NHTSA Complaint #10542168 — 2009 TOYOTA COROLLA

THE DRIVERS SIDE "SINKING SEAT" PROBLEM STARTED WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT THE CAR IN 2009. AT THAT TIME, THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER WAS COUGHLIN TOYOTA IN NEWARK OHIO 43055. COUGHLIN TOLD ME THEY HAD NO FIX FOR THE PROBLEM AND NEVER HEARD OF IT BEFORE. THE DRIVERS SEAT CAN BE MANUALLY ADJUSTED UP OR DOWN BY HAND. THERE ARE 20+ POSITIONS UP OR DOWN. SHORT PEOPLE NEED THE SEAT POSITION TO BE ALL THE WAY UP IN ORDER TO SEE OVER THE DASH BOARD AND HOOD FOR SAFE VISIBILITY AND VISION WHEN DRIVING. TALL PEOPLE WOULD WANT THE SEAT POSITION TO BE ALL THE WAY DOWN. I AM SHORT, 5' 6" TALL. I NEED THE SEAT TO BE ALL THE WAY UP FOR SAFE VISION OVER THE DASH BOARD AND HOOD. THE "SINKING SEAT" PROBLEM OCCURS WHEN THE SEAT GRADUALLY GOES DOWN SEVERAL POSITIONS ON IT'S OWN. I BELIEVE THIS IS A DESIGN DEFECT BY TOYOTA, NOT A USER CAUSED CONDITION. THIS PROBLEM COVERS SEVERAL YEARS OF TOYOTA PRODUCTION. IT HAS BEEN REPORTED BY OTHERS ON GOOGLE. I HAVE LOCAL FRIENDS THAT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THEIR COROLLAS. TODAY, 9-5-2013, I AGAIN REPORTED THIS PROBLEM BY ON LINE EMAIL TO TOYOTA CORPORATE FOR A SOLUTION. HERE IS AN EXACT COPY OF MY REPORT TO TOYOTA: "MY 2009 COROLLA HAS THE WIDE SPREAD AND CHRONIC SAFETY PROBLEM OF "SINKING SEAT SYNDROME" WITH THE DRIVER'S SEAT. WHEN WILL TOYOTA HAVE A FIX FOR THIS CHRONIC SAFETY PROBLEM? MY LOCAL DEALER, COUGHLIN TOYOTA, HAS NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROBLEM OR A SOLUTION. THIS PROBLEM IS VERY COMMON ON THE INTERNET (GOOGLE). SOME OF MY LOCAL FRIENDS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THEIR COROLLAS. I NORMALLY HAVE ALL MY COROLLA MAINTENANCE DONE AT THE LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP FOR FAST SERVICE AND QUALITY WORK. UNFORTUNATELY, FORD IS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS SPECIFIC DESIGN AND SAFETY PROBLEM. CAN YOU HELP WITH A FIX? IF YOU JUST REFER ME BACK TO COUGHLIN TOYOTA FOR HELP, I AM IN BIG TROUBLE" *JB