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Jim_Chow said:
Ironically, my local toyota dealer has a higher labor charge than my local lexus dealer! No kidding, $120/hr to install an alternator on a 4-cyl 22re engine (says the labor rate depends on the job, anywhere from $75-150/hr) while the lexus dealer charges a flat $95/hr.
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I guess they charge more per hour for the quick jobs? The place I'm at owns a Lexus dealer across the street. Toyota, $88, Lexus, $120. I called the Lexus service department, and he was honest about it, told me he'd be happy to help but gave me the phone number for toyota.

Back to the injectors, no, nobody seems to know why they've failed. The Toyota service writer asked me if I'd taken it off-road. ("No, but I might at some point. Am I not supposed to?") He said that can dislodge sediment. Could also be that some s*** got stirred up when Mechanic X changed the fuel filter at the 90K, and has plugged up the injectors. Could be deposits from the fuel. By the tone in his voice, he obviously had no idea, and was grasping.

Anyway, I'm now replacing the other 7 injectors. In for a penny, in for a pound, and I'm going to own this thing for a while, especially now. With the AAA discount, I've gotten them to $1450 for the other 7. When he first told me what it was, I panicked a bit, thinking it would be another $500 (times 7) = painful.
 
Well, my baby's back in the garage. 20 miles home from the dealership and no problems, knock on wood. 7 new injectors here for $1470, and the other one from the other place, all told the bill was just shy of $2K. Painful, but at least it works again.

I like the value of used cars (I could afford a new LC, but I just can't stand the thought of spending that kind of money). However, I think this may be my last used vehicle for a while. The repairs can be staggering (in one year: $2k for injectors, $900 for calipers/rotors, and $1600 for the 90K, although that's technically maintenance and not a repair). I'm seriously ready for about 30k miles of trouble-free driving at this point. I know what you're thinking, and you're absolutely right: it's got 94K and I got it for a great price.

OTOH, I haven't had any better luck with new cars either. My wife's '03 Accord (36K miles) has been through a bad O2 sensor, bad driver's seat rail, and a faulty circuitboard behind the dash that put all the lights out. Plus the stealership fxxxed up the driver's armrest changing the seat rail, and had to replace that too. I'm unimpressed with Ohio Hondas so far.

So what's next? When I finish residency and can afford it, a new E-class or 911. And a new GX470 for my wife, and I'm keeping the LC in the stable. I guess I love cars.;)
 
Glad to hear your drive home went fine.

I am curious to see what will come of this in the future. Please keep this thread updated.


I'm still scratching my head as to why all the injectors would need replacing. It seemed to me that it was much more likely that there was an electrical problem. :confused:

Oh well, glad you got it back and all is well (knock on wood).

:beer:
 
How do you know of the PO used junky no-name gas that clogged the injectors to save a buck?
 
Sorry guys,
Deleted prior message since it was sort of moot (after me reading through the entire thread).

Hopefully you'll have a trouble free year now, Doc!
 
DoctorJay said:
....... 7 new injectors here for $1470, and the other one from the other place,....... it's got 94K........QUOTE]
I know jack s*** about gas(petrol) injectors, but to replace all injectors at 94k miles seems VERY ODD to me, put a poll up on who has had injector failures and how many miles they have and how many they have had to change and see what comes back, personally I think you may have been taken for a ride. My thoughts only( a diesel owner)
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Doc

Sorry to hear about your situation. It does seem odd that all injectors were replaced. Odd that the mechanic here had a hard time getting to the bottom of your troubles. The owner of the shop sometimes has tried to charge more but I have been able to discuss with them my concerns and they have reduced the bill. Just like they did with you. All in all I have been happy with their service. What helps me is they are in my back yard.

My thoughts would have been that somehow for all or a few of the injectors to go bad, I would look for a common cause, (ie) fuel. Bad gas? But I would have thought that the cleaning should have removed any debris. Or am I to believe that this was more of an electrical problem? Did Metro say which was the cause?

I did see your truck at the shop and they were quite concerned that that they were having trouble finding the causes of the readouts. Sorry it did not work out for you.
 
Not 100% related to faulty injectors, but when I lifted the intake manifold to replace starter contacts in the fall, I did notice that some of the (rubber) seals around the injectors where starting to crack (while still being soft). Some of the injectors could also easily be turned.

I did not do anything at that time (no idea why...) but will likely have to eventually pull the injectors and replace the seals on day - if even possible.
After having done the starter, that's an easy job though.
 
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