1 Litre Of Oil Per 1400 Miles. Prospects?

[BobbyPosh]

I would just like to enjoy a bit of experience from other Avensis owners, I have had a 1.8 2002 Avensis Auto hatchback for nearly ten years. It has done 138, 000 miles and I still like it, especially having driven a few other cars recently. It is comfortable, has plenty of power, pleasurable and reliable. The only things that have gone wrong that were not my fault were a whistling brake servo (replaced off a scrap heap), a leaky roof easily sorted after advice on this site and a new exhaust system. I want more, maybe another 60 000 miles up to 200 000. But it has started to use oil, about a litre every 1400 miles.

What are the prospects? I can just about tolerate that since the oil mainly burns up on motorway trips which are not frequent. But is it likely to deteriorate further soon? This seemed to come on quite suddenly about 5000 miles ago from using virtually no oil. A Toyota main dealer will refurbish my engine for about £1700 and give me a year's guarantee but I am not sure that it will be a great improvement. What can I expect from that? It certainly is peanuts against buying another car. Can I expect a lot of repairs in other departments during the next 60 000 miles. The car certainly feels just like it did when it was new but maybe it is time to change.

[alan333]

The 1.8vvti was prone to this problem and as far as I know it gets worse the longer you leave it. There's loads on this forum about it. It was cured around late 04 so anything newer than approx 05 should be safe. I personally wouldn't spend a lot repairing your car as it's got high miles and it's not worth much.

Depending on your budget I would see my options as...

Scrap it. You'll get a couple of hundred quid for it.

Break it. You'll get more money by selling bits on eBay etc but it'll take you ages and it'll be a right pain.

Sell it privately. I wouldn't do this as I'd be selling something I know to be faulty.

Put it to auction but sold as seen with no warranty. You'll get buttons for it here too.

Then buy a similar one but make sure it doesn't burn oil first. You're taking a chance that it might go the same at a later date, but it might not. Or you could buy the 2.0 version which wasn't affected by the oil problem. I'd think you could pick either one up for a grand or so.

Or trade it in for something newer. You'll still not get much for it unless you're buying something quite dear.

I understand your point about liking the car, and I've never driven one, but the newer 03-08 model is a great drive, and has a bit more modern looks. You should be able to pick up a 55 plate with really low miles for change from £4000, or a 57 plate with 80k for similar money. You'll need to buy privately or at auction for these prices tho.

Hope this helps :)

[BobbyPosh]

The 1.8vvti was prone to this problem and as far as I know it gets worse the longer you leave it. There's loads on this forum about it. It was cured around late 04 so anything newer than approx 05 should be safe. I personally wouldn't spend a lot repairing your car as it's got high miles and it's not worth much.

Depending on your budget I would see my options as...

Scrap it. You'll get a couple of hundred quid for it.

Break it. You'll get more money by selling bits on ebay etc but it'll take you ages and it'll be a right pain.

Sell it privately. I wouldn't do this as I'd be selling something I know to be faulty.

Put it to auction but sold as seen with no warranty. You'll get buttons for it here too.

Then buy a similar one but make sure it doesn't burn oil first. You're taking a chance that it might go the same at a later date, but it might not. Or you could buy the 2.0 version which wasn't affected by the oil problem. I'd think you could pick either one up for a grand or so.

Or trade it in for something newer. You'll still not get much for it unless you're buying something quite dear.

I understand your point about liking the car, and I've never driven one, but the newer 03-08 model is a great drive, and has a bit more modern looks. You should be able to pick up a 55 plate with really low miles for change from £4000, or a 57 plate with 80k for similar money. You'll need to buy privately or at auction for these prices tho.

Hope this helps :)

Thanks a lot for this. I did not know that the 2.0 was free of this problem. I guess it uses more petrol though.

[alan333]

According to Auto Trader the 1.8 returns 34.9 average, and the 2.0 returns 32.5 average, both autos. I didn't check specs etc but there doesn't seem a drastic difference there. I'd maybe rather spend a quid or two on the extra fuel than the potential engine repairs.

[Druid Boy]

Or you could pay for the rebuild on the engine. It costs £1700 for a 1 year guarantee. If you calculate it over the 1 year's guarantee, that equates to £142 per month. So you pay an extra £142 per month to keep the car you like and after 1 year you aren't paying for it any more.

Tricky decision really cos its just a car and there are loads of them out there. Good luck deciding.

[BobbyPosh]

According to Auto Trader the 1.8 returns 34.9 average, and the 2.0 returns 32.5 average, both autos. I didn't check specs etc but there doesn't seem a drastic difference there. I'd maybe rather spend a quid or two on the extra fuel than the potential engine repairs.

True. It is getting pretty low though. I have just seen one advertised in London, 01, done 24000 miles. Seems too good to be true.

[BobbyPosh]

According to Auto Trader the 1.8 returns 34.9 average, and the 2.0 returns 32.5 average, both autos. I didn't check specs etc but there doesn't seem a drastic difference there. I'd maybe rather spend a quid or two on the extra fuel than the potential engine repairs.

True. It is getting pretty low though. I have just seen one advertised in London, 01, done 24000 miles. Seems too good to be true.

Or you could pay for the rebuild on the engine. It costs £1700 for a 1 year guarantee. If you calculate it over the 1 year's guarantee, that equates to £142 per month. So you pay an extra £142 per month to keep the car you like and after 1 year you aren't paying for it any more.

Tricky decision really cos its just a car and there are loads of them out there. Good luck deciding.

Or you could pay for the rebuild on the engine. It costs £1700 for a 1 year guarantee. If you calculate it over the 1 year's guarantee, that equates to £142 per month. So you pay an extra £142 per month to keep the car you like and after 1 year you aren't paying for it any more.

Tricky decision really cos its just a car and there are loads of them out there. Good luck deciding.

Yes, I have thought through this. I know that we all have decisions to make like this. Talking to a friend with an Avensis three years older than mine, he has had no trouble in the last three years. That seems the critical thing. If I can get three years out of it with the recon engine without much else going wrong it will be worth it. It is "the devil I know" rather than somebody else's cast off. I am leaning towards the new engine even though few people take this route.

[Druid Boy]

If you do opt for the rebuild make sure you understand what you will be getting - especially in terms of guarantee. Will the rebuild be guaranteed to reduce oil consumption and, if so, what is the acceptable/unacceptable boundary on consumption. How much oil in how many miles, measured how etc. Just to protect your investment, it would be a shame to invest in a guaranteed rebuild only to find that the guarantee is worthless.