Tacoma Axle Seal Repair - Fail

[Oldswagon]

A friend of mine has a 2005 Tacoma 4x4. I helped him do a brake job and when we checked the rear breakes we found the rear axle seals leaking. He ended up taking to a shop to have it repaired.

When it came back, his truck has a low pedal, the brake warning light and ABS light was on. The shop told him that the ABS sensor on one rear wheel had failed and they will replace it for the cost of the part only. He complained about the low pedal and warning light stating the might need to rebleed the brakes. They told him they would adjust the brakes to get rid of the low pedal and that the warning light was on because of the ABS sensor failure not air in the lines.


I know that you have to remove the rear wheel cylinders in these trucks to do the axle seal job, so they would have had to bleed the brakes. But their story doesn't add up to me. I have never heard of the brake warning light coming on for ABS problems? And it seems pretty coincidental that the ABS sensor failed at the same time the axle seals were replaced.

Any opinions?

 

[bepperb]

On Toyota cars (Highlander included) there is a wheel speed sensor at each wheel. It's pretty obvious as there are two lines running to each, a brake line and a speed sensor wire (and possibly a parking brake cable). As the speed sensor is screwed into the hub it's not uncommon for them to loosen out and stop giving a reading.

When this happens you generally start the car and there are no lights but after you roll/move ten feet the ABS, VSC and Check Engine lights all come on. The brake light doesn't. I believe that's only for the fluid level in the reservoir and the parking brake.

So yes, it is strange that the ABS lights would just happen to start coming on after the repair. It is very possible the part is fine and just needs to be tightened down, or perhaps it was disconnected (though I've never seen where this would happen in the wire) and needs to be reconnected. It's more likely they damaged it. As the symptoms you described are not exactly what a damaged/disconnected sensor would provide there could be a problem with the ABS, but maybe he is seeing more lights than you describe or maybe a Tacoma is different than a Highlander/Sienna/Camry... etc.

You might want to pull a wheel and check for something obvious.

 

[Rand]

sounds like the "tech" busted something and dont want to get in trouble with the boss

 

[The_Jeff]

They screwed it up. Make 'em fix it for free. That's part of their overhead.

 

[mechtech2]

I smell a mechanic who wrecked something unintentionally.

 

[Oldswagon]

Alright, so most of you confirmed my suspicions. How should my firend approarch the mechanic when he brings his truck back? Of course they are going to say they had nothing to do with the part failure.

Does anyone else think the brake warning light is most likely caused by a poor bleed job?

 

[yonyon]

I'm not too familiar with the ABS in a Tacoma because they never break but here's my recommendation anyway:
Check the sensor for continuity with an ohm meter. Do not use a test light. If it reads anything other than an open circuit, they may well be telling the truth. If you're still feeling like they're being shady, get a second opinion. If you have to pay for that second opinion, well, it's a gamble. If the first mechanic lied to cover his backside he owes you for the cost of getting that second opinion because he created the need by trying to cheat you instead of being forthright from the get go. If the second mechanic agrees that the sensor just croaked on its own, well, that's on you.

Most likely, the sensor will be open. The most common way to damage a wheel speed sensor is to break the sensor lead (wire) by applying some tension. Most wheel speed sensor leads are very delicate. If the sensor tests as an open circuit, then it's time to lie a little, just as they probably lied to you. Three lefts do make a right after all. Tell them your friend/neighbor/brother in law is a mechanic and checked it out for you as a favor. He said the wire is broken from being tugged on. They probably won't want to call your friend/neighbor/brother in law a liar unless they can prove it to you. That's a good way to lose a customer. A customer is worth more than a wheel speed sensor.

If it turns out that the sensor is broken but the condition of the vehicle required breaking it to fix the leak, well, they should have told you and worked this out before you picked up the truck. At that point, they should first apologise and then fix it but charge you their cost for the part and no labor.

 

[brelandt]

There are 2 types of mechanics. There are the ones that do their best and really want to do the right thing but the manager pushes [censored] on them. Then there are the ones who really do not care at all.
Just make sure that you assume he is in the first category first before getting all bent up on him.
I have had customers jump all up and down looking like an idiot without any of the facts first.
The mechanic may very well not care and only see the truck as money and nothing more. Just make sure first that you stay polite.
This is my experience thus far as a mechanic.