My wife and I considered ourselves Toyota enthusiasts. We own 2 identical '04
and '05 Corolla CE's (manual trans.) and previously owned a fleet of Tercels.
We bought both of our cars brand new off the truck with 2-3 miles on them. We
also have documented proof that ALL of the service, including oil changes, has
been performed on the vehicles by the dealer, including ALL of the recomended
crap for the 30,000 mile service. The problem we are having is with our '04
only and we have NEVER seen this problem occur with our '05 or ANY other Corolla
for that matter.
Our '04 Corolla started and ran perfect for the first year and a half or so
(20,000 miles) before it started to occasionaly "rev itself up" while warming
up, the second winter (2004) we had it(after we purchased '05). This problem only occured
sometimes, usually when it was below 40 degrees. Back then it was rare
for it to occur and we had a lot of trouble getting the problem to duplicate. It
started normally most of the time. We took it to the dealer and they couldnt
get the problem to reproduce. After several attempts to replicate the problem
without success at the dealer, I video recorded the issue and brought it in for
the service manager to review. Immediately, he assessed that it was the throttle
body assembly, ordered the part and a week or so later, supposedly fixed the
problem. At this time I knew my 36,000 mile warranty would expire before the
next winter, so I made sure if the problem reocurred the following winter, it
would still be covered under the 36,000 mile warranty. The problem kept occuring
during the winter months during cold startup only and problem stopped completely
during the warm summer months. It was strange, it would start up perfectly one
day at 29 degrees, then the next day "rev itself" at 31 degrees.
Of course as soon as it got cold this winter (2005) the problem immediately
started happening again. I took it back to dealer. When my wife and I picked
it up, we specifically asked the guy, and he said the problem was replicated and
fixed. It turns out this guy had NO idea what he was talking about. It happend
again less than a week later and I started more seriously video documenting this
issue. I contacted the dealer again to set up an appointment to drop the car off and
they (same service manager that seen my video) tell me there is nothing wrong
with my car. He basically told me it was all in my head and that it is normal
for the car to rev itself up after he already tried to fix the problem.
My wife and contacted Toyota corp. and we took the car to the dealer that we
bought it from (different than the place we had it serviced at), and showed
their service manager our video. He immediately assesed that something wasnt
right about our car. He went as far as giving us a free oil change and admitted
error on the other dealers part. He also told us he would get to the bottom of this, get us a rental and fix the problem. We did what he suggested and got the typical run around.
I talked to Toyota people as high up as allowed possible and they insist nothing
is wrong and there is nothing I can do. They made many contradictive statements
any couldnt explain why it occurs sometimes and not others under same tempature
conditions. They acknowledged that the "reving" does occur and told me it happens in a
very low percentage of Toyotas, but in the same sentence, they tell me that it is normal.
They cant explain why my '05 NEVER does this. And they certainly cant show me
another '04 Corolla that does it. How can I trust what these people are telling me? They admit there is NOTHING they can do to fix it. It sounds like they are hinting that I trade it in a pawn it off on the next person. I am a "perfect" customer and they dont seem at all phased by the fact that I threated to trade them both in on a pair of Hondas. It is occuring ALOT more oftern now, and at tempatures up to 55 degrees. Things are NOT adding up here at all.
Please review my video and let me know if any other Coroalla owners are having the same issue. The problem starts about 1 min. into the video footage. I also have a more video of it "reving itself" and of it starting perfectly normal at 29,000 miles, (before the original warranty expired). I am very embarresed about this entire situation as I normally have nothing but positive words to say about Toyota. Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions. The reason why I went with Toyota was to avoid such issues. I can not express how disappointed I am in both this problem and Toyotas handling of the problem.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2086085381190517631