Questions and Answers
Dealer Not Doing Right
Q. Dear Mr. Ciulla, I have a 1996 Toyota Avalon XL V-6 3.0 liter Automatic Transmission with 94,000 miles on it and it has given me headaches since I hit about 60,000 miles. I've been taking it regularly to the dealership to get serviced, but I feel like I'm getting ripped off.
I initially complained about the steering rack and pinion. The steering wheel tends to shake when you reach 70 mph. When I took to the technician, they noticed that I had excessive wear on my front tires and just replaced the tires. The replaced the power steering rack, which didn't eliminate the shaking. Than came the tug-of-war with the continuous leakage problem.
At 74,000 miles the oil started leaking so they replaced the oil pan and valve gasket cover and than went on to replace the front right axle boot and assembly and sealed the left side due to leakage. Just 100 miles later I was back in the shop complaining that the oil didn't stop leaking. At this point they had to replace the clamp on the axle boot since the clamp on the aftermarket boot broke.
Now after having problems with the engine idling and having the control valve replaced the latest problem at 94,000 miles is that they've noticed that my fluids are leaking and recommend replacement of the axle seal and differential side cover.
I really don't mind paying for necessary repairs, however all this repairs over the years seem so connected and out right confusing. I keep thinking that they are the ones that are not repairing things properly to begin with and this is resulting in further repair. Are these things considered usual wear and tear???
Sorry for the length of this email, but I'm very concerned. Thank you very much for your time and assistance.
GCop
A. It sounds like you need to sit down and talk with the service manager and express your concerns about the quality of work you've been getting at his dealership. He may not be aware of the hell you've been going through. The majority of them are good and will do all they can to keep a good customer.
Your steering problem is a case in point, they replaced tires and the steering rack to cure a high speed shimmy and the car still wasn't fixed. Your repair records are there and you have someone to point a finger at. Ask him what's going on. Don't these people road test a car after a repair to see if the problem is still there? Your problem could be incompetent/incomplete diagnosis and repair.
Unfortunately it looks like you're being put through the same torment with oil leaks also. I think your best avenue for resolution is to talk to the manager and not to get nasty about it even though you feel like screaming.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA
