'04 Solara T.S.B. issued!

by **slingshot** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 8:11 pm

Sorry to hear about all your problems. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on my car. Nothing but smiles while driving so far. Let us know if your problems are resolved in the future and what they did to fix them. Get details on what parts they had to order to fix them.
Dave

by **Hammerli** » Thu Nov 20, 2003 7:27 pm

Blazed04 wrote:Yeah everyone, i shouldve posted this sooner when i frist saw this thread, so anyways...ive got the SE Sport with the 17's and the bridgestone tires. I also find that from a dead stop when i accelerate, my car pulls to the left, and also while driving at almost all speeds my car pulls left also. So...while my dad was getting his truck serviced at the dealership that i got my car from, i had him ask about any TSB's issued for the 04 solara. He's friends with the owner and he went onto the website right infront of my dad, and proved that there were no TSBs yet. SO ....whats to do??

Under hard acceleration, what you might be feeling is torque steer. I have also found Bridgestones performance tires have more of a tendency to "tramline" than some other tire brands.

by **Blazed04** » Thu Nov 20, 2003 9:28 pm

So yeah...Toyota Motor Corp is facing a lawsuit from us. Really wanted to hold off and not go through with it, but thanks to the lemon law, here it goes. My car has been down there 5 times for the same problem with no fix. Just got it back today after the 5th visit, the factory reps worked on my car with no luck. First of all, in one day (today) they put on 100miles, and went through 3/4 tank of gas! How the H E L L is that possible!!!!!???? Also got it back, my tires had 25psi in them and they're rated at 50psi (new michelins) They also stated the car came out with 1341 miles on it, when in fact it came out with 1382 (went in with 1289). They put a total of 470 miles on my car since time number one!!! So we've had enough of this SH*T, its time to take control here and put the lemon law into effect. Im sick of this sh*t! This is totally unacceptable!

by **bigpow** » Fri Nov 21, 2003 12:45 am

Go Go Go!

Too bad I can't exercise mine yet... only two failed attempts... Service manager told me that he will "keep me informed" when Toyota finalized a fix.

It's been two weeks and I think they're strategy is working... I'm starting to forget I have this lemon car.

by **Blazed04** » Fri Nov 21, 2003 7:39 am

Im a pretty patient guy, but this has just been totally unacceptable BullSh*t, and im fed up and not dealing with this crap anymore.

by **bigpow** » Fri Nov 21, 2003 11:10 am

Blazed04 wrote:Im a pretty patient guy, but this has just been totally unacceptable BullSh*t, and im fed up and not dealing with this crap anymore.

I can understand.
I flipped out a month after I bought the car - after I found all the flaws & imperfections.

Please keep us (me?) informed about your case, I might exercise mine too.

Tips: Check my other post about edmunds.com, there was a guy there that managed to make Toyota buy his '04 SE back. Alas, he bought an '04 SLE!!!

by **Buckeyegirl** » Fri Nov 21, 2003 4:51 pm

Blazed04 wrote:So yeah...Toyota Motor Corp is facing a lawsuit from us. Really wanted to hold off and not go through with it, but thanks to the lemon law, here it goes. My car has been down there 5 times for the same problem with no fix. Just got it back today after the 5th visit, the factory reps worked on my car with no luck. First of all, in one day (today) they put on 100miles, and went through 3/4 tank of gas! How the H E L L is that possible!!!!!???? Also got it back, my tires had 25psi in them and they're rated at 50psi (new michelins) They also stated the car came out with 1341 miles on it, when in fact it came out with 1382 (went in with 1289). They put a total of 470 miles on my car since time number one!!! So we've had enough of this SH*T, its time to take control here and put the lemon law into effect. Im sick of this sh*t! This is totally unacceptable!

I'm sorry to hear about your Solara. I can totally relate though, I went through the same crap with my '02 RAV4, finally I took a major beating on trade-in just to get rid of the Rattletrap for our Solara. What pissed me off was the lack of support of other owners on RAV4WORLD.COM that had the same problems. They acted like $24K for a vehicle was chump change and I should try another vehicle. For some people money is no object, but I work hard for mine and I just can't go out and buy another car cause I had a bad experience. I wish you the best of luck on your lawsuit. Toyota thinks thier untouchable.

by **royaloakranger** » Fri Nov 21, 2003 5:02 pm

Greetings from the great white north,

Just had my 04 Solara into the dealership for the left pull problem. Went for a test drive with the head mechanic. We wern't 30 seconds into it when he agreed that it was a severe drift.

The vehicle was then tested at a top quality alignment shop and was exactly on factory spec, just to make sure.

Meanwhile, the head mechanic got in touch with Toyota Canada. He reported to me that they said that the problem was that the top location of the housing plate for the driver's side strut was not in line with bottom location of the other housing plate for the strut.

Therefore, the driver's side strut itself is at an angle instead of being perfectly perpendicular. This causes the driver's side strut to twist and turn to such an extent that the vehicle pulls severely to the left.

Toyota Canada is well aware of the problem and are in the midst of designing and manufacturing a new top plate which will be ready in 1 - 2 weeks. It will be an offset plate put in the same spot as the old top housing plate. The installation is simple.

I will keep you all posted on my progress or lack thereof. BTW, I felt that the dealership and Toyota Canada are being super aggressive about getting to the bottom of this.

by **royaloakranger** » Fri Nov 21, 2003 5:14 pm

should read "front" driver's side strut. Sorry about that.

by **Timbo** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 10:57 am

Lots of Toyota Camrys and Solaras have been drifting to the left for years and Toyota will not acknowledge the problem. My 2001 Solara SE has been back to 2 different dealers 8 times but nothing has changed. I took it to an independent alignment specialist who confirmed the problem but he couldn't do anything with it either since it is not adjustable. Search around the Web and you'll find lots of discussion about the issue. My dealer finally admitted that he had "a few customers" complaining about the problem. I'm sure it's way more than "a few".

They are designed with insuffucient Caster and it is not adjustable. If you have the problem, PLEASE file a complaint with the National Highway Traffic and Safety Admin.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

by **Samster** » Mon Nov 24, 2003 8:50 am

OK, I only had mine in once for the pull problem and they just tried to do an alignment. I called my regional Toyota customer rep and she just told me to open an arbitration case. Can you believe it? She said go to the dealer and ask for arbitration and that was the way to go for now. They havent figured out how to fix this and dont know when they will. So there you go. I really dont want another car I hate having to go find something I like but I guess I will.

by **w0w** » Mon Nov 24, 2003 10:01 am

Samster wrote:OK, I only had mine in once for the pull problem and they just tried to do an alignment. I called my regional Toyota customer rep and she just told me to open an arbitration case. Can you believe it? She said go to the dealer and ask for arbitration and that was the way to go for now. They havent figured out how to fix this and dont know when they will. So there you go. I really dont want another car I hate having to go find something I like but I guess I will.

You know it's bad when that happens?!
Usually they'll try to do anything to prevent you from going to arbitration...

Uh-oh, I better check with my dealer then.

I agree, I hate car shopping (again!)

by **bigpow** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 12:43 am

I've been pushing left and right about my leftie 04 SLE.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my local dealer. The service manager said they would have an Expert Mechanic from Toyota who wants to take a look at my car & possibly fix it.

So far my experience with the service people have been good. I'll go there tomorrow and hopefully they won't pull any trick on me. (like putting a temporary fix)

Wish me luck!

(if they can't fix it, I'm 95% on my way of getting my money back)

by **bigpow** » Fri Dec 05, 2003 1:12 pm

My update

The car still pulls to the left... even so now it feels unstable at high speed...
The TMS Master Tech Wizard adjusted the suspensions (to fix the pull), instead the car feels very unstable now.

I'm going to have "the talk" with the service manager today.

If your car has the left pull problem, DO NOT let TMS technician get near your car with their empty promises.

by **LunarMistGray** » Fri Dec 05, 2003 4:55 pm

I posted earlier that my dealer ordered parts for the left drift problem. Took my car in today for the parts to be installed. So far the left drift doesn't happen; my car drives straight as an arrow and my steering wheel lined up dead center. When the weather clears up I'm going to test again; the roads in the DC area are a mess today; so i want wait until the roads are dry.

Anyway they replaced the left and right strut assembly. Also, they performed a 4 wheel alignment; not a front wheel alignment.

To royaloakranger: It sounds like your dealer came to the same conclusion as mine that the struts needed replacing. Did this fix your drift?

'04 Solara T.S.B. issued!

go!

left pull fix that goes to the heart of the problem

should read "front" driver's side strut

TSB

Re: TSB

wish me luck

update

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