NHTSA Complaint #10294863 — 2005 TOYOTA COROLLA

I OWN/DRIVE A 2005 TOYOTA COROLLA CE. STARTING LAST YEAR (2008) IT BEGAN STALLING WHILE DRIVING. THE FIRST TIME IT STALLED AS I WAS TAKING A RIGHT TURN INTO THE PARKING LOT. LATER IN THE SUMMER OF 2009 THE ECM HAD TO BE REPLACED AS SOON AS THE VEHICLE REACHED 80,000 MI. (WHICH IS JUST OVER THE WARRANTY LIMIT). I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE THE PREVIOUS INCIDENT WAS RELATED TO THE ECM. HOWEVER, THIS FALL THE PROBLEM STARTED AGAIN AND THE CAR STALLED WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH ON A LOCAL STREET. EVERY BUMP BEGAN TO MAKE THE LIGHTS FLICKER AND THE ENGINE STALL. SPARKS CAME OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD EVERY TIME I HIT A DEVIATION IN THE ROAD. I WENT TO A NEARBY LOCAL SHOP AND THEY SAID IT WAS RELATED TO A BROKEN PIECE HOLDING THE BATTERY. THEY REMOVED THE BROKEN BRACKET AND THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO HAVE STOPPED. DURING THAT DRIVE IT PROBABLY STALLED ABOUT 10 TIMES. THE PROBLEM HAS NOT OCCURRED AGAIN, HOWEVER, I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW AWFUL IT WAS TO BE DRIVING WITH TWO CHILDREN IN YOUR BACK SEAT IN A VEHICLE THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE SAFE WHILE IT STALLS AND YOU HAVE TO QUICKLY MANEUVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. OF COURSE TOYOTA DOES NOT HAVE ANY INTEREST IN HELPING ME WHILE I AM ABOVE MY WARRANTY. I THINK THAT THIS ISSUE ALONG WITH THE ECM NEEDING TO BE REPLACED AT WARRANTY EXPIRATION IS ENOUGH FOR ME NEVER TO PURCHASE ANOTHER TOYOTA VEHICLE EVER AGAIN. *TR