[Motorep]

Got the car back last week and took it to Sedona for the weekend. Everything worked great with no hassles. No new noises or oil leaks to report. Car actually got better mileage and sounded quieter as well. Weird...

Total bill to Toyota was almost $5K and they replaced all the vv-ti gears as well as the valves and cams. Bottom end was fine. Great help and feedback from Bret at the Toyota Service Center in Santee. They're affiliated with El Cajon Toyota but I like using them since they're off-site and quicker when it comes to getting my Toyota's serviced. They've always done a very professional job.

I'm still p.o.'ed that Toyota hasn't issued a recall on this problem yet. Seems much cheaper than spending $5K on rebuilds. Wife still likes the car so we'll keep it as a trip runner/dog transportation vehicle and get her another daily driver. She really wants a Mini...

I'll probably keep my '08 Tundra as well. No qualms with that thing at all. Hopefully no issues spring up in the future though. However, it's headed to the body shop after getting side swiped by an uninsured driver in a rental van. The fact she was wearing an Obama t-shirt when she got out of the van only added insult to injury...