I brought my '97 SR5 into the Toyota dealership yesterday for service because my parents have been bugging me that it's been needing the major overall inspection. I would have put it off forever, except that it was having problems starting up and they said they would pay. Here's the story:

My 4runner was having issues with shifting. I could normally shift into gears fine, but it was slowly having troubles, as in I would shift into the next gear and the car would struggle to maintain/increase speed. I thought there was something wrong with the clutch and my boyfriend and his friends confirmed my suspicions (it's been the same clutch for almost 15 years so I wasn't that bothered that it happened). I ordered new parts (clutch, flywheel) and he and a friend took a weekend to replace the clutch. It was perfect on the first test drive, then as I'm finally going home for the night, I put my foot on the clutch, turned the key, heard a loud whirring noise, and the car didn't start. I tried again thinking I wasn't used to the new clutch, and again it made the loud whirring noise and didn't start. I had to get home, so as soon as we could get it started, I drove it home. After my boyfriend also had problems starting it a couple of days later, we knew it wasn't just me being incompetent and guessed it was a problem with the starter.

That brought me to Toyota. They claim that the (new) flywheel is missing teeth and that's why the starter isn't engaging. I didn't tell them that the clutch (any flywheel) had just been replaced, but it's bothering me that they're saying I need a new flywheel (which would cost $500+ itself from them) and estimating it will cost thousands when I just got a new one put in. What's more annoying is that when I called today to ask about it, the guy said that they didn't actually "open anything up" to look at the flywheel but "in their experience", that's what these symptoms lead them to find.

I know better than to have them fix that if I can cut the cost at least in half having a friend do it, so I'm taking it home today and hopefully having a friend look at it tomorrow.

Is it possible that they're right in saying that the (brand new) flywheel is missing teeth? I held that thing before it was put in and it was a strong, sturdy hunk of metal.

Could it just be the starter or could it be something else?

Also, are they right in telling me that my car is no longer worth putting money into? I don't feel like it's on its last legs, but they keep saying it'll die within a few months anyway and it's not safe to drive (I also don't totally trust them due to previous visits and don't want to not do what they advise if they are right just because I don't trust them).

starter or flyweel having damaged or missing teeth
starter plunger not operating properly.
starter being loose.


If you put an aftermarket flywheel on it, don't be at all surprised if there's something wrong with it.