2007 TOYOTA CAMRY SOLARA Complaints

I RECENTLY BOUGHT THIS CAR FROM A FRIEND. DID NOT REALIZE UNTIL AFTER I PURCHASED THE CAR THAT THE DASHBOARD IS A LOT WORSE THAN I THOUGHT. IT IS GUMMY AND CRACKED ALL OVER. I BOUGHT THE CAR BECAUSE THE EXTERIOR LOOKS GREAT AND IT RUNS LIKE NEW, BUT THE DASHBOARD NOW APPEARS TO BE A REAL PROBLEM. IT WILL BE EXPENSIVE AND HOW DO I KNOW THE SAME THING WILL NOT HAPPEN TO THE NEW ONE. I ALONG WITH HUNDREDS AND SOON TO BE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO FEEL TOYOTA SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS ISSUE. IT COULD TURN INTO A SAFETY ISSUE IF THE AIR BAGS ARE AFFECTED. *TR

THE DASHBOARD HAS BEEN STICKY FOR 3 YEARS, WITH A GLARE ON THE RIGHT SIDE WHEN DRIVING. I HAVE CONTACTED MY TOYOTA DEALER X3 DURING ROUTINE MAINTAINENCE AND HAVE TOLD THEM THE PROBLEM. TOYOTA SAYS THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS AND IT IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND I CAN HAVE IT REPLACED FOR MORE THAN $3,000.00. TOYOTA DENIES THAT THIS IS A MANUFACTURER PROBLEM. MY GLOVE COMPARTMENT HAS CRACKED AND SPLIT ALSO, EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NOT OPENED THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT IN 1 YEAR. THERE IS A WEB SITE-"STICKY DASHBOARD/TOYOTA SOLARA WITH OVER 700 COMPLAINTS, AND TOYOTA DENIES ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THIS WEB SITE. I HAVE NOTIFIED TOYOTA CORPORATE OFFICE WITH THIS COMPLAINT, CASE# 1401170834 OVER 18 MONTHS AGO WITH NO FOLLOW-UP FROM TOYOTA. ON AUGUST 27, WFLA TV FROM TAMPA, FLORIDA HAD A SEGMENT ON A VENICE TOYOTA OWNER WITH THE SAME STICKY DASHBOARD MELTING PROBLEM AND TOYOTA REFUSING TO FIX HIS PROBLEM. MY CAR IS ESSENTIAL TO MY WORK AND OTHER COMMITMENTS, AND I HOPE THIS CAN BE RESOLVED IN THE NEAR FUTURE. THANK-YOU. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY SOLARA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DASHBOARD WAS MELTING CAUSING A GLARE, WHICH IMPAIRED THE DRIVERS VIEW OF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE A REMEDY WAS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 17,800.

DASHBOARD IS MELTING AND IS STICKY TO THE TOUCH. THIS CONDITION IS LEAVING A VERY DANGEROUS GLARE ON THE WINDSHIELD MAKING IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE THROUGH IN THE AFTERNOON. *TR

ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE DASHBOARD ON MY SOLAR BECAME STICKY AND STARTED TO CRACK IN MULTIPLE SPOTS. AFTER DOING A LITTLE RESEARCH ONLINE, I LEARNED THAT THE SOLARA AND OTHER TOYOTA MODELS HAD ISSUES WITH THE DASHBOARDS. I LEARNED THAT MY ISSUES WAS NOT ISOLATED. COUNTLESS OTHER TOYOTA OWNERS WERE REPORTING THE SAME ISSUE ONLINE. SHORTLY AFTER LEARNING THIS, I TOOK MY SOLARA TO MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP FOR ASSISTANCE AND WAS TOLD "THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO FOR YOU". TOYOTA ACKNOWLEDGED AND RECOGNIZED THE ISSUE WITH MY DASHBOARD - EVEN MADE MENTION OF CUSTOMERS WITH THE SAME ISSUE - YET REFUSED TO TAKE ANY ACTION. IN SUMMARY, I WAS TOLD BY TOYOTA THAT THE REPAIR COST OF MY DAMAGED DASHBOARD - DESPITE THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF THE POOR QUALITY MATERIALS USED IN ITS CONSTRUCTION - WOULD NOT BE COVED BY TOYOTA. ADDITIONALLY, I WAS TOLD THAT THE COST OF A REPLACEMENT DASHBOARD WOULD COST AS MUCH AS $2000 AND THAT THE NEW DASH MY IN FACT ALSO SHOW SIGNS OF CRACKING SHORTLY AFTER INSTALLATION. HOW CAN TOYOTA IGNORE THIS MATTER WHEN SO MANY OTHER OWNERS TOO HAVE REPORTED THIS MATTER. *TR

I NOTICED MY DASHBOARD WAS STICKY AND CRACKING AND MELTING. I IMMEDIATELY WENT TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN POMPANO BEACH. PICTURES WERE TAKEN BY THE DEALERSHIP AND SUBMITTED TO TOYOTA DEMONSTRATING THE DEFECTS. I RECEIVED A LETTER FROM TOYOTA REFUSING TO DO ANYTHING TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I CONTACTED TOYOTA MYSELF AND SPOKE TO SEVERAL PEOPLE IN THE COMPANY VOICING MY CONCERNS AND DEMANDED SOMEONE INVESTIGATE THIS PROBLEM AS I HAVE DONE MY OWN INVESTIGATION NOTING THAT EVERY TOYOTA OF MY MODEL AND AGE HAVE THE SAME ISSUES WITH THE DASHBOARD AND INTERIOR MELTING AND CRACKING. I WAS TOLD BOTH BY LETTER AND ON THE PHONE THAT MY CAR WAS OVER THE WARRANTEE AND THEY WOULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE . I TOLD TOYOTA THAT THIS WAS A SAFETY HAZARD AND THEIR PRODUCT WAS INFERIOR AND THAT MY 2002 HONDA ACCORD DID NOT HAVE ISSUES MELTING SO WHY SHOULD MY 2007 TOYOTA BE LITERALLY MELTING AND CRACKING. *JS

I BOUGHT THE CAR WITH THE ODOMETER READING 69,566 MILES ON THE ENGINE . I CHANGE THE OIL (5-20W) AND FILTER AND WITHIN A COUPLE OF THOUSAND OF MILES I HEARD SMALL KNOCKING LIKE A DEEP BEARING GOING BAD. I CHECK THE OIL AND DISCOVERED IT WAS NOT REGISTERING ON THE OIL STICK. IT NEEDED NEARLY 3 QUARTS OF OIL. THE TOYOTA SOLARA BURNS TOO MUCH OIL TO BE SAFE. THE CAR COULD OF HAD A CATASTROPHIC ACCIDENT BY FREEZING UP ON THE FREEWAY. I BELIEVE TOYOTA ENGINEERED AND PRODUCED A DEFECTIVE ENGINE AND IS TRYING TO COVER IT UP BY TELLING THE BUYERS "ITS NORMAL' TO HAVE OIL CONSUMPTION 1 QUART EVERY 600 MILES". THE OWNERS MANUAL STATES TO "CHANGE YOUR OIL EVERY 4,500 MILES. THIS IS A CONTRADICTION AS ADDING 1 QUART OF NEW OIL EVERY 600 MILES IS EFFECTIVELY CHANGING YOUR OIL BY DEFAULT. WHO IS TOYOTA KIDDING? I HAVE 10K TO PAY OFF THE LOAN. I WANT TOYOTA TO FIX THE PROBLEM AND BE A RESPONSIBLE CORPORATION. *TR

DRIVING AT NIGHT GOT STOPPED BY NJ STATE TROOPER FOR HAVING DRIVERS LIGHT OUT. FLIPPED LIGHT HANDLE ON AND OFF LIGHT CAME BACK ON. TEN MINUTES LATER HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR

COPY OF AN EMAIL SENT TO TOYOTA: I AM WRITING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT AN ISSUE THAT JUST AROSE WITH MY TOYOTA SOLARA CONVERTIBLE. IT IS A 2007 VEHICLE THAT I LOVE. I HAVE TAKEN CARE OF IT AND DRIVE IT JUDICIOUSLY. I ONLY HAVE 31,500 (APPROXIMATELY) MILES ON THIS VEHICLE AND HAVE ALWAYS TAKEN IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AT WHICH I PURCHASED IT FOR MAINTENANCE, ANY RECALL REPAIRS NEEDED, ETC. IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE, THIS VEHICLE HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT OF ANY KIND, NO MATTER HOW MINOR. THE AIRBAGS HAVE NEVER BEEN DEPLOYED FOR ANY REASON. NOW, FOR MY COMPLAINT: ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF AGO, THE AIRBAG INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON THE DASHBOARD. I CALLED MY DEALERSHIP AND IMMEDIATELY MADE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THIS EXAMINED. LAST THURSDAY, THE 17TH OF MAY, THE SERVICE MAN AT THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME THE AIRBAG ON THE PASSENGER SIDE IS NOT WORKING, CANNOT BE FIXED AND THE SYSTEM NEEDS REPLACED. I ORDERED SAID SYSTEM SINCE I DO NOT WANT TO BE WITHOUT THE AIRBAG PROTECTION. HOWEVER? I AM VERY UPSET ABOUT HAVING TO SPEND $700 TO REPLACE THIS NEEDED SYSTEM WHEN NOTHING OCCURRED TO CAUSE THIS SYSTEM TO FAIL. I KNOW I NEED IT AND FEEL THAT I HAVE TRIED TO TAKE CARE OF THE CAR AND HAVE NOT ABUSED IT. I REALIZE REGULAR MAINTENANCE IS NECESSARY AND SOME THINGS OCCASIONALLY NEED TO BE REPLACED, SUCH AS, TIRES, BRAKES, ETC. BUT AN AIRBAG SYSTEM? REALLY? MY OTHER CAR IS A 2009 TOYOTA RAV 4 AND I HAVE ALSO TRIED TO CARE FOR THIS VEHICLE. I HAVE NEVER HAD AN ISSUE WITH THE AIRBAG IN THE RAV 4 OR ANY OTHER CAR I HAVE HAD IN THE PAST (SINCE AIRBAGS WERE FIRST INSTALLED IN CARS). THIS REALLY, REALLY UPSETS ME!!! I AND MY HUSBAND ARE RETIREES AND ON A FIXED INCOME AND REALLY FEEL THE EXPENSE FOR THIS ITEM IS HORRIBLE AND WONDER WHY SOMETHING LIKE THIS ISN?T COVERED BY TOYOTA. *JS

A LOW NOISE LIKE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN IN A LOWER GEAR THAN DRIVE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DAVID MAUS TOYOTA. THE SERVICE ADVISOR STATED THE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL BEARING AND HUB WERE BAD. I QUESTIONED A WHEEL BEARING GOING OUT AT 14000 MILES. THE SERVICE ADVISOR SAID WE SHOULD DRIVE THE CAR MORE. I CONTACTED THE TOYOTA DISTRIBUTOR WHO CONTACTED THE TOYOTA SERVICE REP. THE SERVICE REP SAID DUE TO AGE TOYOTA WOULD NOT REPAIR IT. HE FURTHER STATED THAT THE CAR SHOULD BE DRIVEN MORE. I TOOK THE CAR TO PHILLIPS TOYOTA IN LEESBURG, FLORIDA. THEY CHECKED THE VEHICLE AND FOUND BOTH FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS AND ONE FRONT HUB BAD. THEY REPLACED BOTH BEARINGS AND A HUB. SINCE THIS DID NOT SOUND LIKE A WHEEL BEARING HAD IT NOT BEEN FOUND, IT COULD HAVE CAUSED THE FRONT WHEELS TO LOCK UP WHICH COULD HAVE RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT. THERE IS NO MENTION IN ANY OF TOYOTA'S MATERIAL TELLING THE CUSTOMER THAT THEY SHOULD DRIVE THE VEHICLE A SPECIFIED NUMBER OF MILES DURING A CERTAIN TIME PERIOD. *JS