NHTSA Complaint #10535789 — 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY

ABOUT TWO DAYS AGO, I WAS DRIVING AND MY INSTRUMENT PANEL STARTED DOING SOME CRAZY STUFF. THE BRAKE LIGHT AND ABS LIGHT CAME ON, AND MY TEMP GAUGE, RPM, AND ODOMETER STARTED FLUCTUATING. THIS LASTED ABOUT 30-45 SECONDS THE FIRST TIME. SINCE THEN IT HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY EVERY TIME I'M DRIVING AND IT LASTS A COUPLE OF MINUTES EACH TIME. I WAS ALREADY SCHEDULED TO GO IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE TODAY, SO I HAD THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT MY LOCAL DEALER CHECK OUT THIS PROBLEM ALSO. THE TECH FIRST QUOTED A $53 DIAGNOSTIC FEE, BUT CALLED ME BACK A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER TO SAY THAT THEY NEED A MORE EXTENSIVE DIAGNOSTIC PROCESS, WHICH WOULD INCREASE THE FEE TO $99. SHE ALSO SAID THAT I NEEDED BRAKES AND A BATTERY ($202 FRONT BRAKES+$118 BATTERY+$89 BRAKE FLUID REPLACE). ABOUT AN HOUR LATER, SHE CALLED ME BACK AND GAVE ME THE DEVASTATING NEWS THAT MY ABS ACTUATOR/SKID CONTROL COMPUTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE COST WAS $1686 FOR THE PART, AND THE TOTAL WITH LABOR WOULD BE $2035. THIS DID NOT INCLUDE MY $40 OIL CHANGE, BATTERY, AND BREAKS. NEVERTHELESS, I OPTED TO WAIT ON THE $2000 ABS ISSUE. I WENT TO PICK UP MY CAR AND WAS ACTUALLY CHARGED $148 FOR THE DIAGNOSTIC FEE. ESSENTIALLY, I PAID $199 FOR AN OIL CHANGE AND FOR THEM TO DIAGNOSE A PROBLEM THAT THEY ALREADY KNEW TO BE A COMMON CAMRY PROBLEM. I WOULD HAVE NEVER PURCHASED A TOYOTA IF I HAD KNOWN THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM. ALSO THIS IS A TOYOTA SPECIFIC PART, SO IT'S NOT LIKE YOU CAN SHOP AROUND FOR A DEAL. I HAVE TO PAY THIS RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY BECAUSE I DON'T WANT MY CHILDREN RIDING IN AN UNSAFE CAR. I'M SO DISGUSTED RIGHT NOW. *TR