NHTSA Complaint #10628377 — 2003 TOYOTA CAMRY

MY FAMILY AND I WERE OUT OF STATE ON A TRIP FOR A FUNERAL IN FEBRUARY. IT WAS VERY COLD WHERE WE WERE, SO I STARTED OUR CAMRY TO WARM UP THE CAR. HOWEVER, INSTEAD OF WARMING UP, IT ACTUALLY STARTED TO OVERHEAT DUE TO LOW COOLANT. SUSPECTING A CRACKED HOSE OR A RADIATOR ISSUE, I SEARCHED FOR THE LEAK, BUT COULD NOT FIND ONE. WE KEPT THE CAR FILLED WITH FLUID, WATCHED THE TEMP GAUGE LIKE A HAWK, AND LIMPED THE CAR HOME TO OUR MECHANIC. THANKFULLY, IT DIDN'T EVEN COME CLOSE TO OVERHEATING AGAIN THE ENTIRE TRIP HOME. WHEN I TOOK IT INTO THE SHOP, THEY SAID THAT IT WAS LEAKING FROM THE HEAD GASKET. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, THE MECHANIC FOUND THAT THREE BOLTS NEAR THE HEAT SHIELD WERE NOT ONLY LOOSE, BUT ACTUALLY STRIPPED. THIS SOUNDED ODD TO ME. I HAVE AN 89 TOYOTA PICKUP THAT I BOUGHT BRAND NEW, AND IT IS STILL RUNNING LIKE A CHAMP 25 YEARS AND 250,000+ MILES LATER. I EXPECTED THE SAME KIND OF SERVICE LIFE FROM OUR WELL MAINTAINED CAMRY WITH LESS THAN 150,000. STRIPPED HEAD BOLTS JUST SOUNDED OFF TO ME FOR A TOYOTA, SO I DID AN ONLINE SEARCH. IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN I FOUND WEB PAGE AND FORUM AFTER WEB PAGE AND FORUM DEDICATED TO THIS ISSUE ALONE. ONE SITE - CARCOMPLAINTS.COM - HAS 36 COMPLAINTS FILED ALREADY FOR JUST THE 2002 AND 2003 MODEL YEARS, AND THIS PROBLEM EXTEND TO ENGINES UP TO THE 2007 MODEL YEAR. ANOTHER WEB SITE - CAMRYFORUMS.COM - HAS 6 PAGES OF FORUMS DEDICATED TO THIS ISSUE. SIX PAGES. ALL OF THEM WITH THE SAME EXACT ISSUE - COOLANT LEAKS FROM THE STRIPPED HEAD BOLTS NEXT TO THE INSULATION. AND THERE ARE MORE SITES AND MORE FORUMS THAN JUST THOSE. CONSIDERING THAT ONLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FILE THESE KINDS OF COMPLAINTS OR POST ON AN ONLINE FORUM, THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM WITH THESE CARS. THEY SHOULD BE RECALLED AND REPAIRED. *TR