New Alternator at only 75000km?

[lilgod]

Hi,

the battery light went on today so I checked my Yaris 2007 by my dealer.
He told me that my alternator was dead and it will cost me 500$ (except the time) to change it! He offered me to install and old one at half price.

I'm not sure that it's normal that a alternator past away after only 3 years. In fact, if it had broken in april, it would have been guaranteed, but not now!

Should I fight to get it free? Is it a normal lifetime if I don't have anything special (no amp, no extra speaker, etc...) than the standard sedan version?

Thanks,
Matt

[soloecho2]

Yours is the second one that I have heard of going just after the warranty was up. It never hurts to try and fight it. Go to another dealership and see what they say. Thats what my friend did then the first dealership replaced it no charge.

[Stevo_Echohb05]

I've seen the voltage regulators go on the yaris $210.00 plus install

if it is the alternator Toyota has a rebuilt available (will be available it's B/O now) for $292.00

if you're out of warranty there's not much the dealer can do besides paying out of their pocket, if you've spent a lot of money there they might be more inclined to pay for it, but it doesn't hurt to ask for help with the part or the labor

[Yaris Hilton]

Things happen. Dang, that's expensive, though! I'd check with an independent garage.

[denman]

CTC alternator's gonna run you under $300 IIRC, and it's relatively easy to replace, sitting up top like that. I thought mine had gone, but it was a battery that died dead, no warning. My alt light didn't come on though. Another possibility might be any starter/alternator rebuild shops in your area, they'll take your old one and rebuild it or swap you for a rebuilt off the shelf

[Yaris Hilton]

I'd definitely go the rebuilt route. (My brothers-in-law own an auto electrical rebuilding business.)

[Breton Toyota]

The alternator on my 07 Yaris went at 79,000 km. It cost $700 Cdn to replace. I wasn't given the option of buying a rebuilt one, because I took it to the dealer (same place I bought it). I've had 6 Toyotas over the past 20 years, this is only the second time I've had to replace an alternator: first time was in an 81 Tercel that had over 100,000 kms on it. The service guys at the dealership say this is a normal lifespan (less than 80,000 kms) for an alternator but I have doubts. It's shattered my confidence in my vehicle. Am I being unreasonable? My last car was a 97 Corolla, traded at 262,000 kms (and I never replaced a major engine or drivetrain component).

[soloecho2]

I have 250,000 km on mine no issues so far. Mainly on the Hi Way between 3,000 and 4,000 RPM.

[Yaris Hilton]

Your alternator's life was short, but it's an overreaction for it to "shatter your confidence in your car." There's a statistical distribution of part failures vs. mileage and/or time, so if most people's alternators last for 300,000 kilometers, say, a few are going to conk out at 75,000 and some will go much farther. Toyotas have earned a reputation for good reliability over the years, and one premature alternator failure doesn't contradict that. Every manufacturer's cars will have some premature failures. We all have to guess and gamble on that when making decisions about whether to buy extended warranties or not.

[Breton Toyota]

Thanks for the replies. So, I guess what happened is, statistically I just had bad luck? I appreciate the reference, as I was wondering if this was some sort of widespread problem with the model. Otherwise, I do like the car a lot. I just hope probability starts to work in my favour now and I don't face another expensive repair for a very long time.

[denman]

Originally Posted by Breton Toyota

The alternator on my 07 Yaris went at 79,000 km. It cost $700 Cdn to replace. I wasn't given the option of buying a rebuilt one, because I took it to the dealer (same place I bought it). I've had 6 Toyotas over the past 20 years, this is only the second time I've had to replace an alternator: first time was in an 81 Tercel that had over 100,000 kms on it. The service guys at the dealership say this is a normal lifespan (less than 80,000 kms) for an alternator but I have doubts. It's shattered my confidence in my vehicle. Am I being unreasonable? My last car was a 97 Corolla, traded at 262,000 kms (and I never replaced a major engine or drivetrain component).

I think the lesson there is avoid the dealer service department (not always possible) since they are pricey. I've found my 2000 Echo quite easy to work on but most parts are "dealer only" so I save only labor. My Toyota dealer is remarkably helpful in supplying print-outs of jobs I buy parts for.

[roxer]

I had a customer bring in their 2007 Yaris for an alternator. There was a rather large stereo isntalled and it went around the same as yours did. Luckily he was smart and purchased ECP - alternator is a covered component of any/all toyota extended warranties. Even a goodwill by a dealership will only be done 1yr/20,000km after the warranty has run out. And they will only do that if you have been a loyal customer. Essentially the dealer will split the cost that Toyota doesn't, with the customer. So if you don't scratch their back why would they scratch yours. Loyalty pays!

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by lilgod

Hi,

the battery light went on today so I checked my Yaris 2007 by my dealer.
He told me that my alternator was dead and it will cost me 500$ (except the time) to change it! He offered me to install and old one at half price.

I'm not sure that it's normal that a alternator past away after only 3 years. In fact, if it had broken in april, it would have been guaranteed, but not now!

Should I fight to get it free? Is it a normal lifetime if I don't have anything special (no amp, no extra speaker, etc...) than the standard sedan version?

Thanks,
Matt

So far we only have the dealers word that the alternator is dead,what symptoms is your car giving you ? could be just dirty battery cables ,if the check engine light came on there is now a stored trouble code that can be read,what code is being shown?Get a second opinion.

[Breton Toyota]

Originally Posted by roxer

I had a customer bring in their 2007 Yaris for an alternator. There was a rather large stereo isntalled and it went around the same as yours did. Luckily he was smart and purchased ECP - alternator is a covered component of any/all toyota extended warranties. Even a goodwill by a dealership will only be done 1yr/20,000km after the warranty has run out. And they will only do that if you have been a loyal customer. Essentially the dealer will split the cost that Toyota doesn't, with the customer. So if you don't scratch their back why would they scratch yours. Loyalty pays!

My dealer should have no complaints about my loyalty, I've been a customer of their service department for 8 years, had my 97 Corolla serviced there right up until I traded it, at 262,000 km, for the Yaris. Lots of people advised me not to have my old car or even the new one dealer maintained, but I did it because I like the quality work and to have all work guaranteed. Plus there is a relationship there I would hope would work in my favour when something goes wrong. Though not sure it did this time.

[roxer]

If I had a customer that had their first car maintained correctly for 5+ years, then bought a second car and had it maintained properly - there is no way I wouldn't do my best to get it to go through goodwill. it is up to the service manager of course if he wants to participate.

essentially toyota pays 60% of the costs and the remainder is split with the dealer and customer. we call it a 60/20/20 split.

if you have been a loyal customer doing the right services on schedule you shouldn't have any issues.