In some places, driving at a high speed is perfectly within the legal limits—but could doing so lead to a warranty claim being denied?
One man is highlighting an issue being experienced Toyota GR Corolla Circuit Edition drivers. The car is advertised as being “built for the track.” However, the manufacturer reportedly advised that it should not be driven above 85 miles per hour.
Some Toyota drivers reported that the auto manufacturer has advised against driving over 85 miles per hour. This is even if the speed limit allows it, to avoid having their vehicles catch fire.
This was highlighted in a video posted to TikTok by car content creator Alex Martini (@alex.martini__). It has drawn over 2 million views as of Friday, where the poster accuses the car manufacturer of “ignoring” the issue.
“Toyota is in huge trouble with this one,” he says. “This is Brian, and he owns a 2023 Toyota GR Corolla. Or at least he did, because on June 8, his car randomly started on fire. He went to go dispute that with Toyota because he didn’t do anything wrong. Toyota’s response? ‘Well, you were going 85 miles an hour at some point. Because of that, we can’t help you.’”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Martini via TikTok direct message, as well as to Toyota via contact form regarding the video.
Is this the whole story?
Not quite—there’s a bit more to it. As reported by Motor1, in an article Martini references, at least two drivers have shared that their requests for warranty coverage were denied because they drove over 85 mph at any point.
In the Motor1 report, Toyota allegedly suggested that the vehicle caught fire due to an accident. However, the driver says the damage reported in an inspection was simple paintwork and would not have caused the car’s engine to combust.
Will speeding void my warranty if I’m not driving a Toyota GR Corolla?
According to a different vehicle manufacturer, General Motors-owned Chrysler, warranty providers cannot usually void a warranty simply because a driver speeds. However, it might put some strain on the engine. What might get a warranty thrown out is failure to maintain a vehicle, a salvage title or a tampered odometer.
It is unclear what kind of warranty the vehicles mentioned by Motor1 were initially covered under.
Some viewers suggested that having a warranty voided by driving over 85 mph in a car designed for track driving put them off of purchasing it in the future.
“That’s insane. I was thinking about getting a GR Corolla but I’ll definitely have to reconsider,” one commenter wrote.
“This is why I didn’t get one so instead I got a 2013 Toyota with 147k miles,” another said.
“This was most likely going to be my next car.. definitely not anymoree,” another echoed.
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