NHTSA Complaint #10070963 — 2002 TOYOTA COROLLA

I AM WRITING REGARDING AN ISSUE WITH MY 2002 TOYOTA COROLLA. I RECENTLY HAD TO REPLACE AN EMISSIONS CONTROL DEVICE IN MY CAR, A CHARCOAL CANISTER DUE TO IT BEING CLOGGED. I AM CONCERNED THAT THIS MAY BE A WIDE-SPREAD PROBLEM BECAUSE ON THE DAY THAT I HAD MY CAR REPAIRED, I MET ANOTHER PERSON AT THE TOYOTA SERVICE STATION WITH THE SAME ISSUE AND WHO ALSO HAD A 2002 TOYOTA COROLLA. HOWEVER, FORTUNATELY FOR HER SHE WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY SO SHE DID NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR. THE WARRANTY FOR THIS PART IS 3 YEARS OR 36,000 MILES. UNFORTUNATELY FOR ME, I WAS AT THE 38,000 MARK ON MILEAGE AND SO I WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. BEFORE I HAD THE CAR FIXED, I CONTACTED TOYOTA CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 800-331-4331 (REFERENCE #: 200309021930) AND AFTER A BIT OF BACK AND FORTH, THEY INFORMED ME THAT THEY WOULD GOOD WILL THE PART TO ME SINCE I WAS RIGHT OUT OF WARRANTY, BUT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE LABOR. AS A SIDE TO THIS STORY, TOYOTA NORTH IN MT. KISCO (WHERE I PURCHASED MY CAR) LABOR FEE TO REPLACE THIS PART IS A $90 DIAGNOSTIC FEE PLUS 1.5 HOURS LABOR ADDING TO A TOTAL OF ABOUT $225. AFTER SHOPPING AROUND, I FOUND THAT TOYOTA CITY IN MAMARONECK (LOCATED WITHIN THE SAME COUNTY AS TOYOTA NORTH) LABOR FEE FOR THE SAME JOB IS $90 TOTAL. OBVIOUSLY, I OPTED TO GO TO TOYOTA CITY TO HAVE THE PART REPLACED. MY CONCERN IS HOW MANY CLOGGED CHARCOAL CANISTERS HAD TO BE REPLACED IN THE 2002 MODEL OF A TOYOTA COROLLA. I DID CONTACT THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION AND FILED A REPORT REGARDING THE FAILURE ON THIS PART AND HOPE THAT OTHERS WOULD DO THE SAME. OVERALL, I DON'T THINK PEOPLE ARE AWARE THAT THEY CAN FILE A REPORT ON THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE PART, AS THEY DO NOT THINK IT IS RELATED TO A SAFETY CONCERN. I WOULD LIKE TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT TO ALL TOYOTA OWNERS THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO FILE A REPORT ON ANY AUTO PART THAT FAILS REGARDLESS OF THE FACT THAT IT IS COVERED UNDER THE MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY.