So I purchased a 2012 Toyota last year, it was a weekend car that saw exceptionally low use and was therefore only on 17 000km when I bought it. I have since put another 6 000km on the clock bringing the TOTAL mileage to 23 000km and some change.
The vehicle has up to date service history with the agents (Toyota) and when I purchased it I also took out an extended warranty for added piece of mind.
On 01 Jan while on the highway I noticed a strange noise and went home, on the 2nd I took the vehicle to Toyota to have it looked at. In under 30 seconds of start up the mechanic stated that it is a engine bearing that is gone, this would mean a full engine stripping and if metal fillings found a full redo of the engine. The warranty I got only covers R40 000.00 for engine (any lubricated parts of engine). Since the stripping, they have found metal filings and it is worst case scenario.
The estimated repair is way north of this warranty amount(approx R90k).Doing some reading and it turns this fault was very common for 2012 vehicles and the mechanic stated he fixed a few of these but many years back. The cause was too much sealant blocking oil from lubricating effectively.
My issue is that this is clearly a known manufacturing fault with this engine and although the vehicle does not fall under manufacturer warranty owing only to age and not mileage I find it exceptionally unfair to lump me with the costs of it simply because the vehicle was wrapped in cotton balls and kept to low low mileage for its life and therefore didnt have adequate opportunity to fail under warranty (most of these engines seemed to fail around the 30 000 - 50 000km.
What is my best bet to have this resolved and has anyone had similar situations resolved?
The vehicle has up to date service history with the agents (Toyota) and when I purchased it I also took out an extended warranty for added piece of mind.
On 01 Jan while on the highway I noticed a strange noise and went home, on the 2nd I took the vehicle to Toyota to have it looked at. In under 30 seconds of start up the mechanic stated that it is a engine bearing that is gone, this would mean a full engine stripping and if metal fillings found a full redo of the engine. The warranty I got only covers R40 000.00 for engine (any lubricated parts of engine). Since the stripping, they have found metal filings and it is worst case scenario.
The estimated repair is way north of this warranty amount(approx R90k).Doing some reading and it turns this fault was very common for 2012 vehicles and the mechanic stated he fixed a few of these but many years back. The cause was too much sealant blocking oil from lubricating effectively.
My issue is that this is clearly a known manufacturing fault with this engine and although the vehicle does not fall under manufacturer warranty owing only to age and not mileage I find it exceptionally unfair to lump me with the costs of it simply because the vehicle was wrapped in cotton balls and kept to low low mileage for its life and therefore didnt have adequate opportunity to fail under warranty (most of these engines seemed to fail around the 30 000 - 50 000km.
What is my best bet to have this resolved and has anyone had similar situations resolved?
