general problems of the 2004 Toyota Corolla

March 24, 2010, I started my car from dewdney elementary school, mission, bc parking lot heading home in abbotsford, bc. About 15 minutes on highway 11 heading abbotsford direction, I found that I could not brake the car to stop. Luckily, I managed to stop. Then I saw smoke came out from the back wheels, and the emergency brake lever was high up, which it had not been released before I started to drive. I was scared and called the local Toyota dealer, sunrise Toyota in abbotsford to tow the car. The next morning, the staff at the dealership called me that I had to pay about $1200. 00 to fix the car myself as the extended warranty did not cover it due the fault I made myself. They claimed that I should have not unreleased the emergency brake, which why it burned the whole braking system. This was the second time that I forgot to release the emergency hand brake before I drove. The first time happened two and a half years ago that I realized that the emergency brake was not released immediately, as I felt the car was difficult to move. My concern is that I did not feel any difficulty or restriction to move the car when the emergency brake was not released this time, as I did not remember if the red light of the emergency brake was on. Unfortunately, the car moved smoothly even the emergency brake was up high. That was why I did not realize the emergency brake was not released. My car is only six years old, with 80,000km, the emergency brake was supposed to be working properly. I thought that I was going to die without being able to stop the car when I exited the highway, as the braking system was burning off with the emergency brake not being released. It is not a reasonable time frame for an emergency brake to stop function in five or six years. In other words, Toyota inc. Should have warned all the drivers who drive Toyota Corolla 2004 model to replace the emergency brakes of their cars in five or six years, otherwise they will risk their lives.

On January 12, 2010, my 2005 Toyota Corolla was parked and running, while I brought groceries into my home. When I went back out, I discovered that the vehicle had rolled backwards into a ditch causing damage to the under carriage of the vehicle and muffler. This is the first time that this incident occurred and nothing has been done to correct problem.

On feburary 12, 2010, my 2005 Toyota Corolla was parked and running, while I brought groceries into my home. When I went back out, I discovered that the vehicle had rolled backwards into a ditch causing damage to the under carriage of the vehicle and muffler. This is the first time that this incident occurred and nothing has been done to correct problem.