NHTSA Complaint #10232162 — 2003 TOYOTA CAMRY

VEHICLE STARTED MAKING A LOUD RATTLING/VIBRATING NOISE THAT STARTED AROUND 57,000 MILES. IT SOUNDED LIKE THERE WAS NO OIL IN THE CAR, THOUGH OIL CHANGE HAD BEEN DONE LESS THAN 1,000 MILES PRIOR TO NOTICING THIS. SOUND GOT WORSE AND WORSE OVER THE NEXT WEEK OR SO AND WAS USUALLY LOUDEST WHEN THE CAR WAS FIRST STARTED UP IN THE MORNING OR AFTER IT HAD BEEN SITTING ALL DAY. HEARD MOSTLY WHEN IT WAS IDLING IN PARK AND WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED DRIVING. ONCE YOU GOT GOING, THE SOUND WASN'T SO BAD. TOOK IT BACK TO THE OIL CHANGE PLACE AND THEY SAID IT SOUNDED LIKE A LIFTER PROBLEM. DID SOME RESEARCH AT HTTP://WWW.TOPIX.NET/FORUM/AUTOS/TOYOTA-CAMRY/T9MGD2F66FRTCKKID AND VARIOUS OTHER PLACES ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND OUT MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. IT'S ACTUALLY THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. I CALLED TOYOTA AND WAS TOLD WARRANTY WAS 5 YEARS OR 50K MILES. SINCE CAR WAS PURCHASED USED I HAD THEM RESEARCH DATE OF FIRST USE AND, OF COURSE, MY 5 YEAR CUTOFF WAS 2 MONTHS PRIOR TO MY PHONE CALL. THE SOUND GOT SO BAD BY 58,000 MILES I TOOK IT TO OUR LOCAL REPAIR SHOP AND WITHOUT TELLING THEM WHAT I HAD FOUND OUT, THEY TOLD ME THE INTAKE MANIFOLD HAD TO BE REPLACED FOR A COST OF $600. VEHICLE IS IN THE SHOP BEING REPLACED AT MY EXPENSE AS I WRITE THIS. TOYOTA SHOULD BE MADE AWARE THAT THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM AND RECALL THIS PART SINCE IT IS CLEARLY DEFECTIVE. *TR