25th Apr 2009, 20:25
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
I took my Camry in on Wednesday (April 23) for its oil change. When I got the car back, the brakes were tighter but they still squealed at the same volume as before.
Is this normal?
30th Apr 2009, 15:25
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
I took my Camry to the dealer yesterday and complained about the squeaking brakes AGAIN (it was just serviced on 4-23).
The manager said they squeaked because they were not Toyota brakes. Hm-mm.
Per my original review, "The brakes were better than my Taurus. Plain and simple. I cannot explain it." This is WRONG, because I meant to say that the brakes WEREN'T better. I recall saying to my son, "The stopping distances in this car are longer than the Taurus.
There is nothing I can do except get a brake job with "Genuine Toyota" brakes. I think I'll live with the squeaking until the brakes fail me.
Other than the brakes, there are yet to be squeaks and rattles. But, my Taurus was like that at 138,978 miles also.
13th May 2009, 15:06
I brought my 2001 Toyota into the dealership for an oil change, and because the engine light came on again (this was the second time). I was told that there was a crack in the water pump, and it had leak onto the timing belt, to I was told that I had to replace the timing belt (I had it changed last year). All in all, the cost was $899.00. What was I suppose to do, the manual says "do not drive the car with the engine light on", so I had it fixed.
Before I left the dealer, the engine light was still "on", and I asked why, and was told that the sensor had not been put it, and I had to come back the next so that they could place same into my car. Once, I returned the car, and the sensor was placed, the engine light went off. Seems to me that all that was needed was the sensor to be replaced. At this point, I felt that I was taken advantage of because I was a woman.
Within the next few days, I asked several reputable mechanics about if a cracked water pump would leak on the timing belt, and all of them said "No", because one is located on the inside and the other on the outside.
13th May 2009, 17:31
I'm also a mechanic. It wouldn't matter if anti-freeze DID leak on your timing belt. It wouldn't hurt it. You definitely got taken. Don't blame yourself because you're a woman, though. 99% of men don't know how many cylinders their cars have, what a cylinder even IS, or which wheels drive the car.
Most car makers program the "check engine" lights to come on at regular intervals to get you to bring the car in and rip you off (as they just did). The "check engine" light on my Dodge came on religiously at 40,000, 80,000, 120,000, 160,000, 240,000 and 280,000 miles. I just simply reset the light. Nothing was EVER wrong.
13th May 2009, 20:45
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE:
Whenever ANY light comes on in my car, I rush it to the dealer. I only take it to a Toyota dealer because they look at and work on only Toyotas and they know "what is up" with each model. My feeling is that if you take it to Midas or Pep Boys or Grease Monkey, they are looking at all different cars and use the same parts on all of them.
I apologize that you were taken to the dealer (no pun intended) at your last service.
14th May 2009, 13:18
I sometimes go to Auto Zone. They seem knowledgeable. When our former Honda check engine light came on, it was an O2 sensor, they plugged an analyzer into our car and then I bought their special slitted O2 socket and just changed it myself. Just had to be careful, I did not break the O2 wire. I guess you could keep driving, plug your cat and buy a new one. It's only money. I do not ignore lights except the windshield fluid.
The dealer can change my Mobil 1 synthetic in my car, it was actually cheaper there than the Quick Lubes at $74.95. The only advantage is it's immediate there vs. waiting at a dealer.
15th May 2009, 17:40
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
That seems correct, but then you have to remember that there are people working on your car at Auto Zone that don't have experience working on your car.
If you bring your Honda to Auto Zone, the mechanic you get might have a Chevrolet and only "know" how to fix Chevrolets. If you go to the dealer, the mechanics there look at and fix Hondas all day long, so they know what they are doing when they fix your car.
Sometimes, bringing it to the dealer isn't necessarily a bad thing since cars are built off other platforms (exs: the Subaru Forester is off the Impreza platform and the Ford Fusion is off a Mazda platform)
15th May 2009, 20:40
"Whenever ANY light comes on in my car, I rush it to the dealer"
It just boggles my mind that so many people are so eager to hand hundreds of dollars over so freely to dealer service people. People should learn something about their cars so they are not so helpless. I even know a number of women who are very capable of diagnosing and repairing most problems they encounter with their cars. You can buy a diagnostic scan tool for under $300. That's less than most service departments charge just to RESET YOUR LIGHT. In addition, most auto parts stores will scan the codes for free.
I guess most people who buy Toyota are used to handing out lots of money. Otherwise they'd have bought a Ford or GM.
16th May 2009, 14:22
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
I rush it to the dealer because I work the night shift, and when I go in to work and drive home, it is still dark out. I don't want to be stranded on the side of the highway or with my kids in the middle of nowhere.
When I had my Taurus, toward the end, how did I know the engine wouldn't blow up when I started it?
16th May 2009, 17:29
Auto zone does not have mechanics but they let me plug the analyzer in and I knew myself what was wrong.
16th May 2009, 19:37
I stopped letting dealers or any other place change my oil after I caught a Ford service technician stealing my expensive Castrol Syntech and putting the cheapest oil they had in one of my vehicles. I now do all my own oil changes and servicing myself. It saves me a LOT of money, plus I know it is done correctly and the proper parts or lubricants are used. If you keep your receipts and a log of your own service procedures it is legal and binding in any warranty dispute with a domestic dealer. I'm not sure about Japanese dealers as their service tends to be much worse and they tend to be very hard to deal with.
20th Apr 2009, 18:13
ORIGINAL REVIEWER HERE.
I have been complaining about the brakes since January 2008. The brakes have been worked on at the dealer three times already since I bought the car on December 13, 2008.
Even when "fixed", they are HORRENDOUS. They now squeal - when wet, dry, from a slow stop, or emergency stop. I quit listing the conditions after those.
I have already hit 77K and will be taking the Camry in for its 78K service later this week. I suspect the brakes just need to be cleaned.
One last thing - the plastic toward the right of the front passenger foot well has come loose and looks as if it will fall off soon.