe they wouldn't do anything after you called and told them your problem.

Makes their commercial seem like a joke. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeiyZWGgoQ4

If one buys parts online from Rock Auto, Amazon, etc. and is not a small business such as some of our sponsors, install the parts ASAP.

I had bought a water pump from Amazon, brought it out of the box two months later and immediately realized it was the right box, wrong pump. But after being on the phone with customer service for 3hrs it seemed, I was only able to get half of my $40 back. Now all online bought parts are inspected immediately.

I've actually never bought from RockAuto. Every time I've found a part I want on RockAuto, I've gone and plugged the part # into Amazon.com and found it cheaper, with bonus free shipping and a completely hassle-free return policy.

So screw RockAuto. Now I don't even feel guilty about using their parts finder but ordering elsewhere.

Yeah, they do, actually. They shipped the wrong part. This isn't a case where PBR installed the right part and then decided he didn't want it, it's the wrong part. It isn't his fault they shipped a bad part, and it isn't his fault that they can't restock it now that he's installed it.

The smart thing for them to do would be to eat the part and make it right with him, knowing that they've earned a repeat customer and will get back the cost of the unusable part in future orders from him. Now they've lost any chance of any future business from him and me too - I'll never knowingly give my business to a company with that kind of shitty customer service ethic.

Thiiiisss suuuuuuucccckks!

I planned on ordering a bunch of stuff from them... I can't go without my truck for more than a weekend, it's a DD.

I was going to start ordering parts as cashflow allows and save it all up for a crazy hard weekend... I guess not anymore... I could easily have parts sitting there for a month.