Since March my Toyota Landcruiser’s steering has been getting gradually stiffer but was still driveable. Thornbury MOT Centre lent me a Daihatsu Cuore for the 3 weeks it took to resolve the problem due to Toyota delays delivering parts.

Initially I assumed that it was the power steering pump that was slowly failing. Late April I decided that the steering had degraded so much that it needed fixing. Thornbury MOT Centre took a quick look at it and said that the pump was OK but because the steering was only stiff at certain points as the steering wheel was rotated they suspected the steering rack was at fault. The new Toyota rack was about £1,500 but they phoned around and located a reconditioned rack that they could fit for around £400 and organised to get it delivered the following Monday. Thornbury MOT Centre emphasised that until they got the car up on the ramp they could not be absolutely certain what was causing the stiff steering.

When they got the car up on the ramp and started to dismantle the steering they realised that it was not the steering rack but a joint in the steering column that had seized. The recon rack was returned and the replacement joint ordered from Toyota after I had confirmed I was happy to pay just over £400 for the part and labour.

Toyota delivered the part on Tue and it was fitted Tuesday afternoon so by Tuesday afternoon the steering problem was fixed.

However, while working underneath the car and spinning the steering column round from underneath the car a cable inside the car near the steering wheel was damaged. I presume the cable was wrapped round the steering column many times until the cable or the connectors snapped. This cable was critical to the cars electronics and apparently all sorts of warning lights came on and the car was, therefore, not driveable.

Thornbury MOT Centre contacted Toyota who said that the replacement part would have to come from Japan and would be available in just over 2 weeks. I presume this extended lead time was possibly related to the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Two weeks later Toyota delivered the part but unbelievably it was the wrong part.

Rather than try to describe the bit that was actually required by phone, Thornbury MOT Centre visited the local Toyota dealer and pointed out the correct bit on the computer screen so that there was no confusion. Frustratingly the required part was available the following day. In other words, we never needed to wait over 2 weeks for a part from Japan.

However, to add further to the frustration with Toyota they forgot to put the part on their delivery van so it took 48hrs to get the part delivered to Thornbury MOT Centre who fitted the replacement part and I got my car back on Friday afternoon.

The net effect of this steering problem was that my Landcruiser was off the road for 19 days.

I am extremely impressed by the service and customer care from Thornbury MOT Centre:

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  Loan car Daihatsu Cuore

  Thornbury MOT Centre provided me with a replacement vehicle for the whole period. It was a Daihatsu Cuore which has a 3cylinder 850cc engine. It obviously could not tow but at least it kept me mobile.
• Thornbury MOT Centre were honest in telling me about the problem and did not charge me for the part they damaged.
• Thornbury MOT Centre are not specialists in Toyota’s and I would not have expected them to be aware that as they worked underneath the car they were damaging a part inside the car. If a Toyota dealer had done this I would not be as understanding.
• When Toyota delivered the wrong replacement part Thornbury MOT Centre drove to the nearest Toyota dealer to describe exactly which bit was required.

In summary therefore the steering problem has been a bit of a saga but Thornbury MOT Centre have handled a difficult situation extremely well and I will now be very happy for them to do all the maintenance on my Landcruiser.