koala2

I have a 2002 ES300, almost 120k miles. Just had the 80k and 120k combined service last September including changed the timing belt, drive belt, etc, caused me $2k.

From day 1 after the service was done, there was some fast beeping sound when you step on the gas pedal (not step a little, not too much, just the middle of gas, especially when turning). They checked it twice but couldn't find anything. Now 4 months later this February, when the temp is below 32F, in the early morning when I turn on the engine, there was some belt rubbing sound. I thought was the engine belt's problem & then took it to the dealer. It's weird that day 1 they turned it on (that day was 50F), they didn't hear anything. Day 2 (when it's 30F) they turn it on & heard some noise, and when they turned it on again, the engine didn't start. They pushed the car to the shop & found out the starter has failed. The dealer agreed that it's weird but they asked for $500 (with the VIP discount) for replacing the starter.

How would it happen? The car has never failed to start to me & that morning it just happened there at the dealer? What are the symptoms for a starter failure? Is the rubbing sound from a failing starter? Another weird thing is when they did the 120k service, they said they rotated the tires but right now at my passenger side front tire, it was worn so much (much much more than the rest 3 tires). If they did rotate 4 months ago, I will assume that one of the back tires will have some worn at all?

They wanted me to get back to them by tomorrow. Any thoughts/suggestions/recommendations?

It's a 10 years old car with premium package (all leather seats, PGS, upgraded stereo, ect). If I trade it, how much will it worth? Thanks a lot!!

moonphase

The starter in our 1997 ES300 started acting up at around 100,000 miles also. The symptoms were that every time we tried to start the car, it would take between three to five tries with the key for the starter to engage. The contacts in our starter were failing.

pdr

I"m glad I do my own servicing, I cringe when I hear these dealer stories.

A starter that doesn't turn can be a few things. The starter pulls a lot of electricity from the battery all at once, so it's when a weakness in the system will show up. I'd say the likely causes are in this order

bad battery connections (dirty or loose)
bad battery (not able to deliver enough power to spin the engine.
bad solenoid
bad starter.

You need a cheap multimeter to diagnose this stuff, it's easy and cheap and you'll save a bunch of money/

As far as tires, if it is a defective tire, they will get some weird wear patterns. If it's only the one tire I'd suspect that.