[jayaram224]

Hi All,
I bought a camry LE 4 door, 4 cylinder, automatic in 2008. As per the manual took the vehicle for both 5,000 and 10,000 mile service. At 10,000 mile service i informed them vehicle is drifting away. The dealer told the wheel alignment was out of specs and fixed it.

In Feb, 2009 (around 12,000 miles in the vehicle) when i was driving in the Freeway, the Engine coolant indicator suddenly went to Red Zone and vehicle started decelerating. I escaped major accident on the freeway and pulled the vehicle to the shoulder. Then towed the vehicle to the dealership.

THe dealer took one month to replace everything new Engine,Radiator, Computer System etc etc...

I totally got disappointed with this vehicle and asked both the dealer and toyota to replace my vehicle..THey told me to file for arbitration. I submitted all the repair orders to arbitration..

The National Centre for Dispute settlement called me whether i would like for Oral hearing or Document only mode submission.. I opted for document only mode since for Oral hearing i need to be present at the dealership office.

In my arbitration i have asked toyata to refund my money back considering it as a unsafe vehicle

I have the following questions

1) Iam living in the state of Michigan and so whether my case is eligible for lemon law.. I cannot wait for the problem to occur three times..Engine failure is something rare and highly dangerous situation

2) Is there any other documents i need to present..I have submitted just the repair orders

3) Can anyone share thier similar experience

 

[njerald]

Sorry, you lose.........

 

[89molavi]

I don't know much about this situation, I am not sure if you will get great advice on this forum. I say it is time to lawyer up. If you go to 1-2 lawyers and they don't take the case you pretty much know that your chances are not good. The yellow pages are your best friend now.

 

[Punks_Not_Dead5]

we all love our Camry....i think it's pretty safe to say you're on your own for this one..

 

[sniper34]

It seems to me that your car broke twice and they fixed it twice. It's not like you had the same major problem twice. Granted, it shouldn't have broke, but they did fix it. Because you are not happy with it does not mean the should give back all your money. You drove it 12000 miles. I agree you should be disappointed but I think in arbitration you're going to lose. Since they honored the warantee twice, you have really no complaint other than you don't like it anymore. Sorry, that's how I see it.

 

[gdanaher]

Read your owner's manual and find the pamphlet that covers the lemon law. Find your home state rules and read them. Should have done this long before filing for arbitration, but it never hurts to know what the rules are when you sit down with your attorney at the big table. I'm not going to waste my time looking at Michigan but in this state the basic rule is that the same problem needs to be occurring repeatedly without any dealer mitigation solving the problem (hence a lemon). Having the car out of alignment is a non issue. Catastrophic failure of the engine is another matter entirely, but then the dealer replaced all components under warranty and made you whole again. If they gave you a loan car during the repair time, then you were not out any expense for a loaner car. It looks like they have done what they should have done under most situations. Your option should be to drive the car or to sell it. I don't think that any arbitrator is going to give you a new car or buy yours back, less mileage. If you have another engine failure, then perhaps you have a case to present.

 

[jayaram224]

Thanks a lot for the responses..

I got an update from Toyota..They are giving a Platinum Warranty (7 years or 1,00,000 miles) plus one car payment.

I found in this website that toyota used to give this offer to anyone filing arbitration..

But now, based on your guys comments, should i take this offer and leave.. Or can i still go for the arbitration..

Also, i checked Michigan Lemon Law and it states

"A defective vehicle is one in which the same problem has not been repaired after four attempts, or a vehicle that is out of service 30 days or more for repairs. The first report of the defect must be made within one year from the date of delivery to the original purchaser or lessee or during the term of the manufacturer's warranty, whichever period is shorter."

Based on the above law, my vehicle was at the dealership service center from 30 days...Will this make my case stronger..

 

[PlatinumVibe08]

I got an update from Toyota..They are giving a Platinum Warranty (7 years or 1,00,000 miles) plus one car payment.

should i take this offer and leave..

Yes.

 

[Tobeit]

Yes.

+1...you did not have a case in the first place as they did all they could to fix your car for two different issues (alignment is a minor issue anyways).

Now, they even up'd the warranty what means they stand behind their product and assure you if more trouble comes they will fix it.

It's unfortunate that you experienced that issue but any car can break - a camry or lambo or benz...its part of having a car.

 

[lammydi]

Thanks a lot for the responses..

I got an update from Toyota..They are giving a Platinum Warranty (7 years or 1,00,000 miles) plus one car payment.

I found in this website that toyota used to give this offer to anyone filing arbitration..

But now, based on your guys comments, should i take this offer and leave.. Or can i still go for the arbitration..

Also, i checked Michigan Lemon Law and it states

"A defective vehicle is one in which the same problem has not been repaired after four attempts, or a vehicle that is out of service 30 days or more for repairs. The first report of the defect must be made within one year from the date of delivery to the original purchaser or lessee or during the term of the manufacturer's warranty, whichever period is shorter."

Based on the above law, my vehicle was at the dealership service center from 30 days...Will this make my case stronger..

I had a similar problem and dealer replace it with a new engine and new radiator. The problem was the engine had a hair-line crack that allowed the coolant to slowly leak-in the engine. It was a manufature defect. Toyota offered me a free Platinum Warranty.
Did you have the same problem when they replace your engine?

 

[MJZ]

Thanks a lot for the responses..

I got an update from Toyota..They are giving a Platinum Warranty (7 years or 1,00,000 miles) plus one car payment.

I found in this website that toyota used to give this offer to anyone filing arbitration..

But now, based on your guys comments, should i take this offer and leave.. Or can i still go for the arbitration..

Also, i checked Michigan Lemon Law and it states

"A defective vehicle is one in which the same problem has not been repaired after four attempts, or a vehicle that is out of service 30 days or more for repairs. The first report of the defect must be made within one year from the date of delivery to the original purchaser or lessee or during the term of the manufacturer's warranty, whichever period is shorter."

Based on the above law, my vehicle was at the dealership service center from 30 days...Will this make my case stronger..

Had your vehicle been sitting out of commission for 30 days (total, not just your final issue) or NOT?

If YES, your vehicle is a LEMON based on the Michigan Lemon Laws.

Your vehicle however, can NOT be more than 1 year old (When you had the Coolant issue and the dealer began keeping your vehicle for repairs).

Toyota is obligated to refund you or replace your vehicle. You may or may not have a choice in the matter, but you can request your preference.

This should proceed through Arbitration.

 

[jayaram224]

I had a similar problem and dealer replace it with a new engine and new radiator. The problem was the engine had a hair-line crack that allowed the coolant to slowly leak-in the engine. It was a manufature defect. Toyota offered me a free Platinum Warranty.
Did you have the same problem when they replace your engine?

According to the dealer they couldn't find the exact problem. But they think the overheating of the radiator caused the problem..

 

[jayaram224]

Had your vehicle been sitting out of commission for 30 days (total, not just your final issue) or NOT?

If YES, your vehicle is a LEMON based on the Michigan Lemon Laws.

Your vehicle however, can NOT be more than 1 year old (When you had the Coolant issue and the dealer began keeping your vehicle for repairs).

Toyota is obligated to refund you or replace your vehicle. You may or may not have a choice in the matter, but you can request your preference.

This should proceed through Arbitration.

If i understood your questions correctly, my last problem with the car occured on 27-Jan-2009.. I towed the vehicle to the dealership service center.. Then took the car back on 27-Feb-2009. Whether this covers 30 day period

 

[eddiefromcali]

I dont think your vehicle is unsafe, a lemon maybe, but not unsafe. A vehicle overheating on the freeway probably wouldnt case a "major accident" unless the driver panics and starts cutting vehicles off to pull over. If you had lost a wheel or your brakes, that would be unsafe, not overheating....dont exaggerate as it wont get you anywhere here or in court. As far as the 30 day thing, they might mean 30 business days and not calendar days. But if the car was in the shop for 30 days for the same issue, then it looks like its a lemon. I wouldve gotten a lawyer and had him represent me at the oral hearing. I dont know if this is the kind of thing I want to do on my own.

 

[MJZ]

If i understood your questions correctly, my last problem with the car occured on 27-Jan-2009.. I towed the vehicle to the dealership service center.. Then took the car back on 27-Feb-2009. Whether this covers 30 day period

Yes, that's more than 30 days (27+4 = 31 days in fact). You are more than safe here, make sure you have documentation to prove both dates.

However, when did you take delivery of your vehicle?

If you took delivery of your 2008 vehicle prior to January 27, 2008, then your car was more than 1 year old when you had the incident. You would not eligible for the lemon law in this case.

 

[Redline_Me]

Not every engine and component will be perfect there will be the unlucky ones like yourself. Toyota makes a great product and the Camry is no exception. A lot of us here are very happy with our cars and have not any problems. There is a thread on how one member put 37,000 miles in 247 days or something like that and had no problems at all. So that speaks for itself.

I think you should take the deal and run with it. There is a good chance that you might not keep the car for 7 years anyways, and there is no way you will hit 1M miles.

 

[MJZ]

I hit 13,000 miles today. The car is 6.5 months old. It's due for it's third oil change in 2000 miles... actually more like a maintenance schedule.

The Camry is going to be my beater, never selling it until it goes (just not worth it).

SLK350 here I come (in a year or so).

 

[jayaram224]

I dont think your vehicle is unsafe, a lemon maybe, but not unsafe. A vehicle overheating on the freeway probably wouldnt case a "major accident" unless the driver panics and starts cutting vehicles off to pull over. If you had lost a wheel or your brakes, that would be unsafe, not overheating....dont exaggerate as it wont get you anywhere here or in court. As far as the 30 day thing, they might mean 30 business days and not calendar days. But if the car was in the shop for 30 days for the same issue, then it looks like its a lemon. I wouldve gotten a lawyer and had him represent me at the oral hearing. I dont know if this is the kind of thing I want to do on my own.

Iam not exaggerating the stuff.. I was coming in I-96 freeway that too around Peak Evening Hours time.. Imagine the traffic..
Panicking during these times, i feel is common and varies from person to person..Usually either myself or my wife drives the vehicle.. If this incident had happened with my wife driving iam sure she would have panicked and left control of the vehicle..

 

[jayaram224]

Yes, that's more than 30 days (27+4 = 31 days in fact). You are more than safe here, make sure you have documentation to prove both dates.

However, when did you take delivery of your vehicle?

If you took delivery of your 2008 vehicle prior to January 27, 2008, then your car was more than 1 year old when you had the incident. You would not eligible for the lemon law in this case.

"I took delivery of this vehicle end of March 2008".. THanks for the info

 

[MJZ]

"I took delivery of this vehicle end of March 2008".. THanks for the info

You're good. Your car is a lemon, you will get a refund - usage, or a replacement.