NHTSA Complaint #11090898 — 2011 TOYOTA SIENNA

TOYOTA HAS A KNOWN FAILURE ISSUE WITH THE ENGINE OIL COOLER HOSE ON THIS MODEL. WITH THIS ISSUE, A DEFECT IN THE HOSE CAUSES OIL TO LEAK RAPIDLY FROM THE HOSE. A SEARCH OF THE INTERNET CAN FIND MANY INSTANCES OF THIS ISSUE, WITH CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE RESULTING IN CERTAIN CASES. TOYOTA HAS ISSUED WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT ZE2 TO COVER THIS. THE WARRANTY TERM FOR THIS ITEM IS EXTENDED TO TEN YEARS AND 150,000 MILES. I EXPERIENCED THIS FAILURE LAST WEEK. IT OCCURRED AS I WAS PULLING INTO A CAR WASH. SMOKE STARTED COMING FROM MY ENGINE AND THE CAR WASH WORKER NOTICED OIL LEAKING FROM UNDERNEATH. I HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED AND THE HOSE REPLACED. THE TOTAL COST WAS $665. I ATTEMPTED TO GET COVERAGE FROM TOYOTA, BUT MY REQUEST WAS DENIED DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE MILEAGE WAS AT 167,000. THE REASON FOR MY COMPLAINT IS THAT A MAJOR, KNOWN DEFECT SUCH AS THIS SHOULD NOT BE TIME OR MILEAGE LIMITED. GIVEN THE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE THAT CAN RESULT FROM THIS DEFECT, TOYOTA SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPLACING THE DEFECTIVE HOSES RATHER THAN FORCING CUSTOMERS TO ENDURE THE PROBLEMS OF FAILURE IN THE FIELD, WHICH OFTEN RESULTED IN BLOWN ENGINES AND THE NEED TO HAVE VEHICLES TOWED IN FOR REPAIRS. IF TOYOTA IS NOT GOING TO TAKE THE STEP OF PREVENTING THE PROBLEM, THEY SHOULD AT LEAST TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM WHEN IT OCCURS - REGARDLESS OF AGE OR MILEAGE - BECAUSE THE CAUSE IS CLEARLY THE RESULT OF A KNOWN DEFECT. I CONTACTED TOYOTA WARRANTY SERVICE FOR REIMBURSEMENT AND MY CLAIM WAS DENIED. I CALLED BACK AND ASKED TO ESCALATE IT. I WAS TRANSFERRED TO A HIGHER LEVEL AGENT WHO AGAIN DENIED MY CLAIM AND TOLD ME TO ADDRESS MY COMPLAINT OUTSIDE OF TOYOTA, WHICH IS WHY I AM FILING HERE. WITH THIS COMPLAINT, I AM SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT OF MY $665 COSTS. I FURTHER SUGGEST THAT TOYOTA BE URGED TO REVISE WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT ZE2 TO REMOVE THE MILEAGE AND TIME LIMITS.