2021 Toyota Corolla

I recently purchased a 2021 Toyota Corolla SE. After a few days the "Engine Maintenance Required - See Dealer" notification appeared. See as it was purchased very recently, I assumed this was the oil maintenance light, and reset it. Later that day, it came back, and I reset it a different method under the assumption I did it wrong. The next day it was back, and that is when I realized it must be something else. So I started doing some research and found lots of other people have had this same issue: 2020-21 Corolla, greater than 30k miles, usually less than 60k, and while the Check Engine Light *DOES NOT TURN ON* the car is throwing an error code: P268115 - Engine Coolant Bypass Valve. Sure enough, I have the codes pulled and I have that code showing up. So I took it to the local Toyota Dealership. They stated that the issue was not a warrantable, so I would likely have to pay out of pocket. After a slight fuss, they agreed to fix it as a "one-time goodwill gesture, performed in the interest of customer satisfaction..." So in the end, they did fix it; I did still have to pay for a diagnostic of the issue which is frustrating, especially since I was dead on in my analysis of the issue. To answer the guideline questions: Engine Coolant Bypass Valve Leaking engine coolant could cause the engine to overheat, which can lead to fires, not exactly ideal. It can also cause electrical shorts, leading to more issues. Yes. Lancaster Toyota confirmed the issue. Yes, Lancaster Toyota confirmed that the part was faulty. They appeared shortly after buying the car. There were no error lights like I'd expect, but there was the constantly appearing "Engine Maintenance Required - See Dealer" message which the Owner's Manual states is simply the 5000 mile Oil Change warning. Hidden behind this message is the error code P268115.

Apparently my car's Engine Coolant Bypass Valve is broken and it's a common case with my car's model that's made after 2020. Seems like it there's a need a recall for such a thing since it's a defective part they knew about since my car was screaming at me for an engine maintenance. However, the check engine wasn't on. I went to Toyota at Elk Grove, CA and knew what the issue was pretty quick and charging me $700 to get it replaced. I feel like it's intentionally being handled poorly so they keep charging me 700 every few years to replace a $80 part. As well my story is very common with other customers of Toyota Cars made after 2020. I wanted to report this since that's potentially harmful to put out a car that could have engine problems easily. Especially it's a fairly newer car. Also, they have yet to replace the part for the known recall on this vehicle.

Engine Maintenance Required message came on. Took the vehicle to the dealership and was told that it was the Cooling Bypass Valve. The service advisor said he knew what the problem was before even looking at the vehicle but still wanted to run a diagnostic and charge $800-$900 for the repair. I was told my vehicle was no longer under warranty.

My car reached 52,254 miles and I got a engine maintenance required a scary message I have never seen before I thought it was the oil maintenance one but it’s not I keep dismissing the message because I can’t see my speed and it stays in the way I have realized that if I start the car with AC on the message pops up but if I don’t have ac on and start the car it never appears unless I turn on the ac as the car is already on so it seems to be the coolant valve bypass I received the error message as I was parked for no longer than 40 seconds at most