Hey, gang. I'm new here. I'm a first-time Toyota owner with a used 03 Camry SE with 76K miles purchased from a private individual in May of 2008.

About a week or so ago I noticed that I was only getting heat while the car was in motion. I got cold air while idling. Upon taking it to the Toyota dealership their diagnosis was that the bolts were being pulled from a damaged short block which needed to be replaced Their estimate was just under $5700 plus tax. I put in a format complaint with Toyota and the dealership contacted their area rep who stated that they would cover half of the estimate, about $2850. So I'm still presented with an estimate of about $2850. Yes, better than $5700, but still. THIS at 76K miles?

Of course everyone who buys Toyota expects to have their cars run for 200,000 miles before they need major engine repair. I know this isn't uncommon after researching this problem, but I'd like your opinions. Should I get this repair done since (1) Toyota is offering this financial break, and (2) there is potentially a lot of life left in this car, or do I cut my losses, try to get rid of it, and buy something else? Bottom line is it's going to be hard as hell to dig up almost $3000 to fix something that should not have happened in the first place. What is the potential of something this catastrophic happening again?

Thanks for your insights.
Jersey Chris

 

Fix it, Not sure where I saw it but the short block part that you and me have was superceded to a new number, hopefully a better part.

I can't agree more with you, this should never happened. Toyota should issue a recall or something. Good price, I got $1300 wrapped up in parts and machine shop alone. (headgasket and bolts $300, timesert kit $500, helicoil (that sucks) $250, $200 machine shop work plus 13 hours of my time.)

 

joshandlauri just finished fixing his block having the same issue, he did the work himself.

Your problem is not common but is starting to pop up. Yes it should never have happened and appears to be a design flaw. Toyota has used aluminum blocks before and not had this problem.

Is this a short block complete with new parts or will they use the old crank, pistons, etc?

You will need to decide what to do.

If your not handy with tools fixing it yourself is out. You might be able to find a shop to install Time-Serts but if your paying for labor the total may be about the same as what Toyota wants.

I might be worth calling around to repair shops and asking if they have done this repair before. Toyota's fix is a new block but a few shops are now repairing the bolt.

What is the value of this car now in this condition. Can you afford to purchase another car with what you can get out of this one. Be sure to include sales tax, transfer fees, etc if your state has them.

If a new short design block is available (ask the dealer) you could end up with almost new engine for under $3K

Not sure what a used engine would cost, would need to add the labor to install. You may be looking at $2k at least.

Might post the same question to the Toyotanation site where a few owners have had the same problem. Then think about it for time before deciding.