On my way to work on i76 Monday am. May 1st. The car started to sound different, the engine light came on and at the minute I got to side of highway the car shut off and never started again. Had to call tow truck, was late for work, and being told that the engine is blown along with radiator needs replaced. This will cost over $2500. - with labor. I cannot afford this.

I am extremely disappointed in Toyota. The main reason I have this car is because of the reputation Toyota has with engines lasting.

I emailed Toyota directly and called as well and received no response. Never again will I get a Toyota.

On Monday evening, April 29, 2013, I was returning home from work at approximately 10:30pm. I was driving on the parkway in Pittsburgh, route 36. The engine got very loud and I noticed the check engine light was now on as well as the battery light - no other lights were on at this time. I was 1 1/2 miles from the entrance to the squirrel hill tunnel and between exits at the time this occurred. In addition to a loud racket, there was a constant popping sound that stopped if I took my foot off the accelerator but resumed as soon as I pressed the gas. I looked around for a place to park but realized I needed get off the parkway and had no place to do so. I pressed forward, hoping to make it to the squirrel hill/waterfront exit right in front of the tunnel. Suddenly the car stopped responding when I pressed the gas pedal and the car started to lose power and slow down. I had to pull the car over toward the center jersey barrier and stop there as it was obvious the car would not make it any further to the exit or through the tunnel. AAA was called and they towed the car to where I had been getting my oil changed and inspections done.

On Wednesday morning, May 1, 2013, the owner of the shop informed me I needed to take this to the dealer as the engine had no compression and he knew they could not repair the car - he also informed me at that time that the water pump was gone and had dragged my serpentine belt off which had caused the loss of power to the vehicle. I had just replaced the serpentine belt on November 9, 2012. I called the Toyota dealership where I had purchased the car, Bob Massie Toyota in White Oak, PA and made arrangements to have the car towed to them. They informed me that the extended warranty I had purchased with the car would cover the towing. The car ended up reaching Bob Massie Toyota in White Oak, PA at 4pm on May 1, 2013. When I called to make sure it had arrived I was told the service representative, Kim, needed to speak to me. Kim told me she needed to make sure that the warranty would even cover my car and asked me if I had any proof that I had taken care of the services needed for the car, oil changes, etc. I informed her I had them and at this point she told me they would be in touch the next day. When I asked before she hung up about a loaner/rental car, she said the warranty would only cover that if it was determined the warranty for my car was valid.

A service rep from Massie contacted me mid-morning on May 2, 2013, and informed me that in order to take advantage of the warranty, they needed to be sure I qualified for it and that my car was actually covered by the warranty. They told me it was obvious my car had overheated. I told the person the the car never lit the temperature sensor on the dash - even when it was sitting on the parkway immobile and dead for the moment - it merely showed the battery light (a new battery was purchased for the car in August 2012) and the check engine light. It was explained that in order to determine this the engine would have to be broken down to get codes and that it would cost me $482.00, they asked if I would authorize this charge and I told them of course and that the code retrieval would show that at no time did the car ever alert me to any overheating in the engine - during the entire time I had the car.

That afternoon, I contacted Toyota customer care to inquire about this warranty and the validity of the warranty. The person I spoke to told me that I had purchased an extended warranty that was good for a period of only a couple years and that it had expired. She also explained that the extended warranty good for 100,000 miles, purchased by the initial owner of the car, was still good. She said she would make sure that it had transferred to me and put me on hold. In less than 5 minutes, she returned and told me that the extended warranty did become valid for me after my purchase of the Certified Toyota Yaris. She said the dealership would have to make the decision regarding whether the warranty was to be honored.

I received a call that afternoon from the sales rep at Toyota, Ken Casey, who assured me he was trying to find another car for me and that they were trying to ensure the warranty would cover my car. My loan had a balance owed of $5,500.00.

The following morning, Friday, May 3, 2013, I received a call from the dealership service department - they informed me my car would not be covered under the warranty due to the fact that I had driven it in an overheated condition. They told me that the warranty people had made that decision. I was extremely upset and explained again that at no time did the car ever turn on any indicator or sensor lights showing any issue; I was told this did not matter and that the warranty was not going to be covered. When I told them I would be having a tow truck come and take my car to another dealer where I had arranged to purchase something else, the service manager himself told me that in no way would he allow the car t leave until I had paid the $482.00 owed for tearing the engine down. I made payment with a credit card and had the car picked up. I asked the tow truck driver to make sure he got my license plate from the dealer because I would need it for the new car as it was only two months old. The driver of the tow truck was told it was in the back of the car. There was no plate in my car and in order to be able to take possession of the new car I had purchased, I had to pay an additional $40.00. When I called Massie Toyota to ask about my plate they promised to overnight the plate to me; that plate arrived today - Monday 5/6/13, via Fedex - needless to say, 3 days too late.

I made multiple calls today to different departments within Toyota. The end result was that I received a return call from Deborah Houston in customer service who denied they make those decisions at corporate level and I was referred to another phone number. At this point, it is blatantly obvious that no one at Toyota is going to take responsibility for the decision not to honor the warranty on the car. Furthermore, it's obvious there is no way I can get any recompense for the $6,000.00 I am out.

The best fix I can suggest at this time is for people to shun Massie Toyota in White Oak for their shoddy business practices and taking advantage of customers. I purchased a Certified Toyota with the premise in mind that I was getting a good car and guaranteed service and coverage through the extended warranty. I got a Toyota Certified Piece of Crap and a worthless warranty for which no one wants to take credit. I gained the right to eat $6000 for nothing and gain no satisfaction from the worthless Toyota representatives at both Massie as well as Corporate reps. I've owned 4 toyota's - the Yaris was the last. Toyota can drop the face of the earth as far as I am concerned... The lot of them.