Tamago

So back on September 19, i was crossing I75 (alligator alley) running between Ft laud area and Naples/Ft Myers when i threw a connecting rod.







i'm way out, mile marker 81, and immediately call a tow company to get me off the side of the road. after a couple hours a guy shows up, and offers to take the car to Germain Toyota in Naples, and i agree. after all, the car IS under warranty, and the only modification done to the engine is a cold air intake. . . i'm in the clear right?

wrong.

i leave the car at the dealership, and hop on one of the company trucks heading up north (we were on a bridge job about an hour north of naples) and wait 3 days to hear anything back about my car. When i first call, i get the runaround, the service writer who had originally taken my info etc, was not on the clock. so i ask for Lee, the service manager. i speak to him briefly before he hands me off to Mel Johnson the Service Director. he informs me that they will look the car over and give me a decision.

well after a few days, i get a call ..

"we're unable to warrant your car because it has been modified. the Cold air intake must have sucked up some water and you hydrolocked the engine"

well i was appalled. as you can clearly see by the pictures taken on the side of Alligator Alley, there was no rain, no water on the road, no way in hell i could have hydrolocked the engine. i push them a little, explain the situation, saying there was no way this could have happened, and they reply that yes, it was the CAI that caused the problem.

so i finally get back down to the dealer and bring the car home. not only did they NOT EVEN OPEN UP THE INTAKE MANIFOLD, they left me with a complimentary dent in my freshly painted hood..

I'm so fed up with dealers right now i really want this to be over with..

i've heard all the "oh bro, you can fight it, they'll warrant it" lines already, so spare me. just know that if you modify your car, GERMAIN TOYOTA WILL FIND A WAY TO F#$% YOU OUT OF YOUR WARRANTY.

on the plus side, a 1NZFE+5spd sits in the back of the truck right now with less than 3000 miles on it. the bad part is, I had to cough up 1200 to get it.

/rant

/dealing with toyota ever again.

Tamago

well, it's been 13 hours since i started my swap and i'm happy to say i've only got a few more to go

IaMVinhamese

that sucks. the only liquid i see in those pictures are coming from your car. did u try calling the scion customer experience? 1-866-707-2466

Garage1217

iTrader: (5)

Your nuts man, I would have made them fix it period, you had proof with the photos of no water / rain. Dood... you got hosed. I would have blown the roof off that place yelling and screaming.

Max

Magnussen/Moss anyone?

I'd go after them. Bigtime.

xSTANDxSTRONGx

+1 they would have payed for a new engine in my car man.

ProjectFusion

yup you have a lawsuit against them for not fixing it.

ProjectFusion

Not if you threaten them with a lawsuit. Been there and definatly did that. At the time I had one of most heavily modified XB's around and they fully covered everything I told them they would.

foxtrot685

why are our engines throwing rods??? is it really because of the CAI or is it because this is a cheap engine???? or is it because u guys drive them pretty hard??? im becoming very concerned about this as this is not the first story ive heard about rod being thrown, oil pans falling off, oil filters going into self destruct mode and the like! what is going on????

Tamago

well it is an interference engine so they do self destruct if they were to jump timing.

it's a weak engine that is further unprotected by the low gearing in the scion.. if toyota had given them an echo final drive these problems would not be happening...

then we'd all complain that our scions are dog-slow hehe

foxtrot685

im seriously considering getting rid of it, i cant deal with poor reliability. im hearing too many bad things about scions recently

draxcaliber

dude, you are not going to find a more reliable car than a toyota, maybe a honda, whatever. the xb and xa are just dressed up toyota echos. this is an example one bad car, but every manufacturer is going to make a lemon once in a while. anyway, i don't know what you have heard about scions being unreliable, but my guess is that most of them are from novice tuners and mechanics doing the work themselves on their rides and messing something up.

i think your just looking for a reason ti ditch your xa for another car.

foxtrot685

no... dont think that at all... im very happy with my xA i love it to peices. fun to drive and cheap to own... or so i thought. but for someone whos poor like i am... i aint got no money for no engine so i NEED a reliable car. mostly what ive heard is the crank shaft position sensor going out, but i know part of the problem with those... its those dern automated car washes that spray high pressure under the car. but this is not the first xa/xb that ive seen with this problem or ones similar to it

Tamago

well let me tell ya, having the echo transmission makes all the difference. 80mph at 3400 instead of 4300 is awesome
!

foxtrot685

do u notice slower acceleration with that tranny??? is it REALLY bad??

xSTANDxSTRONGx

+1 I was wondering the same thing

jwaj2002

this is the 4th or fifth blown xb/xa motor I've read about, even unmodified they are blowing, if they pull that crap with me I'll rip heads off

emokid158

strange, this is the first time i've heard of a connecting rod breaking on a scion. i must be looking at the wrong topics haha. i installed my CAI about 6 months ago and there's only one problem i've had. but it could have been something else that caused it because Crown Toyota couldn't trace it to my intake. i had a problem with my VVT-i controller, i don't know what was wrong with it, only thing i noticed was the idiot light (engine light). other than that, i love my xA, i know i shouldn't but i usually average about 95-100 on the freeways, and about 50-60 on the streets. it's ok if you tell me i'm an idiot, i already know i shouldn't be driving that fast. i'm learning to slow down...very slowly

jwaj2002

yea the VVT-I controllers are going out in several of them, usually around 28 - 30k

emokid158

hmm...that's where i'm at right now, it went out at about 26,000. it works now though...at the dealership they even complimented me on the intake. it was no big deal to them. i guess some guys are just jerks. sorry you got one tamago