$1,200.00 break fix on an o4 with less than 50,000 miles?

[Kmvreter]

As a dealer tech, I know first-hand about the difference from what the technician states on the back side of the HARD COPY IN HIS/HER PEN, to what the SERVICE WRITER says to the customer. Some of us have been TOLD to recommend replacing parts in left and right equals. Even then, the SERVICE WRITER (sometimes referred to as assistant service manager-B.S.!) WILL ADD HIS/HER OWN NOTES AND RECOMMEND WHAT HE/SHE WANTS TO SELL!!
REQUEST AN ESTIMATE FOR REPLACEMENT OF ONLY THE FAILED PIECES, AND THOSE PIECES RETURNED.
In NORCAL, we dont experience calipers locking up until the car has a crapload of miles from the coastal areas! Never happens ON 03 UP gen 4rnrs! (for this area) mine included with 122k! To be fair, I have to say that every geographical area has it's own unique problems based on demographical stats! i.e. sand or salt in caliper boots.

Not to hijack the thread but I know a Toy tech who is expected and rewarded for increasing his "billed" hours. They work to a job cost book and routinely do 2 to 2.5 times the amount of work in an 8 hour day. For a simple example, if the book allows 2 hours for the job and he does it in 1 hour he then moves on with other jobs. At the end of the day, the service dept. got paid 16 hours for an actual 8 hours work by the tech. I know I simplied this (some jobs may take more time due to troubleshooting) but in any other "profession" this is fraud to me. That's why they call them stealerships! A good (independent) shop will be more honest and pass a break on the time to the owner in the name of customer service. Always get a firm estimate on major repairs and shop around.

Back to the brakes...
I posted a thread here where mine siezed. I was hoping to rebuild rather than replace the caliper but I couldn't budge the piston for the life of me (read: air and big hammer, on the bench.) It was just easier to replace. Like I said, I'm disappointed with Toy on this design. I never did get an answer to an upgrade in the design that EH007 mentioned. What changed?

 

[jsgreen]

Reading about frozen brake pistons made me remember that I have an extended warranty from Toyota. I read the fine print and it turns out that calipers are covered (if you have a warranty, maybe yours are covered too).

 

[charlier180]

Interesting thread. Have to check my Toyota Extended warranty to see if calipers are covered.

The $1200 for brake work in this thread reminds me of when I was shopping for an SUV.
One of the other vehicles I was looking at was DOUBLE the cost for maintenance when compared to the 4Runner.
One item that stood out at the time was the cost to replace pads and rotors.
On the other SUV, JUST the ROTORS, PADS and LABOR to replace them for all for wheels was over $1,000 at most dealerships.
I am not talking about calipers or anything thing else.

IIRC one of the maintenance intervals for that SUV (90K I think) was also quite expensive.
It involved changing the timing belt. In many cases the water pump was also changed at that time to "save" money.
I remember reading in another forum where owners of that SUV would almost boast they had spent $2,000 to 2,500 on that maintenance interval.
I guess that is the price they pay for the "Luxury" SUV they own.

If the frozen calipers on the 4Runner are indeed a design flaw, that is VERY disappointing.
I live in the northeast with a LOT of chemicals used on the roads in the winter.
My 4Runner is my go-to vehicle for winter weather driving and sits outside year round (has not been in my garage since I bought it).
So far, my calipers are okay.

Time to go read my extended warranty....

 

[EH007]

I never did get an answer to an upgrade in the design that EH007 mentioned. What changed?

I tried to find my receipt from when I purchased the replacement calipers, but no luck...

Anyway, the only visible difference was in the way the piston seals were seated in the caliper. The originals sat in a groove and the new design has them fastened around a lip instead. I'm only going by memory, so I'm not 100% sure. The parts guy told me it was an updated part/design. Makes sense to me because there seem to be so many people experiencing frozen pistons.

 

[EH007]

Not to hijack the thread but I know a Toy tech who is expected and rewarded for increasing his "billed" hours. They work to a job cost book and routinely do 2 to 2.5 times the amount of work in an 8 hour day. For a simple example, if the book allows 2 hours for the job and he does it in 1 hour he then moves on with other jobs. At the end of the day, the service dept. got paid 16 hours for an actual 8 hours work by the tech. I know I simplied this (some jobs may take more time due to troubleshooting) but in any other "profession" this is fraud to me. That's why they call them stealerships! A good (independent) shop will be more honest and pass a break on the time to the owner in the name of customer service. Always get a firm estimate on major repairs and shop around.

All dealership mechanics work that way. Or at least 95% of them. It's called flatrate work or piece work. Every job imaginable has a "book" time associated with it. Even something as quick and simple as an oil change. If a job has a book time of one hour and the mechanic performs the job in 30 minutes, then he is effectively doubling his hourly pay rate. A really good dealership mechanic will be able to complete most jobs in just about half the time in the book, which means he will often get paid 16 hours pay for his 8-hour work day. Even an average mechanic can easily beat the book time on most jobs and will often earn 10-12 hours of pay per 8-hour work day.

Of course there is a system of checks and balance to ensure that the mechanics don't haphazardly put your vehicle back together after a repair. If a customer returns to the dealership because something isn't right with the repair job, then they call it a "come back". Mechanics dread the come backs because they are not allowed to bill any hours while fixing their mistake. In other words, they don't get paid a dime to fix a mistake they shouldn't have made in the first place.

 

[05Rrunner]

12.6" and 13.3" use different brake pads. You can call the dealership parts Dept with your Vin and they can tell you what size rotors are on it.B]

The dealer told me Only 1 brake pad for 2003-2008 4runner
but 2 differant rotors for the 16" or 17" wheels.

The front pads for ALL 03 and up 4runner is part#04465-35290

 

[Colemanfu]

All said and done - $901.79! Sucks!

Not a Toyota fan right now but it's been a drama free auto so I'll fall back in love.

I got the old calipers back. Can't tell? the pistons have some rust but they just look old. Very heavy.

 

[peter78]

All said and done - $901.79! Sucks!

Not a Toyota fan right now but it's been a drama free auto so I'll fall back in love.

I got the old calipers back. Can't tell? the pistons have some rust but they just look old. Very heavy.

Man that is a lot better than $12,000 and better than $1,200. It still sucks big time though. Sorry that happened to you, but I am glad your back in love. :girl: