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| - I took my 2011 Toyota Camry in to have my brakes checked because I was experiencing a shaking/pulsation in my steering wheel when braking on a downward grade. At 65K miles, I expected my car to require some kind of brake maintenance but was surprised when the diagnosis was merely warped front wheel rotors. I approved having them resurfaced.
When returning to pay for the service and pick up my car, I was told that my front left axle was damaged ("cracked" was his key word). The only thing he said that he and his mechanic saw that led them to believe there was axle damage, was grease leaked around the wheel. Although this can signal axle damage, it doesn't necessarily mean there's a definite issue. I found the diagnosis suspicious because I'd not experienced any symptoms tipping me off. I have my tires regularly rotated, yet nobody had mentioned anything. Nor was the tread on that tire worn away at any angle. ...no symptoms at all showing signs validating the Brakemasters diagnosis. So, I left, despite the Brakemaster's guy's frustration and pressure to have my axle replaced at that very moment!, and sought out a friend. My friend owns a tire and wheel shop specifically for performance vehicles (Lamborghinis, Ferraris, McLarens, etc.) I know I can trust my friend to thoroughly inspect my car not only because he cares, but because he's competent, with 15 yrs experience. My friend said he examined both CV boots deeply, but couldn't find a thing wrong with them.
My rating is mostly based on the poor diagnosis - I suspect that the Brakemasters mechanic either didn't look well into the CV boots, or (2), he simply thought I'd buy the story that excessive grease around the wheel definitely meant the axle was impaired. So I'm not sure if the issue here is incompetence or deceit. Either way, I'm now wondering if their diagnosis of my brakes -the original reason I took my car in- was accurate.
I'm not sure how the error was made, considering the Toyota Camry has been a model on the road since 1982, and one of the US's most popular vehicles. Brakemasters must see about 5 Camrys a day. A Camry axle shouldn't be foreign to them. So again, they were either incompetent or trying to deceive me. Either equates to horrible customer service.
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