NHTSA Complaint #10556085 — 2006 TOYOTA RAV4

I OWN A 2006 RAV4. BOUGHT IT NEW AND HAVE HAD EVERY OIL CHANGE AND RECOMMENDED ENGINE SERVICE DONE SINCE THAT TIME DONE AT THE DEALERSHIP. A FEW MONTHS AGO, I TOOK IT IN TO HAVE MY FLUIDS CHECKED BEFORE A ROAD TRIP, AND WAS TOLD THAT THE DIPSTICK SHOWED THAT I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO OIL! IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE AS I HAD JUST HAD AN OIL CHANGE ABOUT 3 WEEKS PRIOR. I IMMEDIATELY TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY ADDED SOME OIL AND SAID THEY WOULD "MONITOR THE OIL CONSUMPTION." I THOUGHT MAYBE A CARELESS MECHANIC FAILED TO PROPERLY FILL THE RESERVOIR. HOWEVER, SINCE THEN, I HAVE HAD TO GO BACK EVERY 1000 MILES SO THEY COULD CHECK THE DIPSTICK AND ADD OIL, BUT EACH TIME WAS TOLD THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE THE MONITORING. HOWEVER, ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO, THEY CALLED ME AND TOLD ME THEY HAD SOME INFORMATION FOR ME. I WAS TOLD THAT TO FIX THE PROBLEM I REALLY NEED A NEW ENGINE, AS THE OIL IS BEING USED INTERNALLY BY THE ENGINE DUE TO A PISTON ASSEMBLY DESIGN PROBLEM PER THE TSB. I ASKED IF TOYOTA WAS GOING TO FIX THE PROBLEM FOR ME AT IT'S COST, AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THERE IS NO RECALL BECAUSE IT IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE. THIS IS AN UNACCEPTABLE ANSWER AS THIS IS NOT A "NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR" ISSUE, IT'S A DESIGN DEFECT ISSUE. AS SUCH, TOYOTA SHOULD STEP UP AND FIX THE PROBLEMS THAT ARE OBVIOUSLY BEING EXPERIENCED BY ( JUDGING FROM THE VARIOUS BLOGS I'VE BEEN VIEWING) LOTS OF TOYOTA OWNERS WHO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. THE ONLY OPTION THE DEALER GAVE ME WAS THAT I CAN HAVE THE PISTON REPAIR WORK DONE AND HAVE THE SMALL BLOCK REPLACED FOR $3172.00. LIKE I SAID, I FELT TOYOTA SHOULD PAY FOR THIS, NOT ME, AS TOYOTA, NOT I, CAUSED THE PROBLEM. *TR