NHTSA Complaint #10594213 — 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY

OUR FOUR-CYLINDER CAMRY LE WITH 141,000 ON THE ODOMETER WAS JUST DIAGNOSED WITH "LOW-END BEARING NOISE," MEANING THE ENGINE HAS SUSTAINED MAJOR DAMAGE AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS HAPPENED AFTER A VERY "HARD START" THAT SOUNDED LIKE THE ENGINE HAD NO OIL IN IT. A VERY DISTURBING SOUND. WE HAVE RUN THIS CAR ON SYNTHETIC OIL (AND TOP-RATED OIL FILTERS) SINCE THE FIRST OIL CHANGE, AND ALMOST ALL THE 141,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER ARE HIGHWAY MILES IN THE MID-ATLANTIC. I MAINTAINED THE FLUID LEVELS WITHOUT FAIL, EVEN WHEN THE ENGINE BEGAN CONSUMING INORDINATE AMOUNTS OF OIL--A FREQUENT COMPLAIN ABOUT 2007 CAMRYS. WE HAVE DRIVEN THIS CAR GENTLY, NEVER EXCEEDING 75 MPH. NO RACING, ETC. ONE WOULD EXPECT TO GET AT LEAST 200,000 MILES FROM A CAMRY ENGINE RUN ON SYNTHETIC OIL. THE DEALER AND TWO ADDITIONAL SERVICE CENTERS HAVE NO EXPLANATION FOR WHAT WENT WRONG. BAD THINGS HAPPEN, THEY SAY. A REMANUFACTURED ENGINE COSTS ABOUT $6500 FOR REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION, SO WE CLEARLY ARE LESS THAN PLEASED. *TR