Head Gasket 2008 Auris 1.4 Diesel

[AnnieT]

Hi,

I've spent hours over the last two weeks reading this forum about the head gasket problems on 4 D 4 2.0 and 2.2 engines and the extended warranty.

I have a 58 plate Auris 1.4 diesel. It has 87k on the clock.

Two weeks ago on a long journey the interior heater suddenly started blowing cold air. At the same time the engine temperature rose straight to the top, flashed for a couple of seconds then came down again. No warning lights came on.

This happened again maybe twice a day over the next couple of days.

After speaking to my mechanic I checked the coolant and oil and both needed topping up.

But it continued to happen and I took it to my mechanic who ordered a new water pump. But when he took the water pump off he said there was nothing wrong with it, put it back on and told me he thought it was the head gasket and that he'd read online that this was a common problem and to get in touch with Toyota.

I rang our local dealership, spoke to the service manager, explained the problem and said I was aware there was an extended warranty for this fault and that my car met the age and mileage criteria.

He said he would have to diagnose that it was a gasket issue himself, understandably, but he couldn't get the car in for 3 weeks. He said he would check on the warranty situation and suggested I also call Toyota customer relations department.

I did ring Customer Relations and was told that obviously a toyota garage would have to diagnose the fault and although the car was inside the warranty age and mileage it was outside the VIN range and they wouldn't be able to help me. I wasn't happy with that but the best I could get out of them was that IF it was the head gasket Toyota might pay a percentage of the parts as a good will gesture.

This car is a taxi. My husband drives it in the day, I work the night shift and it is our only source of income.

I rang the dealership back and the service manager said he had spoken to then next closest dealership and that they can fit it in next week. So it's booked in and I should get it back the following week, along with a big bill.

And if I'm lucky Toyota may contribute.

My plan is to get back onto Toyota Customer Relations once a head gasket problem has been diagnosed by them and point out that the fact that our car is outside of the VIN range for this extended warranty to me means that the problem is worse than they had thought and obviously affects more cars than they were aware. As a taxi my Auris has done more miles than the average Auris of its age and there aren't many of them working as taxis either.

Please could you offer some advise as to what's the best way to approach this as I do feel that it should be fixed under warranty. I have no idea what this is going to cost if it doesn't and am worried sick that it'll bankrupt us. We are lucky in that we've managed to rent a taxi from a colleague but obviously every day the car is off the road is costing us money.

Thank you

[Devon Aygo]

Whilst the larger 2.0 & 2.2 engines have a known issue with head gasket failure the 1.4 diesel is of a totally different design and beyond the most basic specifications i.e. 4 cylinder diesel engines they share absolutely nothing in terms of design and build.

I work for Toyota and the very early 2002-2004 1.4 diesel engines did suffer from head gasket failure but I have not seen a single 1.4 d built after the fix was implemented in 2004 that has suffered head gasket failure and I have worked for Toyota for 12 years now, so this is very rare if it is a head gasket issue.

I'm sure that if this is a head gasket issue and if you have a full Toyota service history Toyota will help towards the potential repair costs, but the fact that the car is out of warranty, that no warranty extension exists for the 1.4d and the high mileage it is unlikely that Toyota will meet the full repair cost.