Dumb question, but I'm trying to get as much info I can before I go to the service dept. at my local dealership and raise some hell.

In the multi-point inspection done by Toyota, would the water pump be checked? If not, if a car comes in with a laundry list of issues, one of which being that it doesn't hold coolant, wouldn't it make sense to check the water pump before recommending an engine tear down to further diagnose?

 

Assume this post is related to your other post about loss of coolant.

A multi-point check without any owner complaints is just going to cover the basics. For most shops this is a way to make money in finding problems that may or may not need fixing. The mechanic would look for obvious problems but not check the pump unless there was an obvious leak easily visible.

If you complained about loss of coolant the mechanic should look VERY CLOSE at the coolant system for leaks. Coolant normally does not vanish from the system and if does there must be a reason.

If an owner complaint was loss of coolant especially on a dealer engine rebuilt (they have your records), the shop should have gone through the system with a fine tooth comb as their mechanic could have screwed up the repair. This including pressure testing the coolant system to check for leaks. This procedure is specified and included in the shop manual if a loss of coolant is noted and is quoted below:

"(c) Using a radiator cap tester, increase the pressure inside the radiator to 118 kPa (1.2 kgf*cm, 17 psi), and check that the pressure does not drop. If the pressure drops, check the hoses, radiator and water pump for leaks. If no external leaks are found check the heater core, cylinder block and cylinder head."

The water pump on this engine is exposed and can be inspected without taking off any covers, etc.

One side bar note (just my opinion and being harsh on dealers!) is if the engine was still under the engine warranty the dealer may not care as fixing any problems would be on their dime. However if off warranty they should be most happy to charge you the going rate for diagnostic work and parts.

Did you originally complain about loss of coolant when the engine was still under warranty? If so this complaint should have been noted in your records and it is the dealers responsibility to check this out and find the cause of loss of coolant.

This engine is known to have water pump issues and as such another reason to check the pump if having a coolant loss.

This assumes you told them about coolant leakage. If not, then they would assume the system was OK.

One final point is who does all the work on the car? If this dealer then they have even more of an obligation to check things out as only their mechanics worked on it.

 

The engine is under warranty from the work they did in October. I spoke with the Service Director who stated that they had seen seepage from the water pump when they first examined it. But since they weren't sure if that was the culprit they wanted to tear down the engine to see if there were any other possible issues and more importantly to see what the extent of the damage was. I had specifically stated, and it's even on the work order, that coolant was an issue.

The Service Director admitted that it was mishandled and that I should have been told about the water pump before they asked to do the tear down. He said he's willing to reduce what they charge me to their cost for the teardown, and then find some means of discounting labor on the engine replacement.

Most of the service work is done by them, but I had another shop do the water pump (non-Toyota, about 2 years ago). So of course the part that failed had to be something they didn't install.

So basically what I have is: 1) They admitted to mishandling the situation by not advising me sooner of the water pump issue. 2) The car managed to overheat to a point where it warped the engine, even though the temp. gauge and warning lights never alerted me. 3) The only thing they could find wrong was the water pump, so the conclusion is that it is what lead to the car overheating.

The Service Director says he'll call me back later today with an answer as to how it overheated without alerting me and give me the cost of various repair options. No matter what I imagine that this situation will be an unaffordable one. So as a hail mary I may call Toyota Corporate regarding how this situation was handled. Other than a lot of money, what do I have to lose by going the distance with this?

 

The non-Toyota WP should not be an issue. From what you state you took the car to the dealer in part to check out why the coolant was disappearing. The mechanic should have done a pressure test. Assuming the pump was leaking it would have leaked then and there for the mechanic to find and gladly replaced for $$ dollars by you. If you opted not to replace the pump they would have noted this in the work order to cover themselves.

Toyota WP's have failed after 3 years on some engine models more then once.