Need help from brake experts

[philsey]

I just had all new brake calipers, plus the rotors turned (on the vehicle), under warranty. 34,250 miles on 2010. Due to steering wheel shimmy, especially under braking.

Service ticket states 1.5 hrs labor for all the caliper/bleed/rotor work, which seems low, but under warranty.

Svc Dept recommended new pads at the same time, which makes sense to me. This was at my cost – again OK with that too.

To my question: I was also charged 1.5 hrs labor to install the pads. Wouldn’t the pads have to have been removed/reinstalled with the brake work anyway, regardless of condition? If that’s so, as I assume it is, seems the warranty should have covered that too.

Thoughts?

 

[Antman]

Yes- when they removed the calipers the pads came off with it. If they want to charge you labor to put new pads on the new calipers ask how much 45 seconds of labor is. Guess the lowest they can charge you is 1 hr, right?

Nice.

 

[philsey]

Thanks Jeff. That's exactly as I suspected. I'm usually on high alert when getting work done, and pride myself on being a savvy consumer.

I feel stoopid for not catching this at the time, but I'll be having a mano a mano with the SM Monday.

 

[Biggcrisp]

1.5 hr min minimum service chargé

The Indy dealers charge a minimum service charge $95. It's a scam that I almost got caught up in a few weeks ago concerning the yaris. Thankfully I had time to question what was going on before wasting my time & $

 

[Qjake]

:snacker:

 

[Ducmonsta]

Yeah, that's a bunch of BS. That's like balancing your tires under warranty and charging you to rotate them. Hopefully it was a misunderstanding and maybe even a computer glitch on their part.

 

[1000MPH]

Seems a little lame that new pads wouldn't be covered in the warranty work but whatever.
That being said, don't shops just charge book price for any work not covered under the warranty work? Even if it takes them 10 mins?

 

[1engineer]

Phil I would be happy to talk to them if you want me to. You have talked to me on the phone before so you know what I mean lol...they did not do the right thing and you know it.

 

[2013Trail]

"Svc Dept recommended new pads at the same time, which makes sense to me. This was at my cost – again OK with that too."

Here's the thing: If the rotors had to be turned because they were "out-of-round" (that's generally what causes the vibration when you put on the brakes), then the pads NEEDED to be replaced too. A good brake guy will always replace the pads and rotors (new or turned) as a set. You should never use old pads with new or turned rotors and you should never use new pads on old or un-turned rotors because the rotors and pads mate to each other.

You said he "recommended" you replace your pads then charged you for the labor to replace them. IMO you shouldn't be okay with any expense related to the R & R of your brakes because if they replaced the calipers and rotors on warranty, then by doing so they are affirming that there was a problem covered by warranty. So, EVERYTHING should be covered under the warranty. I mean, he's gonna charge you for pads but replaced very expensive calipers under warranty? Did he tell you which part or parts caused the damage that caused the vibrations?

Ask the SM or Tech why he "recommended" you replace the pads. He'll probably give you the same answer I just did. If he does, then I'd recommend you inquire, politely but earnestly, as to why the pads and the pad install wouldn't be included under warranty since everything else was. It's not a matter of normal wear and tear. It's a matter of defective parts and this was qualified by the warranty work performed.

Otherwise, I don't understand why anything would have been covered under warranty. To me what's been done here is akin to rebuilding an engine under warranty but charging you for the pistons and the labor to install the pistons.

Anyways, just my take, but really, I bet you could talk them into covering everything.

 

[philsey]

Thanks all .....

OK, I'm an idiot. First let me say that I'm out of the oem warranty by several months, and this work was done under my Toyota VSA.

I reread my service ticket more carefully, and see the labor item is in the same section as the pads AND "machining front/rear rotors". Sooooo, the labor is actually for the machining and not pad installation - which I do not consider unreasonable.

Plus, I reread my VSA docs. All the caliper-related components + fluids + labor are covered, and the “wear” items (pads + rotors) are specifically excluded.

So, now that I’m better informed, I don’t feel “had” at all. So far my dealer has been excellent, and I’m glad to still feel that way. And, I have a total brake job for $275 - could be worse.

BTW, the 72/75,000 VSA I (hesitantly) bought for $625, just paid me back double.

Knee-jerk Phil

 

[2013Trail]

"OK, I'm an idiot." Well, at least now you know what your VSA covers. So yeah, I'd say you done good. Still I'm wondering why all of your calipers were replaced? Or was it just one or two?

 

[2013Trail]

"BTW, the 72/75,000 VSA I (hesitantly) bought for $625, just paid me back double." BTW, the Toyota VSA is well over $1,000 now. Did you buy yours in 2010?

 

[philsey]

"BTW, the 72/75,000 VSA I (hesitantly) bought for $625, just paid me back double." BTW, the Toyota VSA is well over $1,000 now. Did you buy yours in 2010?

Yes. It was then, too, but with the help from the Forum, I got it online for cheap.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Just to play devil's advocate for a minute... Warranty work pays literally crap, its often less than what is possible to do by hand and is a loss for a technican (depending on the job, but in general its a loss.) The manufactuer will try to cut as much cost as they can on warranty work because its a loss for them and the first to get the hatchet are the techs working on your vehicle. On top of that, the warranty may be to replace the calipers, but that doesn't mean you get new pads always, most of time time warranty will say something like "pads are still good, put the back on." Toyota is getting super stingy about warranty now, they are nit picking so badly that we get nailed for stuff like "seat side panel is broken/loose" and we replace it; then the auditors come by almost daily now and look at it and say "nope not covered under warranty, broke because customer pressed on it, you guys pay for it."

So sometimes the writers try to recoup the loss for the technican by adding labor to other areas. Now whether or not its ethical/practical/right/wrong its up to you and the warranty company. I'm just saying from experience that warranty work often ends up being a loss unless its gravy stuff (i.e. window switch recalls, pcm swaps, small bits) that you can get down pat. We normally charge 2.0hrs to replace pads, clean & lube calipers, and turn rotors to precise spec per axle.