should this be covered by warrenty

my 2002 camry had engine check light on, went to the toyota dealer this morning. they told me that the catalytic convertor needs to be replaced, the cost will be covered by warranty, however i need to pay for diagnostic and re-programming the computer (two hour of labor, $94x2), shouldn't this be covered by warranty since they are "direct" result of broken part

i think you are out of the original 36month/60,000km bumper to bumper warranty.

after that period, it is standard practice to charge for diagnostics even if part is under warranty. since you are out of the full coverage bumper to bumper warranty and only the catalyct converter is covered, but diagnostics isn't. as for reprogramming, you may have a better chance of working something out.

basically it's becaue the dealer gets paid only the labor/parts costs of the actual converter but not for diagnosing the problem from toyota

Originally Posted by gilboman

i think you are out of the original 36month/60,000km bumper to bumper warranty.

after that period, it is standard practice to charge for diagnostics even if part is under warranty. since you are out of the full coverage bumper to bumper warranty and only the catalyct converter is covered, but diagnostics isn't. as for reprogramming, you may have a better chance of working something out.

basically it's becaue the dealer gets paid only the labor/parts costs of the actual converter but not for diagnosing the problem from toyota

Emissions warranty is 8 years i think. I had my mercedes CAT replaced ($3500) under the emissions warrantee. I didn't get charged a dime.

Originally Posted by Narci

Emissions warranty is 8 years i think. I had my mercedes CAT replaced ($3500) under the emissions warrantee. I didn't get charged a dime.

depends on how it was diagnosed. e.g. u fail an emission test or during maintance service etc..then they didnt need to pull codes or etc..

Originally Posted by gilboman

depends on how it was diagnosed. e.g. u fail an emission test or during maintance service etc..then they didnt need to pull codes or etc..

That's true but my cat had holes in the welds and was making loud noises. Brought it in, they took a look at it and didn't want to warranty it but i told them it's covered under emissions and they had to go ask the shop foreman and said they would do me this favour and change it. Warranty is warranty, thier not doing any favours.

Originally Posted by Narci

That's true but my cat had holes in the welds and was making loud noises. Brought it in, they took a look at it and didn't want to warranty it but i told them it's covered under emissions and they had to go ask the shop foreman and said they would do me this favour and change it. Warranty is warranty, thier not doing any favours.

exactly..your had holes in the welds which could be plainly seen..it didnt require them to actually pull codes or do any other diagnostics which is why you weren't charged.

warranty is warranty is not entirely correct... once out of the comprehensive period, other warranty covers the part and labour to replace it..not the labour or procedure required to diagnose it.

Originally Posted by gilboman

exactly..your had holes in the welds which could be plainly seen..it didnt require them to actually pull codes or do any other diagnostics which is why you weren't charged.

warranty is warranty is not entirely correct... once out of the comprehensive period, other warranty covers the part and labour to replace it..not the labour or procedure required to diagnose it.

Actually, they did pull the codes cause the CEL was on and they didn't know there were holes in welds of the cat. They first diagnosed it as a leaky header then the next day told me it was holes in the welds of the Cat. I actually left saying i'll let them know if I would fork out $3500 for the CAT, went to the parking lot, looked through the warranty book and went back in and told them it should be under warranty.

Reagrdless, i didn't pay a dime.

My local VW dealer charges through the nose for computer diagnostic and reset, and thats $40.... really its hitting a few buttons they do stuff like oil the doors and whatnot to try and justify the time. Id inquire as to what exactly they did.

96 and up cars have OBDII. OBDII will rest by it self. They do self diagnostic;which mean reset and test again. Or you can always disconnect the battery for over night it will reset the PCM.
Have them replace the CAT and unplug the batter for over night.
See how you car run
if it show MIL (CHECK ENG) light again, then have them do the diags

Originally Posted by FastFokker

Sounds like a scam to me.. 2hrs of labour to reset a computer?

Tell them no, and just reset the computer yourself.. search for instructions on how to do it yourself, but most often if you disconnect the battery for a length of time it will reset. Or find a friend with an OBD-II to do it.

one hour is the least amount of time they can charge? so they are charging one hour for the code pull and i don't know what they mean by reprogram. i doubt it's just reset since the code is cleared after the pull anyways.

If a diagnosis finds a problem covered by warranty than the diagnosis should be covered. Sounds like they are trying to F you.


I hate Dealerships!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by ccdude

If a diagnosis finds a problem covered by warranty than the diagnosis should be covered. Sounds like they are trying to F you.


I hate Dealerships!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agree, never heard of diagnostic charges that leads to warranty repair are excluded from warranty.

Call Toyota Canada for an answer.