CEL on, CEL off

[Scarpa]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Yep, not having a code reader today, would be like trying to tune up a car of yesteryear without having a dwell meter, timing light or feeler gauge.

Well, maybe not necessary, but they were a good double check on the old ears .....


humfrz

Hah and I thought I was old...

Yeah I get that it's a useful tool. I suppose my surprise was in needing one on a car with 20k miles. I do still have wrenches, jackstands, a jack and an airtank somewhere in my garage. Maybe this time around I can have the kids be my labor.

I bought a standalone reader for $16 off amazon, that one click thing helps the impulse buys for sure! I know you all are eagerly awaiting my report of the codes but will have to wait another day.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Scarpa

Hah and I thought I was old...

Yeah I get that it's a useful tool. I suppose my surprise was in needing one on a car with 20k miles. I do still have wrenches, jackstands, a jack and an airtank somewhere in my garage. Maybe this time around I can have the kids be my labor.

I bought a standalone reader for $16 off amazon, that one click thing helps the impulse buys for sure! I know you all are eagerly awaiting my report of the codes but will have to wait another day.

Oh, ya, don't be over-doing now. An old man can get a bad kink in the back, plugging that code reader in ......

And then there is the frustration understanding the code. The numbered translation to words speak of a bunch of stuff you didn't even know your car had.

It's NOT going to say that the number 2 spark plug is fouled or that the timing is not advanced enough or that the points gap is too narrow or the automatic choke is stuck or the idle mixture is too rich ........

NOOOOOOOO.......... THAT would be too damn simple, although it's still an internal combustion, naturally aspirated, gasoline engine.......

humfrz - lost in the 50's ......again ......

[Scarpa]

P000C, this is gonna be fun.

It's off for now, I guess I should keep a close eye on it. Looking over the car fax I got from the dealer it was in every 1000 miles earlier this year for 'inspection', then a repair then up for sale.

I'll probably call the dealer that did that work tomorrow and see if I can get a more detailed history out of them.

[Scarpa]

Ugh.. so I took the car in finally and was told a shady story.. need some feedback to figure out if they are blowing me off.

The code as I mentioned is P000C, and apparently the work that was done before I bought it was to fix the same code. The dealer I took it to is local to me, NOT the one who did the previous work. Previous dealer was Toyota of Escondido, current dealer is Toyota of San Diego.

I was told Escondido did 'a near full teardown' and 'replaced cylinder head' and that if I was to authorize diagnosis at San Diego and they find defective work by Escondido dealer then *I'm* on the hook for repair cost. They are recommending I take it back to Escondido which is about 30 miles from me.

To me it seems like if they did all that work and it's throwing the same code then they didn't fix anything and just wasted the previous owner's time. Which is probably why they sold it..

Is this story about me being liable for other dealer's work true? SD is telling me if I take it back to Escondido then I'm in the clear. Sounds to me like they just don't know how to fix it and are trying to dodge a big warranty repair.

What should I do? Real tempted to sell the car and buy a '17. Unfortunately I'm addicted to the car already so either way I'm gonna stay in a twin.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Scarpa

Ugh.. so I took the car in finally and was told a shady story.. need some feedback to figure out if they are blowing me off.

The code as I mentioned is P000C, and apparently the work that was done before I bought it was to fix the same code. The dealer I took it to is local to me, NOT the one who did the previous work. Previous dealer was Toyota of Escondido, current dealer is Toyota of San Diego.

I was told Escondido did 'a near full teardown' and 'replaced cylinder head' and that if I was to authorize diagnosis at San Diego and they find defective work by Escondido dealer then *I'm* on the hook for repair cost. They are recommending I take it back to Escondido which is about 30 miles from me.

To me it seems like if they did all that work and it's throwing the same code then they didn't fix anything and just wasted the previous owner's time. Which is probably why they sold it..

Is this story about me being liable for other dealer's work true? SD is telling me if I take it back to Escondido then I'm in the clear. Sounds to me like they just don't know how to fix it and are trying to dodge a big warranty repair.

What should I do? Real tempted to sell the car and buy a '17. Unfortunately I'm addicted to the car already so either way I'm gonna stay in a twin.

Warranty work is warranty work. If an authorized dealer performed work on the car and screwed it up (or didn't fix the problem) then there is no way a different authorized dealer can hold you responsible. I would call directly into Toyota Customer service and get a firm ruling on that though.

I wouldn't be driving around too much with that code since these engines are known to have oil starvation issues (although rare in a 15) and that is one of the possible sources for the code.

Possible causes
- Erratic camshaft position due to low oil pressure
- Oil flow restriction in the oil passages or the variable camshaft timing (VCT) valve body
- Camshaft advance mechanism binding (VCT unit)
- Damaged VCT phaser
- Radio frequency interference (RFI)

[Scarpa]

Thanks for the feedback, Tcoat. I wasn't buying the liability story either, but at the same time I don't really want to force the issue and have half-assed work done.

I ended up calling the dealer who originally did the work and they were super cool about it, pulled up the car service record and immediately said they'd give me a rental while they worked on it again. So I'm going to give them another shot and cross my fingers.

What was funny is the guy assumed I was just a kid and/or modder saying "as long as you're old enough for a rental.." and "we can't be liable if you put headers or something on it that caused the issue".. I just laughed and said I'm an old and don't bother modding my cars anymore.

[Scarpa]

Replaced the ECU. Guess I just wait and see now.