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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What is this discussion about? Toyota, Lexus, Engine, Oil, Coupe, Convertible, Sedan, SUV

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#41 of 877 Thats all you need to do by grimmster Apr 04, 2002 (6:26 am)
No matter what is recommeded in Toyots'a manual (yes it can be wrong. I think they meant it as kilometers, not miles), change your oil every 3000 miles and you WILL NOT have a problem. Why anyone in their right mind would think they can go 5000/7500 between changes is beyond me.
#42 of 877 New Warranty by wrichar107 Apr 04, 2002 (6:41 am)
I don't think it takes much to offer an 8-year unlimited mileage warranty to cover sludged engines. Based on my experience with the two Toyota dealers in my area, the warranty could be for a lifetime and it still wouldn't make any difference. The trick is not to offer a warranty but to honor it. So far, Toyota has not done a single thing to correct a steering pull problem, numerous rattles in the doors and seats, a leaky rear window washer, or clacking noises made by the brakes on my 2000 Sienna XLE. Am I supposed to jump for joy at the prospect of another denied warranty claim? Can we all say, "SPIN CITY"?
#43 of 877 grim by bobistheoilguy Apr 04, 2002 (6:59 am)
5 to 7500 mile oil drains are possible and very feasable for people now adays. it just happens that with this type of design 3k is a sure thing and 5k with a good quality oil is not unreasonable but must be decided by interpretation of whether you're doing severe driving or not.
#44 of 877 by Mr_Shiftright HOST Apr 04, 2002 (7:16 am)
bluedevils: you said "P.S. armtdm, your response to the host's comments was valid. If the host disagrees with us, aren't we entitled to respond in a civil fashion?" First of all, the host did not disagree with armtdm, he asked him a question. Second of all, armtdm answered quite clearly, and now we all know that he remains dissatisfied because he feels there is an ethical issue involved. That's why I asked him the question in the first place. Read what the host says and not what people say about the host, and you will have a clearer idea of intention I think. You got both parts wrong: The Host just asked a question, and armtdm was "allowed" to answer. What gets a person into trouble in forums is when they argue policy with the Host (i.e., how the forum is run. THAT you do off line in e-mail, okay?) If you want to know how to post successfully in our forums, even while challenging others' ideas or criticizing automakers, read Bob's posts. This is an interesting excerpt from the post Bob put up on Toyota's redesign of their engines: "Hanson says the problems have been concentrated where winters are extremely cold and summers are especially humid and among owners who make a lot of short trips." I remember quite some long time ago a number of you speculated that an environmental factor was also at work. MrShiftright Host
#45 of 877 A question for Toyota..... by mcgreger Apr 04, 2002 (7:17 am)
I know that I asked this question before on another board, but I would like to get a more official response from a Toyota rep. The question is: does this engine sludge problem show up anywhere else in the world, (especially in the home market of Japan), from the same engines that are used here in the U.S.? And being that Japan, and many other countries, are much smaller in size than the U.S., are their oil change intervals biased more to time between changes rather than mileage? Thank you.
#46 of 877 SUMMARY OF QUESTIONS by Mr_Shiftright HOST Apr 04, 2002 (7:36 am)
List of Questions Posed to TMSUSA1 from TowhHallers in this Forum Thus Far: 1. I never received the original SPA letter. Will the new announcement be mailed out to customers? (from <innovations>) 2. How many sludge complaints has the company received to date. When the SPA was announced, there were 3100 complaints. How many have been received to date? (from <john339>) 3. What are the results of Toyota's research on the cause(s) of sludge? (<pilot13>) 4. Questions for tmsusa1.... Will an explaination or root cause be officially recognized on this issue so I can do what needs to be done maintenance-wise to get my 200k+ miles on this Toyota? (<pdalpsher>) 5. Since the news release addresses the 1997 through 2002 models, will there be a change or modification to future models (2003)? IF so, will there be any recommended changes to the 1997-2002 models, such as maintenance, or part changes??? (<websterguy>) 6. Does this mean that past owners who have had there engines rebuilt already will be reimbursed or is this just for future problems that may occur with current owners? Thanks (<mpyne>) 7. What do you think about the theory that bobistheoilguy posted on the now closed forum regarding the gears in Toyota engines breaking down the oil? (<jj35>) 8. 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 ? (<rkelly3> From the Host
#47 of 877 Shifty, One more question for TMSUSA1, by phillipm Apr 04, 2002 (8:05 am)
What is Corporate Toyota's recommended oil change schedule for owners of the 3.0 vehicles? I get various answers from different persons employed by Toyota. There should be ONE official maintenance schedule that Toyota Motor Co. recommends. What is it?
#48 of 877 by Mr_Shiftright HOST Apr 04, 2002 (8:19 am)
phillip---if that doesn't get answered in the first batch, we'll put it in the second. I have no idea if/when these questions will be answered or who exactly will answer them. Maybe they just wanted to post policy here and gather questions for later policy, I really don't know. Let's wait and see! I'm sure, though, that any good, clear feedback/complaint from owners will do everyone some good down the road. Host
#49 of 877 As an owner by stealth1969 Apr 04, 2002 (8:34 am)
of a 98 Sienna who had sludgea couple of years ago, I like this response much better now than I have received yet. I have not gotten the SPA letter and expect I won't now. Under this new policy, if an engine was repaired by a Toyota dealer for sludge, would it cover only it the engine had sludge later, or would it problems caused by the sludge if they showed up thousands of miles later? I do have a reason for this pointed question. Yes. To make a long story short, my enine was leaking too much oil. A Toyota dealer were the van was towed to said the left cylinder head and cam (they didn't say both of them) were scored and need to be replaced. They were so bad a new cam seal would not work so I had to tow the van home until I can afford to fix it. The head and just 1 cam cost $1k at the dealer, not counting labor. Now, I am not looking for a free ticket. The dealer did not say what caused the problem so I cannot even say it is sludge related or not. Would other repaired caused by sludge be covered if they manefested later? Thank you. I think it is great Toyota opted to open this dialog. Thank you again.
#50 of 877 Re: #36 by Grimmster by jj35 Apr 04, 2002 (8:51 am)
You stated "Why anyone in their right mind would think they can go 5000/7500 between changes is beyond me." This is what Toyota states is the appropriate interval in their manuals. I would like to think that this interval was based on their own engineering design criteria (and not based on marketing as Cliffy1 theorized in the previous sludge board). Toyota designed the engine, so it should perform appropriately with their recommended operational maintenance criteria. If it doesn't, it should be fixed at Toyota's nickel under warranty.