In case you personal a Toyota GR Corolla, it’s possible you’ll need to take it straightforward on driving it too exhausting. Two GR Corolla homeowners have been actually burned by each their automotive and Toyota for merely driving their vehicles, as the corporate denied each guarantee claims.
Motor1 reported on two separate incidents involving GR Corollas that have been destroyed by fireplace. The primary incident concerned Bryan Banks and his 2023 GR Corolla Circuit Version, which burst into flames on June eighth when the automotive had some type of engine failure. He filed a declare along with his private insurance coverage and obtained a payout that lined a lot of the harm, so he reached out to Toyota in hopes the corporate would cowl the remaining. Toyota’s response didn’t make a lot sense, because the automaker appeared to indicate the hearth began because of dashing.
Banks says the velocity half puzzled him because the homeowners guide solely cautions in opposition to dashing because of the opportunity of a tire blow out. He says Toyota clarified issues a bit when he spoke to somebody over the telephone, however it nonetheless didn’t make a lot sense. Right here’s the complete response Toyota gave Banks, through Motor1:
In response to your considerations, a automobile inspection was conduced on June 24, 2024 ….The final reported odometer studying of the automobile was 23,413 miles. Per the CarFax report, on February 12, 2024, accident harm was reported to the entrance, the left entrance, the fitting entrance, and the fitting rear. On the time of the inspection, the automobile had fireplace harm to the entrance and the engine compartment. The inboard facet of the engine block had a small gap on the higher facet from inner engine harm. Oil residue was discovered on the turbo charger, the underside of the engine, the undercarriage, and exhaust pipes.
The proprietor’s guide warns not drive [sic] in extra of the velocity restrict. Even when the authorized velocity restrict permits it, don’t drive over 85 mph until your automobile has high-speed functionality tires. Driving over 85 mph could end in tire failure, lack of management and attainable damage. You’ll want to seek the advice of a tire supplier to find out whether or not the tires in your automobile are high-speed functionality tires or not earlier than driving at such speeds. Based mostly on our inspection findings and the information referring to this incident, we can’t present any help on this matter.
Basically, Toyota’s cause for denying Banks was that “the automotive was abused.” In accordance with Banks, in some unspecified time in the future after he bought it, Toyota knowledgeable him the automotive had “despatched out an information packet that included the automotive’s velocity,” although the corporate wouldn’t inform him the main points of when or the place this occurred. Toyota claimed the information packet confirmed the Corolla had reached a velocity of 114 mph, basically saying that velocity = abuse. Nevertheless, two weeks earlier than the hearth, Banks instructed Motor1 the GR Corolla had been working tough. When he visited his native supplier, they instructed him there wasn’t something flawed with the automotive.
The identical scenario occurred to a different GR Corolla proprietor named Sebastian R. His Corolla was utterly destroyed in a fireplace in the midst of the desert, and the automotive had simply over 9,000 miles on it. “Initially I obtained a notification on my telephone by Toyota Join saying to verify the engine, a malfunction within the digital management, which I assumed was bizarre,” Sebastian instructed Motor1. Not lengthy after, the Corolla malfunctioned and finally burst into flames. Worse but, Motor1 says Sebastian had a lapse in his insurance coverage on the time.
Sebastian filed a declare with Toyota, however the automaker gave no cause why, simply saying the trigger for the hearth was inconclusive though holes have been discovered within the engine block. Sebastian stated the entire ordeal of attempting to get ahold of Toyota for the declare was a problem. Ultimately, he and Banks linked through Reddit and weirdly discovered the identical declare analyst dealt with each their instances. This lead each males and Motor1 to invest whether or not or not their denials have been a clerical error, because it was famous that each of their fires occurred on the identical day, though they didn’t.
As for Toyota, Motor1 pressed the automaker about the way it handles claims.
We contacted Toyota with questions. Chief amongst them: Does Toyota void warranties if knowledge reveals its vehicles exceed 85 mph? Is the mere act of dashing seen as automobile abuse? In that case, GR Corolla homeowners could need to suppose twice about partaking in that complementary Toyota observe day, as a result of the GR Corolla is definitely able to exceeding 85 mph, by no means thoughts 114 mph.
Toyota gave a easy response that stated the whole lot and nothing in any respect:
All claims are reviewed individually, together with this one, and we have a look at many attributes together with automobile knowledge, supplier information, witness statements, and different data.
Hopefully there aren’t another GR Corolla homeowners who must undergo this.
