Warning - Broken control arm bolt!

[screenprintr]

That is some serious pitting.

[Mtlmom]

Here is the news. After 15 loooonnnggg days of my car being off the road, they finally fixed it. I contacted the dealer on April 22nd who told me they weren't even aware of the TSB . I sent it to them and after giving me the runaround all day they told me to contact Toyota Canada. I was told by TC that my file would be transferred to the review office and would take 7 to 10 business days. On the 10th day (May 6th) I sent them an email informing them that I was expecting an answer that afternoon. I received a general email telling me due to a high volume it may take longer. The following day I sent a demand letter and received a response an hour later, telling me that I needed to bring the car to the dealer for inspection. I did and they fixed it with no charge. It was a lllloooonnnngggg and hard process but I finally got what I wanted. I was told that the TSB3271 has been replaced by another TSB (which is probably to replace only the bolts rather than the whole control arm.) I will be filing a report with Transport Canada since this issue should be a recall and not only a bulletin. I would like to thank this forum, without you guys this would've never happened!!!!!

[jayeh]

So I'm going to take my car in to my mechanic and get them to swap out the bolts.

Should anything else be done at the same time? What about the body sealer application in the TSB? If the bolt hasn't broken and the control arms don't need to be removed is it still worth it to have them apply it?

[jayeh]

I had my bolts swapped out today. I'm glad it took it to the mechanic since one of them snapped off. They had to weld another bolt on to extract the old one.

Holy crap are they ever rusty!

[auxmike]

Holy crap! How many miles on the car then? Mine looked nowhere near that bad...

[jayeh]

Originally Posted by auxmike

Holy crap! How many miles on the car then? Mine looked nowhere near that bad...

41,000 miles (67,000km).

[auxmike]

That's very frightening. Imagine a person who knows nothing about this issue sees a nice lowmilage car on the used lot....RUN!

[jayeh]

Originally Posted by auxmike

That's very frightening. Imagine a person who knows nothing about this issue sees a nice lowmilage car on the used lot....RUN!

LIKE ME?

[Hershey]

, those are nasty . Toyota should make it mandatory to have the bolts replaced . There's 60,000+ miles on the sedan and we have plenty of road salt and moisture . Shouldn't leave it up to the mechanic at Toyota . The sedan makes creaking and thunking noises on occasion under certain road conditions . This has been going on nearly 3 years . Been in twice , denied both times . Said no noise at time of test drive and bolts look fine . Got the T.S.B. in mail as well .

[jayeh]

Originally Posted by Hershey

, those are nasty . Toyota should make it mandatory to have the bolts replaced . There's 60,000+ miles on the sedan and we have plenty of road salt and moisture . Shouldn't leave it up to the mechanic at Toyota . The sedan makes creaking and thunking noises on occasion under certain road conditions . This has been going on nearly 3 years . Been in twice , denied both times . Said no noise at time of test drive and bolts look fine . Got the T.S.B. in mail as well .

Well, I'm offering to drop off my bolts at Transport Canada so they can analyze them!

[craigq]

Originally Posted by jayeh

I had my bolts swapped out today. I'm glad it took it to the mechanic since one of them snapped off. They had to weld another bolt on to extract the old one.

Holy crap are they ever rusty!

Our sedan is making occasional creaking noise over bumps, I visually checked and the heads of the bolts are still intact but after seeing this picture I believe I'll pick up a set and check/replace them.

[Everglade]

Just changed control arm bolts on my 07 hatch yesterday.
Old ones still were in pretty good condition.
Covered new ones in thick layer of Permatex Copper Anti-Seize.
Especially between bolt head and flat washer.
Will last forever.
PS
Part number for this bolt is a bit different in Canada.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Everglade

Just changed control arm bolts on my 07 hatch yesterday.
Old ones still were in pretty good condition.
Covered new ones in thick layer of Permatex Copper Anti-Seize.
Especially between bolt head and flat washer.
Will last forever.
PS
Part number for this bolt is a bit different in Canada.

There does not appear to be an actual difference, but Toyota lists the part numbers as:

2006-2009: 90119-14126
2010-2013: 90119-14144

[suprasb]

My fiance's 07' sedan has been making this clunk for a few months now, I ordered the new bolts just in case I need them. I'll crawl under there and check them out tomorrow before work and let you know how they look! Has anyone had success drilling a small drain hole in the sub-frame? Seems like a logical fix to me.

[7:34pm]

Originally Posted by Everglade

Just changed control arm bolts on my 07 hatch yesterday.
Old ones still were in pretty good condition.
Covered new ones in thick layer of Permatex Copper Anti-Seize.
Especially between bolt head and flat washer.
Will last forever.
PS
Part number for this bolt is a bit different in Canada.

How much were the bolts from the dealership? I should probably do this maintenance pretty soon.

Did any of you guys check any of the other bolts?

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by suprasb

My fiance's 07' sedan has been making this clunk for a few months now, I ordered the new bolts just in case I need them. I'll crawl under there and check them out tomorrow before work and let you know how they look! Has anyone had success drilling a small drain hole in the sub-frame? Seems like a logical fix to me.

Yes Ive heard of doing that. Toyota has a proceedure to seal up the area with some goo or other.

[andulong]

I just bought a set of bolts at my local Toyota dealer today. Unfortunately they look just like the old ones and have two marks, or lines on the head. I hope they did not sell me some old ones hoping I would not know the difference. Is there any other way to tell the difference? I am waiting to install them until I am sure they are the upgraded bolts. I am afraid if I go back to Toyota they will not know the difference, if there is one. Thanks.

Originally Posted by CTScott

At least, if nothing more, the changed markings allow one to easily tell if they have new ones (old left, new right):

Attachment 49382

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by andulong

I just bought a set of bolts at my local Toyota dealer today. Unfortunately they look just like the old ones and have two marks, or lines on the head. I hope they did not sell me some old ones hoping I would not know the difference. Is there any other way to tell the difference? I am waiting to install them until I am sure they are the upgraded bolts. I am afraid if I go back to Toyota they will not know the difference, if there is one. Thanks.

There is not actually a different new bolt. It is simply a case of replacing like with like, and if you read the TSB, doing a bit of extra seam sealing limit the water that can enter in with the bolt.