technically, you can remove and replace the relay rod without affecting ANY alignment settings. the only one that you could mess up would be the toe, but again if they pop of the inner rod ends, and have not made any changes to the length of the tie rod, they bolt it back on and it will be exactly the same as before. i think the toe deal is mainly to verify its correct, if off, go ahead and fix it for the customer so they dont come back in 20 times complaining. sure, they could put it on the rack first to tell the customer its off before hand, but that would be just a waste of time, so i think toyota said, just go ahead and verify/correct the toe, minimizing the hassle. but for sure, the relay rod has no mechanical way of affecting your camber or caster, that is a function of the upper and lower control arms, and their respective cam adjusters. so id be suprised if alot of dealers are doing a "full" alignment, maybe they are saying they are, who knows, maybe they are, but its free work they dont need to do.

 

Toyota sent me a recall notice on my 94 4Runner for the relay bar. I made the appointment with the nearest service center.

Yes it is in effect ...

 

They didn't say a word about my Old Man Emu stabilizer. I know what you mean about not getting back though. They called me at 530pm on day one to tell me my truck was still in pieces on their lift and I never ended up getting back until after closing time on day two. I had alot more done than the recall but ya.. going two days without your truck is a real pain.

 

That is only true if the new relay rod and the old relay rod are exactly the same length, but as anyone in manufacturing will tell you parts are manufactured with tolerances so as long as it is within the tolerance allowed it will be used.

 

That would really piss me off too, and I wouldn't buy a vehicle from that dealer, ever! It was bad enough that they take all day to tell you they can't do it but the reason they came up with is really lame. Bad dealer Doesn't Portland have more than one dealer? Take your business to another one. What was the dealers name so everyone here will know where NOT to go for Toyota vehicle sales, parts or service .

 

I also have the OME steering stablizer and my dealer didn't have a problem with it.

 

There are 4 dealers in or rear Portland:

Broadway Toyota-Scion
307 Northeast Broadway St
Portland, OR 97232
Phone: (503) 284-1105
Fax: (503) 284-0713

Ron Tonkin Toyota
750 Se 122nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97233
Phone: (503) 255-0177
Fax: (503) 257-7586



Beaverton Toyota Co.
4300 Sw Murray Rd
P.o. Box 4300
Beaverton, OR 97005
Phone: (503) 626-7200
Fax: (503) 626-8638



Toyota-Scion Of Gladstone
19375 Se Mcloughlin Blvd.
Gladstone, OR 97027
Phone: (503) 722-4800
Fax: (503) 722-4826




Which one was it? I would not go back to them even if I had to drive out-of-state to find another one.

 

true, i guess they could be a off a mil or so, good point. i think its a good idea anyways to correct toe while they got it in there anyways. i guess my main point was that the relay rod doesnt affect camber or caster, so i can see why they are not wanting to do a full alignment.

 

Just had mine done on Tuesday.
My local dealer called and told me about the recall and asked if i would like to have it done.

They replaced the relay rod and check the toe.

Geweke Toyota
Lodi, Ca.

 

i actually had the dealer put my new OME SD on when they did they recall...they had to completely remove the old stock one anyway...

they had no problems and i wasn't charged, either.

 

It was a totally lame excuse, I'm sure it was an excuse for something. Maybe because it was late in the day and the tech was wanting to go home or they were trying the hose him for $$$. That dealer would never see my business again.

 

I just received a check for $574.18 from Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc!

I feel like the dad in A Christmas Story after winning the leg lamp!

Seems they ended up covering ALL the parts and labor (which was actually more than I asked for - I had just asked for the tie rods!)

Keep the faith fellas - seems Toyota is interested in making this right! May seem like :banghead: sometimes, but stick with it!

 

Good deal!

 

I went up to my local dealership today and they told me the service would take atleast 3 1/2 hours. I wish I had that much time to sit around and do nothing.

 

My local dealer gave me a ride home and picked me up the next day as I dropped it off late. Also didnt hose me for any 'extras'.

Mike

 

Go My Truck back in 4 hours. No problems at all. They took it in. Did the work and called and told me it was ready. Oh yea, I did ask for a Alignment repert and they even gave me that. No qualms! Very Happy. Parkway Toyota, Enlglewood Cliffs, NJ. Makes me not so scared to check with them in the future.

 

I just called the 800 number and my 4Runner is covered in the recall. I'm going to call the local dealership here in Cape Girardeau, MO tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out. Glad I found this thread.

 

I took the 4Runner in to Coad Toyota in Cape Girardeau, Missouri today. They did a great job. I dropped it off, they gave me a ride to work, and they called me when it was done. They replaced the relay rod and did a full alignment. They gave me a printout before I even asked. These guys were great and didn't even try to get me to replace a bunch of stuff. Very happy with this dealership and their service.

 

WOOHOO - sounds like Toyota's finally getting through to their dealers about customer service regarding recall work!

 

Ok, when I first dropped the runner off, I told them I wanted a print out because I wanted to make sure my alignment was good. He said they only set the toe for the relay rod. I said fine I still want to make sure I have a good alignment because I just put bj spacers on. I was hoping to get a free alignment if they offered, but I was more than willing to pay for a full alignment.

He calls me later and says the relay rod is installed, but the idler and pitman arm are worn out so they can't do a full alignment. He said he could order the parts, keep it overnight, put the parts on in the morning and then give it a full alignment. I said ok, I even asked him specifically if I would get a full alignment after the parts were put on, and he said "definately".

I pick up the runner, get the printout, and on the way home start reading it. All they did was set the toe!!! When I called back, he said all they do for the relay rod was the toe. I said that's fine, you called me and told me I needed the other parts for them to do a full alignment. He said Oh we can't do full alignments on lifted vehicles. We needed those parts to be able to set the toe correctly. Never once was I told they could not do an alignment of lifted vehicles till I got home and called them!!! If he would have told me that up front, I could have taken it to my local tire shop and had everything done plus left with an alignment and more money in my bank! So now $432.00 and two days without a vehicle, I still have to go get an alignment and lose the runner for a day!!!

I'm not sure what to do. I am going to call the manager today. Has anybody else with bj spacers had prob. with the dealers and alignments? Thanks,
Chris