NHTSA Complaint #10937756 — 2009 TOYOTA CAMRY

MY 2009 CAMRY SE (4 CYLINDER) DID NOT BURN OIL, LEAK OIL OR OTHERWISE HAVE ANY ISSUE WITH OIL UNTIL I GOT MY OIL LOW OIL LIGHT AT APPROXIMATLEY 130,000 MILES. I IMMEDIATELY CALLED THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP THAT HAD BEEN THE ONLY PLACE THAT HAD CHANGED THE OIL IN MY CAR. THEY TOLD ME THAT THIS WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM, AND THE SUDDEN OIL CONSUMPTION COULD BE FIXED IF IT FAILED A SIMPLE TEST. THE TEST IS TO CHANGE THE OIL IN YOUR CAMRY, AND BETWEEN 1,000 AND 1,300 MILES LATER (NOT TO EXCEED 1,300 MILES) TO DUMP AN ENTIRE QUART OF OIL IN THE CRANKCASE. IF THE LEVEL WAS FULL, THERE WAS NO FURTHER ACTION TO TAKE. IF IT WAS LOWER THAN FULL, TOYOTA WOULD TEAR INTO YOUR ENGINE AND FIX THE ISSUE AT NO COST TO ME. NOT A VERY SCIENTIFIC TEST, BUT THEY PERFORMED THIS ON MY CAR AT APPROXIMATELY 133,000 MILES. IT WAS NOT DETERMINED THAT FURTHER ACTION WAS REQUIRED. I DETERMINED THAT MY CAR HAD USED 4 QUARTS OF OIL IN APPROXIMATELY 4,700 MILES, PRIOR TO THE TEST. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THAT I SHOULD WAIT UNTIL IT WAS BURNING MORE OIL, AND I COULD BRING IT BACK IN TO REPEAT THE TEST. 9 MONTHS LATER, I DETERMINED THAT I WAS USING 1 QUART OF OIL FOR EVERY 1,000 MILES DRIVEN. I NOW HAVE 150,430 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. DURING THE ORIGINAL TEST, THE ADVISOR TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS NO MILEAGE LIMIT, AND THEY HAD ACTUALLY JUST REBUILT THE ENGINE IN A RAV 4 WITH 179,000 MILES ON IT. DURING THE CALL ON 12-23-16, I WAS TOLD THAT I MISSED THE DEADLINE OF OCTOBER 31ST, AND THE DEAL NOW ONLY WAS FOR VEHICLES WITH LESS THAN 150,000 MILES. I CALLED THE TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER 800-331-4331AND OPENED CASE NUMBER 1612273514. THEY INFORMED ME THE PROGRAM HAD NEVER CHANGED, AND DEALERSHIPS WERE CONFUSED WITH HOW TO ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM. I WAS TOLD THAT THE PISTON RINGS ARE A KNOWN PROBLEM, BUT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY WOULD DO FOR ME AT THIS TIME. THEY FIELD MANY CS CALLS ON THIS MATTER.