Complaint Review: Toyota Motor Sales USA

Facts: Purchased a 2001 Toyota Avalon in October of 2001. Received a notice from Toyota 4 months later regarding engine oil gel. Researched subject on internet and discovered that this had been an ongoing problem with Toyota engines from 1997 and that Toyota had been denying owners coverage under the factory warranty claiming that the owners had failed to properly maintain their vehicles which caused the sludge. Toyota had been found out and their dirty little secret became known in industry circles so they decided to make it look like they were doing something about it.

Hence, Toyota issued a couple of notices to some of the owners with the last one stating that there was a special 8 year warranty against sludge damage. SLUDGE DAMAGE. I'll bet that Toyota is the only auto manufacturer with a warranty dedicated exclusively to sludge. Another first for Toyota. And even though there is this so called 8 year warranty, Toyota dealers have not apparently been told about it because when they repair customers vehicles, they don't use the sludge warranty, they call the repairs something else and try to charge the owners for the work. It would not surprise me at all if some of the dealers then bill Toyota for the work that they have already been paid for by the owner.

Now let's get everything out in the open once and for all. Toyota is faced with a major, major impending economic disaster. For the only way to fix theses engines is to replace them in all 3 or 4 millions vehicles with them not to send these bogus notices to the owners and then wait for the engines to fail. Failure which could involve an engine seizure. And you know how dangerous an engine seizure can be while traveling on the interstate at 60 70 mph. Yet, this is the position that Toyota has taken - Let's wait and see how many of these engines fail and when they fail we just might fix them. That's a hell of a way to correct a defective engine problem. It sounds a lot like the ill-fated approach that Ford/Firestone took and look what happened. Horrible accidents.

Personal injury and death. Is this what Toyota wants all of the owners with the defective engines to have to go through before Toyota steps up and does the right thing. And the right thing and the only right thing in this regard is to recall all of the vehicles ands replace these defective engines with new, improved, and tested engines which have been proven to be safe to operate on the highways of this nation. I don't think that it is ethical for Toyota to sit back and required that the owners do the quality control on these defective engines. That should have been done before the engines/vehicles left the factory. And one more thing. Do you know who made these engines defective? Was it the owners? I don't think so.

It was Toyota. So how did Toyota decide to make it right for the owners? You guessed it. By blaming them for the defective engines and then reluctantly agreeing to go through the motions of issuing a piece of paper. Yes. A whole piece of paper. Since when can a piece of paper fix a mechanical problem. As far back as I can remember, only a mechanic with some tools and some parts and some sweat can repair a mechanical problem. But no, for Toyota a good old piece of paper not worth the spit and the stamp to mail it is their remedy of choice. And why not? A stamp and a piece of paper and an envelope is a lot cheaper than a couple of thousand dollars to replace the engine. Greed wins again. The good old profit motive wins out again over a major manufacturer's doing the right thing. How many times are we as consumers in this great nation going to sit back and allow theses corporate crooks steal from us and endanger our lives to boot. NHTSA was initiating a defect investigation of these defective engines and the possibility of engine seizure but they were dissuaded by Toyota lobbyists to cease and desist.

Their rationale? Why, by golly, good old Toyota is sending these notices to all of the owners.....Yeah, NHTSA bought this horses puckey and cancelled their defect investigation. A lot like the way that they mishandled the Ford/Firestone debacle. I guess that the good old boys at NHTSA will never learn. So, if you are considering buying a Toyota vehicle, look the salesperson straight in the eye and ask this question. "What is happening with the Toyota engine sludge problem?" Bring a harmonica with you so you can accompany his impromptu dance routine.

Paul
Langhorne, Pennsylvania

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