Burning Oil

[1304]

Have I got this right, the vvti engine burns oil at about one litre per thousand miles, it's just cost me £28 for 5 lites of oil which according to Toyota should be burnt off in 5000 miles. Is it me or does that sound slightly mad. How can anyone justify producing a engine that requires that kind of constant expence. I have read in this forum that Toyota will do a free replacment engine if you have a full dealer sevice history, does this apply to vehicles of any age (mine is a 2002)

Any advise would be most welcome.

[Jamesbelfast]

Have I got this right, the vvti engine burns oil at about one litre per thousand miles, it's just cost me £28 for 5 lites of oil which according to Toyota should be burnt off in 5000 miles. Is it me or does that sound slightly mad. How can anyone justify producing a engine that requires that kind of constant expence. I have read in this forum that Toyota will do a free replacment engine if you have a full dealer sevice history, does this apply to vehicles of any age (mine is a 2002)

Any advise would be most welcome.

That's a whole 0.6 pence per mile - CRAZY Eh!! Many car manufacturers state one litre per 1000 miles is acceptable.

I take your point though. Yes some of the VVTi engines did have oil consumption problems and in some cases Toyota did replace engine blocks. The only way you'll find out if you qualify though is to contact Toyota as it was done on an individual basis.:)

[Q.S.]

Have I got this right, the vvti engine burns oil at about one litre per thousand miles, it's just cost me £28 for 5 lites of oil which according to Toyota should be burnt off in 5000 miles. Is it me or does that sound slightly mad. How can anyone justify producing a engine that requires that kind of constant expence. I have read in this forum that Toyota will do a free replacment engine if you have a full dealer sevice history, does this apply to vehicles of any age (mine is a 2002)

Any advise would be most welcome.

Firstly, no one is trying to justify using that amount of oil by design, it's not supposed to. It uses it because of a design fault and that is why Mr T is extending warranty to these engines, the 1 litre in 1000 miles is the point they class as excessive and so will fit short motors under warranty.

I believe Mr T capped this off at 7 years or 100,000ml. Mine is an 02 reg, was done under warranty over a year ago and hasn't used any oil since.

Speak to your local Toyota dealer about it but I suspect you may have missed the boat.

[in_the_no]

x

[matrixsenior]

The problem was due to Toyota using porous bore liners and/or being fitted with slightly undersized pistons. As I understand it as long as you watch the oil, there is no problem with these engines. I had the original 'lean burn' Avensis. I did 180,000 miles in her. I have now done 73,000 in my 51 plate Vvti, she is still going strong, never needs any work come service time.

[Q.S.]

Once replaced, your new oil quantity wont be 3.7ltrs any more, but increased to 4.2ltrs.

You trying to tell us they change the sump as well?

New short motor shouldn't affect the oil capacity in any way.

[in_the_no]

x

[tspirit888]

Once replaced, your new oil quantity wont be 3.7ltrs any more, but increased to 4.2ltrs.

You trying to tell us they change the sump as well?

New short motor shouldn't affect the oil capacity in any way.

Sump is the original unit, looking at dipstick, the min mark is about 1cm from the bottom, the new dipstick min mark is about 1" from the bottom,the original d/stick top is yellow, the new d/stick (modified etc ) has a green spot on it.

The original motor takes 3.7 ltrs, the capacity has now changed, so all replacement units and the engines with the GREEN spot on the yellow dip stick handle now take 4.2 ltrs.

So those of you who change your own oil, try putting 3.7 ltrs in 1st and see if you need to top up, if the dipstick top has a GREEN spot onthe yellow handle, you will be looking at filling with 4.2 ltrs

well said (in the no)very accurate

Q.S. stop being so sarcastic when somebody is trying to help

[Q.S.]

Once replaced, your new oil quantity wont be 3.7ltrs any more, but increased to 4.2ltrs.

You trying to tell us they change the sump as well?

New short motor shouldn't affect the oil capacity in any way.

Sump is the original unit, looking at dipstick, the min mark is about 1cm from the bottom, the new dipstick min mark is about 1" from the bottom,the original d/stick top is yellow, the new d/stick (modified etc ) has a green spot on it.

The original motor takes 3.7 ltrs, the capacity has now changed, so all replacement units and the engines with the GREEN spot on the yellow dip stick handle now take 4.2 ltrs.

So those of you who change your own oil, try putting 3.7 ltrs in 1st and see if you need to top up, if the dipstick top has a GREEN spot onthe yellow handle, you will be looking at filling with 4.2 ltrs

well said (in the no)very accurate

Q.S. stop being so sarcastic when somebody is trying to help

Wasn't being sarcastic, just didn't make sense for a short motor to change the oil capacity.

Obviously (with the info about the dipstick) the oil is at a higher level in the sump. It now makes sense.

[malteman]

I have a vvti1.8-2001. Got this car used and not from a dealership.

This is my sad story.

After three months at around 150000kms the gearbox suddenly but totally broke down in the middle of the highway. Because the wheels were locked making a VERY abrupt stop all cars behind me needed to step on the brake and steer away from me. With the whole family in the car I'm happy that no one was injured.

Because I did not have dealership service history, (service book filled from local mechanic at previous owner) Toyota refused to take any responsibility.

After one month of discussion I finally deicided to have a new gearbox and clutch fitted from the dealership. This is in Stockholm, Sweden (Svenska Motor AB). At a price tag of around 3000GBP (almost as much as my price for the used car) I asked if I could trust this car after the repair and mechanics told me that this is the best engineering in the world.

Not having owned the car for a long time I had still noticed the the oil consumption was way higher than expected. At the time before the gearbox change I told this to the responsible mechanic. He was suddenly white in his face and called for his supervisor. This guy told me this is nothing to worry about and is probably because of a bad service history (Yeah sure!). He promised to fill the car up with new oil and for me to get back and measure the level after 1000kms.

Happy with new gears and clutch all I could afford this summer was a cheap car vacation.

Far away from home and on a highway, the oil level light comes on. This is after only 700kms from the dealership filling...I called Toyota right away and they told me they never heard of this problem (Yeah right!) and I had to carefully measure and fill it myself. Back in the city I had time to search this problem on the net and I was surprised and angry that this was a well known problem (described in matrixsenior's post).

When I confronted the dealership and the mechanics supervisor with my information they now admitted that this could happen on this type of engine and year of manufacture. Still it was my concern with no dealership service history.

After being a very annoying customer i got some kind of offer from Toyota. I was in the dealership discussing this loudly several times in front of other customers. After a telephone conversation with the manager of the whole dealership I was told that they would change all parts needed but I needed to cover the hourly cost. This was at first 2500GBP but after a new round of calls and loud discussions i got it down to 1200GBP. They told me that the parts alone was worth around 3000GBP and consisted of new engine short block, new valves and valve springs, etc..

They told me I should be lucky as this was a goodwill descision from Toyota Japan. In my head I still think they got fully covered by Toyota Japan as this clearly is a well known manufacturing issue. Still they needed to squeeze out my last bucks saying they will go bankrupt if noone covers the hourly cost.

Remember there is an extended warranty for this problem.

After spending as much on repairs as on the used car itself I was of course very frustrated. Why could'nt they tell me before the first repair?

Because I spent so much money already there was'nt really any choices for me. Selling the car with a bad motor and a new gearbox? Worth nothing.

These are all MAJOR motor repairs!

In my book, Toyota Avensis is definitely NOT the car of the year EVER!

My advise to you all:

-If your car is within the warranty limits, check it carefully right away! There is an extended warranty covering this issue.

-Don't accept other explanations for your high oil consumption.

-Pay the higher price for regular dealership service.

-Don't give up. Be a pain to lower the price or force the dealership to take responsibility.

Regards

Mattias