Starter issue

[Tundra2002-2WD]

Today's date: 12/20/2008


I have a 2002 Tundra 2WD V8 access cab with only 36K miles. I am the 1st owner.

I started having problems with starting the vehicle about a year ago. It would click and not start and then eventually start after 2nd or 3rd try.

I went to the dealer and they said $800 to replace the starter with a toyota remanufactured starter. I called the Toyota Customer Experience Center in California (1-800-331-4331) to complain about the reliability of their Nippon Denso starter. They said no recalls or tech bulletins. I said BS.

The next day I get a call from the customer service mgr of the dealer I had visited. They said that the regional sales manager of Gulf States Toyota (Toyota distributor for 6 or so states) had agreed to cover 50% of the repair.

I got it fixed at the dealer 2 weeks ago and paid $275 for starter replacement. I had some coupons. I have 38.5K miles and starts like brand new truck.


Regards.

[shall36]

The basic starter design has been in use since at least the early '80's. In almost every case I've worked on, the issue was the contacts in the solenoid, which pit due to arcing over time. There is also a copper plunger that is pulled in by the solenoid to bridge between the two contacts and it will also pit. Usually, there is one of the contacts that will wear more than the other. The solution in 95% of these cases is to replace the contacts...which I used to buy for .50$ a piece. I think there are several on-line sources where you can buy them for $5 or so for the pair.

In the majority of cases, there is absolutely no need to replace the starter. In fact, I'll bet a million bucks that most of the "remanufactured" units out there are simply cleaned up starters with new contacts installed.

BTW, I've never worked on an ND starter where any other parts, including brushes, bearings, or bendix drive. Realistically, you should be able to get about 300K miles on the hard parts and replace the contacts every 100k to 150k.

This guy has some of the best prices!

Starter Contacts