NHTSA Complaint #10171536 — 2005 TOYOTA MATRIX

TOOK CAR TO DEALERSHIP IN JULY, 2006, BECAUSE THE A/C WAS BLOWING HOT, A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAD COME ON, AND IT WASN'T ALWAYS STARTING, AND/OR SPUTTERING WHILE DRIVING. THEY REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP, A NEW A/C CONTROL SWITCH, AND A SENSOR IN THE ENGINE BECAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD NOT GO OFF AND THEY COULD FIND NOTHING ELSE WRONG. REPAIRS OCCURRED OVER A TWO WEEK PERIOD WITH ME HAVING TO RETURN THE CAR TO THE SAME DEALERSHIP FOR SERVICE FOR THE SAME THREE COMPLAINTS A TOTAL OF THREE TIMES- A/C BLOWING HOT, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON, AND SPUTTERING WHEN DRIVING/HESITATION WHEN STARTING. I ALSO HAVE A FOURTH COMPLAINT OF A POPPING NOISE IN THE ENGINE WHICH TO DATE HAS NEVER BEEN RESOLVED. I ALSO HAD A 30K MILE SERVICE DONE AT THIS TIME. PROBLEMS BEGAN TO REOCCUR THE FIRST WEEK OF OCTOBER 2006, AND I MADE ANOTHER APPOINTMENT WITH A DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP. TOOK THE CAR IN, THEY HAD THE CAR FOR THREE DAYS AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE ANY OF THE PROBLEMS I WAS COMPLAINING ABOUT. I WAS DISSATISFIED BY THE LACK OF SERVICE BOTH ON THE CAR AND CUSTOMER RELATED. PICKED THE CAR UP WITH NO DIAGNOSIS OR REPAIRS HAVING BEEN MADE. WITHIN FOUR DAYS, THE CAR BEGAN ACTING UP AGAIN AND SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY ON THE FLORIDA TURNPIKE RESULTING IN A TOW 35 MILES BACK TO MY HOUSE AND THEN ANOTHER 15 OR SO MILES TO THE DEALERSHIP. DETERMINED THE PROBLEM TO BE "ENGINE SLUDGE" AND AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW I AM BEING TOLD THAT THE ENTIRE ENGINE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AT MY EXPENSE. MY PROBLEM HAS NOT REACHED A FINAL RESOLUTION/DECISION WITH TOYOTA BUT I AM DISGUSTED BEYOND BELIEF ABOUT THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE. *NM