Alternator failure

[zig]

How many miles are you guys getting out of your alternators? I've got close to 200K and I'm seriously debating on replacing it. It's a daily driver for my wife and she travels a lot, and I don't need it to break down between home and somewhere a couple of hours away. I just always grew up believing that they only lasted around 100K, in which I would be extremely lucky.

On a side note, Toyota wants $400 for a new one. An aftermarket is closer to $150 with a lifetime warrantee. What's up with that?

 

[drmorbius]

How many miles are you guys getting out of your alternators? I've got close to 200K and I'm seriously debating on replacing it. It's a daily driver for my wife and she travels a lot, and I don't need it to break down between home and somewhere a couple of hours away. I just always grew up believing that they only lasted around 100K, in which I would be extremely lucky.

On a side note, Toyota wants $400 for a new one. An aftermarket is closer to $150 with a lifetime warrantee. What's up with that?

The only things that really wear out are the brushes and the shaft bearings.

 

[TitaniumToy]

On a side note, Toyota wants $400 for a new one. An aftermarket is closer to $150 with a lifetime warranty. What's up with that?

Which would you rather have. An alternator with a reputation for lasting 200k+ mile, or one that may die on you at 50K but you get unlimited free replacements. I would pay for the highest quality one. On a similar note I bought a Bosh battery and it had to be replaced 2 summers in a row. Despite the good warranty it has been a pain and I will most likely proactively replace it with something of higher quality before it leaves me stranded again. I wish I could get the OEM Panasonic.

 

[jstutz101]

You have been lucky! Mine went out at 80,000 miles. The bad part is there really isnt any warning. It just quits. The stealership claims water got into it and Toyota since installs a "guard" to keep that from happening. Looking back on it I wish I would have replaced it myself but it went out shortly after buying it (used) and I wasnt sure that was the problem. BTW - if your battery light comes on while the engine is running, your alternator is probably bad!

 

[BRK]

I had an '86 Toyota pickup; the alternator needed new brushes at 186,000 miles. When I took it apart to put them in, the rest of the alternator looked clean and brand new, bearings were absolutely free and no wear whatsoever. It was a Nippondenso alternator; if that's what Toyota is still using, I wouldn't worry about failures for a long time. When I sold the vehicle at 256,000 miles, alternator was still going strong with no attention other than the brushes at 186,000.