L33T35T 4Runner

I bought my 1995 4runner 6 months ago for 10000, still paying the loan.

I blew a head gasget

They (toyota dealership) wants 2500 to fix it.

what would you do? what should i do? i want to get a different car... more economical... something like a BMW 325 or 318

I love my truck... but i just cant afford the gas when gas is around 2.01/gallon

I'm in a bad position here... they want 2500 to fix it.. my parents are gonna have to help me with 2000 of that...

I'm knee deep here...

help!

Los Gatos?

See if you can get it done for free by under the TSB recall thing...you will probably have to go higher than just a dealership, try calling a district manager or something like that. For 2500$ you could do a 3.4l swap, so if you do want to keep it, you could at least upgrade.

I recently made the decision that the 4Runner was getting to be too expensive in these times, I need lower overhead for college. That said, why are you looking at BMWs? They are at least, if not more, exspensive to maintain and insure. If you really want economy, buy a Honda civic or accord, or something along those lines. Bimmers have the potential to be very, very expensive vehicles over the long run. I say stick it out with your 4Runner if you can get it fixed for free, or start looking at Accords or Camrys. There's no point in getting a BMW if you're looking for economy.

L33T35T 4Runner

I called two dealers, the one i'm going to included, and they both said that my VIN didnt apply for the head gasget recall.. even though my car is having the exact same problems.

who should i go to to fight this? you said district manager... how should i get that phone number?

Think i should go to toyota home office?

Los Gatos?

I'm not sure, I've never had to do it. I would start by going to toyota.com and looking for numbers to call. You definitely want to find someone in the toyota corporation, NOT the local dealership. You probably want a district manager or sales rep or something along those lines. Explain your problem and what you want them to do about it and what the dealers have told you. Good luck! Maybe someone who has done this could you more.

rimpainter.com

Document everything, every phone call, every interaction.

Call the Toyota USA consumer line.

You mentioned buying another car, and I have to ask the same question as Los Gatos, why a BMW?

Get out of debt! BMW's are money pits (for repairs), granted you probably dont think much better of 4Runners right now...

Being debt free is an amazing feeling. But it takes discipline. Drive a beater for a while (an old Civic or something) will help tremendously. And I speak from experience. It will pay off in the end.

L33T35T 4Runner

I just called the guy back to find out exactly what was wrong (i heard from what he told my mom earlier but never spoke directly as the car isnt in my name)

he said:

head gasget popped - cooland fluid is mixing with oil
it could have caused a bad cylinder head
and the short block could be scored
they wont know until the tear it appart and look at it.

I got the number to the customer relations at home office... but i dont know what i can do. he ran it twice and he said the 95's have the updated head gasget

rimpainter.com

Here is a good trick to get a corporate number in any situation:

Call and tell them you would like to report GOOD service to someone "higher" up, they will then get the number for you in record time. There you go, the number is yours. This works at all other places too, I've done it many times.

az4x4runner

hmm, my 95 had the recall done on it..

L33T35T 4Runner

My first car was a 94 tercel... that was my beater car

then my friend sold me his 95 4runner because he was going in the air force and had to get rid of it, i knew he took great care of it.

My brother has a bmw 318ti stick shift. i drove it the other day and i LOVE it. he actually was thinking about traiding me.

the guy at the dealership said it was up to 2500.. but could be less.

pray for me... and my wallet

L33T35T 4Runner

maybe because yours is a 4x4 it was made earlier than the 4x2's?

I'll make a thread about this...

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Some of the later 2nd gens were not covered, and I think it's a crock of dung, because many fail.

Is this the # you called?

"Toyota case line is 1 800 331 4331. Use this tele # if you get refused for work such as recalls or TSBs at your dealership."

I have that on my website, and I should put it in here as well.

az4x4runner

I guess that's possible.. my door jam plate says it was built in late 94 actually so I guess that could be it. Good luck when you call Toyota.

L33T35T 4Runner

I just called the dealership and the guy gave me that number...

I have no idea what i should say. who wants to do a 3way call with me?

i konw what to say.. but i am never good at convincing people... i always give in

rimpainter.com

Yeah, someone is feeding you a line of crap. Why would my 96 3.4 have a recall if the "95" was too late in the game. Different motor, but c'mon now!

Los Gatos?

Chances are they are gonna **** with you a TON before you get this done. BUT think about how many phone calls $2500 is worth...that's quite a few :beaver:

FattyCBR

The 5vz and 3rz (or whatever the 2nd gen. has) headgasket recall are completely unrelated and have nothing to do with one another. My 98 does not qualify for the recall because the problem was fixed before my engine was produced.

donc

I had the local dealer tell me that my 95 didn't qualify. Dealer in Tacoma said he called the west coast service mgr and he said to do it. Didn't cost anything and they replaced the water pump and ox sens, at the same time at no cost.
KEEP LOOKING AND ASKING FOR HELP.

L33T35T 4Runner

I will be calling that 800 number tomorrow... its probably too late now. I fell asleep for about 4 hours... too much for me right now

jruz

I'm somewhat of the same kind of push-over. I don't like to be the one to take advantage of someone...

Just look at it this way, in this case you are the one being taken advantage of. If the people on the phone say, "Sorry, we can't help you..." Tell them you just want to confirm this with their boss. Then when you confirm it with that person, tell them you want to confirm it with the next person up the line...and so on.

I dunno much about this (but I might be facing it soon...'94 w/oil leak somewhere above the tranny), but something tells me that no year with this engine is immune to the prob. (but I don't know a whole lot).

Just remember, as you said, $2500 of your money is more than you can afford...don't take the fault for this problem...seems like it is in the engine design, not an issue of lack of maintenance...

Jim

Woodbert

The only thing I can add is that I know the feeling. In January my 93 Surf with the 3.0L blew the headgasket. I just couldn't see putting 2K plus into a ten year old truck, even though it was PERFECT.

It broke my heart to get rid of it, but on the bright side I ended up with a brand new 2003 model.