QuestionQUESTION: I have a 1998 6 cyl. Toyota Avalon with 137,000 mi. I was recently told that both valve gaskets were leaking and needed to be replaced. It was also brought to my attention that the front gasket was not going to be a problem, but the gasket in the rear was going to be a problem to remove and replace. Well multiple tries by the technician to put things back together were unsuccessful. The manager suggested that I bring the car back the next day when the technician who is Toyota trained would be able to help figure out what needed to be done. I returned the next day and was told after several more hours, that the EGR Valve now needed to be replaced. Can the replacing of the valve gaskets in any way cause the EGR Valve to suddenly go bad? That's what I am being told at the garage. The cost so far has been $298 for the gasket job and another $275 for the EGR fix. Thanks for a reply...
ANSWER: EGR valves don't fail very often, it's usually something else that causes an egr problem, do you know hoe they tested the valve or the egr system without the engine running, to answer your question if replacing the gaskets can cause this I would say under normal circumstances probably not, ask them to show you the valve and explain what is wrong with it, it just doesn't sound right to me.
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QUESTION: A little back story might help here. I originally took the car to Sears to checkout some spotting in my driveway thinking it was motor oil. They did the oil change. Sears said it wasn't oil but pwr. steering fluid and proceeded to tell me my pwr. steering pump needed to be replaced. So $350 later in Dec., I had a new pump with a 12 month warranty. I took the car back to Sears to check a sudden squealing sound, two weeks ago, when the steering wheel was moved to the left or right, thinking it was the pwr. steering pump again. That's when they told me about the leaking rear gasket and oil was dripping onto the belt and pulley of the pwr. steering pump, causing the squealing, not the pump itself. I had no known problem with the EGR valve, the problem came as a result of the tech not being able to reconnect whatever he disconnected to get at the rear gasket he replaced. They told me several times after the initial gasket replacement the car was driveable, but the check engine light would come on and the car could barely hold idle, unless I pressed the accelerator. I am disputing the charge, but not sure if I have any chance or recovering any money or be compensated for my time and aggravation. At this point I don't think I will every trust Sears again to work on my cars. Thanks again for your help.
AnswerThanks for the update, I think I would consider filing a small claims case to recover at least some of the money, the light wasn't on before they worked on it but now it is and the idle is bad, I would let a toyota dealer check it out and if the problem was related to what Sears did you may have a good case, let the dealer fix it and tell Sears they should pay for what it took to make it right, save all paperwork you have and file a case, you have nothing more to lose.
