CV Boots Again!?

[technoholic]

Bought my '04 LTD with 43K miles on it and like it a LOT except for one nagging issue. The CV boots were leaking and were replaced under the factory warranty. 6K miles later, at 49K miles, the boots were leaking again and one of the large clamps was just plain gone. Repairs were made again under the warranty.

Today at 66K (17K miles this time) miles I checked the boots and, you guessed it, another leak! As before, there is no damage to the boot itself. Only difference is that now the warranty is long gone. I am really having a hard time believing that Toyota cannot design a more durable boot seal. The vehicle is not driven off road, most miles are highway. Is this typical? Is my dealer service dept. doing something wrong? The vehicle is not driven off road, most miles are highway.

How long do your CV boots last?

 

[technoholic]

Well, I took the vehicle back to the dealer and after some discussion, they agreed to warranty their work and replace the boots for a third time. The Service Manager acted like a total jerk but thanks to the efforts of the SA we reached an agreement. Hopefully the job will get done correctly this time. Seems that repair should last the life of the vehicle IMO.

An interesting twist to this story came when the SA asked me if I had purchased the 100K extended warranty with the vehicle since it has one but was coming up under a different name. Since I am the second owner I said no but aren't those warranties transferable? He didn't know the answer but committed to check with Finance for transfer procedures. The story hasn't ended yet. Do I have reason to be optimistic?