NHTSA Complaint #10442872 — 2002 TOYOTA COROLLA

ABOUT A WEEK AGO, DRIVER SEAT COULD NOT RETURN TO UPRIGHT POSITION AFTER ADJUSTING ANGLE. THEN WE NOTICED LARGE PIECE OF SEAT BACK FRAME WAS PROTRUDING ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE. UPON REMOVAL OF COVERING AND CUSHION TO UNCOVER THE BACK FRAME, WE DISCOVERED THAT, OF THE TWO SOLID-STEEL ARMS ATTACHING THE BACK FRAME TO THE BOTTOM PART OF THE BUCKET SEAT (THE ADJUSTER MECHANISM), THE ARM ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE HAS BEEN SPLIT INTO TWO SEPARATE PIECES, ALONG A HORIZONTAL BREAK IN THE STEEL ITSELF. IN SHORT, THE LEFT HALF OF THE SEAT BACK FRAME IS NOT ATTACHED ANYMORE. INITIALLY WE SUSPECTED VANDALISM, BUT THE BREAK IS DEFINITELY NOT A SAW CUT (EVEN IF WERE POSSIBLE); AND WE ALSO DISCOVERED THAT THE STEEL ARM ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE HAS A HALF-INCH LONG CRACK IN ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME SPOT, AND ALSO HORIZONTAL. THIS LED US TO CONCLUDE THAT THE BREAK ON THE LEFT ARM WAS DUE TO A DEVELOPING CRACK IN THE STEEL, AND THE RIGHT ARM IS CLEARLY HEADED TOWARDS AN IDENTICAL FRACTURE -- WHICH WOULD COMPLETELY SEPARATE THE SEAT BACK FRAME FROM THE BUCKET SEAT ALTOGETHER! THE TWO STEEL ARMS ARE CLEARLY MADE OF SUB-STANDARD MATERIAL. WITHOUT CONSIDERING THE SIGNIFICANT COST OF REPLACING THE BUCKET SEAT, THIS IS CLEARLY A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD, SINCE AT ANY MOMENT THE SEAT BACK COULD COLLAPSE COMPLETELY DUE TO SUB-STANDARD STEEL PARTS TEARING APART. IT IS FORTUNATE THIS WAS DISCOVERED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS NOT IN MOTION. THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY RECALL ISSUE. WE HAVE SEVERAL PHOTOS OF THESE DEFECTS, INCLUDING CLOSE-UPS, READY TO SEND YOU UPON REQUEST. *TR