2005 Toyota Camry 2.4L: Front Brakes

[stomper]

Hello everyone,

I'm in need of what's going on with my 2005 Toyota Camry 2.4L (American Build), Non-skid, on the front brakes.

About 2 months ago my L/F brakes just locked up. So, I towed it to the dealership to have the brakes looked at and worked on. They said my Camry was locking up because the L/F caliper is freezing up. So, what the dealership did is replace the 2 front rotors, new brake pads, and new calipers. Got the brake fluid flushed out, also. I spent $ 760 dollars on getting the brakes worked on. Now, after about a thousand miles later and about 2 months, the same thing is happening. The L/F caliper are locking up.

I brought it back to the dealership and they said NOW, that it's the "ABS Actuator Pump Assembly" and the parts/labor would cost roughly $ 1300 dollars.. Now, when they replaced that part. The same problem is still happening. The L/F caliper is locking up. Luckly, when it was locking up I didn't drive the vehicle to far to damage the brand new brakes that was put in the first place.

Now, I'm out of money and my car is still at the dealership that the ASE certified mechanic is puzzled on what's going on with my Camry. I know that this problem is uncommon but, I'm out of money and my car is still in the shop after one week. I need my car and I need my car fixed.

What can I do claim this repair as a mistake on Toyota's part on "mis-diagnosing" my Camry? - And what could be the problem going on with my L/F brakes locking up?

I'm wanting to contact coperate and tell them what's going on because I'm frustrated and I simply can't afford any money to put on my brakes. Do anyone have a direct email address that I can write to the Toyota Corporate offices and hopefully somebody can help me out on resolving this issue I'm having with my brakes?

Any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated it. Please help.

Regards,
Stomper - "...broke w/o my car.. need help.... fast"

[PRINCESS PEACH]

wow... your dealership screwed you and took your money. I'd complain and make them reimburse me back... Or at least make them fix your brakes for free.

[stomper]

Hi Princess Peach,

That is what I want to do and I'm wanting my car to be fixed as soon as possible because I need my car.

I want to file a complaint because I've spent money that didn't fix the problem in the first place. They replace the whole front brakes and it's still locking up. They "thought" that it was the ABS actuator and it's still locking up.

- I want to call somebody to complain. Do anyone know of a direct email and/or number that I can send/call my complaint to?

Please anyone... help?!?

Originally Posted by PRINCESS PEACH

wow... your dealership screwed you and took your money. I'd complain and make them reimburse me back... Or at least make them fix your brakes for free.

[JSM1284]

Could be a brake hose issue. They should cover the cost of the other repairs. Take it up with the service manager.

[stomper]

Hi jsm1284,

I will do that as soon as my car get fixed. I already wrote a letter to send to Toyota Corporate here: http://www.toyota.com/help/contactus.html and the address that I'm sending my letter of complaint is here:

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
19001 South Western Ave.
Dept. WC11
Torrance, CA 90501

That is the right address to send my complaint to, right? or/and should I send a letter to the service manager at dealership to as well. Or, are there anymore other places I need to send it to.

Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
stomper

Originally Posted by JSM1284

Could be a brake hose issue. They should cover the cost of the other repairs. Take it up with the service manager.

[ScrooYoo]

did you already try going in and talking in person to the service manager, stressing the fact that they misdiagnosed your car and asking them to fix it for no charge? that might get you quicker results than sending a letter.

It helps to be firm and a little angry when talking to them (but not too angry or confrontational). Bring your receipt from the last job and tell him that its unacceptable that you paid them to fix a problem and its still not fixed.

[JSM1284]

I would call Toyota Customer support, as you wont hear back for probably weeks if you wrote a letter....

[Mike Gerber]

I agree with talking to the service manager/director of the dealership first. Like ScrooYou said, be firm but not confrontational. If that doesn't work, give Toyota coroporate customer service (They call it the custormer experience center.) a call at 1-800-331-4331. Discuss the issue with a customer service rep. Again, be firm but not confrontational.

Good luck.

Mike

[MstrToyoTech]

i have seen this a couple times before.. first IF the caliper was freezing it could easily be diagnosed. second did they check the caliper slides? those freeze ALL the time on higher milage vehicles. third abs actuator pump? it would throw a code-highly unlikley that is the problem. last but not least the master cylinder could be at fault..but im leaning towards the caliper slides (on the bracket the pads sit in) because its just one wheel.

on another note why replace the caliper on the other side? was it leaking? L/F caliper and R/F caliper are on different brake line circuits as a fail safe so if the line is cut or something you still have a front and a rear brake.


p.s. it pisses me off that someone calls themself a tech when all they do is f*&king guess what the problem is..theres a few of those in my dealership. f*&king simpletons

[AlmightyCamry777]

I'm with MrToyotech, those aren't mechanics they are parts changers! And JSM1284 could be right, it sounds like it could simply be a brake hose problem! Its possible that the brake hose could be partially collapsed inside or damaged and this could cause your intermittant problem.

The next guess is the master cylinder, you'd think the geniuses at the shop would have at least tried to test the master first instead of just throwing parts at the car!

[stomper]

Originally Posted by ScrooYoo

did you already try going in and talking in person to the service manager, stressing the fact that they misdiagnosed your car and asking them to fix it for no charge? that might get you quicker results than sending a letter.

It helps to be firm and a little angry when talking to them (but not too angry or confrontational). Bring your receipt from the last job and tell him that its unacceptable that you paid them to fix a problem and its still not fixed.

Yes, I did ScrooYoo. What was funny is that they double charged me the first time on flushing the break fluid on my car. I told the service manager that they double charged me and he looked at the reciept (he paused when he looked at the reciept on our phone conversation) and he didn't say crap after that. He came back to me that he was going to send out a gift certificate that is worth $189.00 to detail my car when I'm back in town. Remember, that I was an out of town guest in this state and I know for a fact, that all they did now, is R&R the whole front break system.

- I will be calling Toyota's customer service on Monday and sending them all the proof of work that has been done on my car to show them that they f**ked up. I want my money back for the misdiagnosing my car. We will see how this will go.

Originally Posted by JSM1284

I would call Toyota Customer support, as you wont hear back for probably weeks if you wrote a letter....

I will do that first thing on Monday. I just got my car back from the dealership and they educated me the steps on what I needed to do to get this done to complain against this dealership that misdiagnosed my car. They will get theres when I complain to Toyota's customer support.

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

I agree with talking to the service manager/director of the dealership first. Like ScrooYou said, be firm but not confrontational. If that doesn't work, give Toyota coroporate customer service (They call it the custormer experience center.) a call at 1-800-331-4331. Discuss the issue with a customer service rep. Again, be firm but not confrontational.
Good luck.
Mike

I did talk to the service manager and I was cool and calm on the line but, still kepted my ground. That call to Toyota's customer center will be first thing this Monday. I will keep you all informed on what's going on.

Originally Posted by MstrToyoTech

i have seen this a couple times before.. first IF the caliper was freezing it could easily be diagnosed. second did they check the caliper slides? those freeze ALL the time on higher milage vehicles. third abs actuator pump? it would throw a code-highly unlikley that is the problem. last but not least the master cylinder could be at fault..but im leaning towards the caliper slides (on the bracket the pads sit in) because its just one wheel. On another note why replace the caliper on the other side? was it leaking? L/F caliper and R/F caliper are on different brake line circuits as a fail safe so if the line is cut or something you still have a front and a rear brake.
p.s. it pisses me off that someone calls themself a tech when all they do is f*&king guess what the problem is..theres a few of those in my dealership. f*&king simpletons

They said that they checked everything on the front brakes and concluded that it was the 'caliper' I have all this on the reciepts that they gave me when they got done with my car. My vehicle only had 54,000 miles in them and brakes should not mess up that quick. The last time that I took the car in for inspection that all my brakes (front and back) was still good before I took this trip out of state. -

Took the car into my normal dealership and YES!, it was the "MASTER CYCLINDER" they replaced it along with the ABS actuator (it was not the ABS actuator at first because they tried replacing that first and it didn't work. The L/F caliper was still locking up - so that part was almost free) The master cyclinder was replaced and my car is now in good working order. Now, my brakes is doing what it should doing.

All along it was the "Master Cyclinder" and I'm filing a complaint (Toyota Customer Center) on this out of town dealership that I took it to and sending letters out to the first dealership that I took it to that they f**cked up and to the Toyota Motor Sales in California. I will be presenting both parties the proof of misdiagnosing my vehicle and I will be requesting my money back from the dealership.

Yes, I'm pissed that they misdiagnosed my car and I will be asking for compensation and money back for all these troubles.

Originally Posted by AlmightyCamry777

I'm with MrToyotech, those aren't mechanics they are parts changers! And JSM1284 could be right, it sounds like it could simply be a brake hose problem! Its possible that the brake hose could be partially collapsed inside or damaged and this could cause your intermittant problem.

The next guess is the master cylinder, you'd think the geniuses at the shop would have at least tried to test the master first instead of just throwing parts at the car!

All these ASE CERTIFIED TECHNICIANS that worked in dealership should re-take their licenses because obviously they don't know what the hell they are doing when come down to diagnosing a problem that created it and not just "Removing" and "Replacing" parts that is still good. - I know for a fact that the breaks was still good before it locked up. It's because my car went through an inspection, including having my oil changed, and learning that the my breaks are still good.

Amazing.... how one single part could cause all this.

I just got my car yesterday and I'm working on contacting Toyota Customer Center on Monday and I'm sending 2 letters out. One to the original dealership that worked on my car and to Toyota Motor Sales in California for my complaints. So, going through the whole 9 yards to get this resolved financially now. So wish me luck everyone and thank you for all your support and help in this matter. Without your encourgement, I would not be making the right decisions on making this right.

Thank you.... stomper

By the way, although I had to pay an additional $ 544.00 to get this right. I will expect the 1st dealership to pay for the brake job that they did that did cost me $ 765.00. I'm broke because of this. Seriously.

[JohnGD]

Dealership mechanics are pretty much independent contractors. Many, as you found out, are not worth your time.

I wonder if Toyota can make the dealer use some of the goodwill budget they get allocated to help resolve your case, even when they're all in the business to make money -- not so much to take care of the customers.

Here is an example of how customers are treated. So be firm and loud (figuratively speaking, not yelling over the phone) to get any service:

"The objective will be to limit the number of vehicles to be serviced to those owners who complain, and to limit the per-vehicle cost,"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...900,full.story

Originally Posted by stomper

All along it was the "Master Cyclinder" and I'm filing a complaint (Toyota Customer Center) on this out of town dealership that I took it to and sending letters out to the first dealership that I took it to that they f**cked up and to the Toyota Motor Sales in California. I will be presenting both parties the proof of misdiagnosing my vehicle and I will be requesting my money back from the dealership.

Yes, I'm pissed that they misdiagnosed my car and I will be asking for compensation and money back for all these troubles.



All these ASE CERTIFIED TECHNICIANS that worked in dealership should re-take their licenses because obviously they don't know what the hell they are doing when come down to diagnosing a problem that created it and not just "Removing" and "Replacing" parts that is still good. - I know for a fact that the breaks was still good before it locked up. It's because my car went through an inspection, including having my oil changed, and learning that the my breaks are still good.

Amazing.... how one single part could cause all this.

I just got my car yesterday and I'm working on contacting Toyota Customer Center on Monday and I'm sending 2 letters out. One to the original dealership that worked on my car and to Toyota Motor Sales in California for my complaints. So, going through the whole 9 yards to get this resolved financially now. So wish me luck everyone and thank you for all your support and help in this matter. Without your encourgement, I would not be making the right decisions on making this right.

Thank you.... stomper

By the way, although I had to pay an additional $ 544.00 to get this right. I will expect the 1st dealership to pay for the brake job that they did that did cost me $ 765.00. I'm broke because of this. Seriously.

[ScrooYoo]

Originally Posted by JohnGD

they're all in the business to make money -- not so much to take care of the customers.

Very well said. This pretty much describes the collective auto industry and especially Toyota as of late.

If only the empty suits at corporate realized that customer satisfaction is directly related to their precious profits. It might not make an immediate difference that they can show on their quarterly reports, but over the long term it makes a huge difference. This is what IMO allowed toyota to become the biggest company in the world not long ago. This was acheived over 20 years not 2 months. Ford just realized this not long ago and were able to turn the company around 180 degrees in a pretty short period of time. The companies that have been screwing up for years are just now starting to learn their lesson while Toyota is going in reverse.

Anyways, good luck and I hope you are able to get this resolved. The key here is that you paid a lot of your hard earned cash for them to fix a problem and they didn't fix it, so just keep harping on that fact and don't settle or take no for an answer.