light out on gear shift

[CL8]

The gear shift light (between the seats) in my Toyota Echo, is burned out, I can't see what gear I'm in at night, how do you replace it?

Thanks, Cl8

[curtis73]

pull the shift knob off, find the screws that hold the console in place, lift it up, and replace the bulb.

[CL8]

Thanks! I'll try it.

[CL8]

OK, I couldn't see how to pull the shift knob off, so I went to my local Toyota dealer and asked them if they could change the light.

They said "yes" for $105.00 labor plus parts.!!!!
They said it would take an hour to do it.

Would you say they are just trying to rip me off, or is it really that much work to do?

thanks.

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by CL8

Would you say they are just trying to rip me off, or is it really that much work to do?

It will probably take them just a few minutes.

Likely they are charging you for a full hour of shop time. This may be their minimum charge.

Imho they are not trying to rip you off personally. However, often such larger shops tend to have a lot of overhead and it simply is not worth their while to do all the paperwork and occupy the staff for any less than a full hours charge, regardless of how minor the job is.

However, you are definitely not getting your moneys worth on this job.

I think an independent mechanic would charge much less, especially if it is done in conjunction with some other work, like an oil change.

[curtis73]

For $15 you could buy the shop manual for your car and do it yourself. Sometimes figuring out little things like shift knobs are frustrating to do yourself, but once you see it in a shop manual you'll kick yourself for how easy it is.

Plus, in the future when you have to replace a radiator hose, or a headlight, or brake pads, its an investment you can really use.

Haynes or Chilton are publishers that make decent shop manuals for your car.

[CL8]

Thanks Magicrat & Curtis,

But MagicRat, if their policy was to charge an hour of labor for any job,
I would be charged that much for changing a head light.
But I'm only charged about $35.00 for that.

[curtis73]

I wouldn't be surprised if it took an hour to do the console light. Most shops have a "master" book of labor estimate times. They look up the car and the job and it lists a time that it should take to complete the job. Until you get all the screws out, disassemble the console, and reassemble it, it might be an hour.

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by curtis73

I wouldn't be surprised if it took an hour to do the console light. Most shops have a "master" book of labor estimate times. They look up the car and the job and it lists a time that it should take to complete the job. Until you get all the screws out, disassemble the console, and reassemble it, it might be an hour.

I considered that they may have been quoting a book rate. Imho it still does not change the issue that CL8 is not getting his money's worth.

When I pay a mechanic to work on a car, I only do so for jobs that require special tools and equipment I don't have. Changing most lights/bulbs in a car is no more difficult than cooking dinner. Still, I think this is a job that CL8 could easily do himself, with a manual

Sometimes the 'master' books (there are a number of them out there) are sometimes inaccurate.
For example, to change the heater core on my Cadillac DeVille, the 'book' (as published by NAPA) called for 5 hours to do the job. Other books called for 3.5 to 4 hours.

I changed the core in 1 hour 45 min, following the service manual directions. . And about 45 min of that was spent doing nothing (just relaxing under that dash looking up at the heater box and wondering what I should do next.)

If I were to do it again, I could do it in 1 hour easily.

Back in my GM mechanic's days (20 years ago), the book we used seemed to be more accurate. There was usually very little (if any) extra time included in the book's rates..

BTW $35 for changing a headlight, or a headlight bulb?

[CL8]

Originally Posted by MagicRat

I considered that they may have been quoting a book rate. Imho it still does not change the issue that CL8 is not getting his money's worth.
BTW $35 for changing a headlight, or a headlight bulb?

The bulb is what I was I meant.

And I am a "her" not a "him"

(There probably aren't many females on this forum)