Engine failures in MR2 Spyders

6/11/2014 - Updated the original post by entering direct links to reference material, and added remarks about the legal issues involved with removing pre-cats. Also, the Toyota Center has moved into new digs under the name Fred Anderson Toyota.

Starting last year, I began picketing in front of the Toyota Center and Dick Dyer Toyota after these two dealerships and Toyota's corporate headquarters refused to make allowances for a design defect in Toyota's MR2 Spyders. Although Toyota has yet to include Spyders in the sludge fiasco, engines suddenly lose oil, disintegrate, and the exhaust system can also be ruined. I've been out $8,500 in repair bills - $2,000 to Dick Dyer and $6,500 to the Toyota Center - and all Toyota does is stonewall. For a multitude of cases like mine, visit this forum on SpyderChat.com. My Post is number 128. Notice that some customers have lost several engines in rapid succession, and some folks don't have the money for repairs, which leaves these unfortunate souls making payments on a car they can't use. Since Toyota refuses to address their design defect, I have been unable to obtain any assurance that the defect was corrected when my engine was rebuilt, such that my engine will not suddenly disintegrate again.

For an in-depth technical discussion of Toyota's design defect in MR2 Spyders, visit this forum on the British website, MR2 Roadster Owners Club. Like SpyderChat, the British club also features documented cases of engine failures in Spyders, and there are several other pre-cat related forums.

Note the legal issues encountered in Europe as well as this country when tampering with emission control equipment, such as removing pre-cats. Owners are placed in the untenable position of either risking a blown engine or violating the law in an effort to prevent losing thousands of dollars.

I accidentally discovered "the rest of the story" about engine failures in MR2 Spyders while browsing the Internet. It's way past time for a class action lawsuit aimed at forcing Toyota to satisfactorily resolve the outrageous number of engine failures in MR2 Spyders. If the problem is oil sludge, MR2 Spyders - and probably a number of other models - need to be included in the initial class action.  Spyder owners are a relatively small group compared to the number of folks who own other models, so class action lawsuits are less feasible. Apparently, this is the sort of thing Toyota relies on. Talk about a bully.

Toyota problems?  Here's a FANTASTIC website for registering complaints:
http://www.ToyotaProblems.com/

Update 12/24/2014 - There's still hope for Spyder owners who got ripped off: Per today's blog post, send your story to jenn.strathman@wptv.com if your engine disintegrated.