NHTSA complaint #11761970

Owner complaint summary

I am reporting a severe safety defect regarding a failed engine coolant bypass valve on my 2022 Toyota Corolla Apex SE (VIN: [XXX], Mileage: 54,700). An authorized Toyota dealership has scanned the vehicle and confirmed active Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) P268115 ("Engine Coolant Bypass Valve Circuit Open"). This mechanical and electrical failure triggers an immediate dashboard warning and creates an imminent risk of sudden engine overheating, thermal engine damage, and catastrophic loss of motive power (stalling) while traveling at highway speeds, placing myself and other motorists at risk.Toyota is fully aware of this widespread defect and issued Customer Support Program (CSP) 24TE04 to extend the warranty on older models (2019–2021) for 10 years or 100,000 miles due to high part failure rates. However, my February 2022 vehicle was factory-equipped with the exact same defective, un-superseded valve part number, yet Toyota has arbitrarily excluded my vehicle from free repair based solely on its calendar production date.Furthermore, Toyota's corporate office has denied goodwill coverage because I am a secondhand owner without previous maintenance records, despite this being a sealed electrical actuator failure completely unrelated to routine maintenance. I am a [XXX] senior citizen living on a fixed Supplemental Security Income (SSI) budget. Toyota's denial forces an elderly, low-income consumer to either navigate a hazardous, stalling-prone vehicle on public roads or lose essential transportation because an arbitrary corporate policy places a $1,045 manufacturing defect repair entirely out of financial reach. I urge the NHTSA to audit Toyota's exclusion parameters for CSP 24TE04. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)