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So I've been taking my car to the same shop for the past couple of months for regular maintenance and what not. I was originally told the air filters needed to be replaced, some belts were cracked & needed replaced, and some fluids needed to be flushed & replaced.
Well over the course of 1-3 months I had all that done. While all that maintenance was needed, I noticed I had a small oil leak.
Well about a month ago it turned really bad so I had the engine steamed cleaned and took it into two different shops that both gave me an estimate in the $600-700 range because they said the cam shafts & seals needed to be replaced, a couple gaskets, and definitely the timing belt and water pump.
I went ahead and had the same shop do the work that needed to be done. Now even after all of that work, the areas that two shops told me needed to be done to solve the problem, I'm told that the oil leak is coming from another area and thus, the problem is not yet solved. Is this possible? I'm somewhat frustrated because I was told the work would take 4-6 hours and I received two estimates for the same identical work from 2 shops. I wasn't looking forward to dumping any more money into this problem. It doesn't seem like this sort of issue should be such an undertaking for a Toyota?
Also, last time after I had it in the shop to replace the belts & perform an alignment..a few times I had problems with the engine starting up when I turned the iginition (this never happened before, ever). Is this just because the belts were new and unworn? My dome light also quit working. Not to mention my car still pulls to the side a bit. I know I need new tires, but they don't look THAT worn, and the pull seems more than it was before I had the alignment. Also, after I had the vehicle inspected for the said oil leak, my brakes started squeaking and the break light on the dash came on. I knew my brakes needed to be looked at again even though I've taken them to the brake shop twice in the past year-year 1/2, but they never squeaked and the dash light never came on.
I hate to be pessimistic, because I've gone to this shop and have somewhat trusted them to do work on my car. But I am a young female and I don't want to be taken advantage of. This is my only means of a vehicle right now and I don't even have a job at the moment.
It sounds like you have been taking advantage of. Sorry to say that. What year and how many miles do you have on the vehicle? I don't see how the camshaft would have caused any leakage. Timing belt nd water pump, depends on the mileage of the engine. Older toyotas get them replaced at 60K newer ones at 90K.
If the car still pulls then they didn't do a proper alignment. Your car hard starting could be because of a loose battery connection. Your belt around the alternator could be loose, that could cause hard starting.
Do you have a neighbor or friend who could take a look at the car?
If they quoted you a price to fix the oil leak, it's on them if it didn't fix it. Any shop that won't stand behind a mis-diagnoise, you don't want to deal with, the're hacks...
They told you what was wrong, and it wasn't, theyshould eat it..! Their story will be, "Well, it needed the stuff we did, too.." BS that is an excuse for not knowing what they are doing... You wanted the leak fixed, not for them to change stuff that might leak..
Both shops know what they quoted you on is a common problem, so they went for that and didn't do a proper diagnose.. They guessed wrong, their fault, not yours...!
I agree they should fix the oil leak problem they didn't correctly fix. But to be honest they just want more money. Find another reputable shop. Post a question on this forum in the area that you live. For example the New Jersey Forum--Anyone know any good honest mechanics in Northern NJ?
The dome light is most likely just a bulb. Need more info on your starting problem, but I agree with previous poster could be alternator belt or corroded battery terminals. Could also be a battery going bad. Any more info on your starting problem?
Don't know history on Toyota,have had one since '73.never a problem.My '86 256,000 miles now my '99 141,000 never in garage for repair,always changed oil and filter at 2500 miles.Certainly sounds like you have been taken advantage of.
So I've been taking my car to the same shop for the past couple of months for regular maintenance and what not. I was originally told the air filters needed to be replaced, some belts were cracked & needed replaced, and some fluids needed to be flushed & replaced.
Well over the course of 1-3 months I had all that done. While all that maintenance was needed, I noticed I had a small oil leak.
Well about a month ago it turned really bad so I had the engine steamed cleaned and took it into two different shops that both gave me an estimate in the $600-700 range because they said the cam shafts & seals needed to be replaced, a couple gaskets, and definitely the timing belt and water pump.
I went ahead and had the same shop do the work that needed to be done. Now even after all of that work, the areas that two shops told me needed to be done to solve the problem, I'm told that the oil leak is coming from another area and thus, the problem is not yet solved. Is this possible? I'm somewhat frustrated because I was told the work would take 4-6 hours and I received two estimates for the same identical work from 2 shops. I wasn't looking forward to dumping any more money into this problem. It doesn't seem like this sort of issue should be such an undertaking for a Toyota?
Also, last time after I had it in the shop to replace the belts & perform an alignment..a few times I had problems with the engine starting up when I turned the iginition (this never happened before, ever). Is this just because the belts were new and unworn? My dome light also quit working. Not to mention my car still pulls to the side a bit. I know I need new tires, but they don't look THAT worn, and the pull seems more than it was before I had the alignment. Also, after I had the vehicle inspected for the said oil leak, my brakes started squeaking and the break light on the dash came on. I knew my brakes needed to be looked at again even though I've taken them to the brake shop twice in the past year-year 1/2, but they never squeaked and the dash light never came on.
I hate to be pessimistic, because I've gone to this shop and have somewhat trusted them to do work on my car. But I am a young female and I don't want to be taken advantage of. This is my only means of a vehicle right now and I don't even have a job at the moment.
Sorry for your rough time. You've got a lot going on with your car. I would ask you to check your repair order for the first job-while camshaft seals are often replaced, replacing cams is pretty rare. I don't see any way that you could replace T-belt, H20 pump and cams for 700. New and unworn belts will never cause a starting problem, unless they are ungodly tight. Are these Toyota parts? The dome light may well be a separate issue--realize that pieces quit working at random times. Nothing the shop has done indicates electrical problems, although that's one of the elements that make fixing cars so frustrating--touch this part, and a completely different system fails! Often, pulls can be fixed by switching front tires--not cool on directional or really old cars, but should be fine on yours. Also check tire pressure--I've seen so many pull problems fixed through simple means, as well as unsolvable rubber problems (New tires if yours have lots of miles). Brakes can wear out at anytime, if your brake lite came on it is probably due to the pads wearing down, and the brake fluid traveling down the lines--no leaks, just need new pads. I will leave the discussion on resurfacing rotors for a later addition, although my advice is not to do it, unless you have brake shimmy. I don't think you have been ripped off, but instead the recipient of some decent work, some mis-diagnosis, and the owner of car needing some work. No, owning a Toyota is no bullet-proof mechanism. Remember, if we rode horses, we'd be taking care of them constantly. You can park your car and forget about it. Be thankful! I would suggest finding an independent Toyota specialty shop. If this doesn't exist in your area, find a shop with a Toyota trained tech. Good luck! Remember, you could always drive a 74 Ford LTD.
Oops, sorry, I didn't mean to write "the owner of the car needing some work." (Although its a pretty funny typo if you have a sense of humour! I meant your ride.)
Oops, sorry, I didn't mean to write "the owner of the car needing some work." (Although its a pretty funny typo if you have a sense of humour! I meant your ride.)
I do have a sense of humor and understood what you meant
I don't mind taking my car in and having it serviced if there is a problem, and I know that owning a Toyota doesn't make it bullet proof..but these cars are pretty efficient and I wouldn't expect to have a flood of problems with it at just ~125,000mi.
I've always tried to take care of my car, as old as it is (97) and pitiful as it looks. I've taken it in for oil change every 3k miles, tires rotated and replaced if/when necessary, alignment when needed, brakes checked atleast 2x a year, and always tried to follow up with what the shops told me needed repaired..which hasn't happened until recently.
So I don't think I've been neglectful to my car, not intentionally anyway.
And I understand things will go wrong here and there, service lights will come on and whatnot. I'm not very much concerned with the cosmetics of the car.. I just had to question all of it when all of these things seemed to go 'wrong' at the same time, you know?
It sounds like you have been taking advantage of. Sorry to say that. What year and how many miles do you have on the vehicle? I don't see how the camshaft would have caused any leakage. Timing belt nd water pump, depends on the mileage of the engine. Older toyotas get them replaced at 60K newer ones at 90K.
If the car still pulls then they didn't do a proper alignment. Your car hard starting could be because of a loose battery connection. Your belt around the alternator could be loose, that could cause hard starting.
Do you have a neighbor or friend who could take a look at the car?
Its a 1997 @ 125~127,000/mi.
I purchased the car used from the toyota dealership a few years ago when it had about 94~97,000/mi. on it..so I don't think there was a way of knowing what the previous maintenance was on it. I trusted that 2 shops told me the replacements of belts, filters, etc was needed on it. Then after those problems were sorted, I trusted that 2 shops (1 of the same shops as before, which ive been taking my vehicle to regularly; 1 different shop) told me that the the timing belt & h2o pump needed to be replaced (which I realize has nothign to do with the oil leak) and that it was the cams & seals that needed to be replaced.
The guy could have always been buying more time to work on the car at leisure by saying there were additional problems, who knows.
So we shall see...
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