cvlighthouse

For Anyone interested in why my axle locked up, It was the leaking seal that covered my brake pads with diff. fluid. The pads swelled up two weeks after the leak was fixed. They swelled up so much that they locked my drums.

So my pads need to be replaced. The Toyota service dept. here in Monterey wiped the pads free of diff. fluid, but didn't think that the pads needed to be replaced. I'm kinda upset that they let me go with a faulty brake system that eventually locked up on me and could have put me in a dangerous situation. This is not like Toyota...

My warranty does not cover the pads, even if they were damaged by a covered part..

So now I have to pay the same mechanics who let me on the road with a faulty brake system over $300 to replace the pads.

Am I at fault? Had I done the work myself I'm sure that I would have replaced the pads after noticing any damage done. But instead I wanted to keep Toyota service records for my 96 4-Runner.....

Was there any way to avoid all that wasted time off work, towing the vehicle, stuck with out a car, on the phone with service or warranty...?

Should I have been put in that potential dangerous situation?

Keep checking those rear axle seals and replace those pads if the seals were leaking...or else

Stuck and frustrated in Carmel Valley...

91Runner

The mechanic shouldn't of let you go with the faulty brake system. I mean if it was the leaky axle that caused your pads to swell, the dealer should replace them because the damage was caused by something covered under warranty (regardless if the pads are covered under the warranty or not). I personally would of fought them to replace the pads because of the damage done to them from the leaky axle, and if they refused, I would take it to corporate and see if they would resolve the situation.

If I were you, I would ask the dealer for the number to the corporate offices for Toyota, and then talk to them and explain to them what happened, and they will more than likely help you out and get it resolved.

Good luck with it!

-Braden

nrgetic99

CV,

I had this problem over and over again with my 96.

They replaced the rear shoes under warranty every time.

The gear oil will degrade the friction material or at worst, bind to it under heat and make it less effective.

David

cvlighthouse

The corporate office is investigating this problem and will get back to me.

I will be stoaked if they cover the cost of the pads and instillation.

Also, I hope that other toyota 4 runner owners will have improved service at that toyota dealership... As well as improved saftey....caused by any faulty mechanic opinion or warranty allowed budget...
Thank you guys for the reply!
Luke

crash

This is just not a TOYOTA problem its manufactuer problem across the board. Here at chev, when we have that happen, the shoes (not pads, those are on disk systems) are always replaced, as stated before it not only breaks down the friction material, but if they are bonded, they will come apart, and will also cause the dust coming off the shoes to gum up and cause locking problems.. I suspect a young "newbie" tech had more than likely done the work and didn't know any better as us older guys would be automatic to replace the shoes.. Good luck..

91Runner

Keep us posted on this CV, because that's really bad that they wanted to charge you $300 for something that happened due to a part that's covered under warranty.

Good luck with it, and now that corporate is looking into it, you'll hopefully get a call from the dealer to have you come down so they can fix everything.

Thanks for the info Crash, it's good to know that it's not just a Toyota problem

-Braden

DavidO06

Hey, i just had the same problem. My rear axel seal keeps leaking. I have had it fixed about 5 times now. Every time they have put new shoes on under warrenty. It all started before the 60,000 mi. warrenty ran out. Now I am well out of that warrenty (81,000mi.) but the dealership gave me a one yr. warrenty on the parts and labor each time. The last time the seal broke, i had the same issue with my shoes sticking to my drum. It felt terrible! It was really hard to drive. It would chatter a lot when i would start going and right before i would stop. I took my 4Runner to a differnt dealership since i have gone off to college. They still did the work under the warrenty and so far, so good. I keep an eye on it though and still dont really trust the seal. I think there is somthign that they still aren't catching, but we'll see in a couple thousand miles. Maybe toyota will decide to have a recal on this. that would be nice. good luck! oh...i dont know why they didn't replace your brakes. They should have known better than that. Once they are coated in the fluid, they are ruined.

HBoss

Hrmm...didn't see this post earlier. I'm another victim of the rear seal leak as per my post in 'maintenance':

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...&threadid=2445

First time for me, I've had my 4Runner for just over a year now. I hope this trend doesn't continue..

Al

Yoda

Hey David,
That many seal leaks in short time means something else is wrong and causing it. Are your diff breathers free and clear? It not, your diff will pressurize and blow out seals.

cvlighthouse

Hey Guys,

Just got my Runner back.

I went to pick it up and they tried to charge me for the price of the pads. I asked to talk with the manager because I refused to pay the $90 after it should have been covered and they sent me off with a faulty brake system. They made me wait over a hour in the waiting area only to let me go with out paying...

I was a little upset so i walked outside and just happen to run into the manager as i was trying to get a look at the 2003 runner

A dealer was ready to start talking to me when I stopped the manager in front of the car dealer and told him that i was ready to buy a 2003 from Victory Toyota untill I had such poor service. Not only did he not apoligize for any inconvience, he just kept trying to pass the buck...

He asked the reason that I was upset and i told him that not only did they let my vehicle go with a faulty brake system (as I pointed out the Toyota service warranty) I lost 8 hrs of time dealing with there problem at uh 60 bucks per hour. and then On top of that they made me wait for over a hour to tell me pretty much that the manager doesn't want to talk to me and so I dont have to pay.

I told him that is why i'm unsatisfied and that Toyota's customer service is going to investigate this matter.

I'm sure that Salinas Toyota would love my business.

so thats what happened at the dealer.

Oh ya on there service record they forged my signature on the "customer ok with the price".. And said it only happened when the pads heated up BS... I went outside in the morning , started my runner and they were already swolen shut.. no heat on them at all. So it was not a plesant experience and I hope that they figure it out..

Thanks for the reply Hboss, David, 91runner, Crash,
hopefully the rear leaking diff. will be noticed as a on going problem and not overlooked as much by Toyota....

Not stuck anymore in Carmel Valley...
Keep those seals clean! If your off camping and those brakes start to lock up on you, they may be frozen solid in the morning...

91Runner

I'm glad to hear that you got everything fixed CV, but I would NEVER go back to that dealer again if that's how they treated you, especially if they forged your signature on an invoice. I'd definitely call up corporate again and tell them about how that dealer treated you and the inconvenience it caused you. If not, hey there's always the BBB

-Braden

cvlighthouse

Hay Braden,
What is BBB?

91Runner

BBB = Better Business Bureau

When some places have refused to fix a problem that they caused, I just told them fine, I guess I'll be calling the BBB and tell them what kind of service you provide Every time i've done that (I've done that at a few different mechanics where they kept screwing something up and refused to fix it unless I paid them more; and I've also used it in placed where they've sold me the wrong part when I specified exactly what part I needed and they didn't give me the right one) the mechanic or sales person looked at me with kind of a blank stare and they either would fix their mistake (and actually do it right ) or would give me the right part or give me my money back.

It's pretty much a empty threat on my part, but it's worked everytime for me. Because the business doesn't want a bad report from the BBB so usually if you tell them that (or that you'll contact their corporate offices) the problem will get resolved rather quickly. And hey if they don't listen, go ahead and report them to the BBB, and corporate, and be sure to get the full name of the person you're dealing with, that alone is usually enough to scare them

-Braden

Paul S

How many people have had the left rear axle leak? What year 4runner? This seem to be a problem with 96 and 97. I have seen 6 in our shop already. After having a headace with the firist two we send them all to Toyota dealers. I think there is a flaw in the rear axle.

cvlighthouse

Sounds Like it is a problem... Maby you should start a new post with a poll to see who has had this happen... I also drive pretty hard on it, so it may not happen to your every day concrete cruiser...
That would be nice if it was noticed by toyota as a problem and was recalled...