NHTSA Complaint #10070121 — 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY

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.