Damage from rodents plus the extra cost of renting a car while waiting for repairs, led to about $16,800 in costs assosciate with soy-based wiring.
While an insurance company paid the bulk, a new lawsuit filed in Massachusetts wants to know when Toyota is going to pay for the decision to go with soy?…
When Toyota switched away from using plastic or glass-based inulation in favor of soy, it invited in some very unwelcome Toyota loyalisits.
According to the plaintiff, she learned the hard way about the soy wiring when her Avalon wouldn't start and a look under the hood showed wires chewed, so she had the car towed to a dealer. Toyota told her rodents had caused the damage and it would be no problem to repair the problems as long as she could cough up $6,000 to cover the bill.
The soy-based wiring is allegedly attracting in rodents, who love to chew it up and use it for nesting material. The lawsuit, Heidi Browder vs. Toyota Motor Corporation, et al. follows a similar lawsuit filed against Honda earlier this year.
How hot do you like your seat heater in the winter?
If you like it really toasty — as in, with an actual flame — you’ll probably love one of 7,700 Toyota vehicles with seat heaters that catch on fire. The vehicles have been recalled because fire and cars don’t get along, what with their tanks of highly flammable liquids and all. All the affected vehicles are equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters that contain copper strand heating elements. The recall is being handled by Southeast Toyota Distributors (SET) which is the world’s largest distributor of Toyota and Scion vehicles.
The recall is expected to begin on July 14, 2016 and the seat heaters will need to be disconnected. Owners will be reimbursed.
And so, when Corolla owner Robert Ruginis petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to investigate low-speed surging in the 2006-2010 Corolla, it seemed like a slam dunk, home run or <insert sports cliché here>. Go sports team! But instead NHTSA said no to the investigation. The agency said they analyzed data from an event recorder cited by Ruginis in his petition and came up with a completely different conclusion. Ruginis said his Corolla moved forward with the brake pedal pressed, NHTSA said it didn't. Ruginis said Corollas can move forward even with the brake pressed to the floor, NHTSA said they can't.
Instead, NHTSA placed the blame on Corolla drivers in most cases. They also said an investigation wasn't worth their time:…
Oh, Tacoma! Just days after Toyota recalled 690,000 trucks for corroded rear suspension leaf springs, an Arkansas man has filed a lawsuit claiming that isn't the only thing rotting away on these trucks.
Plaintiff Ryan Burns says hundreds of thousands of Tacoma owners have trucks with rusted frames that need repair or replacement and they shouldn't be responsible for the cost. He states that Toyota is aware of a problem with their frames because:…
If we were ranking car problems on a scale from 1-10
, it might look a little something like this:
1: My wiper has a tear and now my windshield gets all streaky when it rains
5: My suspension clunks along at a techno beat while driving down a bumpy road
10: Neighborhood kids started roasting marshmallows over the charred remains of my car
You never want to get to 10, but unfortunately Tacoma owners might not have a choice. Toyota recently announced part of the truck's rear suspension can break and rupture the gas tank or damage a brake line. Thankfully, there's a recall and here's a breakdown of what you need to know:…
Toyota thought the scourge of unintended acceleration was finally behind them.
They had, after all, recalled millions of cars, paid hefty fines to the government, entered talks to settle hundreds of class-action lawsuits and even paid out $1.6 billion to owners because the trade-in value of their vehicles had diminished. Besides, the world's attention had turned to GM's ignition switch fiasco. So are Toyota's problems with unintended acceleration in the rearview mirror? Not so fast, or in this case ... slow.…
So, finding out your Toyota has been recalled for an incorrect tire pressure label isn't that big of a deal. It's really more along the lines of a pain in the you-know-what that needs attention to pass federal safety standards. Here's what you need to know:…
The best way to find out what's wrong with a vehicle is from the people who drive them. Not only do owner complaints help us rank vehicles by reliability, but they're often used to spark class-action lawsuits and warranty extensions. Plus, they're a great way to vent.