I live in San Diego and the car came in thru the port at Long Beach (2 hour drive north). I paid for the car 5 days before receiving it. We did all the paperwork on a Saturday and the car was off-loaded in Long Beach on Tuesday or Wednesday and then transported to the dealer on Thursday morning. I took delivery on that Thursday night. The car came straight from Japan on a ship and was not transfered from another dealer or anything like that. The dealer gave me a print out the day I bought the car with the make, color, vin, packages, etc... I'll have to find that when I get hom and see if there is any more info on it.

 

Weird, must have sat in Japan for a bit then. My car is somewhere around 3500 and I got mine in mid June.

 

update

I heard from the dealer this afternoon. The dealers senior tech worked on the car all day, exchanged emails and talked to toyota on the phone, and after 8 hours had absolutely NO idea what is wrong with my car!

We went over a multiple question survery that asked all about the incident and everything that lead up to it. Temperature of the air outside, time of day, type of road (level, going up a hill, etc..) you name it and I answered it.

Final word is that they are going to have the car all weekend and probably most of next week - is what I was told. I mentioned norb's problem and how it turned out to be two dc to dc converters. The tech was appreciative to hear this as they have not had ANY TCH's come back at this dealer yet. I guess every little bit helps. I've got a bad feeling this is going to take a long time to diagnose like Norb... AGH! I'm on my way to the dealer now to pick up a rental.

 

In case some of you didn't notice, charles did correct the last 5 digits of the vin...

"CORRECTION--> The last five of my vin are: 12260"

 

Charles:

The "Check Hybrid System" message that you got on the multi-information screen each time, suggests to me that there may possibly be an intermittent electrical leak from the NiMH "hybrid" battery to the vehicle's chassis. This would also explain why the high-voltage battery was severely depleted each time. The 2007 Camry Hybrid's "Emergency Response Guide" says (on page 13):

"A ground fault monitor continuously monitors for high voltage leakage to the metal chassis while the vehicle is running. If a malfunction is detected, the hybrid vehicle computer will illuminate the master warning light <!> in the instrument cluster and indicate "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" on the multi-information display."

Have the technicians considered this possibility? The dc-to-dc converter might be one suspect component, but there are many other possibilities for leakage. Just an idea, since they seem stumped ...

Stan

 

Thanks for your input Stan. I will mention this to the tech next time I speak with him. However when both incidents occured the NiMh battery was at a nearly full charge. The battery was completely depleted the first time due to the tow truck driver. After the second incident - I was able to drive the car to the dealer and it had a full NiMh batter when I arrived (full bars in green), with the warning light on.

 

I don't know what to do. I'm so mad. The dealer just called and said yet again they cannot find anything wrong with the car. I drive to Los Angeles and Las Vegas on a regular basis. In fact I'll be in LA on Thursday. What am I suppose to do when the ICE doesn't go on and the car dies 100+ miles from home..

This is the second time in one week the car has been in the dealer. I guess it just has to brake down two more times and I'll be looking at the lemon laws.

That XLE I was looking at is starting to look like it might have been the better option.

 

Charles,

The problem you are having seems clearly to be outside the dealer's capability to diagnose and fix.

I suggest you take this upline to Toyota district or regional technical staff. Toyota as the manufacturer would have the biggest dog in any lemon law fight, and thus they will have the most interest is solving your problem (not to mention their concern if this is a more widespread defect that might lead to a recall). If you succeed with a lemon law claim, Toyota (not the dealer) will be forced to give you all your money back (including taxes) and may be liable for legal fees.

Call your dealer and ask for the name and number of the district technical field rep. You should not let them avoid giving you this. Call the rep and tell him your story. If he has heard it, ask for his/her boss. Keep moving up the food chain until someone with authority over the next steps is on the line.

Say you love the car, but this is a serious problem and while you don't want to consider taking further action, it may come to that if the problem is not resolved quickly. I am sure you know the drill; don't be confrontational or angry, just unshakeably firm in your resolve to get the problem fixed ASAP. Set an appointment to meet the district/regional tech reps at the dealer (or another one if you have lost faith in your current dealer). Ask for a loaner for sure...

You should also consult a lawyer NOW. You will need to offer Toyota a last chance to repair in writing, and this is best handled by a lawyer. Also, they can advise you of what you need to do with Toyota even before the situation deteriorates further into a lemon law claim.

But overall, I feel terrible for you. I wish it were simpler, but you need to protect your interests ASAP. Who knows, if you still trust Toyota after winning your case, you'll have the scratch for the XLE V-6!!

 

You should also consult a lawyer NOW. You will need to offer Toyota a last chance to repair in writing, and this is best handled by a lawyer. Also, they can advise you of what you need to do with Toyota even before the situation deteriorates further into a lemon law claim.

I would not contact a lawyer until you pick the car up and it fails again, then try talking to the high ups in Toyota, then if no result contact layer, i have some experiance with this and as soon as you contact an attorney that is when they stop talking and dealing with you. it then can get very nasty. Drive the car stay close to a large city and let it go down the third time, that forces their hand.

 

There was no information on the car's computer why the Check Hybrid light came on? Not even a hint?