Story of Two GR Corolla Cars in the US Catching Fire Due to Engine and Warranty Rejected by Toyota

JAKARTA - Two Toyota GR Corolla cars caught fire in the United States (US). This was caused by mechanical problems which were beyond the control of the driver.

The first, the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla Circuit Edition belonging to Bryan Banks caught fire some time ago due to a failure in the engine. When the firefighters arrived, the car had burned down.

Banks explained that the damage was caused by debris flying from the dump truck which caused his car to catch fire. Insurance covered most of the costs, but it was a different case when he filed a warranty with Toyota.

The man received a letter from the 'Legal Claims Analyst' and received a CarFax report and taught him the dangers of driving over 85 mph (136 km/h). This indicates that his claim was rejected by the manufacturer who thought that Banks had an accident due to speeding.

The rejection of this warranty claim became even more disturbing when he spoke to the manufacturer about this by telephone. According to him, the owner's manual states that Toyota does not cover drivers who speed and experience damage related to tires.

“In the entire owner’s manual, there’s only one mention of speeding and from the context given, it’s related to the tires. That makes sense. Toyota doesn’t want to get in trouble if someone speeds and the tire blows. But, the engine is damaged and it can’t possibly have anything to do with the tires,” Banks said, as quoted by Motor1, Friday, August 9.

When he called Toyota about the specifics of why his claim was denied, the manufacturer allegedly dismissed the crash and said the car had been abused.

“They said the car was going 114 mph (183 km/h) which would have damaged the car and assumed I was abusing it,” Banks added.

Toyota, meanwhile, said it found damage to the front and engine bay, causing a small hole in the top of the engine block that caused internal engine damage, leading the manufacturer to suspect the damage was caused by the owner speeding.

“During the inspection, the vehicle was found to have suffered fire damage to the front and engine bay. The inside of the engine block had a small hole in the top from internal engine damage. Oil residue was found on the turbocharger, undercarriage and exhaust pipe,” the manufacturer said.

Another case involved Sebastian R’s 2024 Toyota GR Corolla, which was even more severe. At the time, he was traveling from California to Arizona when it suddenly caught fire.

While Banks' car mostly caught fire at the front, Sebastian's hot hatch was completely burned.

Sebastian said he initially received a notification on his phone via Toyota Connect to check the engine and there was an electronic failure that caused the electrical system in the dashboard to fail and emit fire from the front and eventually the engine room caught fire.

Like Banks, his warranty claim was rejected but Toyota did not provide a specific reason other than that it was unconvincing. However, both claims mentioned a hole in the engine block, as seen in the letter he received from the Brand Engagement Center.