We purchased a 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder and took care of it as if it were a child. After a year of ownership the car began to lose power. We took it in and Toyota replaced the ENTIRE exhaust system because one of the catalytic converters (it has 2) was completely clogged. They covered this under warranty but had no explanation as to why a car so new would have this problem. (Related to the sludge issue?)
Shortly after, the engine blew because it was out of oil (Toyota admitted that they did not even check the oil when they were working on the car). Toyota would NOT cover the repair at all because they said it was our fault! They quoted us $6000 to do the work but would not give any legitimate explanation about the problem. We said we would get a second opinion and they encouraged it. The second quote was only $4000 so we chose to use that mechanic.
Little did we know that having someone else work on the engine voided our warranty! This was a problem beacause a few weeks later the engine blew AGAIN. We quickly started to think that it was not an engine problem but a manufacturer's defect. This point was proven when the car used 5 quarts of oil in one week.
I don't know about you, but I think that 5 quarts of oil in one week is a good way to clog catalytic converters, which means that this problem should have been addressed when the original repairs began. We could not find a lawyer that would take the case and we were consistenly ignored by Toyota. We ended up getting the car in running condition and selling it.
The only good news is that we found out that Toyota bought the car back at auction and had to repair it again at their own cost. We are still for paying the repair bill and the negative equity that we had in the car, a year after the fact.
Not only will I never buy a toyota again but I will campaign for the rest of my life against them. I just hope someday there is a class action lawsuit that we can join.
Pamela
San Diego, California
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