Huge disappointment in GM Customer Service

[SnakeEyeSS]

I don't know about the OP's car, but I just finished some repairs on our Toyota Sienna. Since it was at the 110k mile mark, I went ahead and did some maintenance items, including the plugs. I am not kidding when I say it took the better part of a day to do 6 plugs on that thing. The back three are impossible to reach without partially dissembling the intake. I had the wiper system, cowl, and most of the intake out, and *still* cut myself to pieces, cussed a country mile (so to speak), and liked to have never removed the rear/center ignitor. If there's a bad way to address Japanese engineers, I think I used them all All of that to say... don't say a "spark plug job" is trivial until you've done it on that specific vehicle.

Did you try to unbolt the foward engine mounts and tilt it foward? Most modern cars do that. I think its on the left side of the bay from the pics on the net. It leans the motor foward so you can access the back.without.....disassembling everything.

[RyanbabZ71]

I don't know about the OP's car, but I just finished some repairs on our Toyota Sienna. Since it was at the 110k mile mark, I went ahead and did some maintenance items, including the plugs. I am not kidding when I say it took the better part of a day to do 6 plugs on that thing. The back three are impossible to reach without partially dissembling the intake. I had the wiper system, cowl, and most of the intake out, and *still* cut myself to pieces, cussed a country mile (so to speak), and liked to have never removed the rear/center ignitor. If there's a bad way to address Japanese engineers, I think I used them all

 

All of that to say... don't say a "spark plug job" is trivial until you've done it on that specific vehicle.

 

Great hopefully I dont have this to look forward to on our 12. It is cramped in the engine bay that is for sure

[MikeNH]

On some vans you can get access from underneath/behind when its on a lift. Toyotas are usually very service friendly, I'll have to ask a friend who works for one of their dealers about it.

[RyanbabZ71]

On some vans you can get access from underneath/behind when its on a lift. Toyotas are usually very service friendly, I'll have to ask a friend who works for one of their dealers about it.

 

Oil changes are easier than I thought they would be

[music]

I actually had the left engine mount removed, since I was changing the water pump, timing belt and belts on that side. Heck, I had the whole front off, since I was also changing the radiator. Two items were repairs, the radiator and a steering boot, and the rest was maintenance while I had it torn down that far. I rocked the van to tilt the motor a little, which helped, but it's still tight. I didn't remove the front mount or the full intake, but I had it all the way back to that point (air tubes, throttle body, etc.). There's just a lot of sharp edged things back there, and since the ignitors had never been removed, they didn't want to let loose. I finally (barely) got a screw driver under the middle one to pop it up. The plus side is that some of the parts in the way are actually reinforcement mounts/struts, so everything is in there very solid.

 

That said, I don't do this for a living, and only tear into them this far on occasion... so I guess I'm asking for some headache. Between this one and my old Honda, the Honda is easier to work on. The Toyota motor components are high quality, and fit/alignment is very good, but they added some difficulty. For example, you take everything off and get all the way to the water pump (timing belt off, etc.), and dang if they don't have a steel dust shield on the upper motor that partially overlaps the water pump! You have to remove both cam sprockets just to get that plate off, so that you can get the water pump. I didn't have a cam holder, so I ended up making one out of 2 x 1.25 steel and a couple of 7/16 bolts. Making the tool was a fun break, and was required to break those bolts without turning the cams. Good thing I had the Toyota shop guide for the job(s), so that I had the crank at the right angle when the back cam let loose. I wondered why they had me turn it back 60* before removing the belt... but when that cam flipped back with just a touch... I knew. This is the firist DOHC that I've changed a belt on, so it was a learning experience.

 

That said, I did appreciate the drain plug for the ATF, and really like that almost everything is 10, 12, or 14 mm. I don't like how the front body trim pieces mount (plastic on plastic), nor was I impressed with how thin some of the sheet metal is under there, but the motor and transmission still purr like new.

 

Could I get any farther off topic??

[Beer Belly]

I have am honest question. You say the dealer has stepped up several times for other issues. Your 06 (an 06!) Died. The saturn has issues.

 

 

Why did you go back to GM for your truck? Sounds like the GM products havent treated you well.

My '13 Silverado is my 19th GM vehicle over the years, just always liked the product. Loved my '06, just wasn't cost effective to keep with repairs starting to pop up every month....the last 2 months was brutal with a Front Diff rebuild...Transfer Case Rebuild, then Front Wheel Bearing and Axle Seal....truck on the lift looking at $1,700 to get it drivable. The dealer would offer discounts while servicing such as my Wheel Sensors acting up causing ABS problems....during an Oil change, they'd clean them up...no charge......I had a Torsion Bar Mount rip out....they charged to repair one, and did the other for free as a precaution....

[Beer Belly]

Okay....here's the kicker....they are offering $300 assistance on 3 door lock actuators that are on the repair order that I'm not concerned about....go figure