All exhaust pipes and catalytic convers have disintegrated. Told by the repair man that Toyota uses low quality metal for the exhaust system. Cost was $3,000.
you did get 17 years out of it. nothing lasts forever
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Seventeen years is not bad and if you live in the Rust Belt I would say that is exceptional. I think your Toyota man is wrong about their using low quality metal for the exhaust. Dead wrong.
Why not go online, do some research, and see if you can’t round up the parts cheaper. Normally I don’t recommend or buy parts online myself but now and then I do; all depending.
The closest parts house to me is a 50 miles round trip and sometimes I find the exact same part on eBay for half or even a third of what the parts house charges. Saves me money on the part, 50 miles of no gas usage and less miles accrued on my vehicles. Carter fuel pump off of eBay for my truck was 90 bucks. Parts house wanted 325 so the choice was easy.
Maybe a mobile mechanic in your area could drop by and install that stuff in the drive. While working for dealers I’ve had people contact me to do at home jobs and I gladly did it to pick up some extra money. and save them money also.
To keep myself in the clear I never talked about it at work or lined up a job there. They contact me at home or on the phone and it’s a done deal.
Dealer wants a thousand; I do it for 500. Customer is happy and I make good money for doing the same work.
It appears that your exhaust system was replaced for $3000. Did they use stainless steel or carbon steel pipes? For a 2004, I’d consider carbon steel and save a lot of money. You probably won’t keep the Sienna long enough to rust out the carbon steel pipes.
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I use a bender guy when needed, less than the cost for parts last time I needed a new exhaust. They welded a split cat, lifetime on muffler. I used ther lifetime on muffler, but had to pay 3 bucks for a new muffler clamp.
Have not had the pipes and converters replaced yet.
Thank you for the tip.
Stay healthy,
Richard
Thank you for your advise.
I’m located near the Illinois- Wisconsin line, and
50 miles from Chicago and 50 miles from Milwaukee.
Stay healthy,
Again, thanks for your input.
Richard
I would second looking at parts online. I bought the converter for my wife’s 2013 Highlander for $600. The dealer wanted $900. I bought it from a high volume Toyota parts dealer. It was the same part number as the local dealership. Free shipping too, if I recall. I want to say I ordered from Olathe Toyota. Also, make sure to get the old catalytic converter. They’re pretty valuable as scrap metal as they contain small amounts of platinum and rhodium. I believe I sold mine for around $85, but they’ve gone up quite a bit in value since then.
Only buy the parts online if you’re planning on doing all the work yourself . . .
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I had the Toyota dealer do it. They’re Toyota parts after all. Just without the markup. But, yeah, better check with the dealer (or independent) shop first.
Try https://davesmufflerwi.com/ my go to guy for exhaust work! Kenosha WI See previous and in addition needed an exhaust manifold on a 93 f250, they picked one up at a scrapyard, $300 total cost. Bolts or Nuts rusted off and they fixed it.
Go to a local muffler shop for any replacement. It’ll be far cheaper than the dealer.
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As far as the Sienna, Richard appears to live in an area that uses salt on the roads. I would suggest having the undercarriage thoroughly inspected for rust before going with the exhaust system replacement. Then if the undercarriage, floor pans, etc. are solid, go to an independent shop.
I looked at exhaust system parts online, local shop sourced the parts, bent the tubes in-house, and did the install for less than the price of the online kits.
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Another vote for having an independent shop handle it completely. That way the whole repair is their responsibility, no issues if an owner supplied part fails. And it probably won’t be any more $$.
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Halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee, and 17 years old. Just how long do you expect an exhaust system or for that matter, a vehicle to last?
If that is inferior steel, I will eat my hat!
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My 03 was good till it got rear ended, a few rust bubbles at the bottom of the doors on the inside and one spot on the rear tailgate. Exhaust was fine. I will pay more attention to cleaning the inside of the bottom of the doors. Expecting 10 years with no exhaust or rust problems.
Thanks for your comments.
Stay healthy and have a fun day.
Richard
Hi Richard:
I agree that after 17 years, it’s reasonable for the exhaust to need replacing.
And as others have noted, get a few quotes from independent repair shops. Dealerships have a higher cost structure, causing their prices to often be higher.
And please do reply with how it worked out in the end. I’d be interested, and I’m sure others would as well.
All the best.
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