Review on Toyota Camry TYC 1-17774 Replacement Starter by Alex Foley

Tried the launcher before installing, works fine. After removing the old block and bolting on the new starter, the small black connector (the solenoid control wire) from the car wiring harness went into the mating connector on the starter solenoid but did NOT latch (click) and therefore fell out through vibration. . Since my pre-installation test consisted of simply TOUCHING the pin in the black connector with an alligator clip, I wasn't aware that the connector would NOT LOCK in order to grab the connector from the car wiring harness. With the new starter bolted to the engine, I could use a headlight and mirror to see what looked like excess plastic "flare" on the inside of the black connector housing after a sloppy manufacturing process. I didn't want to remove the starter and was able to make a special tool that while watching the mirror I could scrape off the extra thin piece of plastic, blow out the debris, THEN connect the black connector with a satisfying CLICK and no connection. Pull out. I pressed the latch, removed it, and reinserted it to make sure it made another distinct click. So going forward my pre-install tests will include pairing all connectors! I've been doing repairs for decades and never had this problem. Was it an accident? Obviously, the factory releases them quickly, so quality can suffer. But 20 years ago I would have paid the same for a rebuilt starter, and new blocks cost well over $200. It's been 2 weeks and the starter worked perfectly. If there are problems I will update. [It replaced the original starter on a 1999 Camry]