This time for the serpentine belt on Corolla and Camry
(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) in the United States has told its dealers to fix some 2010 Corolla and Matrix models because an accessory engine belt may deteriorate and detach, according to a notice to dealers.
About 10,750 vehicles may be affected by the “limited service campaign.” There are about 9,400 Corollas that could have the accessory belt issue, and 1,350 Matrix vehicles.
The cars affected have the 2ZR-FE engine. The engine accessory belt used to transfer force from the engine to the air conditioner, alternator and water pump may pull free from pulleys. The engine may overheat, the notice said.
Dealers will inspect the belts and fix the issue at no charge. It will take about a half hour of shop time to make the fix, and about half of the fan belts in the vehicles covered in the repair campaign are expected to require replacement, the notice to dealers said.
Owners of the affected vehicles will be notified by mail in mid-October, the notice said.
The vehicles were assembled in North America in February and March of this year, the notice said.
Don’t get me started on that one. I’m REALLY annoyed to see that Toyota has taken to blaming the owners saying that only Toyota fluid is recommended and other fluid has caused these problems, when the owners’ manuals say to use DOT 3, not some Toyota-specific fluid.
Toyota learned that trick from GM…For many years, when a design defect caused the failure of a major engine or transmission component, GM would invariably blame the owner for using the wrong lubricant…
We saw that time after time with CPI. GM was always saying it was the fuel that damaged the different parts of the CPI system. Myself I feel the system was overly sensitive to fuel quality.
I’m a litle confused. Your original post alerted us to the accessory belt issue, but this alert is for the the brake master cylinder. The issue affects both Toyota and Honda cars, as you said. And thanks for this alert. I have a 2005 Accord, which is not involved yet. But I’ll keep an eye out for expansion of the recall.