On July 5 my 4 cylinder 2000 Toyota Camry with 62,000 miles had the #4 rod blow a hole in the engine block. I was travelling from Ohio back to DC doing 65 mph when the engine blew. The car was towed to Shaffer Toyota in Cumberland, MD. I changed the oil at 3,000 mile intervals and had paperwork in the car attesting to this fact.
On July 6 the service manager of Shaffer looked at the car and told me that he had never seen this happen. He contacted the regional Toyota Rep and arranged for them to look at the car since it was 2,000 miles outside of the warranty. I returned home to VA and awaited a call.
Around Jul 27th I was told that Toyota, as a "goodwill" gesture, would pay for the engine but not the labor. I argued this point with Toyota, through letters, email, and phone conversations, but they wouldn't budge. I was especially upset when I discovered that this year vehicle had a problem with engine sludge and if sludge was the culprit, Toyota would replace the engine as long as the car had been in service less than 8 yrs.
Because I took care of my car and performed all maintenance, my claim was denied because it was not a "sludge" issue. As the service manager told me, sludge was mainly a problem with people who didn't take care of their cars, and mine looked as though it was taken care of. The original bill for labor was $1500, but the dealership knocked off some since they didn't get my car up and running until Sep 9.
Added to this is the fact that I'm still taking the car back and forth to local dealerships trying to get them to make repairs that Shaffer didn't complete.
I have owned Toyotas for roughly 30 yrs and several of my family members do also. As a real "goodwill" gesture, Toyota should have paid for my labor plus expenses. They knew that they have had problems with the engine, but they don't have the integrity to stand behind their product. Needless to say, this is the last Toyota that I was buy.
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