This past Monday was our first engine replacement in the dealer as part of the Campaign RG0 here in Canada! Although I was a little nervous, it went pretty smoothly and no issues once complete!
Another one starts next Monday!
So many people were freaking out about these swaps, saying they’d have wash bay guys throwing parts everywhere or some tech rushing through it just to get paid. Good to see that’s not the case.
harry said:
So many people were freaking out about these swaps, saying they’d have wash bay guys throwing parts everywhere or some tech rushing through it just to get paid. Good to see that’s not the case.
Appreciate it, Mike! Toyota requires at least Step 2 or Pro-Tech certification for these swaps. That’s the highest level of schooling plus a bunch of courses and hands-on training through Toyota University.
It’s not a difficult job, but they want it done right to avoid any extra problems. This whole campaign is costing Toyota a fortune, so they’re trying to minimize unnecessary expenses. Thanks for the support!
@Vinn
Had mine done about a month ago. Everything was handled really professionally, but they forgot to plug my windshield wipers back in. Easy fix the next Monday.
Definitely appreciate the effort you guys are putting in!
@Wilkie
Thanks! A lot of people assume techs just rush through things carelessly, but we really do care about the work. We just try to get it done as efficiently as possible without cutting corners.
Is that even an engine in the third pic, or just a pile of random wires and hoses dangling from the hoist?
Nev said:
Is that even an engine in the third pic, or just a pile of random wires and hoses dangling from the hoist?
Haha! That’s the old engine with the harness still attached. At this stage, we lower it down, remove the harness, and transfer it to the new engine. Next time, I’ll try to get more step-by-step pics to show the full process.
@Vinn
Are the old engines getting refurbished, or just scrapped for parts?
Zadie said:
@Vinn
Are the old engines getting refurbished, or just scrapped for parts?
They’re all getting sent back in their shipping crates and scrapped. I’d love to keep one for spare parts and testing, but I guess Toyota doesn’t want people reselling or abusing the system haha.
@Vinn
Seems like a waste. I bet Toyota could learn a lot from tearing them down and analyzing wear patterns.
Nev said:
Is that even an engine in the third pic, or just a pile of random wires and hoses dangling from the hoist?
Yeah, these things look like a nightmare to work on.
How many hours does the swap take?
Cody said:
How many hours does the swap take?
The job pays 13.6 hours, I think. Mine took 18.1, but I also had to do the fuel tube recall and two software updates, so around 20 total. My goal now is to refine my process and cut down the time. Some techs in our private FB groups have shared tricks to speed things up, so I’ll be trying those out.
@Vinn
The people who come up with these labor times are insane. Sure, you get faster the more you do, but damn. I work at a used car lot, so I don’t deal with flat rate, but they still track our hours for bonuses. Dealers screwing techs over with warranty time is a whole different headache.
Glad to see you guys are putting real effort into this. Makes me feel better about getting mine done. Appreciate the work!
Blaze said:
Glad to see you guys are putting real effort into this. Makes me feel better about getting mine done. Appreciate the work!
I thought I wasn’t affected, then got a call saying my truck was on the list. They had an engine ready and said they could do it quickly, so I brought it in. Took about a day, and now it drives like new. Can’t complain about a free new engine!
Thanks for sharing this! Cool to get some insight from someone actually doing the work. Crazy that you can swap it with the radiator and hood still on.
Larkin said:
Thanks for sharing this! Cool to get some insight from someone actually doing the work. Crazy that you can swap it with the radiator and hood still on.
Toyota gave every dealer a special cherry picker for this so they could pull the engine without removing the front end. Before the recall, if you had to replace one, you’d have to pull the whole front end off, and some shops were even lifting the cab.
@Branley
Yeah, early on, people were pulling the cabs off for turbo swaps too, until someone figured out how to do it through the wheel wells.
Larkin said:
@Branley
Yeah, early on, people were pulling the cabs off for turbo swaps too, until someone figured out how to do it through the wheel wells.
Yep! I can do turbo swaps in under 3 hours now. Where are you located? Curious if certain areas are seeing more seized actuators.