Business

Maintenance on Tacoma results in oil leak

By Larry Rubenstein
Auto Scanner
Published: August 5, 2008

Q: I had the 60,000 mile service for my Toyota Tacoma done at a local dealership recently, and had the timing belt and water pump replaced at the same time. Right after having the service, I left on a long trip. While away, I noticed that I now have an oil leak from the front end; there was no such leak before this service. It is not enough to lose more than a quart over about 4,000 miles, but it is enough to wet the entire bottom of the oil pan and drip oil. (It made a mess on my father's driveway, and he was not amused.) Because I drove about 4,000 miles since the service, will the dealership have an excuse NOT to fix what I think is its doing? The leak seems to be from the front seal, which they should have replaced during the service. Also, will this have caused the new timing belt to become oiled, and, if so, should it be replaced? Thank you for any advice you can give. David via e-mail

A: From what you tell me, I have to assume that an oil seal, for either the crank or cam, or even the valve cover gasket was changed during the timing belt operation. You may have a hard time getting warranty work 4,000 miles after the fact. If you have a good relationship with the dealership where the work was performed, you may be given consideration. Alas, your procrastination may end up costing you a repeat of the work you had recently done, especially if the timing belt is now soaked with oil.

Q: I have a 2007 Camry hybrid with 32,000 miles. Although I never achieved the original EPA estimate (I never really expected to) of 40 miles per gallon city, I was getting 34-35 city. That average has suddenly dropped to 30-31. The original tires (Bridgestone All Season) were replaced with Uniroyal touring (note: same size, speed, load and temp ratings), and this is when the mileage decreased. Could a different style tire really do this? I have changed the air filter. Thanks, Jim from Haverhill

A: That's a very interesting question, Jim. I wonder if you had brakes replaced while you were there, which would be normal with the given mileage. But if you didn't, I will have to diagnose this with the given information. Yes, a different style tire could reduce your mileage due to two factors: First and most important is the recommended tire pressure for your vehicle, and secondly the rolling resistance of the tire. Either one of those factors will reduce your fuel mileage even as drastically as you have experienced. Some tire dealers such as Town Fair Tire have a customer satisfaction guarantee. If they will honor the warranty, I would ask to have the Bridgestone replacements put on the car.

Q: Love your column, read it every week. Now, I need help. I bought my high school senior a '95 Buick Park Avenue last winter. The car runs really well and should have a lot of life in it. My problem is the heating/air conditioning controls. They worked fine until recently. When the controls stopped working, my independent shop replaced the module, stating this is the cause 99 percent of the time. Well, I guess I'm in the other 1 percent. We then took it to a local GM dealer to properly diagnose it. They said the "controller" failed (the front panel control unit). We replaced it. The compressor kicks on, the air flow doors open and close — but still the fan won't kick on. The dealer is stumped. My shop states it's in the heater box with vacuum lines running into it. I passed this along to the dealer but so far, they haven't identified the problem. Everything seems to work except the fan. My shop got a reading of 1.9V coming to the fan from the programmer, regardless of speed setting. I don't want to junk the car or waste the $1,100 for the module and the controller. Can you help? Thanks, Chris

A: You have spent way too much money having guesswork performed on your car. I still have a problem with people paying for work that did not repair the problem. That's in the past, however. If it's only a fan speed issue at this point, you can install a manually controlled fan resistor and wire in power through a fused circuit. This repair should be quite inexpensive, and finish your problems with the HVAC unit.

Car Care Tip: After an overheating incident, part of the repair procedure should be flushing the transmission fluid as well as changing the engine oil.

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Larry Rubenstein is a master technician who owns a North Shore service station. His column appears Tuesday in the Biz North section. Write to Larry at the Essex County Newspapers, c/o Auto Scanner, 32 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA 01915, or send e-mail to scanauto@aol .com.