2020 Tundra needs new front differential

[D60]

I hope the glaring oversight of not installing the lug nuts is not representative of all of their work.

Nah, just of a tech who's thoroughly annoyed 'cause he's getting squeezed on hours on a chintzy extended warranty

OP has a good point -- I'd absolutely add a transmission cooler to '19+. There's a guy making brackets on one of the forums which makes it relatively painless for mounting.

 

[QwikKota]

That damage doesn't look bad enough to me to have caused any frame damage. Even suspension damage might be hard to accomplish at that low of a speed. Hopefully they can verify that with dimensional inspection.

 

[edyvw]

Nah, just of a tech who's thoroughly annoyed 'cause he's getting squeezed on hours on a chintzy extended warranty

OP has a good point -- I'd absolutely add a transmission cooler to '19+. There's a guy making brackets on one of the forums which makes it relatively painless for mounting.

I am about to do that this summer on Sequoia. Got the bracket and cooler lines with thermostat, still need to order Hayden 689 cooler.

 

[andrew_j]

Hopefully brakes are not recent so you at least get a front brake job out of this!

 

[02SE]

Nah, just of a tech who's thoroughly annoyed 'cause he's getting squeezed on hours on a chintzy extended warranty

OP has a good point -- I'd absolutely add a transmission cooler to '19+. There's a guy making brackets on one of the forums which makes it relatively painless for mounting.

I remember those days, when I was a Master Tech working at a Toyota dealer, and later at independent shops. I became disillusioned with an industry that pushed up-selling at all costs often to the point of wanting me to outright lie to the customer, for questionable or even clearly unneeded 'services'.

I still always took pride in my work, and never cut corners to save time. Sadly, there are plenty of 'techs' who perform sloppy work, in the interest of speed.

In my racing hobby, I'm overseeing mechanics to make sure they are doing their jobs correctly. First and foremost they have to do the jobs correctly. THEN, they also have to do them quickly.

The racing teams go through plenty who are quick but sloppy. The ones who can do the job correctly, and quickly, show up on time, and can pass a drug test, are much harder to find.

Anyway, hopefully the OP's truck gets fixed properly.

 

[D60]

I remember those days, when I was a Master Tech working at a Toyota dealer, and later at independent shops. I became disillusioned with an industry that pushed up-selling at all costs often to the point of wanting me to outright lie to the customer, for questionable or even clearly unneeded 'services'.

I still always took pride in my work, and never cut corners to save time. Sadly, there are plenty of 'techs' who perform sloppy work, in the interest of speed.

In my racing hobby, I'm overseeing mechanics to make sure they are doing their jobs correctly. First and foremost they have to do the jobs correctly. THEN, they also have to do them quickly.

The racing teams go through plenty who are quick but sloppy. The ones who can do the job correctly, and quickly, show up on time, and can pass a drug test, are much harder to find.

Anyway, hopefully the OP's truck gets fixed properly.

What would frustrate me is that dealers must wear near-literal blinders.

Toyota won't just service a needle bearing (esp with an aftermarket solution)-- just replace the whole diff assy

Subaru won't replace a $60 CVT solenoid -- just replace the whole transmission

Mini won't replace a $4 spring in the floor shifter -- just replace the whole shifter assy (~$700 just for the part, no labor)

And on and on.....

Dealers are forced to have tunnel vision and can't "see" these solutions.

 

[f355spider]

No way a front diff would be anywhere close to $5k. I had an entire transmission replacement on my Tundra for $5500 out the door at my Toyota dealer only a year and a half ago. 340,000 miles.

I have bought two extended warranties in my life, one for the Tundra, one more recently for a BMW...neither did I have a claim for. I have figured to just pocket the money for future expense if needed.

 

[drtyler]

No way a front diff would be anywhere close to $5k. I had an entire transmission replacement on my Tundra for $5500 out the door at my Toyota dealer only a year and a half ago. 340,000 miles.

I have bought two extended warranties in my life, one for the Tundra, one more recently for a BMW...neither did I have a claim for. I have figured to just pocket the money for future expense if needed.

The MSRP is $3000 for the front diff assembly. Depending in the dealership, the number could be higher as well. I could easily see the labor at the dealership bringing it to $5000 total.

 

[andrew_j]

What would frustrate me is that dealers must wear near-literal blinders.

Toyota won't just service a needle bearing (esp with an aftermarket solution)-- just replace the whole diff assy

Subaru won't replace a $60 CVT solenoid -- just replace the whole transmission

Mini won't replace a $4 spring in the floor shifter -- just replace the whole shifter assy (~$700 just for the part, no labor)

And on and on.....

Dealers are forced to have tunnel vision and can't "see" these solutions.

I remember wife’s 2005 Legacy GT wagon burned a valve. Subaru dealer estimate about $7000 to replace long block.

Subie Indy for $3000 had valve remachined and also in process got a slew of parts(throw out bearing, head gasket, timing belt, plugs….) replaced at 140k where I only changed oil till 240k and repaired non engine stuff.

I did lose car for a month with Indy though.

 

[PWMDMD]

The MSRP is $3000 for the front diff assembly. Depending in the dealership, the number could be higher as well. I could easily see the labor at the dealership bringing it to $5000 total.

I gave a range of $3500-$5000 - this easily fits within that range. The list price for front differential is $3000 (I assume that's what they'd charge me), although you can buy it online new for $2,000 (I assume that's their price). Add 8 hours at $200 an hour and you're adding another $1600 for a total of $4600 then there's miscellaneous items.

I'll be sure to ask what it would've cost me out of warranty and let you know but this doesn't seem far off.

 

[PWMDMD]

I remember wife’s 2005 Legacy GT wagon burned a valve. Subaru dealer estimate about $7000 to replace long block.

Subie Indy for $3000 had valve remachined and also in process got a slew of parts(throw out bearing, head gasket, timing belt, plugs….) replaced at 140k where I only changed oil till 240k and repaired non engine stuff.

I did lose car for a month with Indy though.

That's easy to do at dealerships these days too. I have a couple of stories from buddies about warranty repairs taking weeks to months due to parts shortages.

 

[f355spider]

The MSRP is $3000 for the front diff assembly. Depending in the dealership, the number could be higher as well. I could easily see the labor at the dealership bringing it to $5000 total.

Everything is negotiable...dealers need business too, and Toyota dealerships are everywhere. Just ask around.

 

[PWMDMD]

I was in Las Vegas last week and so I was not really following up on the truck figuring it would be done by this week. Everything was finished last Wednesday except the emblem in on backorder...until the second week of June!

Really? Truck is going to sit there for an additional three weeks for the emblem. Something is broken in supply chain land.

 

[PWMDMD]

...and yes, I could've had my truck back for the next 2 weeks and just retuned for the emblem, but I'd rather do an extended test drive on their dime. The service manager gave me zero pushback. They also comped the coolant change.

 

[PWMDMD]

Finally got the truck back, although the Platinum Emblem is still on back order until mid-July now. They didn't charge me for any of the additional work that was done (coolant) and they did detail the truck. Unfortunately, whatever they used chemically etched the instrument cluster cover...sigh. That is not oily residue that wipes off. There is a rough texture over all the affected areas.

Do ANY dealers know what they are doing anymore?

 

[buster]

Finally got the truck back, although the Platinum Emblem is still on back order until mid-July now. They didn't charge me for any of the additional work that was done (coolant) and they did detail the truck. Unfortunately, whatever they used chemically etched the instrument cluster cover...sigh. That is not oily residue that wipes off. There is a rough texture over all the affected areas.

Do ANY dealers know what they are doing anymore?


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I'd have them replace it. Some of these guys are so reckless they break everything they touch. When it comes to detailing they're the worst of the worst.

 

[PWMDMD]

I'd have them replace it. Some of these guys are so reckless and they break everything they touch.

Email with pictures already sent to service writer and service manager. I'm just tired of dealing with this...

 

[buster]

Nice. I don't blame you it's frustrating.

When I was going to pick up my Honda years ago from the dealer a guy was washing it with a bath towel dunked in a bucket of dirty water. LOL

 

[97prizm]

... and I'm glad I bought the 8yr/100k mile factory extended warranty

A very common question here and elsewhere is whether or not extended warranties are "worth it". My personal feelings are:

1. If there is a known issue with the vehicle that will likely come up during ownership, go for it. I bought an extended warranty for the Subaru primary due to the CVT and infotainment and one for the Tundra due to cam tower leaks and the needle bearing in the front differential.

2. If you plan to keep the vehicle for a long time and they offer a warranty that will match this for time and mileage, go for it.

3. It's a form of insurance and some value must be given to "peace of mind".

4. NEVER over pay. I have purchased factory extended warranties from Honda, Subaru, Lexus, and Toyota at cost our just slightly over on the internet and in the finance manager's office. This is very easy in the age of the interweb.

5. Only buy through manufacturer


My 2020 Tundra has 70k miles on it and I purchase a Toyota VSA Platinum 8yr/100k miles plan for $1100. Today the dealership confirmed I need a new front differential due to a worn needle bearing which has already been authorized by Toyota. I don't tow, only use 4WD if it's snowing, and serviced the differentials at 50k miles.

I didn't see the cost but it's 8 hours of work and my guess is out of pocket would've been $3500-$5000. That was the best $1100 I could spend on a truck that many would say is "bulletproof" Toyota and I was wasting my money.

I suspect I'll eventually use my 8yr/120k mile extended warranty on the Subaru too for either the CVT or infotainment or both. I don't have an extended warranty on the 2019 Lexus and it needs two new wheel bearings with just 75k easy miles showing even "bulletproof" vehicles experience early failures.

Anyway...my 2 cents...

Many third party warranties seem to be scams. I've seen so many that say they "Cover costly breakdowns bumper to bumper" yet seem to have so many exceptions. The daytime commercials come to mind.

 

[PWMDMD]

Nice. I don't blame you it's frustrating.

When I was going to pick up my Honda years ago from the dealer a guy was washing it with a bath towel dunked in a bucket of dirty water. LOL

So the dealership who did the body damage repair (the "Toyota Certified Collision Center") are the ones who detailed it and my dealership is contacting them to ask what they want to do about this because the service writer agreed, he had been in my truck several times prior to the body work being completed, and that wasn't not like that.

Just more incompetence...