1997 Toyota Camry

MY TOYOTA CAMRY'S ENGINE FAILED AS I WAS MERGING ONTO A VERY BUSY FREEWAY WITH MY BABY IN THE BACKSEAT. I WAS STUCK ON THE SHOULDER OF THE FAST LANE FOR 2 HOURS BEFORE THE TOW TRUCK ARRIVED; MY FANCY DRIVING IS THE ONLY REASON AN ACCIDENT WAS AVOIDED. I HAD JUST RECEIVED THE LETTER ABOUT THE OIL GEL AND WAS GOING TO GET MY OIL CHANGED THE NEXT DAY BECAUSE THE ENGINE FAILED ON MY MOTHER'S BIRTHDAY. NOW BOTH TOYOTA AND MY LOCAL DEALER ARE TELLING ME THAT MY ENGINE DOES NOT HAVE OIL CAKED INSIDE THE HEAD SO IT COULD NOT BE OIL GEL THAT CAUSED MY ENGINE TO THROW A ROD AT 80,000 MILES. WHEN ASKED WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED IT TO HAPPEN THEY HAVE NO ANSWER EXCEPT SOMETIMES THAT HAPPENS TO ENGINES AND THEY WANT ME TO PAY THEM A SIGNIFICANT SUM OF MONEY TO OPEN UP THE ENGINE TO FIND OUT IF OIL GEL IS PRESENT. IF IT IS NOT THE CAUSE AS THEY KEEP SAYING IT IS NOT YET I FEEL SURE IT IS; I WILL HAVE TO FOOT THE BILL FOR A NEW ENGINE AT THE DEALER. TOYOTA ALSO WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO HAVE THE WORK DONE BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC IF I MOVE THE CAR AND FIND OIL GEL IS THE CAUSE. I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT A CAR FOR OVER 3 MONTHS AND HAVE 2 SMALL CHILDREN AND LIVE IN THE COUNTRY. IS THE ONLY WAY TO DETECT OIL GEL A SLUDGE ON THE HEAD? I AM SO FRUSTRATED.

TOYOTA HAS COMPLETELY DENIED MY ENGINE BLEW UP DUE TO ENGINE SLUDGE AND IN FACT ARE HOLDING MY CAR HOSTAGE. THEY TOLD ME IT WAS GOING TO COST ME 2200.00 FOR THEM TO TEAR IT DOWN SO TOYOTA COULD DETERMINE THAT IT WAS ENGINE SLUDGE, THEN THEY DENIED IT WAS AND SAID THAT MY CAM SHAFT BROKE. A CAM SHAFT SHOULD NOT HAVE BROKE IN A 5 YEAR OLD CAR, ESPECIALY ONE THAT HAD BEEN MAINTAINED AND I HAD THE OIL CHANGED 1 WEEK PRIOR AT TOYOTA. I THEN GOT A CALL SAYING MY CAR WAS READY AND IT WAS 7800.00, THAT THEY HAD REPLACED THE CAM SHAFT. I WAS FURIOUS AND TOLD THEM I NEVER GAVE MY AUTHORIZATION TO REPLACE A CAM SHAFT FOR 7800.00. WHEN I WENT TO PICK IT UP THEY WOULDN'T RELEASE IT BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T FIND THE PAPERWORK.. (SUDDENLY) AND I KEPT GETTING THE RUN AROUND.. NOW THEY SAY THE CAM SHAFT WAS NEVER REPLACED.. ( I THINK THEY REMOVED IT).. NEEDLESS TO SAY MY CAR HAS BEEN PARKED AT TOYOTA SINCE LAST NOVEMBER OR WHEN I FILED THIS REPORT. I AM FURIOUS THAT THEY WON'T FIX IT.. AND THEY REFUSE TO GIVE ME THE PERSONS NAME AT TOYOTA CORP. WHO TURNED DOWN MY REQUEST TO HAVE IT FIXED UNDER THE SLUDGE PROBLEM..

MY ENGINE SEIZED AND NEEDS COMPLETE REPLACEMENT DUE TO THIS OIL SLUDGE PROBLEM. AS A RESULT OF THE GELLED OIL, ONE OF THE PISTONS BROKE OFF CREATING A HOLE IN THE ENGINE AND THE MOTOR MOUNT BECAME DISPLACED FROM THE ENGINE, CAUSING THE ENGINE BLOCK TO CRACK WHILE I WAS DRIVING THE CAR. I BOUGHT THE CAR USED FROM GREER TOYOTA IN MILLBROOK, NY IN AUGUST OF 2001 AND WAS TOLD THAT ONE OF THEIR MECHANICS WOULD COMPLETE A THOROUGH INSPECTION BEFORE THE CAR WAS TURNED OVER TO ME. I HAVE SINCE HAD THE OIL CHANGED EVERY 3,000 MILES BY A TRUSTED MECHANIC. DURING THAT TIME, I HAD TO REPLACE THE OXYGEN SENSOR AT MY OWN COST, BUT DID NOT HAVE ANY OTHER PROBLEMS UNTIL THIS MONTH. NOW IN ADDITION TO THE ENGINE, IT APPEARS THAT MY STRUTS ARE FAILING AS WELL. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF SUBMITTING A CLAIM FOR THE ENGINE.

I BOUGHT A 97 TOYOTA CERTIFIED USED CAR WITH A 100,000 MILE WARRANTY ON 10-17-01, WITH 36,847 EXISTING MILES. I TOOK THIS CAR TO MY TOYOTA DEALER 02/07/03:92588 MLS. FOR ENGINE KNOCK NOISE AND SMOKING ON COLD STARTS,ALSO TO CHECK TRANSMISSION VIBRATION/CHATTER. THEY REPLACED THE TRANS, REPLACED LEAKING GASKETS AND REPLACED WORN VALVE GUIDE SEALS. AT THIS SAME TIME THEY WERE ASKED TO CHECK FOR ANYTHING RELATED TO THE LETTER TOYOTA SENT ME IN REGARD TO POSSIBLE ENGINE DAMAGE FROM OIL GELLING OR SLUDGE... ON 05/16/03 WITH 98910 MILES I RETURNED TO THE SAME DEALER WITH ENGINE STILL KNOCKING ON COLD STARTS. THEY FOUND THE OIL PUMP SHAFT BINDING , CRANKSHAFT, ROD AND MAIN BEARINGS DAMAGED. WHEN I WAS INFORMED OF THEIR INTENT TO REPLACE THESE PARTS I QUESTIONED THE POSSIBLE REPAIR OF RINGS AND OTHER UPPER ENGINE COMPONENTS, KNOWING THAT METAL PARTICLES COULD POSSIBLY AFFECT AND DAMAGE THESE. THEY ADVISED ME THAT NO SUCH WORK WAS INTENDED OR NEEDED. THEY DID PROCEED WITH REPLACEMENT OF THE OIL PUMP, CRANKSHAFT, ROD BEARINGS AND MAIN BEARINGS... ON 11/03/03 WITH APPROXIMATELY 110,000 MILES I TOOK MY CAR TO A LOCAL REPAIR FACILITY TO CHECK OUT WHIRRING TYPE NOISE FROM ENGINE AND OIL LIGHT FLICKER AT IDLE WITH ENGINE WARMED. THEY FOUND BOTH PROBLEMS RELATED TO CAMSHAFT AND CAM BEARING WEAR... I FIRST SOUGHT ASSISTANCE FROM THE ORIGINAL TOYOTA REPAIR DEALER, THEY REFUSED ANY HELP. I NEXT WAS REFUSED ANY HELP BY TOYOTA MOTOR SALES CORP CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE DEPT IN CALF (REF # 200311140813). PLEASE HELP ME IF YOU CAN,I BOUGHT THIS CAR KNOWING IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE VERY RELIABLE BECAUSE OF THE APPROXIMATELY 35 MILES EACH WAY GETTING TO AND FROM WORK. *LA