NHTSA Complaint #11165540 — 2014 TOYOTA CAMRY

FOR THE FOURTH TIME, AN ACTUATOR IN MY 2014 CAMRY LE FAILED. I NOW HAVE HAD FOUR ' DIFFERENT ' ACTUATORS FAIL IN MY CAR. THIS AS A SAFETY ISSUE. MOST CONSUMERS EXPECT THAT IF THE CAR HAS AN AUTO-LOCK FEATURE ' AS OURS HAS' THAT IT WILL DO SO. IF ONE DEPRESSES THE REMOTE LOCK BUTTON, OR THE LOCK BUTTON ON THE DRIVER'S DOOR, THEY EXPECT ALL DOORS WILL LOCK. OUR DOORS FAIL IN ALL THESE WAYS. HAVING FOUR LOCKED DOORS IN OUR SEDAN IS A VITAL SAFETY FEATURE, BOTH DURING MOVEMENT, AND WHILE PARKED. WE BOUGHT OUR CAMRY AS A NEW CAR IN 2014. APPROXIMATELY ONE YEAR AGO AT 31K MILES, THE REAR, LEFT ACTUATOR FAILED. THE OEM PART COST $341. I PURCHASED A REPLACEMENT, AND FIXED AT MY EXPENSE IN MARCH, 2018. THE DAY OF THE REPAIR, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE FAILED. I CALLED TOYOTA EXPERIENCE. I ASKED FOR ASSISTANCE TO WHICH THEIR RESPONSE WAS A $200 REFUND ON A NEW ACTUATOR PURCHASE FROM A TOYOTA DEALER. THE COST OF NEW OEM PART WAS $329, PLUS, INSTALLATION. I WOULD HAVE TO FOOT THE DIFFERENCE AND JUMP THROUGH VARIOUS HOOPS TO SEEK A RE-IMBURSEMENT. IN EARLY NOVEMBER 2018 THE FRONT, DRIVER DOOR ACTUATOR FAILED. REALLY, THREE ACTUATORS GOING BAD ON ONE CAR ' STARTING WITH A THREE YEAR OLD AUTOMOBILE, GARAGED AND VERY WELL MAINTAINED, WITH ONLY 31,000 MILES? IN MID NOVEMBER THE REAR, PASSENGER SIDE DID NOT PROPERLY LOCK. NOW ALL THE ACTUATORS IN OUR CAR HAVE GONE BAD IN THE LAST YEAR! THIS IS A SAFETY AND WELFARE ISSUE. WE CONSTANTLY WORRY IF ANY OF THE DOORS AUTO-LOCK ON MOVEMENT. SIMILARLY, WE WORRY THAT IF A DOOR IS LEFT UNLOCKED WE COULD BE VICTIMIZED WITH AN UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY WITH LOSS OF PERSONAL PROPERTY, VANDALISM OR ASSAULT. AS WE HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH DOOR LOCK MECHANISMS SINCE WE STARTED DRIVING (LATE 1960S), WE THINK THIS IS A SAFETY AND QUALITY CONTROL ISSUE THAT TOYOTA SHOULD REMEDY.