NHTSA Complaint #10384613 — 2005 TOYOTA COROLLA

AIR FLOAT SENSOR OR ECM PROBLEM: IN MAY 2010, WHILE I WAS DRIVING HOME AFTER WORK, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME UP, AND WITHIN A FEW MINUTE, THE CAR SLOWED DOWN TO A STOP EVEN I PRESS ON THE GAS PADDLE. I TURNED THE CAR OFF FOR SEVERAL MINUTES AND TRIED STARTING IT AGAIN, AND THE CAR STARTED AGAIN AND CHECK ENGINE WAS OFF. HOWEVER, AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES OF DRIVING, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME UP AGAIN AND THE CAR SLOWED DOWN WITHIN A FEW MINUTE TO A COMPLETE STOP. THIS HAPPENED FOUR TIMES BEFORE I GOT HOME THAT DAY. I CALLED MY MECHANIC THE NEXT DAY TO COME TO INSPECT MY CAR. AFTER THE DIAGNOSE, THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE AIR FLOAT SENSOR AND THE AIR FILTER. AFTER THAT, MY CAR WORKED AGAIN. HOWEVER, I HAD THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM A FEW MONTHS LATER. I HAD TO REPLACE THE AIR FLOAT SENSOR AGAIN. TWO OR THREE WEEKS AFTER THE SECOND REPLACEMENT, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME UP AGAIN. I BROUGHT IT TO THE AUTO SHOP, AND THE MECHANIC FOUND PROBLEM WITH THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM) AND REPLACED THE ORIGINAL ECM WITH AN USED ECM. THE SECURITY LIGHT CAME UP AFTER THE ECM WAS REPLACED. ACCORDING THE MECHANIC, THE SECURITY LIGHT CAME UP BECAUSE THE USED ECM DOESN'T HAVE THE SECURITY FEATURE THAT THE ORIGINAL ECM HAS. AFTER THAT, THE ENGINE LIGHT DIDN'T COME UP AGAIN TIL ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO (FEB. 2011). AROUND THE SAME TIME, I RECEIVED AN ECM SAFETY RECALL NOTICE FROM TOYOTA. I CONTACTED THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER AND HAD THE ECM REPLACED ON FEB. 19, HOPING THAT IT WILL FIX THE SECURITY LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT PROBLEM. HOWEVER, BOTH THE SECURITY LIGHT AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT REMAINED ON AFTER THE REPLACEMENT THROUGH THE RECALL. THE TOYOTA DEALER SAID THE LIGHTS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RECALL AND REFUSED TO DEAL WITH THE SECURITY LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ISSUE UNLESS I'M PAYING THEM TO DO A DIAGNOSE. I CALLED THE TOYOTA CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE CENTER AND THEY SAID THE SAME THING. *TR