Engine Sludge/Oil Gelling--Toyota's Customer Response - READ ONLY

877 messages, Last post on May 09, 2002 at 5:24 AM

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#21 of 877 Kudos to Toyota by rkelly3 Apr 03, 2002 (7:03 pm)
Just my 2 cents worth, regardless of who/what is at fault it takes brass to offer an 8 year unlimited mileage warranty on this issue with no strings attached (as I interpret the 4/3 letter).
#22 of 877 8 years unlimited mileage.. by webguyster Apr 03, 2002 (7:11 pm)
is great, but remember, it's just for gelling, not the new drive- train warranty. "When maintained according to schedule, it is extremely unlikely that any vehicle powertrain will develop this condition."!
#23 of 877 Lingering Doubts / Still Blaming the Customers by john339 Apr 03, 2002 (7:13 pm)
I think Toyota still has many lingering questions to answer. Their statement is still silent on the root cause. Actually they still blame the owners, but more politically correctly this time. The testing conducted on Toyota engines by the oil expert indicates that the Toyota-recommended oil breaks down after only 4000 miles. Yet, Toyota is maintaining their 5000/7500 mile oil change interval. If the oil expert's analysis is correct, and the number of sludged vehicles seems to be indicative that his analysis probably is correct, than something is still not kosher. The oil expert recommends a 3000 mile oil change interval for these particular engines. Who pays the difference between that interval and the Toyota recommended interval?
#24 of 877 The oil expert... by webguyster Apr 03, 2002 (7:19 pm)
Toyota has made it clear, according to the press release, that if you follow their maintenance schedule, they will pay for any resulting damages, for 8 years, unlimited mileage, for the sludge/gell issue. That's 5,000 and 7,500 mile intervals. 3,000 miles is the good old fashioned way, and I'm stickin' to it, so as not to get stuck. Eight years is a long time, and besides, sooner or later something is going to break, anyway, depriving us of our cars for a while, to repair. If they want to foot the bill, let 'em! I wonder if incedentals, means if I am on vacation, they will pay for the hotel and meals, while I wait for the repair? Toyota has gone above and beyond with this new policy! Also, if you go by the 'ol rule, that 1/2 quart of sludge, oil, and debris stays in your engine after each oil change, it would take about 8 years to sludge "any" 3.0L engine! 8^)~
#25 of 877 Synthetic oil and Oil coolers by rkelly3 Apr 03, 2002 (7:19 pm)
Question for TMSUSA1: Based on the past posts, is it safe to say that a quality synthetic oil changed at conservative intervals is something that Toyota Corp. would "recommnend" to its owners who may be concerned about sludging ?? Also, are owners of Highlanders with tow packages (oil coolers) less prone to this potential problem ?
#26 of 877 host by armtdm Apr 03, 2002 (7:43 pm)
To: armdtm: Why did you call this "spin"? If a person gets an 8-year warranty no matter what, plus incidental expenses, why do you think they, or you, would care about the ultimate technical aspects of the problem? Curious. Why can't they be honest and simply say they do not know the cause, change the oil change interval and admit that sometimes under specific circumstance the oil will gel. Guess the inability to accept responsibility goes around the world. Sure, they will pay but like a court settlement, we admit no problem but will pay damages. Sorry, this is SPIN to me and still accepting no responsiblity for a problem. As I have stated many times, I own a Toyota, a 92 Cmary but would never buy another. Arrogant dealers, arrogant corporation cheapened products in the past 5 years and Bland models! Sounds like if we are paid off we don't care what the problem is or if anyone can accept responsibility. Ethics are just going down the tubes worldwide.
#27 of 877 the new policy by clnelson Apr 03, 2002 (8:45 pm)
well the dealer called us today to say he got a fax saying 8yrs/125,000 miles and they can now fix it. perfect toyota timing, you see i had just purchased an engine when the first letter came out and could have backed out of it then but 6 weeks ago i was told my toyota with over 80,000 miles would not be covered and so i paid for a used engine and just picked it up last night to get this great news today. we changed oil every 3,000 miles and used synthetic oil since the desludging. before we were on this schedule we had done the 5,000/reg oil, that schedule failed and we had to pay to desludge under 30,000, and yes we had receipts. As for the coverage of extras like rental cars...well after calling toyota in california they said it is still individual case decissions and so i wonder ....afterall i have been without my van for a little over 4 months this time. my question is are they going to cover the first sludge expense and rentals both times and the used engine we bought to replace the seized one in addition to the repairs they are now offering to do? by the way i might have a toyota engine for sell if we dont keep for back up.
#28 of 877 My thoughts by im_brentwood Apr 03, 2002 (9:12 pm)
It looks like this is also about to dengrate to Toyota bashing. pdalpushr: I wouldnt worry about your new Camry. I just bought a 1997 LE 4cyl with 227,000 miles on it and it runs beautifully. I actually drove the car yesterday. Aside from some slight front suspension wear (Struts have had it, but this car came out of Detroit) the car is still very smooth on the highway. I had the cruise on 85 last night! Tomorrow it gets picked up by a transporter and its' leaving the country along with 7 others. It too, is sludge free. As far as Sludged Toyotas go, I know of two RX300s that sludged here in Orlando. Both went over a year and over 15,000 miles between oil changes. (Both were serviced at Lexus of Orlando where the tech who did the work puts his initials on the oil filters..) But as I have maintained before again and again, I have seen sludged Hondas. I HAVE seen sludged Nissans, Jaguars, Land-Rovers, BMWs, VWs, you name it. I have seen far more sludged Range Rovers than sludged Toyotas and I deal in a lot more Toyotas. Does this mean that Land-Rover has a problem with engine sludge? Nope. Poor maitnence was the cause each and every time. It appears to me that Toyota engines just dont tolerate abuse very well. And, Tom, if you think that suggesting that sludge is due to lack of maintience is condescending, what do you think Toyota should say? "Its all our fault, even if you abuse your car and do not maintain it properly its our fault!" As far as I am concerned, what they have done is, in typical Toyota fashion, above and beyond the call of duty. They had Head gasket problems on some 4runners, so they did a special warranty for those. Ford 3.8L V6s blow head gaskets as a matter of course. Is there any help from Ford on those? Not that I have seen. Does ford get blasted left and right for that? Nope. Bill
#29 of 877 by innovations Apr 03, 2002 (9:23 pm)
I think it's a good move on Toyota's part. I just ran into someone today who wanted to look at my Sienna because they were getting ready to buy a new van. They said they had heard of the sludge problem. They are loyal Toyota fans, but didn't know if it would be a Toyota this time around because of the sludge issue. That was before today's press release. I think once they find out about the 8yr deal, they'll go with the Sienna. I also know I'll be sleeping a little better.