Electronics All Going Bad. Worth Fixing?
04-27-20, 01:54 PM
#1
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Electronics All Going Bad. Worth Fixing?
So as the title suggests, electronics since I bought the car a few years ago have been sequentially going bad. I bought a 4Runner last November and have been intent on selling the car.
I'll lay out the issues and ask which ones you guys think are worth fixing before selling. I understand it may be better to just post it for sale and see if I can get an amount I'm comfortable with, but I'm also wondering how much fixing these may affect the value.
I live in Las Vegas, so I would imagine that, as discussed thousands of times before, it's simply the heat killing these things one by one. 150k Miles. May need vapor canister fixed as it does occasionally give a sulfur smell and throws an intermittent Evap Circuit (I think that's what it was called?) error code.
2002 Blue LS430
~150k Miles
Base Model
Electronic Door Locks: Intermittent from day 1, and now are basically completely shot. Hopefully can be fixed with the $5 motors.
Mirrors: Folding on both and tilting on right are done. (May just be obstructions as I have seen in the $.05 fix post)
Radio/Speakers/Entertainment Center: Base model setup. Not Mark Levinson. Dead.
Steering Wheel Telescoping and Up/Down Movement: Dead
I haven't been driving it but also believe there may be a short. I'm going to replace the battery anyways (started getting acid built up on a terminal while I haven't been driving), but it appears the times I have charged it up and started it, the battery didn't last long after. It was a newer battery too (mid 2018 it died and was replaced). I will be testing for shorts by checking the fuses while the car is off, but has a fully charged battery.
Thoughts?
I'll lay out the issues and ask which ones you guys think are worth fixing before selling. I understand it may be better to just post it for sale and see if I can get an amount I'm comfortable with, but I'm also wondering how much fixing these may affect the value.
I live in Las Vegas, so I would imagine that, as discussed thousands of times before, it's simply the heat killing these things one by one. 150k Miles. May need vapor canister fixed as it does occasionally give a sulfur smell and throws an intermittent Evap Circuit (I think that's what it was called?) error code.
2002 Blue LS430
~150k Miles
Base Model
Electronic Door Locks: Intermittent from day 1, and now are basically completely shot. Hopefully can be fixed with the $5 motors.
Mirrors: Folding on both and tilting on right are done. (May just be obstructions as I have seen in the $.05 fix post)
Radio/Speakers/Entertainment Center: Base model setup. Not Mark Levinson. Dead.
Steering Wheel Telescoping and Up/Down Movement: Dead
I haven't been driving it but also believe there may be a short. I'm going to replace the battery anyways (started getting acid built up on a terminal while I haven't been driving), but it appears the times I have charged it up and started it, the battery didn't last long after. It was a newer battery too (mid 2018 it died and was replaced). I will be testing for shorts by checking the fuses while the car is off, but has a fully charged battery.
Thoughts?
04-27-20, 04:12 PM
#2
Instructor
Strange that all 4 door lock actuators died simultaneously. Normally the most used one, driver door, goes first, and is a known problem after 10+ years. However, if your personalization option is set to make all doors unlock on keyfob first press, that would kill all 4 motors equally. Default is single-click to unlock driver door, double-click to unlock all doors. I replaced my driver door lock motor a few years ago, no problems since.
Folding mirrors is also a known problem, the motors just wear out over time. My RH mirror doesn't tilt up/down but moves left/right. Might need to clean the mirror switch again but I don't need the tilt for regular driving so haven't bothered to fix it.
The Las Vegas heat probably killed the amp in your trunk, causing no audio. You could send it to United Radio or a similar shop, and for $500-700 they should be able to repair your amp and replace the quick-failing electronics with components that are more durable.
Steering tilt/telescope motor dying is a common problem here. It hasn't happened to me yet, I replaced just one part, a $3 rubber bushing, a few years ago to fix the squeaking. I still have it set to tilt and telecope away when I leave the car and to tilt down and telescope when I put the key in, so it runs every time I get in and out of the car, 18 years and no problems yet. You can disable this customization feature using Techstream, to reduce wear and tear on the motor.
These 4 problems you've identified are not deal breakers or uncommon - most owners have experienced these issues after the 10-15 year mark. Many people here have fixed these issues themselves.
About your evap and gas smell, provide a picture of the trouble codes and preferably use a scanner made for Toyota/Lexus/Japanese cars, preferably Techstream.
Whether it's worth it - if you are paying the dealership to make these repairs, then no, definitely not worth it. If you can fix it all yourself, then yes, probably worth it if you like the car otherwise.
Folding mirrors is also a known problem, the motors just wear out over time. My RH mirror doesn't tilt up/down but moves left/right. Might need to clean the mirror switch again but I don't need the tilt for regular driving so haven't bothered to fix it.
The Las Vegas heat probably killed the amp in your trunk, causing no audio. You could send it to United Radio or a similar shop, and for $500-700 they should be able to repair your amp and replace the quick-failing electronics with components that are more durable.
Steering tilt/telescope motor dying is a common problem here. It hasn't happened to me yet, I replaced just one part, a $3 rubber bushing, a few years ago to fix the squeaking. I still have it set to tilt and telecope away when I leave the car and to tilt down and telescope when I put the key in, so it runs every time I get in and out of the car, 18 years and no problems yet. You can disable this customization feature using Techstream, to reduce wear and tear on the motor.
These 4 problems you've identified are not deal breakers or uncommon - most owners have experienced these issues after the 10-15 year mark. Many people here have fixed these issues themselves.
About your evap and gas smell, provide a picture of the trouble codes and preferably use a scanner made for Toyota/Lexus/Japanese cars, preferably Techstream.
Whether it's worth it - if you are paying the dealership to make these repairs, then no, definitely not worth it. If you can fix it all yourself, then yes, probably worth it if you like the car otherwise.
04-27-20, 05:37 PM
#3
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Thanks for the feedback!
If it's one issue here or there, I think it wouldn't be an issue to replace. I never would've guessed that it would cost $500-700 to do the radio, but if it's an amp, I guess that's a whole 'nother issue than just the head unit.
If it's one issue here or there, I think it wouldn't be an issue to replace. I never would've guessed that it would cost $500-700 to do the radio, but if it's an amp, I guess that's a whole 'nother issue than just the head unit.
04-28-20, 02:28 AM
#4
none of that stuff is worth doing if you are selling the car. ask $2,000 and take $1,500. that is a beater if I ever saw one.
04-28-20, 04:50 PM
#5
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