NHTSA Complaint #10230504 — 2000 TOYOTA COROLLA

MY DADS 2000 TOYOTA COROLLA WAS BOUGHT NEW AND WAS DRIVEN FOR FOURS YEARS WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. HE TOOK CARE OF THE CAR RELIGIOUSLY AND HAS 60 MILE COMMUTE BOTH WAYS TO GET TO WORK AND HOME. EVERYTHING WAS FINE UP TO THE MIDDLE OF 2004 WHEN THE ENGINE STARTED USE OIL AT AN EXCESSIVE RATE AND THEN, OUT OF NOWHERE, IT DEVELOPED A ROD KNOCK. HE ENDED UP BUYING A NEW CAR BUT THE COROLLA STILL HAD THE ROD KNOCK AND IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. FINALLY, THE ENGINE GAVE OUT AND THREW THE CONNECTING ROD END AND CAP THROUGH THE BLOCK, DISABLING THE CAR AND BLOCKING TRAFFIC IN A BUSY INDUSTRIAL AREA OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS. THE COROLLA ENDED UP SITTING AT MY UNCLE'S FARM FOR TWO YEARS UNTIL MY FAMILY AND I COULD DO ANYTHING ABOUT THE CAR. WE ENDED UP GETTING A USED 2001 PRISM MOTOR WITH 88,000 MILES ON IT AND SWAPPING THAT MOTOR FOR THE BLOWN ONE. UNFORTUNATELY, I KNEW THE RISK OF BUYING A MOTOR FROM A JUNK YARD BUT THE RISK WAS ALSO A DOUBLE RISK DUE TO THE ENGINE'S PREVIOUS HISTORY. AFTER TWO WEEKS AND THE MOTOR WAS JUST BEING RUN UNDER LIGHT LOAD CONDITIONS AND EVEN WITH FRESH MOTOR OIL AND FILTER, THE PRISM MOTOR ALSO DEVELOPED A ROD KNOCK. THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS AND I HAVE FOUND OTHER CARS WITH THE SAME MOTOR HAVING THE SAME ISSUES AS MY FAMILY HAD WITH OUR COROLLA. THIS ENGINE HAS SHOWN TO BE UNRELIABLE AND A POTENTIAL ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. *TR