Warning - Broken control arm bolt!

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Hershey

Another thought . Will the sedan need an alignment if the front suspension is repaired ? Would think so .

Not if just the bolts are replaced. If the full service is done where they drop the A arms and seal the seams, then alignment should be done.

As another thing to worry about, today I was finishing my disassembly of the Yaris I am parting out. The front bolts were perfect (this is a 2007 California car that appears to have never even made contact with water with how perfect all metal parts have been).

When I dropped the rear axle beam I noticed that one of the bolts that mounts it to the body had a significant spot of corrosion. This was the only bolt on the entire car that had a hint of rust. This makes we want to take a peek at the ones off my Yaris which have seen lots of Winter salt.

In this picture the long ones on the left are the rear beam bolts and the right ones are the A Arm bolts:
Bolts.jpg

[NEexpat]

^ I'd be interested to know what you discover on your cars Scott.

That spot high up on the thread like that, not good, very odd considering the condition of the rest of the car.

Perhaps just a bad bolt.................................or is there some sort of design flaw with the rear axle beam like with the A arms, great now I'm going to go slide under my car and look about.

[bronsin]

You know I just want to express appreciation for this site which keeps us so well informed about the (relatively minor) problems with our cars. My hat is off to you all!

Also my thanks to Toyota for making the Yaris the quality, practical car that it is. You should read some of the problems cars on other sites are having!

And REALLY read the problems BMW motorcycles are having at The Chain Gang.com!

[Hershey]

CT, are the bushings visible or easy to view for inspection ? A relative has a lift in his garage and is a mechanic. What should we look for if the bushings are bad ? Thanks

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Hershey

CT, are the bushings visible or easy to view for inspection ? A relative has a lift in his garage and is a mechanic. What should we look for if the bushings are bad ? Thanks

The bushings around the bolts are easy to see, but I don't think you will see anything obvious. I think you will need to try to recreate to motion while listening closely to catch the noise.

[Hershey]

Do the techs use a listening device when moving the arms up and down while on a lift to pinpoint the noise? How long would it take to determine the source ? May have to take it to a dealer and would like to know what to expect. Thanks for all of your help.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Hershey

Do the techs use a listening device when moving the arms up and down while on a lift to pinpoint the noise? How long would it take to determine the source ? May have to take it to a dealer and would like to know what to expect. Thanks for all of your help.

My bet is they will shake it or road test it and tell you there is nothing wrong and that the noise is normal.

[Hershey]

That's quite possible since it's warranty work and a big job.

[DonM]

I was going to sell my 2008 Yaris sedan but changed my mind so I went ahead and purchased the control arm bolts from my local Toyota dealer for $17.50.....and I am glad that I did (refer to the photo)......I took it took to a Midas dealer for an oil change and they swapped out the bolts for free - considering that my car only has 47,500 km on it and has not seen a lot of winter driving - I would hate to see the bolts on some of the high milers that are driven in the rust belt.

Don't wait for the clunking sound to appear - do it now since it costs so little to do.

[camh]

Originally Posted by DonM

I was going to sell my 2008 Yaris sedan but changed my mind so I went ahead and purchased the control arm bolts from my local Toyota dealer for $17.50.....and I am glad that I did (refer to the photo)......I took it took to a Midas dealer for an oil change and they swapped out the bolts for free - considering that my car only has 47,500 km on it and has not seen a lot of winter driving - I would hate to see the bolts on some of the high milers that are driven in the rust belt.

Don't wait for the clunking sound to appear - do it now since it costs so little to do.

My daughter's car was less than 34,000 miles when her right control arm broke.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by camh

My daughter's car was less than 34,000 miles when her right control arm broke.

Ugh. Is your daughter also in New Jersey or a similar location re winter road maintenance that might contribute to the control arm issue?

[Hershey]

^ Good thinking ^ . We believe the creaking / clunking in the front has gone since the replacement of the bolts . Still have it coming from the rear . At least it's not in stereo for now .

[Hershey]

Well , sounds like we may have the creaking from the front after the bolt fix . The rear suspension is creaking too . It's like having quadrophonic stereo at times . We bicker about which end it came from . Love the gas mileage , but this car has been a real pain in the in 4 1/2 years of owning it .

[WildChild]

I called the dealership this morning and the warranty extension also exists for Canada. The guy mentionned 84 months/160K KM. I have an appointment tomorrow to have this fixed.

The guy said that a new TSB was released in 2012 about the warranty extension, but unfortunately I don't have the number.

[barryware]

After reading this thread (a few times), I stopped at the dealer and picked up two bolts.. After tax, they were under 12 bucks.

I haven't been able to figure out if I need to replace the bolts by the vin.. My vin: JTDJT92317506XXXX.

Doesn't matter now as I have them but I would like to understand the "affected" cars using the vin. I did get the letter from Toyota extending the warranty to 100K miles. I have 97K+ on the car now. (2007 3dr hatch)

I understand that no alignment or anything is necessary after removing the old, and installing the new bolt(s). Is there any concern of anything moving if you have the car jacked up? If I need to jack up the car, any problem using a floor jack and lifting the car by jacking the control arm up.. Right where the strut is? I REALLY hate jacking the car up using the jack points that you would use if you get a flat and need the jack that comes with the car.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by barryware

After reading this thread (a few times), I stopped at the dealer and picked up two bolts.. After tax, they were under 12 bucks.

I haven't been able to figure out if I need to replace the bolts by the vin.. My vin: JTDJT92317506XXXX.

Doesn't matter now as I have them but I would like to understand the "affected" cars using the vin. I did get the letter from Toyota extending the warranty to 100K miles. I have 97K+ on the car now. (2007 3dr hatch)

I understand that no alignment or anything is necessary after removing the old, and installing the new bolt(s). Is there any concern of anything moving if you have the car jacked up? If I need to jack up the car, any problem using a floor jack and lifting the car by jacking the control arm up.. Right where the strut is? I REALLY hate jacking the car up using the jack points that you would use if you get a flat and need the jack that comes with the car.

Correct on no alignment necessary after replacement.

As for jacking, I would not do so at the control arm. The correct front jack point (other than the pinch seams) is where the rear transmission mount meets the frame.

[WildChild]

The repair was done this morning, free of charge.

[esse10]

Question for you folks that used the Copper anti-seize, Did you put the anti-seize on the bolt threads also and did you still torque the bolt to the specs of 118 ft-lbs ? We don't get any salt on the roads down here in Texas but i will remove and inspect these bolts and depending on what condition I find I'll decide what Preventive Maintenance schedule will be required in the future.

Next question; is there a way to get Toyota corp. to acknowledge this problem and send me a letter about the extended warranty? I called my local dealer and the warranty office person acted like she had never heard of such a problem, even after I mentioned the TSB3271.