NHTSA Complaint #10264258 — 2006 TOYOTA AVALON

A FEW MONTHS AGO I BROUGHT MY CAR IN TO TOYOTA ON NICHOLASVILLE WITH AN "OIL PROBLEM". IT HAD BEEN SLOWLY LEAKING OIL. NO OIL LIGHTS HAD COME ON. THEN WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD I SAW SMOKE AND SMELLED OIL. THE VVTI OIL LINE WAS LEAKING AND HAD SORT OF "BLOWN UP" ALL OVER MY ENGINE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WAS VERY UPSET. I WENT DIRECTLY TO THE DEALER. IT WAS REPAIRED QUICKLY AND I PAID ALMOST $500.00 FOR THE REPAIR! I THEN RESEARCHED ON-LINE AND BECAME AWARE THE VVTI OIL LINE LEAK WAS A PROBLEM FACED MY MANY AVALON OWNERS. AFTERWARDS I REMEMBERED I HAD PURCHASED "TOYOTA EXTRA CARE" AND FREE SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE. I SUPPOSE I SHOULD PROBABLY FILE A CLAIM WITH TOYOTA FOR REIMBURSEMENT; BUT I GUESS THAT IS ANOTHER ISSUE! I NOW REMEMBER TO TELL MY SERVICE TECH BEFORE EACH REPAIR! NOW, A FEW MONTHS LATER, I HAVE THE SAME ISSUE ALL OVER AGAIN. THIS TIME I AM EXTREMELY UPSET. I CALLED TOYOTA ON NICHOLASVILLE AND WAS TOLD TO BRING MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP RIGHT AWAY AND THEY WOULD WORK ME IN THAT AFTERNOON. I DID. I KNEW THE PROBLEM WAS THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE VVTI LINE, AND REALIZED IT WOULD NOT BE REPAIRED THAT SAME DAY. AFTER WAITING ABOUT TWO HOURS, THE TECH CAME AND SPOKE WITH ME. HE TOLD ME IT WAS, ONCE AGAIN, A PROBLEM WITH THE VVTI OIL LINE. ALTHOUGH TOYOTA DID HAVE A REPAIR PART AVAILABLE, IT WAS A BACK-ORDERED PART. DAVE INDICATED MANY PEOPLE HAD BEEN WAITING FOR THIS PART AND IT WOULD PROBABLY TAKE AS LONG AS 4-8 WEEKS TO GET MY CAR REPAIRED. I REALLY THOUGHT HE WAS KIDDING. FINALLY, HE CONVINCED ME HE WAS NOT! I DID RECEIVE MY CAR BACK IN A WEEK. SO FAR SO GOOD. SEEMS TO ME THIS SHOULD BE A "RECALL" FROM TOYOTA. I WISH I UNDERSTOOD WHY IT WAS NOT. *TR