Um, because if it fails a year from now and you received the notice and elected not to bring it in, you're liable for the damage caused by THE COMPLETE LACK OF STEERING. That could be millions of dollars if you hit/kill someone.

People - this part failing is serious business. The new one may bend easier, but it shouldn't crack. I drove over 2 hrs home from wheeling with a bent one, no steering issues, just the alignment was way off.

 

A bent relay rod is better then a broken one!

 

You just summed it up. The recall notices are simply a waiver of liability for toyota. These trucks have been on the road for 10+ years. There may have been a hand-full of anomalies with theses rods. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but there is not a rod-breakage epidemic occurring. Let me rephrase my first post: If my current steering rod was defective, it would have broken a long time ago.

 

I haven't got this letter yet?
Hummmmmm..........

 

Not necessarily. Fatigue failures in steel can take many millions of cycles.

As this is a liability issue, I am quite certain that Toyota jumped on it pretty quick when the first one failed - meaning it took that long for them to fail.

The reason this recall seems unusual, is no domestic vehicle lasts long enough for there to be enough still on the road to make the recall worth it.

If absolutely nothing else, it's an opportunity to get a free alignment, pitman arm, idler arm, and tie rods under the recall (see the sticky thread at the top for how some of us did that)

 

Interesting point... I wasn't aware that you guys figured out a way to get additional steering components for free as well. Perhaps I will read this stickied thread you speak of.

 

Ok, I'm confused. You call for an appointment to have work done at a dealership. The dealership knows in advance about the recall and also the time invloved, with and without additional problems. Mine was sheduled for a day a while ago, left it the previous evening and they called at 1:00pm to let me know it was ready for pickup. It involved the relay rod, tie rod ends, and idler arm (the tie rods could not be removed without damage and they broke the idler arm), a complete alignment as well. Zero cost to me in less time anticipated as well. So... drop it off for 3 days and we'll get to it between paying customers is their stand. I'd rather drive 100 miles to some place that actually cares about their customers "All their customers".

 

Ok, I just read all 19 pages of the stickied thread. After reading all of those horror stories, there is no way in hell I'd take my truck in for the recall. Not only is it unnecessary work (IMHO), it sounds like toyota is offsetting the cost of the recall by selling idler arms, tie rod ends, and pitman arms to people who don't need them...TC was lucky to be reimbursed. 99.9% of recall customers are not so lucky.

Plus, my experience with my local stealership leads me to believe that they are one of the worst around. There's no way I'll deal with them, unless I absolutely have to. In which case I'd probably bring a lawyer with me so they wouldn't hold the truck hostage.

 

the dealership does get paid by toyota for the work.
my bill said 4.0 hours of labor x $70, or whatever they charge an hour, and toyota ended up with the bill.

 

My idler arm didnt get replaced they just told me it was worn and needed to be replaced..

 

MMA Alex, Yes I realize they get paid by Toyota but warranty work is still a loss of revenue to both the dealership and Toyota. Some dealerships will bury the warranty work among "paid for service" that can be done under the standard time and stretch the warranty jobs out over days to minumize the effect of the loss of revenue. It's all about the bottom line.

 

I had received the notice about 3 times... waited until I needed something else done, actually heater controls on the '85, but convenient as I didn't need to bother the signifcant other to ferry me but once for the second pickup (if you follow that). I had the work done last month.

So I had no charges on the 4Runner. So I think the lesson is, again, some Toyota dealers are better than others. Since there are 3 within the driving distance of me (in the SF south bay area), I have found that they all do a good job, but Piercey gives me the best service, and has never (so far) come up with extra work. I go to them despite the extra traffic and distance compared to one dealer much closer. Turn around was about 24 hours starting with an 11am drop-off. I also find they often do a few little things not part of the original request... for free. They don't even mention it... I notice after I've driven off the lot. Also, I've noticed they keep good records. They had all the documentation of work done on the vehicle from the previous owner, including the timing belt at 65k. Also, despite what I consider fair estimates, they usually come in under that estimate.

Don't know if its bad form to mention a dealer's name, but they deserve it... I have no connection with them.