This is the worst F$%^g car I've ever owned!!! The 120k service was $1040.00 - basically just oil 05 4Runner Sport Limited V8 4x4!!!
But wait, we are not done yet!!! Seems it's my turn for the X-REAS!!
LF Wheel Bearing - $950.00
CV Boots - $1175.00 (replacing all inner/outer both sides)
Struts - $1275.00 (both sides)
Going to take the Toyota badges of this thing, and replace them with BMW badges!!!
Could have done a lot of work myself, but that CV boot job is nasty, let the dealer do it!
So, what is the latest on replacing the suspension 4th Gen, Icon, Toytec??
First off, if you paid $1040 for an oil change, there might be the beginning of your issues...
There's nothing wrong with replacing the CV Boots (it's a somewhat common failure as they get higher in mileage if you look on the forum), though the price quoted for both sides seems a bit high. At that price point you're almost better off getting new Toyota Axles, re-manufactured CVJs are not a bad idea as they use quality parts (general consensus is that if you're off-roading a Toyota or CVJ axle is better, for daily driver/pavement pounder the off-brand OEM stuff works okay.) In all honesty I rebooted my factory axles because they were leaking only a little and the grease was clean with no signs of debris; the factory axles are plenty strong and back in the day it was common to rebuild/reboot them (along with a lot of things), cheap aftermarket parts have made it easier to justify throwing away perfectly good axles because of torn boots (though in many cases you get what you pay for...)
Don't even pay the money for the wheel bearing job, you're $500 in parts before they even press them together. Buy a new set from [MENTION=99491]Bumper2Bumper Auto[/MENTION] (good vendor on the forum that makes quality bolt-on bearing assemblies), for about $300~350 you can do both sides yourself (or negotiate a price for labor if you provide the parts to cheapen that almost $1000 bill for 1 side.) I posted what the process looks like on my build thread (along with a small section on removing the XREAS):
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/84725-zombie-truck-2-0-mpav-build-9.html
Finally the XREAS, you can't replace just the shocks when they are leaking; the system needs to be replaced in cross-linked pairs and at that price they aren't even including all the parts required which lends me to believe they may not have dealt with these before (you'd be surprised how few people actually have replaced/messed with them at the dealerships.) You can't exactly fault the vehicle for giving up the ghost on a wear & tear part, hell the fact that you got 120k is pretty impressive considering most factory shocks start degrading after 50k (the XREAS seems to be lasting north of 100k, but after that it starts to leak and such.)
The good news is that it's cheaper, and typically better to go with Bilistein 5100's. Not to mention the swap over is pretty easy. Though if you are planning a lift, now would be the time to start shopping and saving up.
I wouldn't hold what the dealership charges you against the manufacturer, at least not 100%. Dealerships are privately owned facilities that work with the manufacturer, they are not owned or operated by Toyota in any direct manner. As such you'll see differences in part pricing, mark-up, service rates, ect. depending on who owns/operates the dealership, the area it's located in, how well business is doing, how often they get away with over-charging people and still turn a profit, ect. Though on a counter point to that, cars are not cheap to fix anymore; it's not "lets go down to Autozone and get a $20 Cap & Rotor Set." Instead its, "lets get a new dual roller wheel bearing assembly with a built-in ABS Tone Ring, hub to flange o-ring, 4 Bolts w/ washers, entire hub assembly, and oil seals for the back side of the hub! also a proprietary suspension system that is very technical and only made for Toyota."
. DIY or toyota dealer.
