NHTSA Complaint #10459540 — 2005 TOYOTA COROLLA

WHILE DRIVING ON 55 SOUTH FREEWAY EXIT FROM 91 WEST TO MY WORK, MY CAR SUDDENLY STOPPED RESPONDING. IT STARTED JERKING AND SUDDENLY STOPPED THE ENGINE. LUCKILY TRAFFIC WASN'T THAT FAST OTHERWISE IT COULD HAVE CREATED A BIG PILE UP BEHIND ME. I PULLED OVER TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER AND STOPPED. I TRIED ABOUT 3-4 TIMES TO START, BUT IT DID NOT CRANK AT ALL. SO I CALLED THE TOW TRUCK AND TOWED TO NEARBY FIRESTONE IN ORANGE, CA. THEY FIRST SUSPECTED MAY BE THE BAD BATTERY, AND CHECKED AND REPLACE THE BATTERY BUT STILL DIDN'T START. SO THEY DID COMPLETE DIAGNOSIS AND FOUND THAT FUEL WASN'T REACHING TO THE ENGINE DUE TO FUEL PUMP FAILURE. THEY RECOMMENDED TO CHANGED THE WHOLE FUEL PUMP ASSEMBLY AND CHARGED ME ABOUT $1100. THEY TOLD ME THAT THERE HAS BEEN KNOWN ISSUES ON 05 TOYOTA COROLLA FOR FUEL PUMP FAILURE AND THEY KNEW IN 2005 AND ISSUED NOTICE TOO. I HAVE BOUGHT THIS BRAND NEW IN '04 AUGUST FROM TOYOTA IN CLAREMONT, CA. AT LEAST THEY SHOULD HAVE NOTIFIED US VIA EMAIL OR POSTAL MAIL SINCE THEY KNEW ABOUT IT, THAN I COULD HAVE GONE TO DEALERSHIP AND HAVE THEM CHECKED FOR IT. NOW, I AM STUCK WITH THE $1100 BILL. THAT IS RIDICULOUS HOW CARELESS TOYOTA IS. NO WONDER, THEY HAD SO MANY RECALLS LAST YEAR 2011. I JUST WANT THE TOYOTA TO KNOW ABOUT IT AND SEND ME THE MONEY I PAID TO FIRESTONE. I HAVE GOOGLED ONLINE, AND FOUND SO MANY BLOGGER WHO HAD ISSUE WITH THE FUEL PUMP. SO IT HAS BEEN STILL GOING ON AND TOYOTA IS NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THEY SHOULD FIX THE ISSUE RIGHT AWAY, IT'S A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. WHY THEY WAIT UNTIL PEOPLE DIE???? *TR