The only other one close is Toyota of Concord on Speedway Blvd just down from Lowes Motor Speedway. They are really good people and don't try to rob you blind.

 

UPDATE:

They only charged me half the book rate for the labor since dusconnecting one end of all the stuff was covered under the recall, and of course the alignment was covered. So what was the damage?

Relay rod 0.00
Pitman arm 99.37
Idler arm 179.54
Tie rod 2x102.09
Total Parts 483.09
Tax 36.24
Alignment 0.00
Labor 146.88
Shop supplies 7.34
TOTAL 673.55

I think I did OK considering it was a dealer. Curious how much extra it cost me. Anyone have this work done at an independent shop? Strap - what should the parts have cost?

 

I had a quote from an independent toy shop for idler arm and lower ball joints for $695. So you did ok.

However, my total bill will ~$520 for the following:
Idler
Lower Ball Joints
Upper Ball Joints
Tie rod end assemblies
Relay Rod (recall replacement)

That's with a little sweat and blood yet to come.

I guess it depends on how valuable your time is. I wanted to learn how to do it, so I'm taking the hard road.

 

[QUOTE=mach4]

"However, my total bill will ~$520 for the following:
Idler
Lower Ball Joints
Upper Ball Joints
Tie rod end assemblies
Relay Rod (recall replacement)"

Except for the relay rod I did all of those for $170 from E-bay. The parts looked good w/ grease fittings on the ball joints. The only thing that looked a little cheaper was the pittman arm.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ball-...spagenameZWDVW

Looks like they gone up a few $. I did all the work myself, so there's a little sweat involved.

Anthony

 

Had my recall done today. No problem. They did recommend new fan belts and repacking front wheel bearings.

The job costs Toyota about $350.00

It pays 2.2 hours including alignment and the part is about $170.00

 

Just got mine replaced today. They said my idler arm has a little bit of play but its still OK to pass PA inspection. They also said I didn't need an alignment (had one done at Toyota about six months ago after I installed the 33s) as the new rod doesn't affect any of the existing steering geometry. No other parts were replaced or recommended to be replaced.

 

Well I just got back from dropping mine off at the stealership so it can be get the rod replaced. All the service advisor kept saying was that they were glad to have it the whole day on Friday so that they could give it a good once over. And I kept telling him that it would not need anything else, just to take care of the relay rod and the alignment and I will pick it up Saturday morning. And of course the last thing that he told me was that he will give me a call about my Runner and what they find it needs in the morning. Jeez I HATE STEALERSHIPS.
I guess that is one of the reasons that I left from working at one for 14 years. The brain washing that they try to give you is unreal in some of these places. I don't miss that rat race at all ! I guess we will see what the phone call in the morning yields. Wish me luck !

 

I took my 94 pickup in for the recall to the local dealer and got it back the same day, everything replaced at no charge, including an alignment. No pressure or noise about my idler arm (or anything else) which, frankly, surprised me. Then I made an appointment for my 95 4Runner for the following week, but ended up with a $1200 bill for a coolant and brake flush, as well as new rotors, pads, and shoes-- all things the truck sorely needed. The recall work was "free" on the 95 this time as well, but I didn't get my truck back until I had signed my name to an AmEx receipt. The interesting thing about the 95 4Runner was that my VIN number wasn't included in the special campaign notice, but the service advisor still insisted that "it needed to be done." I didn't argue the point. Now he wants the VIN for my 87 1st Gen to see if it too is eligible. I told him not to bother, though. Too much of a good thing can still lead to a $1200 bill.

H.
Bethesda, MD

 

What all did they change as part of the recall. The stealer I took mine to charged me for the idler arm, pitman, and tierods (they said because they were worn, I have a feeling because they had such a hard time getting them off they were damaged). Of course, the stealer was no help. Toyota said they MIGHT be able to do something if I coul fin other dealers were replacing more than just the relay rod ....

SOOOOO... if anyone has taken theirs in, and got more than a relay rod and alignment - SEND ME A PM!!!

 

Can the stealer MAKE you pay for unauthorized work?

I'd be pissed!

I'm taking mine in Monday and will make it perfectly clear when the truck is dropped off that the only authorized work is the relay rod.

 

after reading about all of the extra costs that yall are being charged, I'm almost afraid to take mine in.

 

i'm putting on new 32s in the next week or so and will be going in for the recall soon after (hey, free alignment) ... i will be conscious of what i've seen here. but i already know my balljoints are on their way out and will likely concede to some work "outside the parameters" of the recall itself .... thanks to all for posting. i will do the same after my appt.

 

Well no, but they kinda hol your truck hostage until you "authorize" it. (Or at least that's how it felt to me)

And, yes, I was pissed (therefore the call to Toyota who was little help)

Like I said - they were actually pretty reasonable about the labor rates - it was paying ful list for the parts that jacked it up... wonder if you could get the parts from strap and have them put them on ...

 

For all us Great White Northerners, ours is Special Service Campaign #514

Ask the dealer to look up your vin that way or e-mail Toyota Canada here https://www.toyota.ca/cgi-bin/WebObj...110000e%2ehtml


Mine is going in this week.

 

I didn't get an alignment as part of my recall service and I think its because they know how hard it is to align my truck with all the rusted parts. If the alignment is supposed to be included and they don't do it that's got to be at least an hour or so of free time for them to make more money by doing repairs on someone else's vehicle on my time. But, I have been following the same Toyota mechanic around from dealship to dealership repairing my 4Runner for the last nine years and he is the most trustworthy mechanic I have met (at a dealership anyway). I don't know that replacing the rod really makes that much difference in the alignment anyway so I'm not too concerned about it. If you think about it, as long as the rod is identical, you didn't get any new ball joints, idler arm, etc., and the alignment was fine before, why would an alignment be necessary??

 

You can download the special service instructions earlier up in the thread. It states they are to check the alignment and do it if necessary. I'm sure they make every effort to avoid having to do it (especially for those of us with rusty parts), but if you pick it up and the alignment isn't right, you should take it back and make them do it - it IS specified...

 

Mine qualified and I'm scheduled for service on Tuesday (12/6). It will be interesting to see what they find while it's on the rack. I have no idea what kind of condition my tie-rods and other stuff is in.

Ed

 

no idea eh? you will most definately need new halogen light fluid.

 

Had my steering relay done under the campaign. They said the tie rods were rusted solid so they couldn't do the alignment. Was expecting to get a big estimate for the tie rod replacement but... much to my surprise... they said because the rods prevented them from doing an alignment they could replace them under the recall. They had to order them so I'll take it back Monday to have it done. Very pleased. Of course they had a bunch of other stuff, pitman arm, upper and lower ball joints, shocks they said it needed to have done but I told them no thanks. I'm getting ready to to a 3.4 swap and will do that stuff when I have the engine out. Should make it a little easier.

 

What dealer? I need this evience for a complaint I have issued with Toyota for exactly the same thing!