I recently had my 2004 Sienna in for a recall and when signing out the service advisor presented me with a list of items he said needed to be addressed in the near future. By far the biggest and most expensive on the list was to reseal the transmission which he quoted a price of $2450 for. Other items include replacing a seal on the transaxle(he states the repair tech noticed visible “moisture” near the boot along with the water pump and timing belt. The van has ~84,000 miles
Any thoughts are appreciated
That $2450 price is a little steep to replace the axle seal.
In order to replace the seal, the axle/halfshaft is removed from the transaxle and the seal is removed with a puller. Then the new seal is installed and then halfshaft is reinstalled.
Take it to independent shop and have them check if it actually requires a new seal. And if it does, it can replaced at fraction of the cost the dealer quoted.
Tester
the $2450 was the price quoted to replace all the seals in the transmission
“he states the repair tech noticed visible moisture near the boot.”
That boot is the inner CV-joint boot on the axle/halfshaft.
Take it to an independent shop.
Tester
Those transmissions leak between the case halves, leave it be. It doesn’t need to be perfect.
The axle boots last a long time but tend to seep grease from the clamp area. If your in an area with a lot of moisture it will compromise the grease, if not this can wait.
Your timing belt and water pump if original are ten years old, replace them.
Unless you’re having to add fluid I’d skip the seal replacement.
Get a second opinion from an independently owned and operated shop.
IMHO what you’re experiencing seems to be the new business model for many dealerships in these hard economic times. Every time someone brings a vehicle in that’s no longer in warranty they seem to find at least $2,000 worth of work (usually more) that “needs to be done”… 98% of which is BS. They spend more time making these lists than they do doing the work for which the vehicle was brought in.