Did I get ripped off? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Dave Krueger · 08-01-2005, 06:48 PM

I took my 95 Camry into the local dealer because the power door locks and windows suddenly stopped working. They replaced the master switch assembly and a fusible link for a total cost of $584. I asked them to put the bad part in the car and they said they would, but it wasn't in there when I went to pick it up, so I had to ask them again. They finally gave it to me. It's the switch panel in the door for the windows and locks.

That was four days ago and guess what? The power door locks and windows just stopped working again.

I'm no expert, but this sounds a lot like the problem is a motor or solenoid beginning to go bad, causing the fuse to pop. It also sounds like they replaced the switch assembly for no reason other than to rip me off.

Since I still have the old switch assembly, is there some place I can send it to see if it really is broken?

And one final question. Do I even want to know if I was ripped off? Is there really anything I can do about it if I was (aside from not going there again)?

I'd appreciate any advice (and/or consolation) anyone can offer.

Thanks.

-Dave

***Silver Streak*** · 08-01-2005, 07:33 PM

Sorry to hear that Dave...$584 is a ton of money for any repair.

From my experience in electronics in general, it's very rare that electronics break down. But when then do, it's usually because of dirty contacts in the switch, dirty contacts in a small relay, a bad connection, like a broken fuse or a snapped wire. Very rarely will a resistor melt out, unless it's in a highly used circuit with a lot of load.

That being said, both your window switch and power door lock both went out at the same time. Those two things are controlled by separate switches. I highly doubt the problem was with the master switch assemby. Fusible link? Didn't know they used one for door locks and window switches.

When your windows/doors stopped working, did it completely stop working? Or was it intermittent? Or did you not wait long enough? There is a good chance that the wires in your door snapped (in that rubber connector). But since it stopped working after 4 days, there could be a bad short somewhere.

You can go back there and tell them to fix it, I'm sure they must warranty their work for 90 days or so, and if it's a new part, there should be a parts warranty from Toyota.

Good luck.

***REN69*** · 08-01-2005, 07:37 PM

yeah you got ripped off.

Calvin327 · 08-01-2005, 07:42 PM

That"s Way Too Much!

WhiteRabbit · 08-01-2005, 07:49 PM

bad deal...

majorgercko1 · 08-01-2005, 07:50 PM

analed..

mandyfig · 08-01-2005, 07:55 PM

Dispute the payment if you paid by credit card. That's reall bad that they rape people like that. Good luck.

***Knailgun*** · 08-01-2005, 08:00 PM

yup...you got screwed......dispute payment...or cancel paymn if done with check and not back yet.

karazy · 08-01-2005, 08:32 PM

That's messed up. Side story, when I traded my gen3 the other day, I went back an hour later (had left something in the car)and the master panel was already stripped from my car. They only gave me $3500. If I knew the switch was worth that, I would have parted it out.

They are just switches, you should be able to test them with a meter.

Dave Krueger · 08-01-2005, 08:36 PM

Yeah, I just looked at the fine print. All disputes must go through an arbitor. I almost feel like eating the $584 loss and taking it elsewhere to be repaired. If I take the car back there, I think I may just get ripped off even further.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I did pay by credit card so I'll probab;y give them a call and see what they have to say, but I'd be willing to bet that filing a dispute with them constitutes a violation of the repair agreement. My daughter is a lawyer, so I'll probably check with her, too.

-Dave

The Sprinter · 08-01-2005, 09:06 PM

Yes mate, I fixed my A/C system on my Gen2 (compressor, expansion valve and bottle) for 425 and your telling me 500+ for a power window/lock problem!!

jamie1 · 08-01-2005, 10:51 PM

Why not give the dealer a chance to make it right. EVERYBODY makes mistakes.

Dave Krueger · 08-02-2005, 07:45 AM

Mistake 1: They told me they would have to remove the door to replace the switch panel.

Mistake 2: They charged $584 to replace a part that wasn't broken.

Mistake 3: They didn't put the bad part in the car as I requested.

Mistake 4: They broke some kind of bezzel that they didn't have in stock so I have to bring the car back again so they can replace that.

Mistake 5: After all this, they didn't do a single thing to fix the problem aside from replacing the fusible link for which they charged $9.80 (that's just the cost of the part).

Interestingly, this is the place where I bought the car. Needless to say, I will not buy a car from them again. Once I'm past this ordeal, I will never set foot in that place again.

I don't think it's a mistake. I think it's a systematic way of doing business.

-Dave

xylium · 08-02-2005, 10:12 AM

I had a similar problem on my 94, I thought my power mirror was broke but when I went to go put the junkyard one in, it still didn't work properly. So I pulled the door harness out myself and found one of the wires looked like it was sliced through. Soldered it back together and viola! It works now. If at any way technically experienced, I would fix it your self. The door panel has two big screws at each end of the handle. You will also see three caps, two at the upper right and one but the door storage compartment. There are screws behind them, pop the caps and take the screws out. There is also two little plug thingys on the edge of the door where it latches. Push the center of them in and then pull the whole plug out. I think that's it for screws. Oh, don't forget to pop the little black triangle peice by the window. Then using a screw driver and your hands, gently pull on the bottom of the door panel until you feel all the clips pop, careful, some of them pull off the door panel from age. You'll see what I mean. Disconnect the harnesses from the master switch. Your gonna need a pliers to pop the clips of the door harness. Try to take a mental picture of how the harness runs throughout the door. You are also gonna need to pop the side kick panel under the dash, that's where the door harness come through, it's the blue connector, and possibly another right next to it. The rest of it is simply removing the door harness and inspecting beneeth the rubber boot. If only a couple of wires are broke, just solder it. If alot of them snapped, just grab a new harness from the junkyard and replace your old one. If you need detail on how to get the harness out of the door, let me know.

Dave Krueger · 08-02-2005, 01:40 PM

I agree that the most likely cause for the problem is the wiring, probably shorting out somewhere and popping the fuse. I used to always fix stuff myself when I was younger, but now I really hate working on cars.

It stands to reason that things that move are most likely to break. I would guess it's either the driver's door or the driver side rear door that has the wiring frayed where it flexes when the door is opened.

I'm surprised that they wouldn't have suspected the wiring, especially since the problem is obviously intermitent. It makes me wonder just how many times I'll have to take it back before they fix it right. If I go into it, they'll be able to claim I violated the warranty....

-Dave