I leased my first 2009 Camry in 6/2008. Had it for 6 months until a guy ran a red light and t-boned the driver’s side with his truck. The car’s safety features performed well. Both side and side curtain airbags deployed and the safety shut off activated. The car had to be totaled and I have some long term injuries, but the Camry did save me from a much worse fate.

I immediately went back and leased ANOTHER 2009 Camry in December 2008 because I was so pleased with the car. My second lease has not been pleasant. After taking the Camry home, I realized it was pulling noticably to the left. I took the car in to service FIVE times!! Each time, they told me they fixed it, but the problem was still there. They even tried to give me some ridiculous story about what they supposedly fixed until they realized I knew they were full of it. I used to work on cars and they were saying something completely unrelated. Extremely angry, I took the car in the last time and they finally told me the factory had a batch of cars where the machine “installed the struts incorrectly”. They finally fixed it.

I was also told by numerous service staff that I would still get my two free oil changes that came with my first Camry… to use on the second Camry since I basicly had paid for them, but never got to use them. And also because I came right back and leased another one. Toyota scored over $25k when the insurance totaled that car. So of course, when I tried to use that extra free oil change, the service manager told me no even though the person who scheduled my appointment over the phone had confirmed it would be ok. I was mad because I had been told by several other people in service that I would be able to use them. I told him that if I had been told no from the beginning, then I wouldn’t have a problem with it. I told him I had come there prepared to not have to pay for it. I was mad and said “had I known this, I would have went somewhere cheaper”. So he said “Why would I give it to you for free then if you are just going to go somewhere else after you use all your free oil changes? How would that benefit us?” I couldn’t believe he said that. So I said “are you telling me that you would refuse someone their free oil changes if you knew they were taking it somewhere else after that?” He said “no”. Then he questioned me for the names of who told me I would get them free. I didn’t remember. I am horrible with names. So then he talked to me as if I were lying and said rudely “how am I supposed to correct this situation with my staff if I don’t know who said it?” I yelled “Have a staff meeting and tell EVERYONE!!!” I slammed my hand down and said “NEVER MIND! I’M GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE!” He stopped me and said irritably “I will take care of this one, but that’s it.” I said “FINE.” and stomped off.

Now for this recall… what bothers me most is that the only way I even knew about it was to hear it on the news. All this time and I have not got one letter or phone call from Toyota explaining anything to me. I realize they did not have the answers or fix, but they should have sent everyone a letter of explanation immediately. My Camry IS a part of the recall and I still have not heard anything from Toyota. I called Tansky Toyota where I bought my Camry and they said they had no information except what to do if I experience a problem. They told me I have to wait until I get a recall notice in the mail. What is ridiculous is that they expect drivers to make a split second decision to put the car in neutral, hit the brake, or turn the car off. So what happens if you have a car in front of you that slams on their brake for whatever reason, you let off the gas, but the car keep going. You have a couple of seconds to stop that car. Everyone knows that your brain does not have instant reaction time. I think their advice is dangerous. They should be telling people not to drive them instead. Just now, I heard that the Secretary of Transportation in Ohio said “stop driving the effected vehicles”. That’s just great. How am I supposed to get anywhere?

I saw the video of the conference with Toyota higher ups and it was sad. They blatantly admitted to cutting corners financially on safety and quality. I was disgusted with Toyota after seeing that. You should watch it! So now, I don’t even want this car anymore. I don’t want to pay a lease payment for a car that I won’t even own in the end. It will be sitting parked until it’s fixed. Who knows when that will be. Why should I have to pay for this? Who would pay for a rental car that they can’t drive?? And you know, they probably won’t even provide me with that either… a rental car!

I also want to add in response to the people comparing foreign to domestic recall practices… it shouldn’t matter what company we are talking about. NONE OF THEM should behave this way. It doesn’t matter if one responded worse then the other. What matters is that they aren’t handling things the right way. In my 15 years of driving, I have experienced a few minor recalls by domestic dealers (mostly Ford) and they were all fixed promptly. Toyota has left a bad taste in my mouth!