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I would also appreciate any other suggestions as the problem does re-occur.
-Dealer found heat spots on rotors and resurfaced front rotors for $87.95.
-Cleaned and adjusted rear brakes for $41.99 for labor.
-Parts for brake work were only $3.21 which is ok.
- Gave the dealer an unopened box with six Mobil 1 quarts of oil and none were returned.
- She bought the oil filter, but it appears she was charged $13.45 for an LOF, but nothing for an oil filter.
Should this work have been covered under warranty? The Limited Warranty book says that a maintenance expense of brake pads/linings are not covered, but does not mention rotors or adjusting brakes. The service manager said this is caused by stop and go driving.
Any suggestions? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have had it up to my eyeballs with this particular dealer, but unfortunately they are the closest by about 30 minutes.
Thanks,
>-Cleaned and adjusted rear brakes for
>$41.99 for labor.
>-Parts for brake work were only $3.21
>which is ok.
The charges you mention above sound about right for dealer performed brake service, in fact it's not too far from what Midas or Pep Boys would have charged.
>it appears she was charged $13.45 for an LOF,
Stands for "Lube, Oil, & Filter". Well it's less than what Jiffy Lube would have charged, you should call the Service Dept and check what an 'LOF' normally sells for, then you'll know if they charged you correctly since you supplied the O/F, and they just did the L.
>Should this work have been covered under >warranty?
Hmm.. that's a tough one. They might have you under the stop & go driving and 24,500 miles. I guess it depends how much wrestling you wanna do with them to get your money back.
Try calling the Toyota Complaint line, I *think* it's 800-331-4331.
I had a Ford Windstar that would Warp the hell out of rotors every 15,000 miles, I *know* for damn sure it wasn't stop & go driving that did That! But that was just one of Many problems with that piece of junk.
Oh man I fought with the dealership, Ford, Ford complaint dept, you name it. I got a "$2000 off coupon on my next purchase of a Ford vehicle"... i told 'em they could shove that coupon up their @##.
There are several on Sienna sliding doors. Noise, sticking latches. etc.
Rod
I'd think everything else you listed you can do yourself. I just gotta wonder what you get for some of those other things they listed (battery service for 20 bucks? Fuel injection "service" for 100 bucks? Power steering? Ugh.
Jeff
We're probably will be inthe market for a minivan next year and the Sienna is on my shortlist alnog with the Honda, Dodge and Mazda offerings. I know about the sludge issue and am satisfied that Toyota has addressed this issue. Are there other "issues" or concerns with the Sienna?
The rear A/C compressor is located on the passenger side, aft of the rear wheel. In the 2002, there is a grille on the inside of your vehicle in the general area; I think there may be a fuse behind this grille. (The power door motor is in there too.) If the rear A/C unit IS functioning, you'll get some water dripping from the condensation drain hole under the vehicle, too...
Hey neato, when I get home from work tonight I'm gonna have to go look at this!
I always thought our Siennas had ONE A/C compressor with just a front & rear blower.
pjksr... how did you find out about this? You crawl around underneath the chassis lookin for stuff like this? hehe.
Now, not all Siennas have two A/C units. Be sure yours does before you look for it ;-).
Steve
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tony22r i think the heater is just a blower.
1. Put your Sienna in park, pull out the key. Feet off the brake.
2. Now put your hand on the shifter and pull down like shifting into drive.
3. My Sienna pops out of park and rolls freely.
anyone repeat this besides me?
thanks.
Besides the general roughness of upshifts, a disturbing trait is "jerkiness" - particularly noticeable when accelerating after a rolling idle. (i.e. slow down for a corner, then idle around the corner. When I press the accelerator after completing my turn, there is a definite jerk - as though there is too much slack in the transmission.)
Any thoughts?
BTW, thanks to all of you - your posts on this and the other Sienna boards were instrumental to my purchase decision.
Many happy miles...Larry
>It is a creak/rattle/noise - seems to be coming from the inside door handle of left sliding door. Sounds to me like something is loose and kind-of floating around in there.
Thanks,
John
First, don't worry about the "crust." As Deepan says, it is oil that remains in that area after a fill, and gets dirty and burned. In my experience though (10,000 miles, 2002 Sienna), the oil that I purposely let set in that spot has not gotten gritty (Chevron Supreme). What really matters is oil under the filler part!
To ease your anxiety, if you're handy, it is easy to remove the cylinder head cover facing the front of the vehicle. You can then look at the camshafts, etc. for signs of gelling. At your mileage, you'll probably wish to replace the cylinder head cover gasket upon closing.
I am thinking this could be a ball joint or tied rod (f the van has these) problem...
My van has already been serviced for oil change/inspection twice already, but dealer has not mentioned anything unusual.
Has anybody else observed this sound?
Thanks,
Teles
I am the owner of a '99 Toyota Sienna that was purchased new on 5/17/99. In 1/01, I was transferred to work in Germany. On 5/27/02 with 42,254 miles on the powertrain, the transmission went out. After having it towed 6 hrs to my home to the local German dealership; I was told the transmission was gone. I was given two options by the dealership: 1) Pay up front $5,000.00 for repairs or 2) Have Toyota USA contact Toyota Germany for authorization to pay for all these repairs.
5/02, contacted customer service 800-331-4331, given a case number and told to pay for these services up front; submit all of this info to Toyota Torrance CA for a board to review for "potential" reimbursement.
7/02, contacted Toyota customer service again and they are still saying the same as what was told to me in 5/02.
I've contacted my Congressman (I'm a US citizen, a Federal, Dept of Defense employee serving my country); Better Business Bureau, Federal Trade Commission and National Highway Transportation and Safey Commission for their assistance.
The German dealership has replaced transmissions in two Siennas for Americans in this area. One was placed at no cost to the owner. I've spoken to him and he owns a 2000 Sienna and his transmission went out at 18,000. I'm still trying to locate the other owner.
Toyota is stating that due to my vehicle being in a location other than USA or Canada; they don't have to honor my warranty.
If someone has experienced the same problems with Toyota, please send me an email to ARMM753@hotmail.com.
I really need your assistance.
Having said that, you will *probably* be able to get the work covered, due to your status. I don't know how to advise you as to how to go about this, but I know it is done with some regularity. I used to work at a dealership with a guy who's wife was stationed in Germany and he told me about the process involved in warranty claims. He said it was slow and frustrating, but customers did eventually get their repairs covered.
Good luck.
taking it to my local toyota dealer tomorrow AM but i have a very bad feeling about this.
I had the same problem. I tried washing and re-lubing with lithium grease to no avail. I brought it in for a 35K service check and mentioned it to the technician. When I picked it up, the door opened like new. I called the dealership and got the fixer on the phone. The problem? Well, one of my kids spilled some 7-Up on the floor. It dried to a tacky, clear finish. So, if you managed to wrench the door open, you could see nothing. When you closed it and it sat for a while the "glue" set up again. A toast to the man, all around! (Even though he was a Bengals fan....)
My wife and I purchased our first minivan on July 24th, 2002, Last Wednesday. After our rather good experience with our 1994 Camry with 147,000+ miles on it, we really wanted a Sienna.
We didn't want to invest $27,000 for a new Sienna so we searched for a nice used one. We found one at your local Toyota Dealership here in Traverse City, Michigan ( Traverse Motors, Inc.)
It was a 1999 Toyota Sienna in perfect cosmetic condition and ran and drove smooth as silk. It has 68,000 miles on it. We drove it off the lot last wednesday, July 24th, 2002. The next day the 25th, thurdsay we began to notice white/blue smoke on startup, not always the first of the day, but at different times during the course of the day. I called my salesman at first sight. His first thought and suggestion was moisture in the exhaust and was wondering if it was blue or just white. Its blue & white and a few times "plumed" out the exhause and over the van and down the windshield, viewed from the drivers seat! No it doesn't do it all the time, on all startups, but most. And its not as bad sometimes as others...it varies.
Anyway...my salesman told me to give the service department a call and schedule an appointment to have it looked any anyway - to be safe. This was Thurday and it was going to take a week, until this coming thurday to get it in.
IN HE MEAN TIME, I did some deeper research on the vehicle in general and thats were the ulcer started! I was jaw a gape finding all the talk about engine gelling/sludge, something I had never seen or heard of before, and surely never expected Toyota to roll something out the door with any major problems like this... I was in shock.
So, I purchased the 1999 Sienna with 68,000 miles on it USED. I understand that I am the second owner per the title. I notified the Toyota dealership the second day of ownership to bring to light what the vehicle was doing... It is supposed to have a 30 day/3000 mile warranty from the dealership. I have no PAST HISTORY of maintence of oil changes......
What do you all think they will tell me Thurday the 2nd of August when I bring the Sienna in to get checked out?
Jason
Traverse City, Mi
Does anybody know how to remove the sliding door back inside panel?
I also retouched the scratch with the Toyota touch up paint pen. Is there a batter way to retouch it?
My vehicle is at the dealer as we speak. I told him/her that this is my number one priority to get this thing fixed. I have tried silicone spray, cleaning the door, other lubricants. Nothing works. The problem is much, much worse in the winter. I live in VA.
The dealer knows all about the sticky latch problem and I suggested they change those. I figure I'm going to have to learn to live with this problem.
For those researchers, the door only has the problem on the first open. Once I get it open I can open and close it at will.
Ok, after waiting two days in the dealership shop, the verdict was after all, sludge. They are going to "rebuild" the engine, not replace it. My van went in running great, just had blue smoke at startup, sometimes with or without a warm engine. They said it would take about a month to get the work done as there are currently 5 vehicles before me! The serviceman said that he was doing them on a first come first serve order. oh well... They told me to come back and pickup the van and drive it, just make sure you keep oil in it...
I am wondering about what a "rebuilt" engine is? And what is thought about rebuilt engines? Whats the gig with a rebuilt engine? Better then before, like new? Is there usually a "break-in" period like a new engine? Is a "rebuilt" engine a good deal? Can I think of it as setting my odometer to Zero? Please throw some opinions at me!
Jason
Do a search on remanufactured vs. rebuilt engines and you’ll find some interesting facts.
So, you didn't have any problems getting this repair covered did you? That's good news.