UKMyers

Well put another person on the list as having gotten screwed by the 50N recall. Let me lay out the scenario here. I dropped my truck off yesterday morning to have the recall done, spindle bushings, new rotors and pads (I bought a year and half ago and never had time to put them on) and a brake pad flush. At 3pm yesterday they call to tell me that the studs on the upper balljoints snapped when they took them apart... Okay no big deal they were shot anyways I tell them to replace them. Next they tell me that my spindle bearing was so gone it ruined the axle shaft. I call my ASE buddy to confirm he says ya that happens if they get really bad. Okay no biggie I call them back tell them put me a stupid high dollar Toyota shaft in there. Can't get a shaft till tomorrow. Okay now the truck is stuck overnight. 1PM today I call and ask how long till it's ready. The service lady says let me check I'll call you right back. 3 hours go by..........no phone call. I call back a bit pissed and they say relax it's on the alignment rack will be done shortly. Finally they call and send over their van to get me. It's parked out front and everything is good till I start reviewing the invoices and find this:



So now my toe in is out and my steering wheel is about 15 degrees off center. It seems to drive straight but I have been through the steering wheel thing before and it drives me nuts.

I have read all 8 pages of the thread concerning this and people have said that the tie rods are included in the recall if they can't do the alignment because of them. I read the SSC and couldn't find where it specifically said that. I need some dirt people to go in there and rip the service manager up with. I mean COME ON how on earth can they send me out the door with my alignment all jacked up? All they had to do was call and tell me. Hell I'd of paid for new tie rod ends even. Because they waited till 5pm to call me of course the manager had already gone home and there was nothing I could do tonite.

I told the service guy that this was UNSAT and the tie rod ends were supposed to be replaced if it affected the alignment and he argued with me that this was not true. So once again help me out guys that have been through this so that I have something to go on when I go back on Monday and demand new tie rod ends and a free alignment.

On a better note my mystery noise is gone and the front end feels alot better. With new rotors, pads, and a brake system flush my brakes are about a 100 times better than they were.....oh and I did I mention this all cost $1444.32.... This sucks time for

Boaz

that totally sucks... I am still on the fence about even getting that steering rod replaced.

tc

Probably should have posted this in the 50N thread - I outlined all the steps I had to go through, I have yet to see a check from either the dealer or Toyota (the dealer says the check was issued - I'll believe it when I see it)

UKMyers

I figured people were done reading the 8 page thread so I started a new one. Still looking for some input from anyone that had their tie rod ends replaced.

UKMyers

Bump... not even I told ya so.........????

Toyofast

I work for a Toyota dealership and our techs are happy to replace the tie-rod end assemblies if needed, some will do it because they don't want to fight the ends.

I can't comment on the final price as I have no idea what all went on but it seems like your total out the door price is quite high.

BTW, replacing the rotors and pads are pretty simple. Rotors do take a bit more time BUT pads take no more than 3 minutes with basic hand tools(a.k.a. pliers, pull the pin and out they come).

If you have any complaints you should contact the dealerships service manager. If that gets you nowhere, contact that dealerships GM. If that is no good, contact Toyota directly.

celica

The price doesn't seem that high considering what the parts would have cost. It is not cheap to replace those bushings for the needle bearings. I looked into it here and it was going to be around 500-600 in parts alone. Add an axel and a couple of ball joints on top of that and it is probable about right.

I am suprised that they didn't call you to ask about the tie rods??

Paul H.

I told you so.

j/k that is exactly why i am afraid to take mine in.

UKMyers

Toyo fast thanks for the info. The out the door was'nt too bad I guess condsidering I had $737 in parts. Having to buy that shaft was a killer. The rotors and pads aren't bad to do yourself but I figured I would let them do it since it would be tore down that far to do the spindles. I'm sure they shafted me with some labor though on it. Monday I'll be contacting the service manager to see if I can get anywhere. Like I said either way it's bad business in my book to send somebody out the door when their rig is not equal to or better than when it went in. I'll pay for the ends if I have to but there's no way I'll pay them for another alignment. I'll go someplace else first.

tc

Make sure they only charged you half-book for anything attached to the steering relay rod. SSC50N pays them to undo and reattach one end of those pieces...

Personally, I think you got lucky it was just the tierod ENDS - they held my truck hostage until i replaced the WHOLE ASSEMBLY (both ends and the connecting piece)!

As for the alignment, I would (carefully) threaten to call Toyota charging them with either fraud or shoddy workmanship, as setting the toe is SPECIFICALLY called for in the SSN.

UKMyers

The SSC says D:Inspect and adjust front end alignment.

Setting the toe and making the steering wheel straight is considered part of an alignment right? Where does it specifically mention setting the toe in the SSC I didnt see that part.

kyle_22r

i think this recall is pretty bogus. why would you recall a vehicle's steering components after most of the trucks have already been past the 150k mark? it'd be like coming out with a TSB for my '79 truck because the transmissions are weak and blow up after half a million miles.

blowntaco

As a Toyota tech myself, I usually do replace the tie rod assemblies. It is actually easier to do the job with new ones. Your dealer probably did'nt have them and make you suffer for that. As for the Recall itself they hadcases that that rod would break and send people for a wild ride.(Safety Concern)... Lawsuits and so on. So rather that deal with it one case at a time Toyota is taking care of the problem to prevent more problems in the future before more happen.

javadoody

because there are so many out there--detroit wouldn't have to do it. and as blowntaco said, it's a big time safety issue. myself, i was in and out in a couple of hours, alignment and all, even got a wash job.

Toyofast

Exactly. I have personally seen 3 T-100 relay rods that were broken just from someone trying to pull out of their driveway and 2 broken from a couple of 4Runners. It's about safety people..... why agrue the recal to death when you don't have to pay a dime for it?

I ordered up a couple pairs of tie-rod assemblies before my truck went in for the recall and had to wait 2 weeks to get them, Toyota has those suckers on back order/manual release.

stevo

WOW what in the wide world of sports is up with that stealership. When i took my 92 4-runner in a month ago @ Grappone in Manchester N.H.with 162,000 they had it for a total of 2 days. On the first day they called me @ work @ told me they would have to order the tie rod ends wich would be in that next day @ yep thier she was @ the end of the day it was all done. The only thing that struck me as odd is that thier was no mention on the the slip about the tech. having to reset the toe but maybe they just set it the old fashioned way anywho it,s done and the truck seems to be fine my only concern is that with it being tighter now my ps. pump might not live to long it's the origional.

94-RUNNER

[QUOTE=Toyofast] It's about safety people..... why agrue the recal to death when you don't have to pay a dime for it?



Yes , It is about safety BUT it is also about "some" dealerships doing the right thing and not all dealerships parts and service departments operate the right way. After many years of management in fixed operations (parts & service) at a large group of dealerships I can tell you it varies greatly from dealer to dealer. You have the right to question the work that is done on your vehicle and you also have the right to an honest answer. By no means am I saying that all dealerships operate dishonestly. There are a lot of very very good places to deal with out there that are honest and will always excede the customers expectations. But it is as always said, it only takes a few bad apples ruin the whole bunch.

Flamedx4

Because there is no statute of limitation on product liability.
If the failure of a part can cause serious injury or death, and a pattern of failure is identified, they By Law must issue a safety recall. There is no option but do it, regardless of cost. It isn't just the financial risk of lawsuits - if it can be proven that a manufacturer was aware of a safety defect and did not issue a recall - the officers of the company go to jail. NHTSA is Very strict about recalls.

tc

I don't think anyone on here is arguing about the recall - there are some humorous posts in the 8 page thread about it actually - there are just a bunch of us who have gotten SCREWED by having our trucks held hostage until we agree to pay for replacing parts (tie rods in particular) that would not need replacement if they didn't need to be disassembled from the steering relay rod.

If you didn't get a print out verifying that the toe was set properly, you're likely one of the next ones to get screwed. Make ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY SURE the alignment is OK before any time elapses! (I thought it was OK til I put on new tires, and it was obviously out and it had to be redone)

UKMyers

UPDATE: I called the service manager directly first thing this morning and explained the situation. She was not happy that I had been sent out the door this way. I told her I would pay for the tie rod ends but I didn't think that I should have to pay for an alignment. She said that was not a problem at all and that they would not charge me any labor either to replace the ends as an act of good faith and hopes of keeping my business. She said they would order the parts immediately and then call me back to set up an appointment. It still sucks that I had to buy new rod ends but that's something you have to do eventually anyways. I will pretty much have a whole new front end now with the exception of the lower ball joints.