Water pump costs a fortune in labor?

Toyota water pumps generally do not fail catastrophically without some prior warning, like slow leaks and noise, and they should be replaced with every other timing belt. The timing belt has a 60,000 mile recommended replacement interval, so the water pump should be replaced at 120,000 miles to avoid problems.

If your car has been maintained properly, including timing belt replacements, it would be due for a timing belt replacement at 180,000 miles. Since your are basically at that mileage, I'd replace the timing belt at the same time. As far as the $400 labor, how many hours is that? 4 hours labor should be sufficient.

Yep, it's for real. You could do it yourself and save that labor charge.

Sure. But that you're complaining at $500 bucks after 173K miles is rather funny.

Take a tip: Let them replace the timing belt and all your other belts too.

Call competion for prices and negotiate or tow if you find a much better deal. But did you ruin the motor, what happened did it overheat and for how long, it may be completely trashed.

If it's the 1.8L engine then the pump is EXTERNAL and has a fan bolted to it. I'd be surprised if it took more than 1 hour to change the pump and coolant unless something seized up. Both parts and labor are kinda high. But that must be normal for a dealer.

I think we replaced the timing belt a few years back. It broke.

The labor was around $370. I guess they get about $90 n hour then.

Well it's not just that, the car has been costing us about $1500 a year in repairs since around $140k mi. Heck, we could almost pay off a new car with that.

And it appears that I'm finding out that Toyota, while they ARE reliable until about $150k mi, start costing a LOT in labor to repair after that, because of the design that makes it so hard to repair stuff?

No. I think part of it was the "we see a woman coming" syndrome. They first said $670. I about had a cow. I asked; For what?! They said; oh, well we were gonna replace the water pump, the thermostat and all the belts. I asked; what if you JUST replace the water pump and THAT one belt? They said $470. So I saved SOME.

The thermostat is fine and has been replaced a couple of times since we've had the car. If it works, dont fix it!

It's the 7AFE 1.8L.

They said it's under the timing belt covers and they had to unbolt the engine from the frame too.

Here's the procedure for the 7AFE:

You dont have a dealer do the work do you, I bet 1100.00 a year of what you are spending is buying that dealer cable tv ,coffee and donuts you get free. Dealers always rip me off so I dont use them unless its warranty, if I can get it done for 200, I know the dealer would have made it 1000.00

I have never heard of a Toyota timing belt breaking within the recommended replacement interval, and most last about 25 to 50% longer than the recommended replacement interval.

$90/hour sounds about right for a metro area.

That's funny--I've saved thousands of dollars by having a relationship with the dealership service department.

It's funny what happens when they have manufacturer "soft warranty" dollars to throw at service items that should never have come up in the first place.

Is it not best to avoid these kind of 'relationships'?

Every dealer is different, the caddy they wanted 900 for brakes, I got it done for 375 and cut rotors, my volvo guy pitces me stuff already done and screwed up a repair. when I was in I told him to fix a slow tire leak, instead he wants 200 for a rim saying its bent. I went to a tire pro who said he pulled out a nail and its leak free all winter. Dealers charge more per hr than indepandants, you can most always get a better deal, a dealer always seems to go for 1000$ when I know thinfgs shouldnt be, Nobody I know likes dealer service price out of warranty.

But, but, but if you don't buy genuine Toyotas high priced parts, you don't get Toyota quality. At least not the quality of the part that FAILED. ;)