This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I own a 1997 Toyota Camry with 194,000 miles. Last week it caught on fire. I pulled into the office parking lot and turned off the ignition and removed the key. The starter continued to try to start the car. I tried to stall it out by letting out the clutch, but it just continued to try to start. I then put the key back in turned on the ignition and put it in neutral. I then ran into the office to get a tool to disconnect the battery. When the battery was disconnected the starter quit, but by then the solenoid was so overheated it started to smoke and burn. Luckily we had a fire extinguisher on hand. The dealer has only said that they need to replace the starter. I thought vehicles had a fail safe measure that would terminate the power supply to the starter once the ignition was turned off and the key removed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Davidson, NC, USA