Soldato
I had my 2012 GT86 serviced +MOT in August at nearest Toyota dealership. They advised lipped discs + pads wearing thin all round and NSR wheel bearing needing replacement soon (I had noticed a noise).
I ordered all the parts (OEM from another Toyota dealer who had sale on, recommended by another GT86 owner on here), and booked to have the work done by my local indy (garage 1) in Winchester. This was done mid October. All seemed fine other I didn't notice a noise reduction - but I assumed everything was replaced ok (as all correctly stated on invoice).
Cue two weeks ago when I started hearing a small noise coming from OSR wheel, almost like nail/screw had gone in. I didn't drive for a few days due to lockdown and tyre didn't seem flat, so I thought maybe a stone was stuck or something. I had to drive 35 miles to my parents (my social bubble) to pick up some meds last weekend. On that journey, the noise got worse and worse to the point I started panicking and gingerly made it to theirs Saturday night. First thing Sunday morning, I drove it slowly to the nearest garage open, which was a Kwik Fit 2 miles away. They lifted the car up and checked the wheels in front of me. It was obvious the OSR wheel was "wobbling" sideways a lot; the others were fine. They recommended the wheel bearing to be replaced urgently - I thought fair enough, if one side was on its way out, then it's to be expected the other side would too. I drove the car back to my parents and left it there, taking a family car back to Winchester and ordered a new wheel bearing from the same dealer. I had the car booked in today to have the work done at an indy (garge 2) my family use near their house.
When I picked up the car today, garage 2 stated on the invoice that they recommend NSR wheel bearing should be replaced. I was confused and told them it was replaced a month ago. They said it wasn't possible because it looked old. I then asked them how the OSR wheel bearing they replaced looked like - they said it looked new, but had been improperly installed, hence the wheel was wobbling. They said they didn't think it could be reused anymore as a result, and that garage 1 had done a shoddy job. See photos below of OSR wheel bearing garage 2 removed today, which I kept. On my way back to WInchester tonight, the horrible wheel noise is gone, which leads me to believe garage 2 have done the job ok.
In summary, if garage 2 is to be trusted, garage 1 not only replaced the wrong side of wheel bearing + did it unsafely/incorrectly, leading it to fail!
I am going to go to garage 1 Monday morning to see what they say about the above.
Questions before I go:
- From the photos below, does this removed wheel baering look new, as you would expect it to be 4 weeks use (800 miles maybe) or from any serial number inscribed on the part, as opposed to being several years old??
- Is there any way of proving that the removed wheel bearing is faulty and unusable now, as I can't tell personally? (If not, I would want garage 1 to order a new NSR wheel bearing and install it at their cost again). If they challenge it, could I get my Toyota dealership to inspect it?
- Can i assume that I can prove garage 1 replaced the incorrect wheel bearing if I ask them to remove the NSR wheel bearing to show it to me and it looks rusted or batterred i.e. years old (because it was never replaed in the first place and probably several years old)?
- Anything else I can check to confirm my assumptions garage 1 got it wrong?
Also, I should say, garage 1 knocked out one of my ABS sensors when they had my car in October, but ordered a new one and replaced it the week after. I wonder if that is related at all...? I have no paperwork for this, as I obviously didn't pay for anything.
Edit: just playing devil's advocate. What if garage 2 is lying and there is nothing wrong with NSR bearing, and they just told me that (without any inspection) to generate more work for themselves (they didn't know about the work to NSR bearing the month before)?
I ordered all the parts (OEM from another Toyota dealer who had sale on, recommended by another GT86 owner on here), and booked to have the work done by my local indy (garage 1) in Winchester. This was done mid October. All seemed fine other I didn't notice a noise reduction - but I assumed everything was replaced ok (as all correctly stated on invoice).
Cue two weeks ago when I started hearing a small noise coming from OSR wheel, almost like nail/screw had gone in. I didn't drive for a few days due to lockdown and tyre didn't seem flat, so I thought maybe a stone was stuck or something. I had to drive 35 miles to my parents (my social bubble) to pick up some meds last weekend. On that journey, the noise got worse and worse to the point I started panicking and gingerly made it to theirs Saturday night. First thing Sunday morning, I drove it slowly to the nearest garage open, which was a Kwik Fit 2 miles away. They lifted the car up and checked the wheels in front of me. It was obvious the OSR wheel was "wobbling" sideways a lot; the others were fine. They recommended the wheel bearing to be replaced urgently - I thought fair enough, if one side was on its way out, then it's to be expected the other side would too. I drove the car back to my parents and left it there, taking a family car back to Winchester and ordered a new wheel bearing from the same dealer. I had the car booked in today to have the work done at an indy (garge 2) my family use near their house.
When I picked up the car today, garage 2 stated on the invoice that they recommend NSR wheel bearing should be replaced. I was confused and told them it was replaced a month ago. They said it wasn't possible because it looked old. I then asked them how the OSR wheel bearing they replaced looked like - they said it looked new, but had been improperly installed, hence the wheel was wobbling. They said they didn't think it could be reused anymore as a result, and that garage 1 had done a shoddy job. See photos below of OSR wheel bearing garage 2 removed today, which I kept. On my way back to WInchester tonight, the horrible wheel noise is gone, which leads me to believe garage 2 have done the job ok.
In summary, if garage 2 is to be trusted, garage 1 not only replaced the wrong side of wheel bearing + did it unsafely/incorrectly, leading it to fail!
I am going to go to garage 1 Monday morning to see what they say about the above.
Questions before I go:
- From the photos below, does this removed wheel baering look new, as you would expect it to be 4 weeks use (800 miles maybe) or from any serial number inscribed on the part, as opposed to being several years old??
- Is there any way of proving that the removed wheel bearing is faulty and unusable now, as I can't tell personally? (If not, I would want garage 1 to order a new NSR wheel bearing and install it at their cost again). If they challenge it, could I get my Toyota dealership to inspect it?
- Can i assume that I can prove garage 1 replaced the incorrect wheel bearing if I ask them to remove the NSR wheel bearing to show it to me and it looks rusted or batterred i.e. years old (because it was never replaed in the first place and probably several years old)?
- Anything else I can check to confirm my assumptions garage 1 got it wrong?
Also, I should say, garage 1 knocked out one of my ABS sensors when they had my car in October, but ordered a new one and replaced it the week after. I wonder if that is related at all...? I have no paperwork for this, as I obviously didn't pay for anything.
Edit: just playing devil's advocate. What if garage 2 is lying and there is nothing wrong with NSR bearing, and they just told me that (without any inspection) to generate more work for themselves (they didn't know about the work to NSR bearing the month before)?
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