10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 80,420 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
Engine is burning excessive amounts of oil. Toyota refuses to issue recall on premature wearing engine components
- Bonner Springs, KS, USA
We wish to register a complaint about excessive oil consumption in our 2008 Toyota Camry hybrid and which fell outside the criteria for the appropriate remedy which is to rebuild the engine according to Toyota tsb 0094-11 "2az-fe engine oil consumption". in the tsb, it is noted 'some 2006 ' 2011 model year vehicles equipped with the 2az-fe engine may exhibit engine oil consumption. The piston assembly has been changed to minimize oil consumption.' We had our 2008 Toyota Camry hybrid tested February 2015, which was within the extended warranty period of 10 years or 150,000 miles. According to the dealer (tri county Toyota, limerick pa), our car did not meet the criteria for an engine rebuild which is 'consumption of more than a quart of oil over 1200 miles.' According to this criterion, an engine which was burning 3 quarts of oil between oil changes (5,000 miles) could mathematically fail this test but is clearly defective. That is the situation we now find ourselves in. Our car has been serviced according to the manufacturer's recommendations for its entire life but has now used 3 quarts of oil between oil changes (5,000 miles). It is not leaking through seals to the exterior, and is therefore burning excessive oil, indicative of the fundamental problem which is the subject of the above-mentioned tsm. We therefore request that Toyota rebuild the engine of our car, free of charge, with the modified piston assembly to rectify the situation.
- Eagleville, PA, USA
The low oil indicator came on a few months ago. I checked the oil and I was over 3 quarts low. I took it to the dealer and they dismissed it and told me it was a common problem. It happened again and I took it to a different dealer. They confirmed it was 3+ quarts low. I asked why it gets so low before a light turns on. They didn't know, but told me there was a national repair program because of a problem with oil consumption. The program had just closed and I did not qualify for any follow up warranty because of miles on the car. I called Toyota and they refused to acknowledge a problem with the car and told me that they would not consider my car for any repair. I don't know how long I have been driving with low oil because the indicator does not warn me until there is barely any oil left in the engine. I don't know the extent of damage that has been caused because of this. The dealer told me that I need to check my oil weekly in order to keep the levels up and prevent any further damage. I am concerned I will have a total engine failure at any time because of the design flaw and refusal by Toyota to repair this defect. I am driving a time bomb. I cannot in good conscience sell this car to some unsuspecting buyer and I cannot afford to replace the car at this time because I am in school. This car is unsafe to be on the road. At any time the engine could seize up and with the car being a hybrid and a utilizing a specialty transmission, when it does happen, it could cause a major accident. This is not safe. Toyota needs to repair all of the vehicles affected by this known defect.
- Lexington, SC, USA
Excessive burning oil. Oil pressure light keep coming up on startup of car. The car burns a quart of oil a week. Driving roughly 250 miles a week.
- Alexandria, VA, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Camry hybrid. The contact stated that the vehicle revved abnormally and accelerated independently even when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000. Updated 04/21/2016
- Wylie, TX, USA
All Toyota with 2azfe engines and their variants need to be recalled. There is an inherent problem with excessive oil consumption due to a design flaw in both the pistons and rings of the engines. This problem then leads to problems with the emissions systems causing catalytic converter failure, A/F sensor failure and oxygen sensor failure. Toyota has known about the excessive oil consumption oil issue for years and has corrected its design. But, those who were unaware of this problem and never informed of it by Toyota are left in the dark. My issue is that the oil consumption now affects the emissions system. It is increasing more difficult to rapidly accelerate due to the fact that this oil consumption has now ruined my catalytic converter and thus making acceleration at the proper rate impossible. I went to accelerate and my car couldn't do it properly, nearly causing an accident. Then I noticed my mil was illuminated. I had it checked and its a P0420 code. I have had the car diagnostically examined and now the car cannot meet the minimum threshold for the car's ECM to conduct a self test, thus illuminating the mil. I have heard of others running out of oil and seizing their engines during operation of their vehicles. This is unsafe. NHTSA and Toyota are both keenly aware of this issue, but nothing has been done to fix the vehicles that are already on the road. I went to my Toyota dealership where I purchased this vehicle new and the service representative said that Toyota will not fix these vehicles without the customer paying for the repair. The informal quote for the engine alone was $3500 alone, not including the emissions issues. This is an absolute disgrace. I hope you do something about this.
- Westtown, NY, USA
I have really good driving record with no accident & not even 1 ticket in the past 20 years before these 2 accidents & we've had the car for 6.5 years. 1st accident happened on 4/11/14 at 9:14am. Traffic was bad during the morning rush hour so all cars were travelling slowly. I was on fwy 5 heading S to the fwy 55 S ramp in ca. Matrix (1st car) suddenly stopped while all other cars were still moving forward. Equinox (2nd car) stopped & I immediately slammed my foot on the brake pedal. However, I didn't feel the car stopping at all & I thought I heard the engine roaring, but then thought it was only my illusion. Since the damage was only bumpers & headlights we just let insurance handled it & moved on with our life. However, I did start driving extra carefully after this incident. 2nd accident happened on 6/23/14 at 8:40am. Again, traffic was bad during morning rush hour. I was on jamboree in irvine, ca heading towards newport beach. I was waiting for the red light on jamboree at the 405 N bound exit intersection in the 2nd lane from left (total 4 lanes). There were already 2 accidents around there & light had just turned green. All cars were moving very slowly due to accidents nearby. Yukon had already pulled into the intersection & suddenly stopped. I was still behind the line with some distance & slammed on brake immediately but didn't feel the car stopping until hitting Yukon. I heard brake sound and engine roaring again while my foot was on the brake pedal. This time the roaring sound was clear compare to April accident. It was at over-path of fwy 405 so the road was a bit going uphill. Hybrid does not start fast at all so I am sure my speed was very slow. Car is determined as totaled because engine went under Yukon's spare tire hanging in the back. Toyota said hybrid has a black box that records data. Want to get access to the encrypted data if possible.
- Irvine, CA, USA
The water pump on car has started to leak spraying coolant over the orange electrical wires in the engine compartment. This is a potential fire hazard. Also it can lead to engine overheating. One complaint has already been filed at this website by another customer. Toyotanation.com forum is filled with hundreds of complaints and pictures of similar nature and people have even posted pictures and instructions on how to change the water pump. I wish Toyota would have some honor respect for customer safety and acknowledge this grave problem.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
The water pump failed resulting in engine over heating - potentially disabling vehicle.
- Newport News, VA, USA
- Middletown, PA, USA