Hi all i am new to the forum. And I'm a little upset. I've had some warranty work done on my 09 Camry that took almost 6months to complete (told it was a shortage of parts) the (4) pistons and seal and rings had to be replaced. The stealership gave me a rental until the work was complete. About one or two weeks later my wife started the car in the morning and poof white smoke. the next day was the same!. Now after taking it back. They inform me some of the valve stem seals are bad!!!. My answer is it didn't smoke before you repaired it. And along with smoking the car doesn't seem to start as quickly before the repair have I got a leg to stand on or should i just accept there answer. Ive gone half the year without my vehicle Then I Get it back with another problem? REALLY

 

starting seems slower .. how many cranks ?

it being an import I can believe pistons would be hard to source
the block would have needed a re bore and that cant be done till pistons size sourced

.
white smoke ..i would wait and see

was the head taken off and refitted or reconditioned with the piston replacement

two possibles
when they take a head off a long time running motor and recondition it
the carbon ring build up around the head gasket and piston tops
is broken away

takes some time for that carbon ring to build up again
that means the engine will burn a small amount of oil to do this


if the exhaust valve stems have hardened
valve stem seals can be replaced with the head on

 

Did the car sit for 6 months waiting for repairs?

It very well may be the seals hardened as dirty hands stated. This due to the engine not being operated for a prolonged period of time.

The warranty repair you had done do not cover valve stem seal replacement. The dealer is not going to replace them as they don't get paid. Some dealers offer to replace the seals at an extra cost at the time of this now common warranty repair is being done. Did this dealer offer this?

As to what to do? You can try to get the dealer fix the problem. You making the case Toyota's lack of parts and the engine being down for 6 months caused the seals to harden. Based on what you state this is my opinion of what happened.

Dealers have can pretty much do whatever they want. However it comes down to money as they will be spending their money on this repair not Toyota's.

If you are a repeat customer they are more inclined to help, if not then less inclined. Dealers often may negotiate where you pay half or something for the repair. Or they may just offer nothing.

You can move up the food chain and get Toyota corp involved who might do something or not. However it is best to work the issue with the dealer if possible.

As dirty states the seals can be replaced with the head still on the car. You will need to find a shop that is willing to do this as most remove the head.

Unfortunately you seem to have been led down the merry path here. The dealer should have known this was a possibility due to the prolonged engine down time. Then should have offered for a fee to change the seals when doing the other work.

If it is indeed valve stem seals the smoke duration will increase. Typically occurring after the car sits for a long time such as over night.

 

Thanks for the replys
1) the engine is part of the high oil consumption warranty
2) we drove our car 1000-1500 mile and it failed
3) It sat apart for the duration of the repair 6 months for lack of parts apparently our engine doesnt have all the same pistons
4) we got it back and within a week or two she notice the smoke issue
they never suggested changing the valve stem seals until we took it back now they want 1500.00 but will help us by giving us a break and lower the price to 1200.00 we plan on speaking with the service Manager monday eve i would assume he is the first stop

 

Your 1 to 4 listings sum up what may have happened.

One Toyota dealer quoted $500 for replacing seals when the other work was being done.

If no luck with dealer get quotes from outside shops. Try to find one that can do the job without taking the head off.