wingnutthehutt Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Hey guys, I have a slight dilemma. My girlfriend is currently living in Salem, Oregon. She got transferred for work. Her 99 RX300 recently threw a "random misfire" code. The techs at the Volvo dealership, where she bought the car, quoted her $373 for parts and labor. Now, I know it's not a small block chevy, but that seems kinda ridiculous to change some spark plugs. Here's the deal. I'm going up there in three weeks. 1- Does anyone know EXACTLY which tools I should take with me to do this? 2- Is there an HZ member mechanic in the Salem area who won't "take advantage" of my girlfriend? (In both senses.) I have no problem waiting to do the work, but she's screaming that it's sucking gas like Gary Busey on a coke binge. Thoughts? Thanks, Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trippintl0 Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 $373 isn't bad for that car, especially from a dealership. Plugs alone are probably over $50. I found this on a quick Google search: "You will need to remove the wiper arms and the tray assembly under the arms to give you more room. Then from there you will need a a magnetic spark plug socket with a good 3/8 air ratchet and a assortment of swivels and extensions. Not a real easy job. As far as a repair manual that will tell you exactly how to do it, I don't think you will find one. " Looks like the front 3 are easy and back 3 are tough. Other people suggested loosening motor mounts and rotating engine forward to access rear plugs. Of course then again random misfires can be attributed to a lot more than spark plugs, for example incorrect fuel pressure, vacuum leaks, MAF sensor dirty, intermittent crank pos sens., etc. Although since it's COP you don't really have plug wires to worry about, that's a plus. You may want to verify that there aren't any other check engine codes on before you decide what to replace; however, usually it never hurts to change the spark plugs anyways, assuming you use the correct plugs and gap them properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismopowered Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Can you please post me exactly what code they pulled. How many miles and any recent work done to car. What other issues besides the MPG? Or better yet email it to me as I cant read posts at work. Jeremy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnutthehutt Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 Geez, ok. Thanks for the response. I wasn't having much luck with Google for some reason. This doesn't sound like something I want to do with tools in my carry-on. They told her that was the only code. I made sure they gave her the code and then I looked it up. They say it's plugs, we do the plugs. But I'll be darned if I can justify 400 bucks to change some stupid plugs. Geez. Next time she wants a new car I'm telling her to save her cash and we're building a 57 Chevy. Hahaha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnutthehutt Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 Can you please post me exactly what code they pulled. How many miles and any recent work done to car. What other issues besides the MPG?Or better yet email it to me as I cant read posts at work. Jeremy 132815 p0300 was the code. It has about 100k on the dial. Runs perfect until it threw the code last week. She's had a couple little electrical gremlins recently taken care of such as a door lock switch and a seatbelt sensor or something. She's only had it for about three months though. The 700 miles makes it difficult to be as involved as I'd like to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Netrix Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 So it just threw a code? If it it's still running perfect, leave it alone. Codes happen, just like perfect software has errors every once in awhile. However if it's just spark plugs, bring it to a normal garage. Any mechanic can change them and they can pull up instructions on the computer. Or do it yourself. Most high end car dealerships (BMW, Lexus) charge around 90.00 an hour for labor. And regardless of how long it SHOULD take, they have base rates for certain jobs. How is it running currently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallnet Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Changing the spark plugs on that thing is a PITA on the back bank so the cost reflects the troubles involved. Something you will want to look for though and that's a sludge issue. Pull the front VC and look for heavy oil sludge/gelling. If it's an engine sludge problem, there is a campaign on it and random misfires is one of the complaints. How to I know this? I've been a tech at Toyota for the past 2 years (11 years with Jaguar before that). I've had to send a few back to Lexus that were covered by the campaign only because Lexus will not cover the repairs in a Toyota only dealer. I'm not sure if the 99's were covered but the 2000's were and it's the same car, imagine that.... An in service date will confirm if your's is covered for such an issue. The sludged up oil causes the engine to drag and this will give you random misfires, sometimes the same codes will store after cleared and sometimes they change but there will be misfire codes each time. How can this be fixed?? Depending on how bad it is will tell you what you can get away with. Shortblocking and rebuilding the heads is whats done most of the time so you will have no troubles later on. Sometimes the motor is broken down and rebearinged, reringed and heads rebuilt but always everything is cleaned real well. Sometimes and I do mean sometimes, you can get away with stripping the engine down, cleaning everything, replacing all seals and reassemble.. We had the same campaign on Camry's, Avalons and Highlanders of certain years with the V6 FWD MZ motors. Good luck Thanks pallnet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 yeah those laterally oriented V6-V8 engines are a PITA. Had a stealth, loved to drive it (even though it was a heavy pig). hated working on it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 I'm a Toyota tech. The rear spark plugs on a v6 suck. Some REALY SUCK. We don't get paid extra time for a service with plugs.....WHICH SUCKS THE MOST. My cars are 4cyl, or straight 6.....they don't suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Here's what I would do... If the dealership says it will fix it make sure that you get it in writing that that's whats going to fix it. IF it doesn't fix it you can come back to them and tell them your not paying for the repair. They may fight you on this but if you paid for diagnostic for that code and that's what they say will fix it then they better be sure that's it. I know that's how it's worked at both the dealerships I've worked at. That's the reason your paying for the diag. There's a reason it's costing you $373.00 for 6 plugs to be installed. It's probably $18/plug and labor is probably $100/hour. Personally if I'm going to pay $100/hour its going to be at a shop that services my make/model regularly.....aka not a Volvo dealership. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnutthehutt Posted October 29, 2008 Author Share Posted October 29, 2008 Changing the spark plugs on that thing is a PITA on the back bank so the cost reflects the troubles involved. Something you will want to look for though and that's a sludge issue. Pull the front VC and look for heavy oil sludge/gelling. Good God! Everything else you wrote scared the crap outta me. I'll pull the VC when I get there and check for sludge. If there's evidence, that cars going back up for sale, pronto. Thanks for identifying yourself as someone whom I requested to respond. No offense to everybody else who is trying to be helpful but explaining how dealerships charge is something I learned ten years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnutthehutt Posted October 29, 2008 Author Share Posted October 29, 2008 Here's what I would do... If the dealership says it will fix it make sure that you get it in writing that that's whats going to fix it. IF it doesn't fix it you can come back to them and tell them your not paying for the repair. They may fight you on this but if you paid for diagnostic for that code and that's what they say will fix it then they better be sure that's it. I know that's how it's worked at both the dealerships I've worked at. That's the reason your paying for the diag. There's a reason it's costing you $373.00 for 6 plugs to be installed. It's probably $18/plug and labor is probably $100/hour. Personally if I'm going to pay $100/hour its going to be at a shop that services my make/model regularly.....aka not a Volvo dealership. Guy Good thought on getting it in writing. Normally I wouldn't take it to a Volvo dealer either (technically volvo bmw) but that's where we bought it and there is no Lexus dealer in town. I don't think there's even a 'Yota dealer. Salem is friggin' tiny compared to every other capital city I've been to. It's 80% state workers too. I exaggerate, but it's still very high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Netrix Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 How is it running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnutthehutt Posted November 28, 2008 Author Share Posted November 28, 2008 Breif update: Lisa took the car to a mechanic her in Sacramento that lives near her. He does a lot of sidework and agreed to change the plugs. As soon as the plugs came out we knew we had a problem. It's definately a sludge issue. LexusToyota will cover the car up to 8.5 years after date of purchase. It's now been 9.5. When she purchased the car we made sure she paid for a warranty on it. We'll see how it goes on that front. It's little consolation that I talked them down $3k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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