Toyota dealer blows up engine

[Leucifer]

Really feel for you, man.

I had my own bit of fun like this with Ford, years back. Still burns me up.

As for the engine cost.... that's BS. The price they're quoting you is not doing you ANY favors. Sure, they're offering to do labor, but they're quoting you the resale price for it, not what they are paying. 15k for a new engine.... that's with dealer mark-up.

Look up your state's garage keeper liability. The dealer SHOULD have insurance, for starters. Two, depending on the state, they may be on the hook, period. California is pretty pro-consumer with existing laws and views garages as something that is a necessity (i.e. - people need their transportation and thus, repair shops are to take due diligence to take care of a vehicle left to them, and because the repair shop sits in a "position of power" in negotiations). Also check state lemon laws. Less likely they are applicable.

Honestly though..... pay for an hour to talk with a lawyer that works these kinds of cases. Yes. It's money out of the pocket, but far better to understand where you stand. In the end, you may be SOL.... but it might give you some peace of mind to explore your options.

I did stumble across this. Different gen.... but their experiences might yield some useful info.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/probl...-anyone-pulled-v6-engine-4th-gen-4runner.html

 

[Hitman]

Three weeks ago a check engine light came up on my wife's generation 5 4Runner.

I had the codes read at an auto parts store. The codes seemed to be associated with the cam position sensor.

I immediately took it to the local Toyota dealer, for diagnosis and repair. Several days later we were contacted by the Toyota dealer, informing us that they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle, despite test driving the vehicle several times.

My wife went to pick the 4Runner up and, as soon as she started driving, the check engine light came back on. She immediately returned it to Toyota’s Service Department.

The Toyota dealer then tested the cam position sensor and determined that it appeared to be functioning correctly.

Their next step was to take apart the top of the engine to determine if the cam chain had jumped a tooth. They got to the camshafts and determined that the timing was correct. So they reassembled the engine.

The next step was to swap out the cam timing valve assembly and see if that corrected the problem. The Toyota technician then took it for a test drive and the engine failed, blowing a hole in the side of the block.

The engine is now destroyed. Engine replacement is looking to be $10,000 - $20,000. The Toyota dealer is not accepting liability for destroying our engine.

I have met with the owner of the dealership. His best offer is to provide the labor to replace the engine without charge. We would be paying for parts, which would be about $9,000 for a used engine or about $15,000 for a new engine.

The 4Runner is a 2010 with less than 100,000 miles on the odometer, and has had oil changes at 5,000 mile intervals. This was the first time this vehicle had in for repair. Aside from oil changes, nobody had touched this engine prior to this work being done by the Toyota dealer.

We took the vehicle to a Toyota dealer because we wanted this to be correctly diagnosed and repaired before any damage occurred to the engine. We did not expect the vehicle to be repeatedly test driven until the engine failed.

We are currently considering what our next move might be. I would be interested to hear input from 4Runner forum members. Has anybody had experience using an auto repair Attorney?

Next time, get a Jeep. Okay, I'm going to run for cover now....

 

[tomcamaro97]

call toyota of usa.. explain what occurred .. ive heard many stories of toyota stepping up... although.. you may wanna ask your dealer to contact toyota for you.. sometimes they have sway with corp and if you go to corp direct you burn that bridge. if not ide laywer up..

 

[Oldforerunner]

Wow... this is not small potatoes.... I would look into getting an attorney... but they are going to have a team of lawyers... it probably won't be an easy battle... it may seem cut and dry..but it rarely ever is... the only people who make out well on these things are the lawyers... win or lose... they get paid

 

[BADCUDA1]

Update?

 

[slowstride]

Update

Update
Still in limbo
We tried Toyota USA, don't want anything to do with it
We tried our insurance, rejected our claim
Dealer won't claim against their insurance
We have been hearing all sorts of horror stories about the dealer, sounds like their Toyota service center is to be avoided, even for simple service work.
Attorney consultation coming up....

 

[wadle5]

Update
Still in limbo
We tried Toyota USA, don't want anything to do with it
We tried our insurance, rejected our claim
Dealer won't claim against their insurance
We have been hearing all sorts of horror stories about the dealer, sounds like their Toyota service center is to be avoided, even for simple service work.
Attorney consultation coming up....

Dealer wont claim it on their insurance, what a joke, then they need to pay out of pocket. I know a guy had great success with his subaru dealership after they did something similar by blowing them up on every social media website. Leave comments on their facebook pages, get people to comment as well, keep calling and asking to talk to the general manager. Is the dealership actually an individual dealership or is it a conglomerate of multiple dealerships?

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If you go onto the many forums the dealership basically had to shut down their webpages and phone lines, because the cards were clearly stacked against them and they figured they had the owner by the balls. In the end he ended up getting a new WRX like the one he had at no cost and the dealership ate crow.

 

[LA2SD]

Update
Still in limbo
We tried Toyota USA, don't want anything to do with it
We tried our insurance, rejected our claim
Dealer won't claim against their insurance
We have been hearing all sorts of horror stories about the dealer, sounds like their Toyota service center is to be avoided, even for simple service work.
Attorney consultation coming up....

Sometimes all it takes is a letterhead from an attorney to get the ball rolling in your favor. Consumer rights attorneys are the most experienced, and your local bar association can usually provide you with 2 free referrals if you haven't found an attorney yet.

 

[Laurich]

@slowstride
Sure hope that your wife's 4Runner isn't going to cost you as much as the $10K to $20K you were first quoted. Hope that you're getting somewhere with this situation. Give an update when you can with the outcome, either way. Best of luck.

 

[Thai]

Toyota engines have not been as i expected for me either...our 2008 Sienna connecting rod broke just shy of 90k miles. We got that fixed ($4k) and then had some oil leakage afterwards...so, we sold it. Unfortunately, there was not any other good choices, so we went with 2017 Sienna again...hoping that my 2008 sienna engine issue was a one-time thing.

Either way, if my new Sienna is going to quit early (again) and with no Apple Car support, then this may be my last Toyota.

 

[LimeLED]

[MENTION=72319]slowstride[/MENTION] any update on getting your engine replaced?