The 2023 Toyota GR Corolla Circuit Edition owned by Bryan Banks burst into flames on June 8. Apparently, something in the engine failed and by the time the fire department arrived, the car was a total loss. Insurance covered most of the payout, and he turned to Toyota with a warranty claim for the rest.
Toyota's response from the Brand Engagement Center was, in a word, strange. Banks received a letter from a "Legal Claims Analyst" that, aside from a friendly but clear refusal to offer any assistance on the matter, mentioned CarFax reports and lectured him on the perils of exceeding 85 mph. It suggests Toyota will deny warranty coverage if you simply dip into the throttle of its 300-hp hot hatch—one that comes with a complementary day at a race track. But that's only part of the issue.
"The speed was the part that really got me," Banks told Motor1. "This was clarified more when I spoke to them on the phone. In the entire owner's manual, it only mentions do not speed one time and from the context that it gives, it’s related to tires. That makes sense. Toyota doesn’t want to get in trouble if someone is speeding and a tire pops. But, the engine [breaking] couldn’t possibly be related to the tires."
To get a better understanding of this situation, here's an in-car video of the June 8 fire that destroyed his GR Corolla.
And here's what the Toyota Brand Engagement Center told Banks regarding his warranty claim.
In response to your concerns, a vehicle inspection was conduced on June 24, 2024 ....The last reported odometer reading of the vehicle was 23,413 miles. Per the CarFax report, on February 12, 2024, accident damage was reported to the front, the left front, the right front, and the right rear. At the time of the inspection, the vehicle had fire damage to the front and the engine compartment. The inboard side of the engine block had a small hole on the upper side from internal engine damage. Oil residue was found at the turbo charger, the bottom of the engine, the undercarriage, and exhaust pipes.
The owner's manual warns not drive [sic] in excess of the speed limit. Even if the legal speed limit permits it, do not drive over 85 mph unless your vehicle has high-speed capability tires. Driving over 85 mph may result in tire failure, loss of control and possible injury. Be sure to consult a tire dealer to determine whether the tires on your vehicle are high-speed capability tires or not before driving at such speeds. Based on our inspection findings and the facts relating to this incident, we cannot provide any assistance in this matter.
Banks explained the accident damage was superficial paintwork after encountering debris dropped from a dump truck, and he sent Toyota documents showing as much. But when he called the company to ask specifically about why the claim was denied, Toyota allegedly brushed off the accident and simply said the car was abused.
"They said at some point in the car’s life it sent out a data packet that included the car’s speed. They won’t tell me when or where so I don’t know how relevant it is, but they said the car had gone 114 mph and that is abuse of the vehicle. They don’t care that the car comes with a track day, it’s abused as soon as it’s over a certain speed, apparently."
Two weeks before the fire, Banks found that the car was running poorly, like it was down a cylinder but ran fine after shutting it off for a few minutes. Banks sent his GR Corolla to the dealer for an oil change and to inspect what he suspected was a possible fuel problem. The dealership found nothing wrong and said the issue could've been the result of an octane booster or too much octane in the fuel. Banks says he runs premium pump gas, Toyota's recommendation.
Then there's Sebastian R. He's the owner of a 2024 GR Corolla that burned worse than Banks's. Sebastian was deep into a trip from California to Arizona on May 3 when his car, with just 9,210 miles on the odometer, caught fire in the middle of nowhere. And it happened during a gap in his insurance coverage. Ouch.
"Initially I got a notification on my phone through Toyota Connect saying to check the engine, a malfunction in the electronic control, which I thought was weird," he said. "That’s when the electrical on the dash started going haywire. I didn’t feel any loss of power, and then I started to get some smoke from the front, so I pulled over, and the next thing I know, the engine bay is on fire."
Whereas Banks's fire largely stayed up front, Sebastian's GR Corolla burned completely. Like Banks, his warranty claim was denied but Toyota didn't offer a specific reason other than the cause being inconclusive. However, both claims make mention of holes in the engine block, as seen in the letter he got from the Brand Engagement Center.
In response to your concerns, a vehicle inspection was conducted on June 6, 2024....The odometer reading at the last service visit was 8,146 miles. The vehicle was severely burned. A possible hole in the engine block was observed on the front side, near the rear of the engine. No data could be recovered from the vehicle due to the amount of extensive burn damage. Based on the inspection findings, the cause of the fire could not be determined. Therefore, we are unable to offer any assistance.
Sebastian tells us it was a major pain simply trying to reach Toyota on the matter. His dealership didn't have any experience with fire issues and directed him to call Toyota's Brand Engagement Center. Two records of his fire were ultimately created, and both had his contact information wrong.
"It was a month of back-and-forth just trying to get it inspected," he told us. "I would call and nobody could update the information because they could only do that on outbound calls, but they couldn't call me because the information wasn't correct."
Banks also had duplicate records in the system which caused confusion for his case. And the mixups don't stop there. After the two owners met on Reddit, they discovered the same Legal Claims Analyst handled both their cases, and opened each letter referencing the same incident date of May 3. That matches Sebastian's fire, but Banks's was on June 8. Is it a simple clerical mistake? A cut-and-paste goof on a form letter? Or are there other errors in Toyota's claims process that led to denials for both cases?
We contacted Toyota with questions. Chief among them: Does Toyota void warranties if data shows its cars exceed 85 mph? Is the mere act of speeding viewed as vehicle abuse? If so, GR Corolla owners may want to think twice about partaking in that complementary Toyota track day, because the GR Corolla is easily capable of exceeding 85 mph, never mind 114 mph.
Is Toyota looking into potential problems with the GR Corolla engine? And how does Toyota handle warranty issues where a fire occurs? For now, Toyota only offered this statement to Motor1 regarding warranty claims:
All claims are reviewed individually, including this one, and we look at many attributes including vehicle data, dealer records, witness statements, and other information.
It's also worth noting Toyota's statement regarding warranty coverage for track events, as listed on the official website for the complementary GR track experience:
Participation in High Performance Driving Events (HPDE), including events sponsored by Toyota or affiliates, or recreation track/off-highway use does not necessarily limit/exclude warranty coverage under the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. However, damage to the vehicle or components that occurs as a result of abuse or misuse of the vehicle while participating in an HPDE or track and off-highway use is not covered.
As always, we encourage customers who experience any issues with their vehicle to contact their authorized Toyota dealer or call the Toyota Brand Engagement Center (1-800-331-4331) when a dealer is not able to resolve a matter.
If Toyota offers more insight into these cases, we'll provide an update. If you're a GR Corolla owner who's had a fire scare or trouble with warranty coverage, we'd like to hear from you. Shoot us a message to tips@motor1.com.
