Warning - Broken control arm bolt!

[Kangaru]

Originally Posted by Hershey

I am from the northeast not Florida. They use road salt almost everyday here during the winter so I am concerned as well.

My bad, I misread someone elses post. Yeah if your from the North East, I would for sure get that in to get inspected. Funny, Toyota Canada said it is part of a regular suspension check...yet you can only see the bolt head. Just tell them you notice a small clunk in the suspension, bring that TSB and they might warranty it for you. They get paid anyways, not as much, but it keeps the Tech's busy. A regular suspension check is usually done at a service interval anyways, ask to go out and see the car on the hoist...if they let you, request they fix the rusted bolts.

[Hershey]

That's fine , it happens . We brought the picture posted by CB900F2 with T.S.B. # , presented it to the service center manager and he says in a annoyed tone of voice " You can't believe everything you see on the internet and the T.S.B. is only for CANADA " .

[bB2NER]

I smell trouble in Toyotas future if this gets bad in Salt Belt USA. I've had brake lines and other stuff rust to pieces in MI.
What does Toyota USA customer service say about the issue?

[Twistoffate0817]

I do not know anything about car parts, but I just went outside and looked around my tire and underneath the car near the tire and there is a bolt on each side of my front tires, above the tire and they both are rusted. Since I do not know where to look and what I am looking for I will be bringing my Yaris to the dealership to have them look for rust. The only thing I can say that has to do with this topic is about 4-5 months ago I went over a speed bump and heard a metal on metal sound in the front passenger side tire area. Have not had it checked out due to sound never occured again.

[auxmike]

Just crawled under the car and snapped A few quick pics since I hate reading about something and not seeing exactly what is being written about.
Crappy 3.2MP BBerry shots for ya...
My car is JTDJT932XXXXXXXXX Vin with build date of 1/08. Does that mean I'm ok according to the TSB????
The bolt HEADS look mint, is the real bad rust hidden where you can't see it? Also, can this one bad bolt be changed DIY without the whole drivetrain being supported??

[Hershey]

Thanks Auxmike , good work . Those bolts / nuts and under carriage look as if they're from a newer YARIS . Must be due to the use of less road salt . Ours are rusted quite a bit , tons of salt used on these roads . I'll have to get a picture of them . Our '08 sedan is T92348 . So , I take it we're fine ? On occasion we've heard a creaking noise coming from the front of the '08 sedan . Like that of bushings of the strut , there's 30,000 miles on it . Our trust of the TOYOTA corporation is gradually rusting away . Last , how's your possible oil leak doing ? Thanks again .

[Kangaru]

Originally Posted by auxmike

My car is JTDJT932XXXXXXXXX Vin with build date of 1/08. Does that mean I'm ok according to the TSB????

Your bolt heads look very clean, perhaps your area of "New Yawk" uses a less salt than other areas. Maybe you had the bottom rustproofed, or you run that mofo through a carwash frequently blasting the underside. Either way it looks good, one of the bolts does look a little corroded, but I cant tell what one it is...its pretty dark.

Is your car a Sedan or Hatch? cause your vin is a little strange...should start with "JTDBT923" if it is a sedan built at Central Auto. They made all the control arm/bolt changes the MY2009. They moved production of the Yaris a few times since 2006 from factory but all should, or would have used the same suspension until the change. Most of those components are made by suppliers to Toyota.

For VIN comparison, I did a free Carfax search and it tells you the make model and production date. Compare it to the examples provided and you should have your answer. The TSB is only a Toyota Canada one, so getting it fixed could be a little more problematic at the US dealerships. If it does need replacement it would be worth a phonecall to Toyota Motor Sales...and they might help you better than a dealership.

[Kangaru]

Update

I just returned home and got a phone call from Toyota Canada Inc. They are sending me a reimbursement cheque for 50% of the bill. It took an hour long call to one of their agents, and about a week of "investigation" on their part.

They never outward admitted any faults with the car, or even said anything about its relation to the TSB...I guess thats so they cover their own butts. To me, it says we were at least partially wrong, otherwise I would have paid for the whole thing, and that would have been the end.

My point is,
If this happens to you, make note of the TSB to the dealership, also some research on your car, and its relation to the TSB build dates. The dealerships won't admit any faults that Toytota has, they aren't really allowed to say "yeah its a known issue" especially if its for current in-production models. You will have to Call Toyota's Customer Interaction Centre, file a complaint, give them all the info you can provide to further your case. They WILL try to get you to say you caused it, like hitting a bump or curb, and just ignore their accusations. They will also try to convince you that the TSB has no bearing on your case, as its out of warranty. Just let them know how unsatesfied you are with the product, and how something like that should NEVER break. It should be noted that the people on the phones usually know little about cars, they are just trained to deal with customer problems. They will usually try to refute everything you say, but be persistant...and try to be polite as I was. The last thing they told me was that they are going to look into it further, but not to expect any other contact.


It took about a week of no contact, then they just leave a message saying we have mailed you a re-imbursement cheque. No reason why, just here is half of your money back. I dont know if this is standard practice, but regardless they are recognizing something.

I would request anyone who had this happen to follow the same steps. Perhaps they will fell pressured to do a recall. This site also helped my case, and brought it to my attention as I gave Toyota Canada Inc. the link to the same problem, they said they would look at it.

[MickZEL]

You are still good guys live in Moscow roads watered reagents are even rubber wheels razedayut.Seychas understood opastnost begin to depart from the reagents

[Hershey]

You'll find the manufactured date of a YARIS half way up the driver side I-pillar ( door frame ) . Tells what country built in as well .

[Hershey]

" The last thing they told me was that they are going to look into it further, but not to expect any other contact . "

We got the same reply from the service center and the customer relations when we asked for them to let us know if anything was found wrong by TOYOTA corporation with the factory installed multi layered steel head cylinder gasket of the 2008 sedan that was removed due to an external oil leak from the #1 cylinder . No leak as of yet with the new one that was installed under warranty in early September of 2010 . TOYOTA corporation of Japan can be sly . That's why we're not likely to buy another TOYOTA . We're very likey to stick with the 2008 sedan and the 2010 3 door to the semi-sweet end .

[auxmike]

Originally Posted by Kangaru

Your bolt heads look very clean, perhaps your area of "New Yawk" uses a less salt than other areas. Maybe you had the bottom rustproofed, or you run that mofo through a carwash frequently blasting the underside. Either way it looks good, one of the bolts does look a little corroded, but I cant tell what one it is...its pretty dark. Is your car a Sedan or Hatch? cause your vin is a little strange...

Where I live we had a LOT of snow this winter. They do use salt too. That rusty part is from a bolt that's fastened at the top. the piece you see is the threaded part sticking out. I tried to figure out what it does, mabye it holds the steering rack down?
I never go to the car wash in winter or even wash the car.
My car is a hatchback and that is the correct VIN. According to the TSB pic I posted above, my VIN is ok even though it's a 1/08 build date.

[theidiots]

Wow. I just got my Yaris back from the shop. Same problem. I my case the bolt snapped. Luckily the car kept driving. I took it in for an oil change and the mechanics were surprised that I was able to drive the car. They wanted to know when I was in an accident with my Yaris. They claim to have never seen anything like it.

Over $800 in damage for this $10 bolt - all labor.

We have a lot of potholes here. I suspected that I hit one and damaged the suspension. This still left me with a big deductible payment and now my issurance will go up.

Thanks to this site I'm calling Toyota and will offer them pictures of the snapped bolt.

[theidiots]

Strange. Toyota (800-331-4331) told me that they have no record of this service TRB. They opened a case for me and are investigating.

Stay tuned.

[theidiots]

OK.

I called back because I was told that Toyota would call me by 4/22 End Of Business since they had to contact my dealer and find more information.

I was told today that I somehow agreed to do the research into this matter!

So, if anyone can point me to a document with a Toyota source that describes this bolt problem please post a link to it.

Thank you.

[devinlamothe]

Can you replace these bolts yourself?

Sorry for the thread resurrection but this has now been posted on RedFlagDeals lol

[WeeYari]

I'd totally forgotten about this thread. Although the TSB states HBs are affected, it only appears to be sedan owners reporting issues here. My '06 HB with a build date of 09/2005 shows absolutely no issues with suspect bolts.

[devinlamothe]

Originally Posted by WeeYari

I'd totally forgotten about this thread. Although the TSB states HBs are affected, it only appears to be sedan owners reporting issues here. My '06 HB with a build date of 09/2005 shows absolutely no issues with suspect bolts.

Yeah I checked mine again and they still look fine, no rust on them.

Maybe we are lucky - mine was manufactured in '06.