Drummer1
New member
I have an interesting story regarding the use of local mechanic vs. a Toyota dealership when having scheduled maintenance done on your T4R.
I own a 2006 Limited V8 4X2 that has been in great working condition until I took it to a local mechanic for some routine maintenance. I was past due on having the timing belt, water pump, and coolant replaced and decided to have the serpentine belt replaced as well since they would have the old one off. I did get quotes from the dealership and two other local mechanics and decided to go with the mechanic that gave the best quote, but he also had excellent customer reviews and was closest to my home. This shop changed out my timing belt, water pump, serpentine belt, and radiator since the radiator had a leak. When it was given back to me I noticed that the check engine light along with a few others were on when I was driving to work. I returned my vehicle back to the shop and they said it was pulling multiple codes and needed to figure out what sensors are bad. None of the sensors were bad, so the mechanic pulled everything apart that he replaced and still couldn't figure out what was causing the codes. He calls the Toyota dealership for opinions and help because he was stumped and the Toyota mechanic said it sounds like it could be the variable timing gear. The mechanic changed out the variable timing gear and still pulling codes :mmph:. During the changing of the variable timing gear the mechanic broke one of the cam shafts, so then I got a new cam shaft installed on the mechanic's dime. Next, the mechanic changed out the tension bar and timing belt again since he thought the issues were coming from one or both of these parts. After all these parts were changed out, the shop owner was at a loss and informed me that he was taking my T4R to the Toyota dealership to be diagnosed and repaired out of his pocket. When the Toyota mechanic ran the diagnostics on my 4Runner he found multiple codes being pulled and a lot of misfiring, so he pulled the engine apart and found that the timing belt that the local shop installed was shredded and exhaust cams were out of timing by two teeth :tsk:. Toyota took three days going through my 4Runner with a fine tooth comb and realigned the exhaust cams, replaced the idler pulley, tension bar, timing belt, and replaced the coolant using Toyota OEM parts and all codes are gone. Between the local shop and Toyota dealer my 4Runner was being worked on for over two weeks just for routine maintenance. The shop owner ended up paying Toyota over $1400.00 for parts and labor plus the cost of all the parts they put on my vehicle that Toyota replaced and the new cam shaft and variable timing gear. I ended up paying $1,100.00 in the beginning after the initial parts and labor.
I learned my lesson the hard way in using a local shop and not taking it to my Toyota dealership in the first place because I was trying to save money. I will never use that shop again and I will use the Toyota service department for all my future repairs and maintenance that I can't handle myself. :thumb3:
I own a 2006 Limited V8 4X2 that has been in great working condition until I took it to a local mechanic for some routine maintenance. I was past due on having the timing belt, water pump, and coolant replaced and decided to have the serpentine belt replaced as well since they would have the old one off. I did get quotes from the dealership and two other local mechanics and decided to go with the mechanic that gave the best quote, but he also had excellent customer reviews and was closest to my home. This shop changed out my timing belt, water pump, serpentine belt, and radiator since the radiator had a leak. When it was given back to me I noticed that the check engine light along with a few others were on when I was driving to work. I returned my vehicle back to the shop and they said it was pulling multiple codes and needed to figure out what sensors are bad. None of the sensors were bad, so the mechanic pulled everything apart that he replaced and still couldn't figure out what was causing the codes. He calls the Toyota dealership for opinions and help because he was stumped and the Toyota mechanic said it sounds like it could be the variable timing gear. The mechanic changed out the variable timing gear and still pulling codes :mmph:. During the changing of the variable timing gear the mechanic broke one of the cam shafts, so then I got a new cam shaft installed on the mechanic's dime. Next, the mechanic changed out the tension bar and timing belt again since he thought the issues were coming from one or both of these parts. After all these parts were changed out, the shop owner was at a loss and informed me that he was taking my T4R to the Toyota dealership to be diagnosed and repaired out of his pocket. When the Toyota mechanic ran the diagnostics on my 4Runner he found multiple codes being pulled and a lot of misfiring, so he pulled the engine apart and found that the timing belt that the local shop installed was shredded and exhaust cams were out of timing by two teeth :tsk:. Toyota took three days going through my 4Runner with a fine tooth comb and realigned the exhaust cams, replaced the idler pulley, tension bar, timing belt, and replaced the coolant using Toyota OEM parts and all codes are gone. Between the local shop and Toyota dealer my 4Runner was being worked on for over two weeks just for routine maintenance. The shop owner ended up paying Toyota over $1400.00 for parts and labor plus the cost of all the parts they put on my vehicle that Toyota replaced and the new cam shaft and variable timing gear. I ended up paying $1,100.00 in the beginning after the initial parts and labor.
I learned my lesson the hard way in using a local shop and not taking it to my Toyota dealership in the first place because I was trying to save money. I will never use that shop again and I will use the Toyota service department for all my future repairs and maintenance that I can't handle myself. :thumb3:
