NHTSA Complaint #10940177 — 2008 TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID

THE LOW OIL INDICATOR CAME ON A FEW MONTHS AGO. I CHECKED THE OIL AND I WAS OVER 3 QUARTS LOW. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY DISMISSED IT AND TOLD ME IT WAS A COMMON PROBLEM. IT HAPPENED AGAIN AND I TOOK IT TO A DIFFERENT DEALER. THEY CONFIRMED IT WAS 3+ QUARTS LOW. I ASKED WHY IT GETS SO LOW BEFORE A LIGHT TURNS ON. THEY DIDN'T KNOW, BUT TOLD ME THERE WAS A NATIONAL REPAIR PROGRAM BECAUSE OF A PROBLEM WITH OIL CONSUMPTION. THE PROGRAM HAD JUST CLOSED AND I DID NOT QUALIFY FOR ANY FOLLOW UP WARRANTY BECAUSE OF MILES ON THE CAR. I CALLED TOYOTA AND THEY REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE A PROBLEM WITH THE CAR AND TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD NOT CONSIDER MY CAR FOR ANY REPAIR. I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN DRIVING WITH LOW OIL BECAUSE THE INDICATOR DOES NOT WARN ME UNTIL THERE IS BARELY ANY OIL LEFT IN THE ENGINE. I DON'T KNOW THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE THAT HAS BEEN CAUSED BECAUSE OF THIS. THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT I NEED TO CHECK MY OIL WEEKLY IN ORDER TO KEEP THE LEVELS UP AND PREVENT ANY FURTHER DAMAGE. I AM CONCERNED I WILL HAVE A TOTAL ENGINE FAILURE AT ANY TIME BECAUSE OF THE DESIGN FLAW AND REFUSAL BY TOYOTA TO REPAIR THIS DEFECT. I AM DRIVING A TIME BOMB. I CANNOT IN GOOD CONSCIENCE SELL THIS CAR TO SOME UNSUSPECTING BUYER AND I CANNOT AFFORD TO REPLACE THE CAR AT THIS TIME BECAUSE I AM IN SCHOOL. THIS CAR IS UNSAFE TO BE ON THE ROAD. AT ANY TIME THE ENGINE COULD SEIZE UP AND WITH THE CAR BEING A HYBRID AND A UTILIZING A SPECIALTY TRANSMISSION, WHEN IT DOES HAPPEN, IT COULD CAUSE A MAJOR ACCIDENT. THIS IS NOT SAFE. TOYOTA NEEDS TO REPAIR ALL OF THE VEHICLES AFFECTED BY THIS KNOWN DEFECT. *TR