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Got my battery replaced at 61K miles on a 2006 Camry 4 Cylinder.
Today (at 62,500 miles) my battery light came on so I went to Advanced Auto and they did a test on my battery and alternator. Alternator wasn't charging at all.
Went to mechanic and they wanted too much so I went back to auto place and bought a remanufactured (OEM Denso was $300 and out of stock) for $115 and a new Serpentine belt.
Mechanic charged me one hour of labor at 90 per hour. I know it's a little high but he did a good job.
I asked him if he ever saw an alternator go bad at around 60K miles? He said it's a 2006 so it's not uncommon.
I though the alternator was a wear part? Does age matter that much?
Just curious.
My external water pump went bad at 40K miles (also Denso). So I think Denso is putting out some poor quality parts.
My 1992 Accord has 200K miles and is still on original alternator. Go figure!
Last edited by outback1313; 07-16-2014 at 02:41 PM..
Depends on what went wrong with the alternator. It wouldn't be worn out at 60K miles unless it's been allowed to sit and idle more than it's been driven. More likely it was an electronic failure which is more related to age than wear.
I have gotten in the habit of replacing alternators every 75,000 miles no mater what. What I do is buy an alternator with a life time warranty, so I only buy an alternator one time. $300 seems very high, I have never paid more then $175.
It normally only takes about 15 mins to put in alternator in, so your mechanic must have charged you a one hour labor rate.
BTW I live in the country and an alternator failure on the drive to town (35 miles) could cost me a half day pay and the towing charge of about $150, so that's why I replace alternators every 75K.
Depends on what went wrong with the alternator. It wouldn't be worn out at 60K miles unless it's been allowed to sit and idle more than it's been driven. More likely it was an electronic failure which is more related to age than wear.
Weak batteries can hard on alternators, as well.
duster is right, chances are what happened is the diode bridge burned out which is why it quit charging. that can happen they day the car is built, to perhaps never, and you replace the alternator because the bearings went bad, or the brushes wore out. on alternators that are internally regulated, the regulator can also go bad.
duster is right, chances are what happened is the diode bridge burned out which is why it quit charging. that can happen they day the car is built, to perhaps never, and you replace the alternator because the bearings went bad, or the brushes wore out. on alternators that are internally regulated, the regulator can also go bad.
IMO the car isn't driven enough. 2006 with 63K? Needs to be started and run for at least fifteeen minutes once a week.
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