Brought my 98 Camry in for Power Steering Pump leakage.
They stated that I needed to have it replaced. With 2 high pressure hoses and 2 belts. Cost 799.66
After leaving my check engine light came on. Car ran terrible not the way it did before I brought it in.
After about 10 days, my daughter said car is stalling at lights. Also there is more fluid leaking near the PS pump. I open the hood and notice that my PS belt and alternator belts were not replaced as said on invoice and which I paid for.
I took car back to have belts replaced. And to have bad idle looked at. Nick the Service boy said, You need new plugs, a new #2 coil, new wires, a fuel line cleaning, and a new EGR valve (450.00 for the part) I called a parts store in Greenwich and they priced an EGR valve for my car at 189.00. Estimate was 950.00 I told him the car just had new plugs and fuel line cleaning by same store just less than a year ago.
He said OK I'll look into your repair history. He agreed and said I'll see what I can do to lower your bill. I said I am not paying anything I want my car fixed the way it was running when I first brought it in. He managed to sucker me for another 240.59 for the coil, and new wires. He said he would put new plugs in free of charge.
When car was done it still ran rough and stalled out. I asked John Blake the mechanic whats up? He said it was the bad EGR valve and he unplugged it and said now see how well your car runs. I asked Nick the service boy what about the Power Steering leak. He said the new pump is just fine, there was just air in your system causing a lowering of your fluid.
I took the car home. (40 miles away no less) The car was still leaking fluid. I took it to Toyota of Greenwich for them to inspect the PS pump. They told me it appeared to be an old pump and never to have been replaced. Now I was really mad.
My wife called and spoke Bert the Service Manager. He told my wife to have the pump replace some where else and for us to bring him the old pump and he would give us a full refund of all the money. He also told my wife that 2 men would be fired for this.
My wife and I talked it over and questioned why would he want the old pump back. We called him back and he said then bring the car in and I want to see for my self what Toyota of Greenwich stated, that we did not replace the pump. He sceduled us for Thursday afternoon.
I took it in Thursday, March 29th. I waited around for Bert to show up for almost 2 hours. He finaly pulled into the bay area with his kids in his big SUV. If I didn't notice him coming he was about to stay for 5 minutes and then leave. He said OK pull your car in front of this bay.
He pulled the car in, put it up on the lift and began inspecting under the car with a light. After 5 minutes he said this is a new pump. I said show it to me. I looked and saw an old rusty looking pump. I said, that doesn't look new to me?
He said, look there is a little bit of black paint on it still. Someone stripped the paint off of it. I said that's rediculous, who would take the time to strip the paint off of it??? There was Power steering fluid all over the bottom of my car.
Then I began complainig to him about my 2000 Civic that was also in his shop the same time I brought in my 98 Camry the 3rd week of March. Check engine light was on. They replaced a camshaft position sensor and put a new timing belt in.
I told him I took the Civic to a mechanic to be sure they really replaced the timing belt. Which they did. BUT the belt was left in with about 2 inches of slack. The tensioner was never set on the belt. The mechanic said I could not drive the vehicle or the gear teeth could slip on the belt causing permanent damage to my engine. I took a video of it. I asked Bert to see the video. He said I'm not interested in your video.
He said I should have had the car towed 40 miles to his shop. I said I didn't trust bringing my car back and paid the other mechanic to take up the slack in the belt.
Then he raised his voice and said Hey, look pal, were not here to play games see!!! I said who said anything about games. I am the one who has paid you 1700.00 in the past month for a bunch of lousy repairs. Then he put a dye into the system and showed me that the pump was leaking from the spindle. I asked him if the pump as you say was new, why would it leak? He said about 1 in 100 happen to be defective and I was that 1 in 100.
The then offered to have me come back to have him put another pump in my car with no charge. I said I would consider it but had to talk to my wife first.
My wife and I came to the conclusion that we don't trust this Pep Boys of Orange CT and will never bring any of our cars to it ever again. I will trust Toyota when they tell me the pump was never replaced. I also had the mechanic that re-repaired my Honda Civic timing belt look at it. He too said that it was not a remanufactured or even new pump. He said it was the old pump.
Now I am out of all that money and don't know where to turn. Bert said he would not give us our money back and my wife said that we are NOT giving him our car back to fix something he never fixed to start with.
Al
Cos Cob, Connecticut
U.S.A.
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