NHTSA Complaint #11024644 — 2009 TOYOTA COROLLA

TSB 0087-09 MARCH 13, 2009 CAME OUT SHORTLY AFTER PRODUCTION OF THE 2009 MODEL AND DUE TO THE MANY COMPLAINTS IT APPEARS THEY QUICKLY INCLUDED IT IN THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY (6 MO/60K MILES) RATHER THAN DO A RECALL. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT IS DETECTED ON A COLD START, SO MANY USERS WILL IGNORE IT, THINKING IT'S JUST A SQUEAKY BELT, AND USED CAR BUYERS WILL GET TAKEN BECAUSE YOU CAN'T DETECT IT IF THE SELLER HAS STARTED THE CAR AND IT DOESN'T OCCUR UNTIL THE NEXT DAY AFTER YOU'VE PURCHASED THE CAR. TOYOTA SLID UNDER THE RADAR ON THIS ONE. IT'S A PRICEY REPAIR THAT I'VE BEEN TOLD BY A FEW MECHANICS THAT ONLY THE DEALER SHOULD HANDLE. I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO PURSUE A RECALL. THIS IS NOT A PART THAT SHOULD HAVE PROBLEMS. IN FACT, THE DEALER SAID THEY SHOULD GO 250K WITHOUT MAJOR PROBLEMS. IT'S NOT JUST THE '09 COROLLA. IT IS WIDESPREAD, AND IF YOU GOOGLE THIS, THE WEB IS FILLED WITH COMPLAINTS FOR SEVERAL TOYOTA MODELS. PLEASE LET THE CONSUMER KNOW YOU'RE BEING VIGILANT AND INVESTIGATE THIS OVERLOOKED ISSUE.