2014 Toyota Camry

FOR THE FOURTH TIME, AN ACTUATOR IN MY 2014 CAMRY LE FAILED. I NOW HAVE HAD FOUR ' DIFFERENT ' ACTUATORS FAIL IN MY CAR. THIS AS A SAFETY ISSUE. MOST CONSUMERS EXPECT THAT IF THE CAR HAS AN AUTO-LOCK FEATURE ' AS OURS HAS' THAT IT WILL DO SO. IF ONE DEPRESSES THE REMOTE LOCK BUTTON, OR THE LOCK BUTTON ON THE DRIVER'S DOOR, THEY EXPECT ALL DOORS WILL LOCK. OUR DOORS FAIL IN ALL THESE WAYS. HAVING FOUR LOCKED DOORS IN OUR SEDAN IS A VITAL SAFETY FEATURE, BOTH DURING MOVEMENT, AND WHILE PARKED. WE BOUGHT OUR CAMRY AS A NEW CAR IN 2014. APPROXIMATELY ONE YEAR AGO AT 31K MILES, THE REAR, LEFT ACTUATOR FAILED. THE OEM PART COST $341. I PURCHASED A REPLACEMENT, AND FIXED AT MY EXPENSE IN MARCH, 2018. THE DAY OF THE REPAIR, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE FAILED. I CALLED TOYOTA EXPERIENCE. I ASKED FOR ASSISTANCE TO WHICH THEIR RESPONSE WAS A $200 REFUND ON A NEW ACTUATOR PURCHASE FROM A TOYOTA DEALER. THE COST OF NEW OEM PART WAS $329, PLUS, INSTALLATION. I WOULD HAVE TO FOOT THE DIFFERENCE AND JUMP THROUGH VARIOUS HOOPS TO SEEK A RE-IMBURSEMENT. IN EARLY NOVEMBER 2018 THE FRONT, DRIVER DOOR ACTUATOR FAILED. REALLY, THREE ACTUATORS GOING BAD ON ONE CAR ' STARTING WITH A THREE YEAR OLD AUTOMOBILE, GARAGED AND VERY WELL MAINTAINED, WITH ONLY 31,000 MILES? IN MID NOVEMBER THE REAR, PASSENGER SIDE DID NOT PROPERLY LOCK. NOW ALL THE ACTUATORS IN OUR CAR HAVE GONE BAD IN THE LAST YEAR! THIS IS A SAFETY AND WELFARE ISSUE. WE CONSTANTLY WORRY IF ANY OF THE DOORS AUTO-LOCK ON MOVEMENT. SIMILARLY, WE WORRY THAT IF A DOOR IS LEFT UNLOCKED WE COULD BE VICTIMIZED WITH AN UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY WITH LOSS OF PERSONAL PROPERTY, VANDALISM OR ASSAULT. AS WE HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH DOOR LOCK MECHANISMS SINCE WE STARTED DRIVING (LATE 1960S), WE THINK THIS IS A SAFETY AND QUALITY CONTROL ISSUE THAT TOYOTA SHOULD REMEDY.

AT 50000 MILES THERE WAS A PLASTIC CRUNCHING SOUND IN THE STEERING COLUMN. THE AIR BAG LIGHT WENT ON. OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS THERE WAS MORE CRUNCHING AND LOST THE CRUISE CONTROL FOLLOWED BY THE HORN AND RADIO CONTROLS. THE PHONE FUNCTION WAS THE LAST TO GO ON THE STEERING WHEEL. IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS THE CLOCK SPRING AND BECAUSE MY CAR WAS NOT IN THE RECALL FOR THE EXACT SAME THING AS OTHER TOYOTA VEHICLES I WAS TOLD THEY WOULD NOT FIX IT. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND MY AIRBAG AND HORN DO NOT WORK DUE TO A FAULTY PART THAT TOYOTA IS WELL AWARE OF. ANY HELP IN THIS MATTER WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

TOUCH SCREEN CONTROLS ARE BECOMING NON RESPONSIVE STARTING AT LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER. GOOGLE SEARCH SHOWS THIS IS VERY, VERY COMMON IN 2014 AND 2015 TOYOTAS. CAN' T PAIR PHONE WITH BLUETOOTH ANYMORE, SINCE "ADD" BUTTON IS IN LOWER RIGHT CORNER OF SCREEN. ALSO VERY DISTRACTING WHILE DRIVING, WHEN BUTTONS NEVER OR INTERMITTENTLY RESPOND! CONTACTED TOYOTA DEALERS AND TOYOTA HEADQUARTERS. ONE DEALER ADMITTED BEING AWARE OF THE ISSUE, BUT ALL SAY TOYOTA HASN'T ISSUED A RECALL OR WARRANTY EXTENSION! SAFETY ISSUE WITH DRIVER DISTRACTION!!!!

INTERMITTENTLY, THE BUTTON START WILL NOT CAUSE THE CAR TO START. IT HAPPENS MOST OFTEN AT TEMPERATURES AROUND 50F. THE CAR WILL INDICATE THAT IT RECOGNIZES THAT A KEY IS NEARBY (GREEN KEY ICON ON THE DASH) BUT WHEN THE BRAKE IS DEPRESSED AND THE BUTTON IS PUSHED, ONLY THE ELECTRONICS OF THE CAR TURN ON. THE CAR, THOUGH, REFUSES TO TURN OVER. WE HAVE TAKEN THIS ISSUE TO A TOYOTA DEALER AND, OF COURSE, THEY ARE UNABLE TO RECREATE THE ISSUE. THEY ARE ALSO UNABLE TO FIND ANY CAUSE FOR THIS PROBLEM. I SUSPECT THAT IT COULD BE A GROUNDING ISSUE OF THE BATTERY. BUT FURTHER TESTING OF THAT HYPOTHESIS HAS PROVEN ME WRONG, SO FAR. I HAVE SEEN SIMILAR PROBLEMS ONLINE BUT NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO OFFER A FIX.

IN MY OPINION THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE BATTERY AND OR CHARGING SYSTEM. THE VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT NEW. THE NEW BATTERY FAILED WITHIN THREE YEARS. A NEW REPLACEMENT BATTERY THEN DISPLAYED NOTABLE CORROSION STARTING AROUND FOUR MONTHS. THE INTERNET CONFIRMS THE OPINION OF A SEEMINGLY OFF GASSING PROBLEM CAUSING CORROSION ESPECIALLY ON THE POSITIVE TERMINAL AS IS MY EXPERIENCE. THE INTERNET NOTES RISKS OF BEING STRANDED WITH DEAD BATTERIES AND IN AT LEAST ONE CASE BELIEF OR OPINION THAT A HOUSE FIRE STARTING IN THE GARAGE CAUSED AROUND $300,000 OF DAMAGE. THE FIRE IS STATED TO HAVE DERIVED IN THE BATTERY LOCATION FROM A CLAIMED DEFECTIVE BATTERY. THE DEALER STATES CORROSION IS COMMON AND COSTS AROUND $55 TO SERVICE AND OR REPLACING POSITIVE BATTERY TERMINAL CLAMPS AND CONNECTING CABLES AS NEEDED. MY SISTER VEHICLE WITH AN OLDER BATTERY WERE BOTH GARAGED IN THE CALIFORNIA MODERATE CLIMATE AND HAS NO CORROSION. THE ISSUE OF A FAILURE SEEMS SUSPECTED BY TOYOTA AS THE DATE I REPORTED THE SECOND ALLEGED FAILURE, TOYOTA SENDS ME A QUESTIONNAIRE ASKING ABOUT DRIVING DISTANCES AND TIMES NOTING THE BATTERY FAILURE. THE INTERNET SUSPECTS THE SYSTEM IS OVERCHARGING. DANGER IN MY VIEW ARISES FROM BEING STRANDED OR FIRE. UNNECESSARY COST IS REQUIRED IN MY OPINION TO SERVICE AT $55 AND OR BUY NEW CLAMPS AND CABLES THAT ARE CORRODED. THE TOYOTA SURVEY CONFIRMS SUSPICION ADVANCED IN MY OPINIONS ABOUT CHARGING FAILURE SINCE QUESTIONS INCLUDE DISTANCE AND TIME DRIVEN AND STARTS AND STOPS. I HAD PLEASANT TREATMENT AT THE DEALERSHIP AND A REPORT TO THE CORPORATE TOYOTA CASE MANAGER. THE PLEASANTRIES DON'T HOWEVER ACCOUNT FOR THE COST OF SERVICE, COST OR REPLACEMENT AND ANCILLARY CONSIDERATIONS AS BEING STRANDED WITH A DEAD BATTERY IS FRAUGHT WITH UNSETTLING CONSEQUENCES. I AM A LOYAL TOYOTA CUSTOMER, THERE IS NO RANCOR OR ANIMOSITY. I OWN SEVERAL TOYOTAS AND WILL BUY AGAIN.

ON CHANGING CELLULAR SERVICE THIS YEAR, I GOT A NEW PHONE. INSTRUCTIONS TO ENTER IT INTO THE CAMRY'S BLUETOOTH WERE UNSUCCESSFUL, BECAUSE, AS I FOUND OUT AFTER TAKING THE CAMRY TO TOYOTA FOR SERVICE, THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE TOUCH SCREEN NO LONGER WORKS. AS A RESULT, TO USE THE CELL PHONE IN THE CAR I HAVE TO HOLD IT IN MY HAND AND WORK THE PHONE. I WAS TOLD BY TOYOTA THAT THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THAT THEY WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. THIS CREATES A SAFETY PROBLEM, APPARENTLY SO PREVALENT IN TOYOTAS THAT IT CAN BE GOOGLED ONLINE.