1996 Toyota Camry

AFTER PURCHASING THE CAR IN MARCH 2002, ALL OIL CHANGES WERE PERFORMED BY ME. THE PREVIOUS OWNER IS A FRIEND, AND I KNOW THE CAR WAS MAINTAINED VERY WELL (APPEARANCE OF THE CAR ALSO REFLECTS THIS). IN EARLY MAY 2003, WITH MY WIFE DRIVING, THE CAR THREW #1 PISTON ROD THROUGH THE BLOCK. THE ENGINE STILL HAD AMPLE OIL, AND ONLY HAD 1500 MILES AFTER AN OIL CHANGE (I CHANGE THE OIL BETWEEN 3-4000 MILES, RELIGOUSLY). THIS IS NOT THE TYPE OF ENGINE FAILURE TO EXPECT FROM A WELL MAINTAINED CAR, AND AFTER PULLING THE MOTOR OUT, I NOTICED SLUDGE ALL OVER THE OIL PAN, VALVE COVERS, AND ON VARIOUS ENGINE COMPONENTS.

COMPLAIN I OWN A 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY THAT RECENTLY EXPERIENCED AN ENGINE DAMAGE DUE TO THE BUILD-UP OF OIL SLUDGE BEFORE 80,000 MILES. MY CAR HAS THE SAME 2.2L 4 CYLINDER ENGINE AS THEIR CAMRY 1997-2001 MODELS, WHICH TOYOTA AGREED TO COVER THE COST OF REPAIRING THOSE ENGINES. HOWEVER, DESPITE THE FACT THAT MY CAR HAS THE SAME ENGINE AND IT WAS PRODUCED TWO MONTHS PRIOR TO THAT TIME FRAME, BECAUSE IT IS IN A 1996 MODEL, TOYOTA HAS REFUSED TO COVER THE COST OF REPAIRING IT. THERE IS NO DISPUTING THAT THE FAILURE OF THOUSANDS OF THESE ENGINES AS A RESULT OF A BUILD-UP OF OIL SLUDGE CAN BE ATTRIBUTABLE ONLY TO THE FACT THAT THESE ENGINES ARE DEFECTIVE. AS SUCH, IT IS ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS THAT TOYOTA SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE REPAIR OF SOME OF THESE DEFECTIVE ENGINES AND NOT OTHERS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

THE ENGINE JUST DIES. USUALLY AT A STOP OR SLOW DOWN. PROBABLY 1X/MONTH FOR THE LAST 6 MONTHS. PREVIOUSLY IT JUST HAPPENED A COUPLE OF TIMES LAST YEAR. THE FREQUENCY SEEMS TO BE INCREASING. SO FAR IT HAS HAPPENED ONLY WITH CITY DRIVING. I DO 90% CITY DRIVING, BUT AM BECOMING NERVOUS ABOUT TAKING THE CAR OUT ON THE FREEWAY. OUR MECHANIC CANNOT FIND ANY HISTORY OF THESE STALLS ON THE CAR'S COMPUTER. I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH MY ISC VALVE EVER SINCE I'VE HAD THE CAR. WE NEED TO REPLACE THE ISC VALVE EVERY YEAR. TOYOTA HAS PAID FOR IT, BUT IT IS ANNOYING NOT TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM SOLVED.

FUEL SYSTEM: FOR ABOUT THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF, CERTAIN MORNINGS MY CAR WOULDN\\'T START BY SIMPLY TURNING THE IGNITION; I HAD TO TRY IT THE \\"OLD FASHIONED\\" WAY AND DEPRESS THE GAS PEDAL SEVERAL TIMES PRIOR TO TURNING THE IGNITION KEY. POWER WINDOW: THE DRIVER SIDE POWER WINDOW MOTOR SOUNDS LIKE IT IS DYING; IT TAKES QUITE A LONG TIME FOR THE WINDOW TO OPEN AND CLOSE. OTHER: THE DRIVER SIDE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE JUST BROKE OFF IN MY HAND FOUR (4) WEEKS AGO!!! PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT THIS CAR HAS LESS THAN 29,000 MILES AND IS VERY WELL MAINTAINED. SOMETHING WHICH HAS OCCURRED OVER THE LAST YEAR OR SO IS QUITE DANGEROUS AND I NEED TO POINT THIS OUT BECAUSE I, NOR ANYONE I HAVE SPOKEN TO HAS EVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING. THE BLACK WINDSHIELD WIPER ARM ASSEMBLY (WHICH ATTACHES THE WINDSHIELD WIPER TO THE MOTOR), FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON, THE BLACK PAINT HAS "WORN AWAY", EXPOSING A BRIGHT SILVER METAL, WHICH REFLECTS THE SUN DIRECTLY INTO MY EYES. IT IS QUITE DANGEROUS. SINCE I DON'T DO A LOT OF DRIVING AND ALWAYS WEAR SUNGLASSES ON SUNNY DAYS, THEY HAS HELPED ME SOMEWHAT. HOWEVER, RECENTLY I WAS DRIVING ON A CLOUDY DAY WHEN THE SUN DID IN FACT COME OUT WHILE I WAS WITHOUT SUNGLASSES. THIS PROVED TO BE MOST DANGEROUS AS I MANAGED TO AVOID AT LEAST ONE ACCIDENT DUE TO THIS CONDITION..

MY 1996 CAMRY WAS RECENTLY DIAGNOSED WITH A MAJOR SLUDGE PROBLEM REQUIRING A NEW ENGINE AFTER ONLY 80,000 MILES. THE CAR HAS THE SAME 2.2L 4 CYLINDER ENGINE THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THIS SLUDGE PROBLEM, BUT TOYOTA HAS REFUSED TO COVER THE COST OF REPAIRING MY ENGINE UNDER THE "SPECIAL POLICY" REPAIR PROGRAM THAT THEY IMPLEMENTED TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM WITH THIS ENGINE. TOYOTA DID NOT DISPUTE THAT IT WAS THE SAME ENGINE THAT HAS EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM - INSTEAD, THE RIDICULOUS AND TOTALLY ILLOGICAL REASON THEY GAVE WAS THAT THEIR "SPECIAL POLICY" REPAIR PROGRAM WAS LIMITED TO THE ENGINES MANUFACTURED DURING AN ARBITRARY TIME PERIOD AND THE ENGINE IN MY CAMRY FELL OUTSIDE THAT PERIOD BY TWO MONTHS. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY ARE FIXING SOME OF THESE DEFECTIVE ENGINES BUT NOT OTHERS.

TOOK MY CAR IN TO HAVE THE TIMING BELT REPLACED AND TO FIND OUT WHAT THE CAUSE OF THESE PROBLEMS WERE; CAR WORKED FINE OTHERWISE: RATTLE LING NOISES COMING FROM VALVE COVER, ENGINE CONSUMING COOLANT, FRONT ENGINE SEALS LEAKING. TOTAL COST FOR THESE REPAIRS WAS $1992.42 GOT MY CAR BACK FROM THE DEALER, FOUR DAYS LATER THE CAR DIES ON THE ROAD. CAR WAS TOWED BACK TO DEALER AT THEIR EXPENSE. DEALER FOUND THAT THE TIMING BELT HAD SKIPPED. THEY REPLACED THE TIMING BELT, DECLARED CAR FIXED AND GAVE ME THE KEYS. I DROVE OFF AND GOT AS FAR AS TWO BLOCKS AWAY FROM DEALER BEFORE THE CAR DIED AGAIN. THIS TIME THE DEALER SAID THAT THE PROBLEM WAS DUE TO ENGINE GEL. THE DEALER SAID THE REPAIRS WOULD BE COVERED BY TOYOTA BUT ONLY IF I COULD SHOW PROOF OF OIL CHANGES RECEIPTS, WHICH I PROVIDED. I'M NOW TRYING TO RECOVER A REFUND FOR THE REPAIRS THAT I PREVIOUSLY PAID FOR THAT WERE DUE TO THE ENGINE GEL PROBLEMS.