Manual Solara problems

[pro956]

Hey guys, happy holidays...

I need some advice/help with this.

I have a 2002 solara se v6 manual.
I currently have just under 30,000 miles on it.

A couple days ago I couldn't shift into 2nd gear, 4th gear, and Reverse.
4th gear and Reverse were trouble areas for a while...

Anyway, last night I dropped it off to Carmax Toyota in Laurel (md). I imagined the problem would be covered by the powertrain warranty.

I received a phone call this morning saying that the problem is that the "cables from the shifter from the the fork" is binding and frayed. They said they will have to replace the shifter cable. They are quoting me at $747.06 for parts and labor. It will take about 6 days for parts to come in. They said that after they fix the cable they will let me know if any other work needs to be done.

How does this sound to you experts?

Originally when I purchased the car, I noticed a rattling sound coming from the gearbox area. I took it in for them to look at. They said they had to take out my engine to reach it etc etc so it took them about a week. When they were finished they said they couldn't fully get rid of the rattle but that they managed to make it less noticeable. I asked them if maybe this was related in anyway and they said that i had no open tickets with toyota so that they couldn't do anything about it.

What do you guys think about this? I will try to shop around, does anyone know anyone around college park/baltimore that can take care of this for cheaper?

I'm just asking b/c I've had poor experiences at shops before and it is going to be tough on my wallet paying so much to have my car repaired right now.

Thanks for the help everyone.

[Sentinel]

Sounds like a powertrain problem to me, and should be covered if you have a powertrain warranty.

I don;t think it's cool that you had frayed cables. It takes a LOT to mess up wire rope... when you get it fixed make sure they take care of whatever caused the problem in the first place.

[JMSinMaryland]

Your first mistake was taking it to CarMax. I have a service advisor and mechanic at Russel Toyota whom I trust my car to. If it can be covered under any warranty she'll make sure it is. Dealers usually will try to deny warranty work and make you pay out of pocket because they know Toyota won't accept their overcharging. For example with the oil gelling issue I'm sure Toyota is paying them to the penny for hourly labor and parts, i.e. 10 hours labor and $500 for parts. If you were to pay out of pocket it would probably be 20 hours labor and $1500 for the exact same thing. Jon.

[pro956]

Your first mistake was taking it to CarMax. I have a service advisor and mechanic at Russel Toyota whom I trust my car to. If it can be covered under any warranty she'll make sure it is. Dealers usually will try to deny warranty work and make you pay out of pocket because they know Toyota won't accept their overcharging. For example with the oil gelling issue I'm sure Toyota is paying them to the penny for hourly labor and parts, i.e. 10 hours labor and $500 for parts. If you were to pay out of pocket it would probably be 20 hours labor and $1500 for the exact same thing. Jon.

Hey John, my brother also recommended Russel Toyota... Maybe I will give them a call. Any chance you can give me the service advisor's name?

Thanks

[pro956]

Does anyone know the part number for the solara's shifter cables?

[sillygrrrl]

Your first mistake was taking it to CarMax.

i second that. before i got my solara, i bought a car from the carmax in laurel .. after driving it around for a day & discovering minor issues w. the car they neglected to tell me about, i brought it back for a "return" 2 days later.

[Biggi_e]

i have some buddies of mine that work for 355 toyota in rockville and i have a lot of trusty mechanics that work at ford now(they used to work for toyota). lemme know if you need any help.

[DatSRBoi]

Thats full of Bull. Tell them that the first time they worked on your car that nothign got done. Maybe they were the reason this second problem occure. Take it to a different dealership and tell them that your car is under warrantee and you want it done right.. Not less noticeable.




Reality to me is.... What ever happen to toyota quality? The company is slacking off a bit...

[pro956]

Your first mistake was taking it to CarMax. I have a service advisor and mechanic at Russel Toyota whom I trust my car to. If it can be covered under any warranty she'll make sure it is. Dealers usually will try to deny warranty work and make you pay out of pocket because they know Toyota won't accept their overcharging. For example with the oil gelling issue I'm sure Toyota is paying them to the penny for hourly labor and parts, i.e. 10 hours labor and $500 for parts. If you were to pay out of pocket it would probably be 20 hours labor and $1500 for the exact same thing. Jon.

I talked to service at Russel Toyota and they said that it wouldn't be covered under powertrain warranty...

[pro956]

i have some buddies of mine that work for 355 toyota in rockville and i have a lot of trusty mechanics that work at ford now(they used to work for toyota). lemme know if you need any help.

Thanks, I'll let you know.

I guess since it's looking like this won't be taken care of under warranty, I'm shoping around to see how much everyone will charge me...

[Sentinel]

If I were you, I'd be demanding an explanation as to why a transmission problem is not covered under powertrain.

[pro956]

If I were you, I'd be demanding an explanation as to why a transmission problem is not covered under powertrain.

The service agent said: "The powertrain warranty only covers internal compnents. The shifter cables are in the shift box and are not lubricated."

[pro956]

I found the parts I need-- just incase anyone has a similar problem one day:

33821-33100 cable
and
33822-33060 cable

Upper and lower cable.

CarMax lowered the price because I requested bring in the parts and have them install it since I was getting them for cheaper. They're charging me $642.78 and said that they are not making any money on parts... Probably BS, but whatever.

I'm still shopping around and asking them to wait. I asked what I would have to do if I just wanted to pick up my car and they said I would have to pay $91. I said that I was not aware of this and was never informed of it either. The rep did not care... "It's not under warranty so we have to charge you for looking at it." Every time I contacted them I said I did not want anything to be done unless it is covered by my warranty.

[Biggi_e]

i have some buddies of mine that work for 355 toyota in rockville and i have a lot of trusty mechanics that work at ford now(they used to work for toyota). lemme know if you need any help.

Thanks, I'll let you know.

I guess since it's looking like this won't be taken care of under warranty, I'm shoping around to see how much everyone will charge me...

let me know what you need done and ill let my people know and see what their quotes are.

[Sentinel]

You have to realize that even if they don;t do anything to your car, they've invested time in determining what is wrong with it.

OMG I need something better to do than check SG every hour...