NHTSA Complaint #10203118 — 2003 TOYOTA COROLLA

MY TOYOTA COROLLA STARTED MAKING A HAMMERING NOISE WHEN PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR I WAS GOING DOWNHILL ON THE EXPRESSWAY. I DROVE TO THE NEAREST TOWN AND CALLED TOYOTA WHO INFORMED ME I HAD TO GET A TOW TRUCK AND GET IT TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR SERVICE. I DID SO, AND THE NEXT DAY WAS INFORMED THAT THE CAR'S ENGINE NEEDED REPLACEMENT AS IT HAD BEEN DAMAGED DUE TO LACK OF OIL. I WAS SURPRISED SINCE MY CAR'S LAST SERVICE WAS AT THE SAME DEALERSHIP FOR AN OIL CHANGE JUST A MONTH AND TWO WEEKS BEFORE. AT THAT TIME THEY DID NOT INDICATE A PROBLEM WITH THE MOTOR AND SAID MY CAR WAS OK. MY CAR HAS 49,500 MILES AND I AM NOW FACING A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR (CHANGE ALL THE INTERNAL MOTOR PARTS) SINCE MY CAR'S 5 YEAR/60,000 WARRANTY EXPIRED JUST LAST MONTH. *JB