Let’s file this in the “there’s no such thing as a stupid question” file, because I really don’t know.
Reason why I’m asking this, is that I’ve just had the 2nd starter on my Sienna in the last 4 months, go bad. Now my Sienna is 12 years old; when I took it in last October, and my mechanic diagnosed it as a bad starter, he was surprised. Even for a 12 yo vehicle, he was surprised that it was going bad. Last week it wouldn’t start (the engine wouldn’t turn over; it just sounded like a power drill) and he diagnosed it as a bad starter (it cost me nothing, as the one he put in in October was still under warranty), and said it was the first bad one in 15 years that he had put in. What makes his statement even stronger, is the fact that this is now the first time I have ever taken any car to him (in 12-15 years) and had to take it to him a second time, because the part he put it, wasn’t working right--or had to take it back, because his previous diagnosis didn't fix the problem. This guy is good.
Now that has me wondering. I can see how a car part might wear down in 12 years---that doesn’t sound outrageous. But two in the last 4 months—I’m wondering if there is more at play here. Is there anything else that might be going wrong with my engine, that would cause a starter to go bad, I guess like a bad alternator might cause an otherwise good battery to lose its power?
Reason why I’m asking this, is that I’ve just had the 2nd starter on my Sienna in the last 4 months, go bad. Now my Sienna is 12 years old; when I took it in last October, and my mechanic diagnosed it as a bad starter, he was surprised. Even for a 12 yo vehicle, he was surprised that it was going bad. Last week it wouldn’t start (the engine wouldn’t turn over; it just sounded like a power drill) and he diagnosed it as a bad starter (it cost me nothing, as the one he put in in October was still under warranty), and said it was the first bad one in 15 years that he had put in. What makes his statement even stronger, is the fact that this is now the first time I have ever taken any car to him (in 12-15 years) and had to take it to him a second time, because the part he put it, wasn’t working right--or had to take it back, because his previous diagnosis didn't fix the problem. This guy is good.
Now that has me wondering. I can see how a car part might wear down in 12 years---that doesn’t sound outrageous. But two in the last 4 months—I’m wondering if there is more at play here. Is there anything else that might be going wrong with my engine, that would cause a starter to go bad, I guess like a bad alternator might cause an otherwise good battery to lose its power?