Rear Engine Seal Leak at 23k! May Not Be Warrantied?!

[SilvFx]

And the top side of those RCI skids is probably as clean as the underside. How exactly would that mud/dirt/debris get up above the skids and into the bell housing? If it were submerged the top side of the skids would likely be filled with mud as well. From what I see that is a pretty clean underside.

Unless I could see a pic of the mud/debris in the bellhousing im not buying it. OP should have insisted upon seeing a picture of it or seeing it in person.

 

[1996_Valencia_Owen]

The car looks prettt clean, so I'd say the dealer labelled you a sucker.

The fact you still don't have your bachelors and not only ate a big unneeded bill but are racking up mods with no sign of slowing down is a concern.

Your car, free country. But it sets a bad precedent for yourself and other in-warranty owners. Ie, what do you think they will say when your rear diff starts leaking next?

Gotta fight this dude.

 

[GrimReap3r]

I understand the viewpoint of not wanting to fight the good fight with attorneys vs dealership/corporate toyota but at the very least you should give all your paperwork/pics to Jalopnik and see what happens. Best case is a viral story from Jalopnik and Toyota Corporate reimbursing you, worst case is your time spent putting together the email to Jalopnik is wasted time.

 

[4runner_RN]

The car looks prettt clean, so I'd say the dealer labelled you a sucker.

The fact you still don't have your bachelors and not only ate a big unneeded bill but are racking up mods with no sign of slowing down is a concern.

Your car, free country. But it sets a bad precedent for yourself and other in-warranty owners. Ie, what do you think they will say when your rear diff starts leaking next?

Gotta fight this dude.

Getting my bachelor's only adds to my title. My paycheck stays the same. I went the associates route to not rack up any debt or student loans. Every paycheck goes into savings, investments, and the leftovers I put into mods. My rig took years to build, and I started saving even before I bought the 4R.

The RCI skids were ordered 2.5 months ago. They arrived while my car was in the shop.

Back to the point. This was the first time being in this situation and I wanted other owners to be aware cause this situation sucks straight up. I didn't have any help going into it and he process played out quicker than expected.

With the input from here, I am more aware now.

I never heard of Jalopnik till now.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I would’ve warrantied it :bluejump: the service advisor only know as much as the technician tells him.

Problem is that for leaks these days you need to have either an SM sign off or pictures to attach to the RO when submitting the claim. They're cracking down on it.

I still highly doubt that sand/mud was the culprit.

 

[1996_Valencia_Owen]

Getting my bachelor's only adds to my title. My paycheck stays the same. I went the associates route to not rack up any debt or student loans. Every paycheck goes into savings, investments, and the leftovers I put into mods. My rig took years to build, and I started saving even before I bought the 4R.

The RCI skids were ordered 2.5 months ago. They arrived while my car was in the shop.

Back to the point. This was the first time being in this situation and I wanted other owners to be aware cause this situation sucks straight up. I didn't have any help going into it and he process played out quicker than expected.

With the input from here, I am more aware now.

I never heard of Jalopnik till now.

Well, we got your back. I'm in LA so if you need me to put the pressure on anyone lemme know

 

[EddieV4runnin]

Problem is that for leaks these days you need to have either an SM sign off or pictures to attach to the RO when submitting the claim. They're cracking down on it.

I still highly doubt that sand/mud was the culprit.

I know what you mean. I had to take a selfie with the valve train behind me to prove to PA that I did remove the valve cover to inspect, and another one with an oil pan in my hand :ybrick: to prove to them I removed it.

If sand/mud was the culprit. Then why didn’t it also start leaking from the transmission oil pump seal?? :tape: they’re practically neighbors.

I just think that’s a bad way to do business, I’m sure the SM would understand. Nobody trusts the auto repair industry as you can see by some of the responses to this thread. Last thing you wanna do is piss off a customer and have them start going to Jiffy Lube, Meineke, etc and lose them for good.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I know what you mean. I had to take a selfie with the valve train behind me to prove to PA that I did remove the valve cover to inspect, and another one with an oil pan in my hand :ybrick: to prove to them I removed it.

If sand/mud was the culprit. Then why didn’t it also start leaking from the transmission oil pump seal?? :tape: they’re practically neighbors.

I just think that’s a bad way to do business, I’m sure the SM would understand. Nobody trusts the auto repair industry as you can see by some of the responses to this thread. Last thing you wanna do is piss off a customer and have them start going to Jiffy Lube, Meineke, etc and lose them for good.

The best part is when they make you take a picture but time stamp it.. it has to have a time stamp in it like an old polaroid. So you're trying to use someone's phone to show the date & time while taking a picture of the warranty crap... all because I guess the meta-data of the picture doesn't count?

The BS you have to go through to dot your i's and t's is getting ridiculous.

 

[4runner_RN]

The purpose of this thread was to make other's aware in case they run into this issue or similar and to be better prepared.


Our rigs aren't bulletproof, but I'd take the 4R over anything. My rig wouldn't be where it is without this forum. I've learned alot and wanted to contribute.

 

[Pathfinder!]

This is the whole story: mud and debris was found in the bell housing = voided warranty. That's exactly what it said on the invoice. These are the only pics I'm disclosing. Someone also wanted to see the undercarriage, but I think my 10 year nissan truck looks worse underneath.

When was the last time I went through mud? About 1.5 months ago going to our cabin in mammoth. I needed 4WD and atrac to keep the family safe cause the snow was thick and there were parts with dirty snow and mud that I had to cross. I never got stuck or even had to use my traction boards.
I went through the process and opened up a case with toyota corporate after not being happy with the dealership's outcome.

I'm not going to pay the full retail price. The dealership was able to give me a discount and on top of that, toyota corporate is also giving me a significant additional discount, so I had to make the best outcome out of the worst situation.

What you guys don't get is that I'm on-call 24/7 as an RN on top of finishing up my bachelors degree so I rely heavily on my car. I'm also due for an annual unnanounced audit by the Dept of Health for work, so there's things I need to prepare.

Bottom line: My patient's health and safety will always take priority over this car situation. If I had the time to fight this more, I would, but now isn't the right time.

I posted this to keep to make sure the other owners aware of this problem. Maybe if this happens to someone else they can be more prepared how to handle the situation

Either way, the mods are still coming. I installed the RCI skid package that's been taking up space in my living room straight from the dealership. Took about 30 min to do. Super quick right before work

This is pretty ****ed up.

 

[Pathfinder!]

The fact you still don't have your bachelors and not only ate a big unneeded bill but are racking up mods with no sign of slowing down is a concern.

You tell 'em momma.

 

[chmura]

I think this is a 3rd case I read about here that a 5th gen rear main seal was leaking.

What dealership was this in so cal?

I ‘submerged’ my 4th gen 4runner plenty of times. This will not cause a leak. The moment you crack and say go with the repair without warranty the service writer at Toyota pretty much has you and will no longer fight for you.

Here is me crossing a deep river 3 years ago. My 4runner is fine.

https://youtu.be/Z9xwkuGuGe4

 

[wfo9]

The purpose of this thread was to make other's aware in case they run into this issue or similar and to be better prepared.


Our rigs aren't bulletproof, but I'd take the 4R over anything. My rig wouldn't be where it is without this forum. I've learned alot and wanted to contribute.

Good point. You made a poor financial decision, but maybe the best choice for you at the time given the circumstances...

Hopefully this thread enlightened some others. Don't authorize any work that should be covered under warranty..

 

[pheelmeh]

Reading through the last 2 pages..my biggest question is why do you care what the OP does with his money or his financial situation? It's his money, his choice and every case is different - he came here for advice on his situation with a dealership, not for financial advice. I've had some of the best cars I've owned during my college years and never had a issue financially. For all we know his paycheck could be $999,999 annually - would that change your perspective? Because even if I made that kind of money and i bought a car with warranty, i want the job warrantied. PERIOD

OP best of luck i'm sure you'll get it covered with the right advisor involved.

 

[alphabeast]

I must be missing something but fundamentally, how could mud/dirt cause a seal like this to fail? And on a 4Runner of all things? The more I read through this post the angrier i get. I'm pretty sure I would not be allowed within 100 feet of that dealership after that tough luck talk.

 

[WesPDX]

Reading through the last 2 pages..my biggest question is why do you care what the OP does with his money or his financial situation? It's his money, his choice and every case is different - he came here for advice on his situation with a dealership, not for financial advice. I've had some of the best cars I've owned during my college years and never had a issue financially. For all we know his paycheck could be $999,999 annually - would that change your perspective? Because even if I made that kind of money and i bought a car with warranty, i want the job warrantied. PERIOD

OP best of luck i'm sure you'll get it covered with the right advisor involved.

This is why

Your car, free country. But it sets a bad precedent for yourself and other in-warranty owners. Ie, what do you think they will say when your rear diff starts leaking next?

Gotta fight this dude.

 

[pheelmeh]

This is why

I don’t think you read my post lol. I stand by OP in fighting this and I certainly would.

 

[WesPDX]

I don’t think you read my post lol. I stand by OP in fighting this and I certainly would.

Oh, maybe you were referencing the mods vs. bachelors comment? Yeah who cares.

I'm talking about the what to do with his money regarding the repair. We can all agree modded vehicles shouldn't be easy targets for warranty denial and this isn't about the money and even though it's treated as an individual case there will be that conversation later "remember we got some CP hours out that one last time....".

 

[1996_Valencia_Owen]

The mods/degree question was expressing concern for a few relevant reasons.
If it's overcaring sure, but it just was evidence that the OP was putting himself b/w a rock and a hard place, both in general, and also in a way that I doubt thed dealer didn't notice.

Sorta in the overlap of concentric circles of "holy crap I have no a) time or money or ) energt but actually i have c) tons of money (or debt same shit yo) so just tell me how bad ur gonna molest me quick cuz i gotta run!"

The $20 bil net worth guy I used to work for would call that "not negotiating from a place of strength." And it is generallly not recommended by moms or billionaires if you want a good outcome.

That said the un-named (boooo) dealer sucks lol.

 

[e60ral]

you guys are taking this in an insane direction, you don't know even the first little bit about their financial situation

taking on toyota will take a lot of time and effort, it's understandable that they have other things more important

stop being ridiculous