It's been a while since I've posted. I've been low on funds to do fun stuff in the 4Runner, and it's been running perfectly.

Last week, I was out of town. When I returned, I had to have the 4Runner jumped, which was a bit of a surprise. Granted, it was cold, but I've never had an issue. I drove about 1/2 mile. The turn signals didn't work. That was odd. Then, the dash lit up like a Christmas tree, the audio screen blacked out and I limped back home to my driveway where the thing died.

I hoped it was a dead 3 year old OEM battery, but assumed it was something else.

I put the battery on a charger, and six hours later it was charged. The 4Runner fired right up, all systems GO except for the turn signals. (Hazard lights work, and the 15A fuse is not blown) - I also visually inspected the 140A Alternator fuse - looks solid.

Anyhow, the battery, fully charged, was at 12.7v right off the charger. When running, the battery dropped immediately to 12.4. I let it idle for a few minutes and it was down to 12.2. All accessories were turned off. So, pretty clearly there's no charge.

I looked at the Alternator. It looks like a pretty serious PITA to R&R the thing, so, thinking I was under warranty @ 32K miles, I called the dealer.

Dealer reminded me that I bought the vehicle on 10/3 of 2016, so Warranty is done and I can have it towed in and diagnosed for $140.00. I asked about the fact that it was sitting for 10 days prior. Tough nuts.

This certainly does not make me happy. I've made no mods in over 10,000 miles. The last thing done was dealer changed out a rodent eaten wiring harness a year and 8,000 miles ago. Not warranted (not expected)

I guess I'm *****ing and have a few questions:

1) Turn Signals? WTF there. Maybe something killed the relay?
2) Is swapping the alternator as bad as it looks from the engine compartment?
3) Is there a process to formally ***** about the warranty?
4) I was supremely unimpressed with the "Service Advisor" I got on the phone. He did not seem to understand or care. He just kept repeating that I'd have to pay $140 to have it diagnosed. He told me that at least 3 times.

It's scheduled at the dealer on Thursday - Kendall in Bend. I don't need this. As noted, finances have not been marvelous. I'd actually discussed an extended warranty, but money was tight and frankly, the thing was working so well, I didn't bother.

I am expecting to be reamed.

To hell with that. Find a good indy shop now that you're out of Warranty.

You are scaring me, my warranty ran out 11 days ago. But mine was a 7/75K and I never needed any service or repairs.

$140 just to diagnose? No wonder many refer to dealers as stealers.

Find an independent shop with a low or no diagnostic fee as suggested by the prior post.

Get it fixed and let us know how it worked out.

I'm in Salem and have been to Christmas Valley, Crack in the Ground and Ft. Rock this summer. Let me know what you think of Steens Mountain or other scenic mild off road areas in Central Oregon. Our last trip was in our new Sienna, any future trips there will be in the 4Runner.

I didn't dive into the details of this thread but if its truly 4 days after the warranty ended I would ask the dealer to work with Toyota for some goodwill, maybe even reach out to Toyota directly (be polite about it)

That said if you don't feel like fighting that battle and or lose it the replacement is not hard from a # of tools/skill standpoint but it is a real PITA due to location and how tight of a space it is IIRC there are a couple bolts you can not see and it becomes a work by feel situation - I swapped mine for a 270 amp (of course it was one of the few OEM parts I didn't keep other wise I would mail it to you).

Post up in the for sale section and see if anyone would be willing to ship them yours, its heavy but in a flat rate USPS Medium box it would be reasonable to ship

A new OEM alternator is about $800. With one hour of diagnostics plus another of installation at $140 will put you right over $1k for the job. If you decide to go to the dealer, don't forget to ask for the free lubing.

Free lubing? You're ridiculous.





You know thats at least an hour labor charge.


OP, I would take it in to another dealership and then decline once they try to charge you a diagnostic fee. Then I would fire off a certified letter to Toyota directly explaining the parameters. Seeing some sort of "goodwill", like them covering the labor, would not be out of the ordinary.

It's usually free around here before they screw you. And if you ask nicely, they can even whisper "Baby, I love" to your ears while they are at it.

Now you know what this shops hourly rate is -> $140.00

Just about any shop will charge a 1 hr. diagnosis fee - especially a dealership. Mom-n-Pop place might not sting you as bad, but no one is going to analyze any vehicle issue for free.

Toyota Customer Service -> 800-331-4331

Call them up in the morning and see what they might do for you.

If you decide to DIY, stay away from mass marketer electric/electronic devices. Pull yours and have it rebuilt or try to source a reman Denso unit(assuming electrical).

I had the alternator go out in my Nissan PU a couple of years ago. I looked, but could not find a rebuild kit for it. I ended up with a re-man Denso and it has been fine. It was in a bad spot, and I had to remove the right front wheel and fender liner to get limited access. Took me a lot longer than an hour. The original did last 22 years though before a bearing went out.

It is unfortunate that it failed 4 days after the warranty ran out but Toyota should not be expected to pay for it now. Toyota said it would cover it up to the time stated on the contract and they did that.

Indeed. Mostly just *****ing. And *****ing about the tight access. I can change an alternator, but this one looks like I need stretch-armstrong arms.



And frankly the service advisor's attitude really surprised me. He was really unpleasant. A little less attitude would have been nice.This has zero to do with the warranty or the cost. The guy was just a prick.

Out of warranty, I'll be moving on.

I LOVE Steens Mountain. But its definitely mild off-roading unless you go far afield.

Last I checked, Autozone will test the alternator for free.

T4R alternator from Autozone, (or many other places) New $250, rebuilt $225
T4R alternator from eBay lots of options less than or around $200.

You can change it yourself in a few hours.

And that's about as long as an AZ Alternator or Starter will last.

It's unusual for these to have issues. FWIW: OEM 2706031190 - Used 2013 Toyota 4 Runner Trail V6Alternator - Benzeen Auto Parts $114 for a replacement from a 2013 with 78k miles and shipping is free. No affiliation other than having bought a few differentials from them with good experience.


Good luck.