Toyota Motor Company 2000 MR2 Engine blown after 1 year, not covered under warranty screwed many others too Nationwide
We purchased a 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder and took care of it as if it were a child. After a year of ownership the car began to lose power. We took it in and Toyota replaced the ENTIRE exhaust system because one of the catalytic converters (it has 2) was completely clogged. They covered this under warranty but had no explanation as to why a car so new would have this problem. (Related to the sludge issue?)
Shortly after, the engine blew because it was out of oil (Toyota admitted that they did not even check the oil when they were working on the car). Toyota would NOT cover the repair at all because they said it was our fault!! They quoted us $6000 to do the work but would not give any legitimate explanation about the problem. We said we would get a second opinion and they encouraged it. The second quote was only $4000 so we chose to use that mechanic.
Little did we know that having someone else work on the engine voided our warranty!! This was a problem beacause a few weeks later the engine blew AGAIN. We quickly started to think that it was not an engine problem but a manufacturer's defect. This point was proven when the car used 5 quarts of oil in one week.
I don't know about you, but I think that 5 quarts of oil in one week is a good way to clog catalytic converters, which means that this problem should have been addressed when the original repairs began. We could not find a lawyer that would take the case and we were consistenly ignored by Toyota. We ended up getting the car in running condition and selling it.
The only good news is that we found out that Toyota bought the car back at auction and had to repair it again at their own cost. We are still for paying the repair bill and the negative equity that we had in the car, a year after the fact.
Not only will I never buy a toyota again but I will campaign for the rest of my life against them. I just hope someday there is a class action lawsuit that we can join.
Pamela
San Diego, California
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Charlene
Vienna,Virginia,
File Written Reports on Your Case
#2Consumer Suggestion
Tue, October 01, 2002
Pamela....first,I empathize with your plight. You are among many with equal frustration and disappointment with Toyota Motor Sales, USA.
Your data is VERY important. Will you take the time to file with the NHTSA, CAS, the EPA, etc.? Will you send a certified letter with return response requested to Toyota to notify it and ask it to take action on your behalf? Will you look for the sludge cases (see google.com with "Toyota Sludge") and compare the accounts to your own? Will you connect with other owners to get a fair shake?
The clogging of the emissions system is most interesting. My sludge victims have found fouled oxygen sensors and other emissions component problems. Surely the EPA will be interested in such a report? The sludge victims found the disappearance of the oil to be common. Did you notice any increasing exhaust smoke?
Your details can be valuable for those who still own their vehicles and who are trying to resolve their cases. An executive at Toyota, Bruce C. Ertmann, has agreed to help owners who have suffered through the sludge experience. While some have been assisted, it seems that the boom has been lowered for others. There doesn't seem to be consistency in assistance and support. Not only that, the representatives continue to say how few vehicles are affected.
The problem continues to be minimized. Spin doctors abound on every Toyota complaint site ready to deny all postings about sludge. Internet discussions of Toyota sludge have been shut down. Virus messages have been sent by Toyota dealerships to networking owners who just want JUSTICE. Individual owner's computers have been targeted for malicious intrusion. Something is not right!
This whole matter has gotten out of hand. Owners aren't being victimized ONCE; they are being victimized OVER AND OVER. I ask you, WHEN will this denial and interference with owner organization STOP? Is Toyota so naive that it will continue to assume the matter will simply go away if enough networking owners are stopped?
Like you....I want some answers. I have been told that my van is FINE. It continues to show excessive gasoline in the engine oil; it smokes on cold start up. It exhibits roughness in ride at highway speeds and shifts erratically. Then, there is the strong pull to the left and the clunking brakes. FINE is NOT the word to describe this three year old Sienna with well under 40,000 miles on it!
I am still collecting owner stories for those new to sludge. Continue to send them and seek out the resources posted here and elsewhere. While I have been the victim of intentional computer intrusion, my connections with the other owners has not been severed permanently.
HOW can Toyota say there is no problem without COLLECTING the owner data? It can't; it simply doesn't want to know anything further. Don't let this stop you from documenting. Send certified letters to Toyota. It claims it has gotten only 3100 letters about SLUDGE. If you don't WRITE the letter, Toyota can say ANYTHING it wants to say. Give it the PROOF it needs!