A retired head teacher living in Newton Abbot believes motor manufacturer Toyota should take a lesson in customer care after one of its stranger adverts came bizarrely to life. The firm originally showed its Avensis range on television with no driver at the wheel and Iggy Pop's song, I Am A Passenger, playing to emphasise the ease of driving. Mike Sleeman, formerly head at Hazeldown Primary School, Teignmouth, bought a silver estate version but was lost for words when a noise outside his Newton Abbot home caught his attention. 'I was just about to go to bed when I heard a dreadful clanging noise, very loud and just like a hammer on metal,' he said. 'I went outside and found the Avensis had moved forwards on its own and was wedged firmly against the hedge. The noise was clearly coming from the engine.' A neighbour disconnected the battery and the following morning a mechanic was called but could find nothing wrong. Two hours later however the car alarm sounded and when Mr Sleeman silenced it using his key fob the banging started again, a cycle that continued unbroken for two hours. l Turn to page 2 l From page 1 A second inspection still failed to identify the cause but Mr Sleaman now faced a bill of £350 to replace a damaged starter motor. Everything went well one day when Mr Sleaman opened his front door to find the Avensis in the hedge once more. This time he was told the car needed a new wiring loom and ignition switch at a cost of more than £1,000. A mechanic had also found the fusebox badly corroded, the most likely cause of the problem, and worked hard to seal gaps where water could be getting in. As his car had covered only 41,000 miles Mr Sleaman, who has driven Toyotas exclusively since 1979, asked the firm for help with the hefty bills but was told the car was out of warranty owing to its age of four years, even though younger cars are covered up to 60,000 miles. 'I do think that Toyota should be responsible for the costs when one considers the exceptional circumstances,' he said. 'It beggars belief that something like this could happen, and worrying to think what could have happened if the car had been parked on a road rather than the safety of my drive.'