Even more Toyota troubles !

[EvilHorace]

Possibly a new electronic steering rack? Those were recalled on many cars last year too due to motors potentially binding. Those floor mats are a joke, very cheap.

I'm liking the new Fords more every day. Believe it or not, I hear that from everyone lately. Even the Lexus instructor mentioned how the new Fords were cool last time I was there.

As for the engine problem, I'm hoping that I'm not qualified enough to do that after all, they've never sent me to Lexus engine school yet.

[FlyingPenguin]

Happy as I am with my 2007 Camry, I'm going to look very long and hard at a Ford next time around. I really like the Ford Sync technology for the handsfree entertainment center.

[b-man1]

bump on this...just got the recall notice today for possibly "contaminated" valve springs. so, back the IS350 goes. lexus did send along a $1500 check if i want to buy another lexus within the next year (no, not in the market) and extended the drivetrain warranty from 70k miles to 6yr/100k miles, whichever comes first. i've heard of some owners also getting a $500 credit voucher for use at the dealership, which would be much more useful for me (apply to maintenance/service), but at least it's a nice gesture that they didn't have to offer.

Evil- any estimate on how long this repair should take? i'll call them later in the week to schedule it. blah.

[EvilHorace]

It takes less than a day but might take longer due to scheduling. We've got 3 techs who are doing nothing but those valve spring recalls (hundreds of cars), not me fortunately.

[b-man1]

just found this...good description of what can go wrong, with pics.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/02/what ... ings-w-vi/

[Err]

It takes less than a day but might take longer due to scheduling. We've got 3 techs who are doing nothing but those valve spring recalls (hundreds of cars), not me fortunately.

Do they have to remove and replae each spring or it Toyota allowing them to just replace the entire head assembly?

[Lmandrake]

The answer to that question will be interesting. My guess is that Toyota is not replacing the head for a lot of reasons, one of which being their ability to set a low number for the warranty time for the job.

[EvilHorace]

They remove cams, pressurize one bank (cyl head) at a time and replace each spring one at a time with special tools.

Almost forgot, each piston is brought to TDC and held too so no valve can drop.

[b-man1]

this makes me sad.

[EvilHorace]

But why? It's free. The brake master cyl recall is also soon to launch any day now too so if your car gets that one too, they'll do it as well.

[b-man1]

lol...it's the car that keeps on giving.

it's only a 2007, but i think half of it has been replaced already. i know it's no big deal in the end and i'm mostly joking about it. i haven't had a single issue with the car and everything done has been preventative.

the best thing done so far was the TSB for the front brake pads. the "low dust" replacements are MUCH better than the original ones. little to no dust and i prefer how they brake now.

[FlyingPenguin]

I'm loving my 07 Camry. I still think the recall for the gas pedal modification is a joke. My gas pedal was nowhere near the rug. I also can's see why they went the labor intensive route of cutting down the pedal. Wouldn't it have been cheaper to just replace it?

My only gripes is that you can't change the oil filter without a special tool, so my regular mechanic won't touch it (that was 2 years ago so I bet he has the tool now but I haven't asked) and that you can't check the tranny fluid level.

Sorry, but I'm old school. I check the fluid levels in the car every week or so. By the time the warning light goes off, it's too late. My property is unpaved so if all the tranny fluid leaked out overnight, I would never have a clue.

[EvilHorace]

Wouldn't it have been cheaper to just replace it?

Apparently not with those cars (same as the Lexus ES) but they did replace just pedals with the IS.

Toyota has used that same oil filter size since at least the early 90s and that tool, like those for other filters are fairly inexpensive so most people that work on the same types of cars just buy them.

Toyota tranny's rarely leak but if it ever did leak, you'ld probably notice a shifting problem before anything serious happened. You could put a mat or something under it if that'd help you notice possible fluid leaks. Just an idea.

[b-man1]

called today to schedule the valve spring recall and was told i couldn't get in until at least January. the dealership over here apparently only has one or two techs that are certified to do the work, so they are backlogged forever.

on top of that, i got a check engine light and VSC warning a few days ago and was told it was an O2 sensor code and "bank 1 was lean". they cleared the code and told me to come back if it happens again.

[EvilHorace]

It's not that the techs are certified to do that but that every dealer has assigned only a few techs to do nothing but those valve spring recalls. It's because the job is complicated, time consuming and it's best that only a few people get that experience and do just those rather than try having everyone doing them. It'd be very hard to be doing those plus other customer work, waiters, etc. With engine work, you're best to stay on the job and work on that w/o interruptions so you won't forget something.
The shop still has other regular customer work too and has to be productive so the valve spring techs are doing nothing but those recalls while the other techs are taking all the other work and that also entails even more recalls, soon the brake master cyl seal recall (lots of cars).
When the valve spring recall started, our area auto auction had over 90 6 cyl cars (plus V8s, LS 460s) that had to be done before the letters went out to the customers.