NHTSA Complaint #10373836 — 2003 TOYOTA CAMRY

IN MARCH 2010 I HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY WIFE'S TOYOTA THAT I BELIEVE I EITHER SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY TO FIX OR HAVE TOYOTA SHARE IN THE COST. WHEN I CALLED TOYOTA TO REGISTER THE COMPLAINT THEY SAID COULDN'T HELP ME, SO I AM ASKING FOR YOUR HELP. MY WIFE'S CAMRY (2003 WITH JUST UNDER 100,000 MILES) DEVELOPED A LEAK IN ITS HEAD GASKET, SO I TOOK IT INTO OUR LOCAL GARAGE. THEY LOOKED AT IT (PRESSURE TEST) CONFIRMED IT WAS LEAKING AND WENT ON LINE (IDENTIFIX.COM) TO SEE WHAT EXPERIENCES OTHER MECHANICS HAD WITH THIS PROBLEM AND RECOMMENDED FIXES. THE RESEARCH SHOWED THAT THIS PROBLEM WAS BEING REPORTED FREQUENTLY AND MORE OFTEN THAN NOT ALSO RESULTED IN A MORE SEVERE PROBLEM OF STRIPPING THE ENGINE BOLTS OUT OF THE BLOCK, REQUIRING AN ENGINE REPLACEMENT. MY MECHANIC SAID I WOULD BE BEST OFF TAKING IT TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE WE PURCHASED THE CAR AND HAVE THEM LOOK AT IT, BECAUSE IF IT WAS MORE THAN JUST THE HEAD GASKET, I MAY BE ABLE TO WORK SOMETHING OUT WITH THEM. IT WAS HIS OPINION THAT A LEAK IN THE HEAD GASKET SHOULDN'T CAUSE THE STRIPPING OF THE ENGINE BOLTS. WE TOOK IT INTO OUR TOYOTA DEALER AND THEY INVESTIGATED - TOOK THE HEAD OFF - AND FOUND THAT IT WAS WHAT MY MECHANIC HAD FEARED, THREE ENGINE BOLTS WERE STRIPPED AND THE ENGINE WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. COST FOR A NEW ENGINE BLOCK, HEAD, LABOR, ETC. $7,500. I TOLD THEM WHAT MY MECHANIC HAD FOUND ONLINE - THIS WAS HAPPENING A LOT TO THIS TYPE ENGINE (2003 - 6) - AND MY BELIEF THAT THIS WAS A DESIGN FLAW AND ASKED THEM IF THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT TOYOTA COULD DO TO HELP DEFRAY THE COST OR WAS THERE A RECALL, ETC. THE SERVICE REP SAID NO... NO HELP FROM TOYOTA. I HAVE ALL THE PAPERWORK AND CAN YOU SEND YOU COPIES, INCLUDING THE IDENTIFIX REPORT. CONSIDERING ALL THE PRESSURE PEOPLE, GOVERNMENT, AND LAWYERS HAD TO EXERT ON TOYOTA TO GET THEM TO ADMIT AND ADDRESS THE RECENT ACCELERATOR PROBLEMS, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD CHECK OR ADD MY CASE TO A DATABASE TO SEE IF SOME LEGAL ACTION IS WARRANTED. *TR